End of summer 2016

It's about 10:30 right now and everyone is in bed.  I should be too.  But.  Sometimes you just gotta blog.  Even when you know it means you probably won't get to bed until midnight or later.  And even when you know your kids will be up with the sun and you may regret staying up so late.  But you know that regret will only last a few minutes because blogging all night is what reminded you that it's all worth it anyway.  And by you I mean me....if you didn't know.

We had a pretty fantastic summer over here in SLC, our first one with a nice grassy backyard to basically live in.  I've blogged before about how much we love our long little backyard and I'm really grateful for what a good summer it's given us.  I've blogged before, as well, about my Menieres condition that makes it hard to venture far from home very often.  So this backyard has been helpful not just in getting kid's energy out, but also in giving this mama some peace of mind.  A lot of self doubt has come with Menieres, so it's been an indescribable blessing to have a way for the girls to get outside and soak up some sunshine without having to go anywhere.  It makes me feel like I'm still a good enough mom even on the bad days.

Our summer ended with some extended family time as well as some swimming, some hiking, some swinging, and a lot of sundress twirling.

To start here are a few leftover pictures from our California trip!  We've been so lucky to see a lot of our family this year, so I have no idea WHY I don't have more pictures of it all.  Audrey will frequently come sit next to me, sigh, and say, "Mommy, I love California."  And then she'll ask if we're going back soon because she's ready.  (PS: I don't think I blogged about Audrey's and Isla's AMAZING combined birthday party thrown mainly by my sister Julia (shout out to her!  HOLLA BACK!).  If you haven't seen pictures go to my sister's blog....and someday I will put pictures on here too!  It was a memorable trip as always!)

LITERALLY FROM OUR FRONT WINDOW

words cannot express how much i love my home

those perfect cool mornings from my childhood by the big ocean window 

cousins addy and isla.  oh and grandpa.

my cousin krista holding hannahlah

i tried to take too many pictures of them sleeping 

keeping warm with grandma at sharp park beach

the seasoned traveler

so excited to see daddy at the airport that she slipped and kinda slid into his arms!

and he painted her nails right when we got home.  he a good man.
 (not sure why but some of my pictures got cut off)

my cool summer chicks

obsessed with writing the letter A.  A for Audrey!

audrey's 3rd birthday at Seven Peaks resort

this is one of my favorite dresses on hannah.  it's funny how some clothes seem like they were meant for her even though audrey wore them as a baby.  this looked cute on audrey but it SUITS hannah more and the same with other clothes with audrey.  like i put hannah in a certain dress and it still feels like audrey's dress, you know?  anyone else feel this way about their kid's clothes?  i just love how much their personalities come through, even in these little ways.

i find that i most enjoy painting the ocean and cliff scenes from home.  i feel like those are the paintings that turn out best for me, maybe because i care about them more than others?

i just laugh when i see this picture.  she's so dang cute.

this was a break day for me.  andrew took them swimming and i had some rejuvenation time.  a happy day had by all!

so excited for her daddy lunch specialty

one thing we did a ton this summer was play and wade in creeks.  we probably went 6 or 7 times in all, usually to either  memory grove park (one of my absolute favorite places in the world) in downtown salt lake or smoot park in centerville.  this was after one of those afternoons and hannah's face just says it all.

at our good friend michelle's wedding reception!

this was how audrey felt about their first dance.  and the cake cutting.  and the bouquet toss.  and basically just the whole wedding thing.

like mother like daughter.  when you need to reach something you do what you gotta do.

there's nothing better than a comfortable day at home together.  especially if the house is in pretty good shape.

i don't remember why this picture happened.  but i find it quite adorable.

these kids have also made this summer for us.  we love the lincolns!

he's like a big brother to her

oh and that swing, that wonderful wonderful swing

Good bye summer!  We have loved you more this time than other years, that's for sure.  We'll be happy to see you again next year!