What a wonderful weekend!

This long weekend was fabulous! We visited dear friends, did yard work (or watched Daddy do yard work), played, rested, napped, and had a grand old time! I hope you all had great weekends, too!

I love this look of concentration that she gets!

Hanging out under the tree while Daddy spreads mulch around

Daddy and a neighbor, Leo, beautifying the yard

Beautiful Iris from our back yard. They smell heavenly!

I'm always trying to get a good picture of us girls, but it always seems to fail. Oh well.

Tea Party time in the back yard

"Petting" the chickies!

Is her face not the cutest?

See what I mean?

Look at that Bhudda belly! I could eat it up!

Once again Clarence gets confused about his size.

Meeting Steph and Baby Jacob!!!

Just because she's so stinkin' cute

Olivia wasn't bored by Jacob, just playing hard to get ;)

Just look at her cute tutu bottom while Steph holder her over her own baby bump. She's due on July 31 with baby boy #3!

Auntie Sarah!

Steph's oldest son Evan was a great helper with Olivia. He brought all kinds of toys and books out for her to play with :)

Auntie Grace! Meeting for the first time.

More Iris from our yard.

Summer Bucket List

You've heard of bucket lists and leap lists, yes? It can be so fun to think of things I want to accomplish before I die, or imagine big milestones in our lives and how to get there. At the same time, it can get overwhelming, especially if the items on my list include living in Spain or writing a book (neither of which are much of a reality). So, I decided to make a fun but manageable list for the summer. Lets see what actually gets crossed off in the next 3 months.  Hold me accountable!

1. Declutter/simplify/minimalize our life

How? Clean out all closets and make donation piles and scrap piles. Get rid of everything we haven't used in a year. Get rid of multiples.

2. Visit my grandparents in Nebraska!

3. Learn some sign language to teach Livia

4. Visit family in Montrose

5. Go on a romantic date (and actually fix my hair, makeup and wear a fancy outfit!)

6. Go on at least one walk a week

7. Read the 4 books I just ordered

8. Encourage/support/do something special for a friend, family member, co-worker, fellow mom or even a stranger once a week

9. Let Jeff and Cade know how much I love and appreciate them and find ways to encourage them several times a week

10. Read to Liv every day

11. Go on a family bike ride

Olivia Layne - 21 weeks

Hello sweet daughter! I just got a text from Cheryl saying you were listening to audio books :) Aren't you so smart! You had a couple of sad days with Cheryl this week, but I'm hoping it was just that you weren't used to her after a long 4 day weekend with Mama and Daddy. The past 2 evenings you have been a little angel! You still love to be held and walked around and aren't much of a fan of laying on the floor on your own. You will do it, just not for long. You're starting to reach for things when you lay down, when you are sitting and when you're being held. One of my favorite things is to come home and kiss your face while you reach for my face. We're still working on waking up fewer times in the night. You still sleep in the Rock n Play. I tried the Pack n Play and you did OK for your first stretch, but not so much for the rest of the night. You just wiggle too much and then can't get back to sleep. When you wake up the 2nd time at night I try to just rock you and put you back to sleep rather than feed you. I'm hoping soon you'll skip that middle waking on only wake twice. We shall see! You are growing and changing so much. I feel like one day we put you in your new exersaucer and you couldn't touch the bottom with your toes and now you're flat footed! WOW! I just adore watching you learn and change. But stay my baby for a long time, okay, love? We love you!!!