It's great to be 8!

Dallin turned 8 a couple weeks ago. With Maryruth's family in town, we had a family party of 25 people.

Brennan is just so excited about this one! Note the pink princess gift bag. That's what happens when you have a baby sister.

  

My kids' love Heath (ice cream, candy bars, etc.), so I made him a Heath Bar Cake. After poking a hot chocolate cake with holes, I poured sweetened condensed milk mixed with a jar of caramel over the top, let it cool, covered it with Cool Whip and topped it with crushed Heath bars. It was super yummy! 

Then on his actual birthday we had tacos and watermelon (his favorite dinner) and more cake. Good thing I made 2 of them.

Then of course there were lots of jokes about the diaper box he unwrapped.

Inside the diaper box was this awesome black and red tool bag (his favorite color combo) filled with a bunch of little presents.

Rope + red sheets + big and little clamps + flashlights = a fort kit!

My kids are always making forts, but it's hard to get the heavy blankets to stay up. Plus they always sag in the middle. This way they can clamp onto furniture and tie the rope to various things and clip the sheet to it. They get really creative.

They've made some pretty amazing forts!

Of course the best part about turning 8 is getting baptized. He was looking forward to this for a long time, and it was lovely. Grandpa gave the opening prayer, Spencer gave the talk on baptism, Tyler played his violin (Families Can Be Together Forever), Dave performed the baptism and confirmation, I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost, and grandma gave the closing prayer. And as I mentioned earlier, everyone took turns holding Chloe. 

Afterwards we gave Dallin the option of either going out to lunch or going to the movies. He chose to see Ice Age. Then Levi screamed as we approached the dark, loud theater, so I got a refund and took him home. Luckily the boys brought me home a big bucket of popcorn. It was a great day.

Escaping the heat

I really can't complain - this has been a very mild summer. But the one time it reached 107, our air conditioner broke. The repair guy couldn't come for 2 days. It was so hot, we had to go out for ice cream cones, take cold showers, sleep outside and think of air-conditioned places we could go during the day. Luckily, the kids had just earned their free children's museum passes through the library's summer reading program, so we went there one day.

Spencer has outgrown it (he didn't go), but the other boys just love imaginative play. 

They used to have mostly girly dress-ups, but now they even have zombie attire.

Turns out our A/C had a broken fan motor, and it only cost a couple hundred dollars. We were afraid we'd need a whole new unit. Actually, the guy said that it's a good thing we turned it off when we did or else it would have broken even more. We've really appreciated our A/C ever since, especially this week when it's been over 100 again.

5 months, already?

This past month went by so fast, and Chloe is changing right before our eyes. She is sleeping less during the day, playing more with toys, putting everything in her mouth and constantly moving her arms and legs.

She is still an easy, mellow baby. What a blessing!

Her brothers absolutely adore her.

They're quite entertaining for her. She just watches them all the time.

  Matching bed heads!

Not the best picture of me (I had just gotten back from exercising), but a good action shot. Chloe likes to be thrown up into the air, but sometimes it makes her a little nervous. Dallin likes to put her on top of his head. That makes me nervous.

We bought her an exersaucer at the used baby store. I almost bought one a month earlier, but she cried when I put her in it at the store. This time she really liked it and immediately tried to chew on the toys. 

She's just the right height for standing.

This is her favorite of the toys. Sometimes she's sucking on a binky and gets confused when they don't both fit in her mouth. And the toys all spring back and forth, so occasionally they bop her on the nose after she lets go. She doesn't like that!

She looks a lot smaller with grandpa than with her brothers.

I almost forgot we had this little baby carrier, and she's almost too big for it! We took her to the fair to watch a free concert, and she was so good.

 Those big blue eyes just kill me.

We gave her rice cereal for the first time tonight, and she's also sucked on watermelon, oranges and other fruits. She is definitely starting to notice our food. She'll grab whatever she can and put it in her mouth.

Soon she'll learn that marshmallows taste even better than the poker.

She has many adoring fans. During Dallin's baptism yesterday, Chloe was passed around from brother to cousin, and she was so good. She even fell asleep in Eric's lap. So sweet!!

Family visits

My sister MaryRuth came to visit last week. They arrived just in time for Dallin's birthday party.

Rachel is so cute. And she may be the only one out of 35 grandchildren who has brown eyes. 

We went to Morro Bay with them one day, and of course we had to go to the Shell Shop. Here's Lisy - such a sweet face!

And Samuel. He and Tyler got along especially well.

Then we headed over to the rock to jump off the sand dunes. Benjamin had great form.

It was such a nice day - sunny, warm, and no wind. Very rare for Morro Bay, that's for sure.

Makayla is so cute and little, with tan skin and blonde hair. What a lucky little girl!

Here's Rachel making a sand angel.

I love this picture! Dave's mom crocheted this adorable hat for Chloe - I love the flower!

The next day we went to Hearst Beach. It was cold and windy, and the waves were much bigger than usual. It was their first time boogie boarding, and they loved it!

Poor MaryRuth got sunburned that day.

Dominic made a great sand sculpture. Then the tide came in and collapsed it. It was the highest tide I've ever seen there!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of Makayla. She's just too cute!

Lisy loved playing in the sand! After this we went home (Tyler and Dallin had a cub scout activity) while they stayed and did a tour at Hearst Castle.

We're so glad they came to visit us!