summer oh 9

we've done a little of this.

(being at home is just a comfortable, controlled environment for me...)

my backyard might be a little on the homely side,

but it's a great place to throw these guys while i make dinner :)

a rare treat. rowan's sharing.

oh well, didn't last long... she got the boot.

she was saved by daddy and the red ball!

we've really loved our backyard this summer.

and we did a smidge of this.

(although, this was my first and last trip...

too much sand in mouths, eyes, and diapers for me to handle...

sarah poo'd coal the next day and i can't imagine that's very healthy.)

sarah's hair grew long enough for 2 little piggies!

we did quite a bit of this.

(weekly trips to the "bucket" aka waterpark just up the street)

the one place I can contain this little firecracker.

(and keep tabs on Rowan while feeding Shelby)

multi-tasking. yes. it's my way of life.

we ventured out to Legoland

(with these wonderful friends from Utah)

Rich & Kim, Sydney, Ethan, and baby Michael

(not pictured... he's only a month older than Shelby and

they were both pretty much ridin' stroller the whole day!)

we rode scary rides

(scary for ME, fun and thrilling for my 2 year old)

learned that Sarah is most definitely NOT a princess.

yet as darling as she is... has yet to display your typical "girly" traits.

No interest in babies or dolls.

she loves Rowan's cars and racetracks.

yet, she says, "cow", "ooo" (for moo), and shoes

But recently, she's displayed the tinsiest bit of curiosity in her little sis,

you know, to steal her binkie, smack her head, smack her belly or poke her eye...

all the while, that little shelby does nothing but look up at sarah

with these huge blue adoring eyes and smile.

already i can tell, shelby is going to want to do everything her big sister does.

and, in my efforts to regain "normal" life with 3 under 3,

i've begun to enlist the "services" of my 1 and 2 year old children

to help with the many household duties...

sarah helps bathe shelby,

and rowan feeds sarah her oatmeal at breakfast with a spoon,

and will sometimes, haphazardly hold shelby's bottle

(sadly i had to stop nursing as she wasn't gaining weight like she should...

and one day at the mall, sarah escaped the play area,

right while i was sat there nursing

- don't worry, i jumped right up baby, nursing cover and all to catch her -

it was then i began to realize that i might just need to change my feeding methods,

make things a little easier, and possibly preserve some dignity in public,

so i started the long journey of getting her to take a bottle and wall-la, feeding has become much more convenient and less embarrassing when there are run-away toddlers).

needless to say, i am indeed grateful for any and all the help i can get even if it's a few little things like bringing me the remote, thanks rowan!

oh, sorry - back to sarah, this was among her many handiworks:

luckily that wasn't my iPhone!

see, there's the belly smack.

this is just a ''snapshot" view of what bathtime can be like...

kids literally in every direction.

i was lucky that 2 of them have clothes on.

ok, back to our summer adventures...

we did SeaWorld (three times!)

(with lots of friends and family!)

unfortunately, "doing" sea world didn't get photographed.

so picture this:

shelby in the baby bjorn.

sarah on my hip.

rowan on the monkey leash.

rockin' out to all the shows

triple stroller style.

amazingly, it worked.

among our favorites are

#1: the "shampoo" show while sitting

in the "soak zone"

#2: feeding the sea lions,

and the scary fish-stealing birds.

and #3: running the high bridges at Bay of Play.

when we went with Suzanne, he got to do it with Luke & Livvie,

allowing me to take the pix - but when we went with KayCee,

he asked me to do it with him and

(being extremely afraid of heights) it scared me to death!

what's wrong with me that as i was crawling

through these army-like tunnels following my 2 year old,

all i kept thinking was 'when are these bolts going to come loose

and the whole thing plummet to the ground?!?'

honestly! i would have had a lot more fun without those thoughts, thank you.

here's a few things that i've loved this summer:

we've been calling them "home evening cookies"

as rowan gets one every monday night

after being quiet for our 30 second lesson...

what a mother i am -

rowan gets rationed one a week,

i get 3 a day... hardly seems fair ;)

and these are just about as scrumptious as shelby's cheeks:

nectarines...

my rations are 1 a day, rowan's rations 0.

can't get that kid to eat one!

sarah, on the other hand, is just like her mommy, a nectarine hog.

also this summer...

shelby has grown from a newbie newborn,

to a deliciously chubby infant.

i cannot get enough. and neither can mark!

we fight over "baby time" after the kids go to bed.

i don't always win!!

do you see why?

i mean really... irresistible.

i. can't. get. enough.

(and i'd told myself that as much as it seems to be the "in" thing right now,

i would never blog or facebook a sentence like that, but in using it,

i see the excitement, there's really no other way to get the point across.)

we also did a little trip to Wild Animal Park

just as a family.

of course, my camera battery died, so i was only able to get a few shots.

my favorite was watching the baby cheetahs...

back at the nursery (post battery failure).

It's a great park, very quiet, not crowded,

and feels like the Disneyland version of Africa.

and last but not least... a summer in the OC wouldn't quite be complete without...

a night at the FAIR

no. we did not eat anything crazy fried.

we pigged out on our favorites -

corn on the cob, chicken kebabs, and chocolate covered bananas.

ok, ok... i ate some mini donuts (for sure those are fried)

and it was absolute heaven for my mouth. wow.

please note: hair is now long enough for one side piggie.

i'm loving the little girl do's.

are we going to have to buy this kid a horse or what?!?

couldn't wipe that smile off his face!

until he had to get off.

not pretty.

the real "piggies"

and, the highlight of the OC Fair....

the only ride they would let Rowan's 37" little body on.

ok, so those 2 have become BFF's lately.

every Saturday now for the past few weeks, they take off together in Mark's truck, run a few errands, eat lunch, and ride the ferris wheel at the spectrum together.

it's pretty dang cute.

below is a pic Mark took with his iPhone

(upon emailing it to my Mom,

she photoshopped her magic stuff

and it is now framed

on my Dad's desk)

don't worry. it's not loaded.

(is it obvious this kid is half-Idaho?)

thank you, summer oh 9.

we've had a BLAST.

you've kept us warm, tan, and well-entertained.

now on to fall!