Ju-ly!

Sterling,

Sterling,

 & more Sterling

Sterling learned how to click his tongue!

He may be casting a spell.

Now he's found his big boy voice.

And sure enough, his first word is DADA!

Sweet sleeping action.

And finally here is he whistling?

blowing?

shushing me?

What's everyone else up too?

THE FOURTH OF JULY!

Here we found a great shady spot for the morning parade.

Parker was in the marching band.

Bad photographer...

[insert cool marching band parade picture]

Parker is on the left.

So great!

These jokers were here too!

Cora made a new best friend that was sitting behind us,

not sure where she was during the photo op.

Here she is!

With beautiful face paint by Veda!

She has a real gift.

She made Mitchell a unicorn!

And Britta really sparkled thanks to Zoe showing off her skills as well!

Parker had some sparkling going on too!

"And you get a sparkler, and you get a sparkler..."

Some friends from up the street came out to share the glorious show!

The boys:

Doug, Mitchell, Parker, Richard, and Jake put on a great show.

This little boy can't wait for his own lighter!

IT'S SWIMMING SEASON!

And we threw this little guy right in the deep end!

(with a floatie)

And it's all the deep end to him.

Brother Parker will keep me safe! 

Mitchell and lots of other friends to pass me around!

Remember the parks thing?

Trying to find new parks in Idaho Falls?

Here's a hidden gem called Shadow Park

Oooooo

Small but cool!

Hey dad!

Thanks for playing with me!

Since Parker works at Culver's and is ALSO in marching band,

he helped organize a band fundraiser at Culver's!

The band played jazz music for hours 

while the restaurant donated a percentage to the band.

GREAT WORK GUYS!

Sterling got his first "sick day"

Not sure if it was a cold or allergies,

but he was blowing snot bubbles for a few days.

Time to go to my 9 month check-up!

20 pounds of a cuteness overload!

There was something I was supposed to do...

Oh yeah, kill Colette!

She's such a sneaky, mischievous child.

But in the best possible way.

I wouldn't change anything about her.

But don't let her quietness fool you.

She's plotting something.

WE LOVE our local zoo.

We go every time we are the slightest bit bored,

or hanging out with friends,

or just driving by.

They've lost two big cats to old age recently,

but they kindly had the skins preserved so we can pet them!

Cora is haggling a price so she can take the tiger home.

We also lost a male lion.

It's amazing how soft their fur is!

They really must use conditioner.

Since the older kids have been working so much

it's usually just these four rascals.

I mean "SIR" Sterling and his entourage...

He even has a throne!

That he shares with his sisters.

"What are you talking about?!

This is MY kingdom!"

Finally July brought BOYS HIGH ADVENTURE!

and was it ever an adventure!

They rarely had phone service, 

but when they did I'd get a flood of great photos!

Richard at Goat Lake.

The highest elevation lake in Idaho.

Which means they had to climb UP to get there...

And up...

And UP...

AND UP...

AND UP SOME MORE!

Many blisters were forged that day.

Richard's feet were basically one big blister.

"So I've never told anybody this ...."

--HOWDY RICHARD!--

"Ok, is he gone?"

Parker went fishing with some of the boys...

They sat under the stars and talked about the gospel.

They made lifelong friendships!

Parker and Mitchell both got matching bracelets with other boys in their quorum.

Deacons tip toeing around Redfish lake.

Is it too cold to go in?

WHO CARES!

DEACONS UNITE!

Mitchell searching for himself on the lake.

"I see something shiny!"

He became a master of the waves!

Suddenly with blonde hair, he's a surfer dude.

Their last day they just spent boating all day on the lake.

Our ward brought three boats.

It was epic.

But we were more than happy when they finally made it home!

Without the boys in the house,

we got manicures,

broke my smartwatch,

and never opened any jars.

Not one.

But it's just easier to do anything with Dad around!

Nope, we are not strong, independent women.

We love and miss Daddy too much when he's gone!

And you know when all your friends have boats...

Your kids get invited to the lake A LOT!

And they get really good at wake boarding!

(Even though none of them have beat 

my wake boarding high score on Wii Resort.)

They would rather do it in "real life"

and that wraps up our JULY!

Could life get any more fun?!?!

More busy?!?!

Maybe August will tell.