Tayter-tot turns 6!

I missed this girls birthday. I might have cried a little bit. I was at girls camp. We managed to hopefully make this little ray of sunshine feel special on her special day. I mean, she did get to spend the whole day with GramZ who was watching my kiddos. Not a bad gig. Then after Jefferson got off work he took her out to dinner and drove her up to camp so that I could see my little lady for a minute. We hung out by the lake for a few and we gave her one present.

 I got back on Saturday morning and we were partying by that afternoon. We went swimming first and gave her her most favorite gift of all time. A real life mermaid tail. This thing is amazing... seriously. It has a monofin in it and this girl can swim fast in it. She was on cloud nine.

 Then we did dinner and presents and cake and ice cream back out our place.

 Tay got a Puppy Surprise, doll clothes, legos...

 On Sunday afternoon Taytum spend three hours straight building her princess castle lego set. She was determined.

July Summer

Here are some of the fun things that July brought. Our summer was packed full of fun every day.

This monster sip-n-slide was a major hit at our friends' house. Just add Dawn and water...

 I can totally see these two doing this same thing in rocking chairs on a porch one day. They are the best little buddies ever.

 There was much swimming.

 We tried to be consistent in our reading this summer.... and failed. We threw our schedule out the window really early on. We were too busy playing! However, I did catch this sweet sight one day.

 Carter opted for a little more comfortable location.

We love walking local trails. This one at Moore Park is a favorite.

 And as an added bonus, the sprinklers were on at the park when we reached the bottom.

 We love feeding the ducks at Veteran's Park. 

 Carter got a pocket knife and practiced on some plastic bottles.

 Andi got to go tubing with some friends at Lake of the Woods.

 

 Apparently we had gone to the park one too many times, or maybe it was just too hot, but either way, these girls opted to play a card game in the shade instead of play on the playground. There was an ongoing joke that I had the Mary Poppins car because I had pretty much anything you might ever need in my car: blankets, balls, sunscreen, snacks, bandaids, card games, bubbles, drinks, you name it!

 A little beauty salon: one of my girls' favorite pastimes.

 And a show to follow.

Our neighbors have a sweet nanny who is  a member of our church in a different ward. She had Taytum over a couple of times, and not only did she teach Taytum how to ride her bike, she threw a teddy bear picnic for the girls.

 Andi's selfie while we were getting our hair cuts.

 Pool time at our neighbors pool. It's so fun to walk a few doors down for a nice little swim with friends. We have amazing neighbors!

 If Carter's doing it, you better believe that Beckett will be right there doing it too.

 Practicing and perfecting Taytum's bike riding so she's ready for the Night Ride in Sunriver.

 Andi + Hartley

 Sometimes my kids get bored at church.

 Elder Adams was such a great elder and we were sad to say goodbye. We were told he often mentioned that he wanted his family to be just like ours.