June Round-Up!

I can't believe half of the year is already over! As you'll see in these photos, we've had a good beginning to our summer!

One thing we enjoy doing in the summer is participating in the Summer Reading Program at our local library. This program began June 1st, and we always enjoy the weekly presentations that are part of the program. 

One week, we learned about various animals that are native to this area. The speaker brought in several live animals including a hedgehog, a chinchilla, and a skunk that she let the kids pet. Eeeek! 

Brooke

Brecklyn

Brianna

Brenson missed the opportunity to pet the skunk because he was at work with Daddy. Typically, when Bren goes to work with Daddy, they go get their hair cut and Brenson comes home looking a year older than when he left :-(.

The kids also like to go to the library to just sit and read, and I enjoy this activity as well!

The twins also really enjoy playing in the children's play area.

Brecklyn, Brooke

Of course, we have to check out books so we have plenty to read at home, too.

Later this month, we're planning a family vacation to Colorado. The guys are actually going a week earlier than the girls are so they can hike in the mountains. Brenson is so pumped to go, but he's also had to put in some work training for this expedition. Every day, he's been hiking around our neighborhood with his pack, trying to build some muscle and endurance. 

He's so cute out there training!

Daddy has also been doing quite a bit of training for this trip. I'm not sure this falls under the category of training, but one evening he hung his hammock up to test it out. The kids definitely approved!

Summertime also means Miss Shelly's has started back up! Brecklyn and Brooke were so ready for their "school".

They really shouldn't look this big, right?!?

Brecklyn

Brooke

They have both been doing great in Miss Shelly's class, and I feel like we've turned a big corner this year. They are so much more independent, therefore I am much more relaxed!

Brecklyn

Brecklyn, Brooke

Brianna and Brenson both act like they don't want to participate in the crafts and activites, but then they always do :-). Oh, and this is Brianna's new camera "smile". I'm not sure what's up with that?!?

I mean, THIS is the smile that I prefer (her real one!)

💜

This is kind of random (isn't most of this stuff?!?), but one day I noticed that our garage had a funky smell. I didn't look into it too much, and the smell died down after a few days. A couple days later we found a toad had come into our garage and died from the heat! BLECH! The girls and I were all kind of freaking out and being overly dramatic about it. Thankfully, Brenson scooped up the dead toad with his shovel and removed it from the garage. I'm glad he was home to take care of us!

In the *little* free time we had this month, we continued to work on the play set. Brenson has loved helping Daddy on this project!

It was all hands on deck to get this double slide placed and mounted as this thing is heavy and awkward!

The twins didn't really help install it, but they were the first to test it out!

Of course, water activities are always a big hit in the summer. We've visited the local splash pad a few times this month,

and spent an evening swimming at our friends' house.

Brecklyn and Daddy

Brenson

Daddy and Brooke

Brianna

We also made good use of the slip-n-slide, sprinkler, and water hose at our house. My kids are water babies, for sure!

Such cute pics of Brecklyn after playing in the water!

We did have a few rare rainy days in June, but we didn't let that stop our fun. On days when it rains, we will sometimes just enjoy the outdoors on our covered back patio.

Toward the end of the month, Brenson, Brianna, and Chloe Jo went to stay a few day at Grampy and G-Jo's house. They had a great time! Each day, they took a walk with Grampy, so he sent me a few pictures.

While they were gone, the little girls really wanted to do some fun and special activities. One day, we made a batch of cookies. It's amazing to me that they are becoming legitimately helpful when cooking now!

Brecklyn

Brooke

Everyone's favorite part is eating the cookie dough!

They were so cute waiting for the cookies to be done!

We also took lunch to Daddy at work and ate with him one day. The big kids get to go to work with Daddy every now and then, so the little girls felt super special getting a turn to be at work with Daddy. 

Daddy, Timber, Brecklyn, and Brooke

We also went to the splash pad one afternoon. The twins missed Brianna and Brenson, but that didn't stop us from having fun while they were gone!

And finally, I'll end this post with a photo of the gorgeous sunset we were able to enjoy one evening. The view in this photo is actually to the east, so this is a reflection of the sunset in the west. I've said it many times before, but one of my very favorite things about our house is our view of the amazing sunrises and sunsets. Thank you, God, for showing us this beauty!