First Swim

Olivia joined us in the pool today! She and Cares wore matching swimsuits... I need to be careful because I am falling seriously in love with dressing these sweet sisters.

Livs loved the water and it wore her right out.
She took a nice 40 minute nap in her stroller to recover.
We love her.

**sorry for the shoddy camera phone pics...

Working at the Temple

Tuesday night date night--working at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Joseph and I were assigned to work in "Physical Facilities"--a glamorous title for garbage duty :) We actually had a great time together and got to drive a golf cart around the temple grounds in order to gather all sorts of trash and refill water and ice in all 5 of the movie tents. Another part of our assignment included resupplying 2 bathrooms in the temple as well as the port-a-potties outside of it. And at one point we had an "emergency" and were required to use a haz-mat kit to clean up a soiled chair from one of the sealing rooms (a little one hadn't quite yet conquered potty-training...)


So yes--we were on garbage and bathroom duty all dressed up in our Sunday clothes. But it honestly was a really cool experience. Joe and I were the only ones to show up for our shift so we were very busy and had a lot to do--made us feel needed and very helpful. We also saw a lot of familiar faces from our ward and stake as they ushered, guided traffic in the parking lot, did security detail and so on. It takes about 600 volunteers a day to run an open house and just like everything with the church, it was all very organized and ran seamlessly. We also caught a quick visit with my in-laws and Flori and Rob's family in the hospitality tent once they were done with their tour. And they snuck us some cookies :)

I love to see the temple. I love to be in the temple. It sounds cliche but it's true. At one point we were being shown the bathrooms we would need to restock and check up on inside the temple and the Physical Facilities director let us sneak a peak into the children's waiting rooms tucked away in a corner near the sealing rooms. They were so lovely and practical with two child-sized tables already stocked with some toys and then a complete nursery with a changing table and beautiful wooden crib. We also saw all sizes of crisp, white shirts and pants and dresses for the children--all hung up and perfectly pressed, ready to be worn. Oh, it filled my heart with so much joy to think of all those families who will be sealed together in the temple. All of it made me so excited for "our" temple to be dedicated and up and running. I am eager to be there again and again. And now I know where all the bathrooms are so that is just an added bonus for me!

And thank you so so much Mom for coming out to our house to babysit while we worked. That little miss Olivia and her naughty stunts of refusing a bottle and causing so much drama...I thought we were in the clear after our Lagoon Day, but no--that Livies certainly likes to do things her own way...Oh boy--she sounds like such a rascal baby but she really is the sweetest, happiest little thing. For her mommy anyway :)

Lyric of the Day

Listening to Rites of Passage (Indigo Girls) for at least the one thousandth time today I discovered new depth to the song "Love Will Come to You." It must have had something to do with my mood today and everything to do with the worries I carry around for those I love. How have I sung these lyrics so many times and then suddenly today they brought me to tears?

...And my words are paper tigers
No match for the predators of pain inside her.

And I wish her insight to battle love's blindness
Strength from the milk of human kindness
A safe place for all the pieces that scattered
Learn to pretend there's more than love that matters.

Summer Nights

They are finally here. And we are loving them.

Monday night--mini-golf:

Tuesday night--Indigo Girls concert at Red Butte Gardens:

Just thought I'd add this picture of our Olivia. Have I mentioned that I am completely in love with her? Those cheeks alone--too much for me...

Oh, what would we do without Joe's iPhone?

Independence Day

Naturally, there were fireworks:

But there were also darling babies,

a wildflower girl,

hard workers emptying and cleaning the hot tub,

a cuddly Max,

and a 4th of July family (sweet Olivia was already in bed for the night)

Cowboys Cowgirls

All gussied up and ready for the Oakley Rodeo:

July 1st

First things first, two small miracles of note:

1) Olivia slept from 8:15 last night until 7:45 this morning. I am remembering how glorious uninterrupted sleep is. And how much easier life is when I have experienced it...

2) My offspring are all napping. Simultaneously. Of course I had to bribe the bigger ones with promises of a late night and fun cousin sleepover at the cabin tonight if they would nap for me today. Simple pleasures, folks--that's all I ask for.

Reading the lines above has just made me laugh--my life seriously revolves around sleep!

Also, I am reading The Book Thief (excellent and beautifully written BTW) and feel compelled to adopt its style with all the listing. Maybe I need to use bold letters and more of these *** to do it justice (those of you who have read it know what I mean). The book has also made me spit out many German words during the day--and my kids laugh and laugh at me and then try to learn them too.

Random addendum: Last night was so lovely. I literally wanted to drink it up. Once the rain cleared out it felt just perfect outside. After dinner, we opened up some good old fashioned, 4th of July snappers and the kids had a hay day with them. Bentley instructed us that if we would wind our arm around and around before throwing the snapper against the cement then it would work every time. Cares kept calling the duds, "dummies."

Joseph decided to trim some branches on our cottonless cottonwood tree and then he and the kids played and played with the freshly cut pieces: