Flashback June 2011- Celebrate Lincoln

I found these pictures from exactly a year ago. I was 19 weeks pregnant with Belle.  Sometimes I think I overkill when it comes to picture taking, but then I looked back over the five years of our blog (technically two blogs since I made our first one private since it had our names) and felt SO glad that I take a ridiculous amount of them.  A million rush of emotions came over me....the strongest of them being how FAST time flies.  I love being a mom, and reliving all the memories we have made as a family fills me with gratitude and extreme joy.  I want to savor every minute we have together.

  On the way home from this event I broke out in a crazy rash.  This happened two other times during my pregnancy with Belle and I have now idea what from.  I know I am allergic to milk, but it doesn't give me hives.  Once was from swimming and has happened another time since....weird.

Fiery Darts

Bond has great ideas for Family Home Evening.  One of the latest was learning how having "a shield" of faith can protect us from the "fiery darts" of Satan. 

Soccer Camp

Bug participted in a British Challenger Soccer Camp the first week of June.

The two youngin's and I hung out on the sidelines soaking in the beautiful weather.

Big Helpers

While the boys and I were finishing up this cake, Belle woke up. I needed to get a few things cleaned up before I got her out of her crib so I told the boys they could go in and talk to her.

 I guess they thought she needed a few toys to play with.

 Clean-up duty.

 Silly, silly boys.

All Night!

This little 7 month beauty made it through the night with no help from her mama! Time to celebrate.

Garden Bounty

We are thoroughly please with the bounteous harvest we have been gaining from our ward garden so far this summer. 

Lettuce

 Sugar Snap Peas

 Daikon and Zucchini

Sink full of cilantro for...

a family favorite!

Nashville Zoo

The Smoky Mountains

I have one sister that lives in Virginia and one in North Carolina.  While we were in Tennessee we met up halfway in Gatlinburg for a weekend reunion.  We stayed in a cabin in the mountains, and I was SO glad to spend some time with them and their families, even if for only a few days. Time spent together is way too far and few between with them now that we live in the Midwest.

(I love this picture.  My sisters are the greatest.)

 Little cousins in a bubble bath. 

 Cousins: Belle, Little C and L.

Day 1: We woke up and went on a short hike to a river the kids played in for an hour or so until we all got hungry and headed to one of Gatlinburg's infamous pancake houses. 

 G is already almost 2.5 and this was my FIRST time meeting him. :( Lame, I know.  He is adorable.

Here is his "too cool for school" hiking strut.

 Playing at the River.

 L and Big C snapping a shot of a giant snail they found.

 G counting L down for a dunk in the freezing water.

 That night we played some minute-to-win-it games. Big C and L trying their hand at "Chocolate Unicorn". 

Big C got 7 stacked and balanced but L's ended up looking more like a smashed mohawk. :)

 

The oreo challenge.....won by the pregnant sis.

  

 Day two, we took a 1.5 mile hike to a waterfall and then back. Belle is asleep in the carrier and Bear jumped on Daddy's back when he got too tired to walk and I got too tired to carry him. 

 After our long hike, we went and ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom in downtown Gatlinburg and toured the Ripley's Believe it or not Museum with Big C and L.

 Bug opening the screaming box.

 I couldn't decide which picture was better of me. ;)

 The little cousins made sure to spend plenty of time in the hot tub every day.

I hope it is not two or three years before we see each other again!