Goodbye Summer

Our last days of the most wonderful Summer.... 

They started out not so great.  We all got sick.  Blah.  Of course we got sick. 

Brad thinks its funny to take pictures of me when Im sick.  Im not even kidding.  We have way too many floating around.  The best are the morning sickness ones of me when I was pregnant with Jonas and asleep on the bathroom floor.  Yeah..

So I was all worried that we weren't even going to get to enjoy our last little bit of freedom, because we all just wanted to lay on the couch and do nothing for like a week, but luckily, it passed and we all started feeling much better.

Kalvin took the longest to get better, as always.  Stupid asthma!   

Brad had scout camp two weekends in a row.  The last two of the Summer.  Don't even get me started.  He took Clark one weekend and the boy was just in heaven. 

He loved the tomohawk throwing contest and has not stopped talking about it since.  He is obsessed. 

We've been getting tons of good stuff from our garden recently.  

Which means we have been eating tons of vegetables.  Its good though.  Makes up for all the crap we ate so much of traveling all Summer. 

I think the birds got more of our grapes than we did, but thats okay.  I really wasn't wanting to juice all of them anyway.  Maybe next Summer I'll be more on top of that.

Jonas loves it when we take him out to the garden.  He tries to take a bite out of everything he can get his hands on.  I've got a whole basket of tomatoes with tiny teeth marks in each one. 

Hes so sweet with his crazy mohawk hair that will not stay down for anything. 

Brad made us a big batch of garden salsa and its sooooo good.  I cannot stop eating it!! 

Jonas is loving eating lately.  He can pick stuff up and feed himself and he thinks its great.  I do too.  Its so nice to be able to cut a bunch of stuff up and just dump it on his tray and he just goes for it.  Although, he thinks its hilarious to throw food on the floor for Scout, so I have to watch that. 

I got to spend a couple days in the kitchen which was fun.   

Banana bread, cinnamon roll cookies and peach jam.  I can't wait for it to cool off some so that having the oven on doesnt kill me. 

I was going through some things and found this old painting that my Mom did.  She gave it to me when I was a teenager.  I have always loved it, but had it packed away for safe-keeping.  I am so excited that I get to hang it in my cute little house now. 

Jonas loves the wading pool.  Not so much the water, but the climbing in and out of the pool.  He will do it for hours and be so content.   

When I was going through old boxes, I also found all my old doll house stuff.  It was so fun.  I loved my doll house as a child.  My favorite toy ever!  The kids were excited to see it, so I let them play with all of it for the afternoon.  They had fun looking at all the little food and dishes and lamps and flower pots, but then they wanted to actually play and they were all boy about it.  Cars crashing, people fighting and dying.  haha 

My little buddy.  He can fall asleep anywhere. 

Now that Jonas is quite good at crawling, he and scout have become good friends.   

Drinking some lemonade.  In teacups.  On the kitchen floor. 

We always have to do bubbles in the pool at least a few times each summer. 

Jonas is getting so good and standing and walking along the furniture 

He has even started standing without holding onto anything, but I have yet to get a photo of it. 

Our very last day of Summer we went for a long walk down to the park and then to check the mail.  Grandma Merkley sent "back to school" packages to the two older boys and they couldn't handle the excitement.  We stopped at Two Stiffs for some juice and then raced home so they could open them and color in their new color books with their new crayons and markers and stickers.  Later they got all of their cars out, like usual, and lined them up all through the house.  Their favorite thing to do.  We had chicken rolls for dinner, then Brad gave them each a back to school blessing for FHE and then we had icecream sundays. 

The little sweeties fell asleep ready for a new school year to start.  And they always begin the night in their beds, but end up on the floor, so that they can talk to each other easier without us hearing them.  Little monkeys!  

Summer Blessings

I am siting here staring down my calendar.  10 days.  10 days left of Summer.  I just cannot believe its almost over.  I have never been much of a Summer person, but I have to admit, I am a little sad.  I think it is because the last few months have been absolutely amazing!!  We have gone on so many fun trips and seen all of our families and I really feel like this Summer is the first Summer in a looooong time that really, truly felt like a Summer.  Clark was out of school, Brad's work schedule slowed way down, we had no real routine at all.  It rocked.  I feel like we really used up each and every day this Summer.  Not a bit of it went to waste. 

We thoroughly enjoyed every sleepy morning and every afternoon nap. 

Every sunny afternoon and every bite of summer fruit. 

Every moment of quality time spent. 

Every cartoon binge day in our jammies. 

Every game and adventure. 

Every trip to the pool and every popsicle.  

Every bike ride and every story. 

Every BBQ and dinner party with friends. 

Every delicious veggie from our garden. 

And every project finished! 

Thinking back about these Summer months, I feel so happy and so blessed.  We've been surrounded by so much good!  So many good people and so many great experiences, 

And it means the world to me that my 3 beautiful boys have these wonderful memories locked up tight inside forever. 

Brad's 30th

{the last photo of him in his 20's}

My best friend turned 30.
He handled the day better than I thought he might.  

He had to work all day, even through his lunch break.  He came home to a brand new lazyboy chair that I got him and hugs from his 3 boys.

There really isn't any way that I can put into words how much I adore this man.  He completes me and I wish so much that I could give him more than just a comfortable chair to sit in at the end of a long day.

I love you, Brad!!!

Family Reunions

Guys, I am so lame!  Like really, really lame.  Are you ready for this?  I had the most amazing, most busy, more crazy summer ever and I took literally thousands of photos and here it is a month after all of the awesomeness began and I haven't blogged any of it.  Oh my goodness, its like my worst nightmare.  All of these amazing memories and moments and none of it documented.  LAME!  But heres the worst part... I am not going to.  Ahhhhhh.  Im so busy and so behind and I am just going to do a recap and move on.  I know.  I am sorry.  It makes it worse that my amazing Sis-in-law blogged every great picture and every single day in great detail.  So, as I sit here contemplating just linking to her blog for all of this, lets just shed a tear and move on.  
After the 4th of July, we all drove up to McCall to stay in these amazing houses my sister rented for us and Autumn and Greyson's wedding week officially began. 

It was so much fun.  It was so wonderful being with all of my family again.  Holy crap do I miss them!  We spent our days just playing.  Horse back riding, hanging out at the lake, having picnics, eating crepes, sleeping and playing games and talking and laughing and just trying to make up for so much lost time. 

It really was so great.  I dont ever want to go that long without seeing my family again. 

Autumn and Greyson decided to get married on Friday.  The kids were to-die-for adorable.  Look at those giant bow ties!  Look at my niece's perfect face!  I cant handle these kids together. 

The girls getting ready :)  I love my sisters!  And my Mom! 

They wanted to get married outside by the pond in the backyard, but it was raining, so they decided to do in under the pavilion and it was perfect.  My brothers started things off by singing a song and it was so good. 

Nathan officiated and did so good. 

They are officially married!!! 

The night ended with banana splits and a dance party.  If you know us Merkley's, you know thats just how we roll. 

It was such an incredible week and I am so lucky that I have the family that I do.  And that my siblings have married people who Im obsessed with! 

After McCall, we got home and tried to get things back in order after being gone so long.  
And then before we knew it, Brads parents were coming up to stay with us.  They told us that they would take the kids if we wanted to go away for the weekend to celebrate our 8 year Anniversary, so we took advantage of that.  The kids were so excited to see them, they were practically pushing us out the door.  We went to Reno and had a nice dinner and went to a movie and then Brad decided it would be more fun to get super sick with BPPV then to enjoy the rest of the weekend.  So we came home early and spent the rest of the weekend with Brad in bed.  
But we still had fun spending time with G&G Robison and I read Brad almost an entire book in one day.  Memorable for sure ;) 

After G&G left, Scott & Emily and their babies showed up and stayed with us.  It was great.  I love their kiddos so much and I am pretty sure Emily and I are destined to go into business together one day. 

After a couple days with them we all headed to Carson City for the Robison Reunion. 

The first day we went out to Lake Tahoe, my favorite place in the world.  
Don't you just love those faces?! 

Almost all of their 18 grandchildren.  Just missing one. 

We spent the day just playing on the beach.  We watched the kids play in the sand and we had lunch.  A perfect day. 

4 boys born within 4 months of each other 

It was so great seeing them interact with each other 

The next day we drove up to Virginia City.  I love Virginia City!  We walked around and looked at shops, bought 70 pounds of saltwater taffy, rode the train and had some lunch. 

Then all of us girls split to Reno and left the boys to take care of the kids and make dinner.  The ladies went and had a spa day and it was just the best thing ever!!!!!  We did facials and massages and scalp treatments and sat around in our robes in a pretty lounge drinking sparkling juice and chatting.  Then we ended the day by going to get cheesecake.  It was awesome.  I think we need to do this every year!  I love all of these ladies so much!!
Then we all had to say goodbye and head home.  I just couldnt ask for better inlaws.  They are the best!