i must be special

last weekend we took gwen on her first camping trip. the other kids came too.

we pulled it off without a hitch because the kid likes to sleep.

this is how she spent most of the trip.

i didn't take tons of pictures.

just imagine a herd of filthy little blond kids running amuck.

we went with a big group of friends and practically ran the rest of the campers out.

the camp host was so glad when we left.

max successfully got reprimanded by the camp host once, the ranger twice and then got pulled over by a cop, with lights flashing and everything.

do not let your nine year old operate (child sized) motorized vehicles on public property.

wade's never been so proud, and i didn't know who that kid's parents were.

notice jordan lounging in that chair?

well, jordan made it very clear that he brought that chair camping so his wife would be comfortable. and when we went down to the beach he asked me a couple of times if i wanted him to bring it down so i'd have something nice to sit in.

notice who's doing the lounging.

there's no shame in wanting a comfy spot to sit your rump.

this is the only picture i got of wade. sorry if this is offensive.

poor mallari saw wade's butt twice.

once was my fault because of a tent mishap

which involved me falling on the tent while wade was changing inside,

and the other, well, let's just say wade's not always as careful as he should be.

and one more exciting bit. little gwen started smiling at me last week.

i didn't believe it was a for real smile at first.

i don't remember my other kids smiling as early as 3 weeks, i'll have to check my records,

but she is really truly smiling at me.

not that lolling in and out of consciousness, milk-drunk grin babies do,

but a real eyes locked, alert, happy to see you smile.

i don't know.

i must be special...

or her food source.

goodbye june

june was a blur. i'm assuming since july is the last month of my pregnancy

that it will C R A W L by at a snail's pace.

let's take a look at what went down in june.

the last day of school marked max's ninth birthday, so of course boating and cake were on the docket.

max popped up like a cork the first time, which was a relief since this was the first time out for him since breaking his leg.

then it was off to california for some cousin time

and some grammy and grandpa time.

and some fire pit fun

i'm assuming they're watching nikki's flip flop melting away in this picture after she accidentally dropped it in the fire. two seconds after this another flying shoe landed in the fire, but my dad leaped to the rescue before it was a goner. devan must have assumed this to be some sort of fireside ritual before she removed her shoe and tossed it in.

this was my kids' first major league baseball game.

max with his cousin and his handsome uncle.

and my cute dad and a couple more cute cousins.

we took a little hike in the beautiful hills of morgan hill where i grew up.

blowing on a wishing weed.

oh, the oak trees were amazing.

and the manzanita

whitney was so excited that she "caught" a cacoon, which was actually a seed pod.

then there were more parks and picnics with cousins.

and visits with dear friends

back in idaho, nikki turned seven and had a visit from aunt bille, uncle mike and little nico.

six + one = seven

we took nik to lunch on her birthday, just the big girls (plus nico),

followed by a little antiquing and thrift shopping.

perfect.

then more of this.

a first for nico.

and then...

there were pollywogs.

oh, there were pollywogs.

the thrill,

the chase,

the excitement

of pollywogs.

does it come any more summery than pollywogs?

now we await the sprouting of legs.

goodbye june.

see you next year.