A Summer in Pictures

This is the first year I can remember feeling quite sad that the summer is over. Growing up, summer was not my favorite season, and I always eagerly anticipated everything the fall season brings. But this year we had a fantastic summer. And I just wanted to take some time to document it in pictures.

 We kicked off the summer with a Jones Family Reunion trip to Moab. Livvy loved being outside in the beautiful weather.

 Halle and Britain were pretty much inseparable ALL summer. The Moab trip was no exception. Here they are riding a goat at the Red Cliffs Lodge.

 Here's one pic of the massive, extravagant cabin our whole family stayed in on the trip. It had a huge game area, an unbelievable view of hundreds of miles of landscape, and a hot tub. It was much nicer than any hotel we would have found.

Halle got some new bedding for her new room. She has beige walls the color of chocolate milk and I thought it was going to be impossible to find bedding that was young-looking and feminine and that also included that beige color. We found this at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I loved it and Halle loved it. She insisted on carrying it all out of the store herself. However, she was deeply disappointed when we got home and she discovered that the bedding was for her plain old twin bed when she thought she was getting the queen-sized bed the bedding was displayed on in the store. She said, "We need to get Grandma's pumper to pump this bed up."

 In July, Livvy officially refused to eat baby food purees. She wanted to eat what we were eating. So she started eating more table foods. Some of her favorites are avocado, cottage cheese, string cheese, green beans, peas, pears, and cinnamon wheat toast.

 And this is why she can eat so many table foods. As of the first of July, she had six teeth already. I think she's up to 10 as of the beginning of September. She can pretty much eat whatever we eat.

 Her first experience sitting on the grass. She didn't love it. After awhile she warmed up to the prickly feeling.

We spent a lot of time in the pasture with Aunt Katie's horse, Waffle. Halle loves that horse. Now that Katie's in Vermont for her internship, Halle gets to help my mom take care of Waffle a lot more. Never thought I'd have a little cowgirl.

 These two love each other. LOVE. They spent nearly all day every day together. The first thing Halle would ask me every morning was, "Can we go to Britain's house?" My sister Breckon got used to Halle calling her most every day to ask when we could get together. I'm so glad these two have each other.

We had some great times going out to dinner. Halle always wanted to order for herself, and still does. I can tell it makes her feel confident to be able to talk to a grown-up and ask for what she'd like to eat. I'm proud of her.

 We had a great time at the Gateway Mall fountain.

 These kids sure love their Aunt Katie. We got to spend lots of time with her this summer before she left for Vermont.

 Still learning to feed herself. :) I swear it's a full-time job cleaning up after this child just after mealtime.

No, that's not her first zit. LOL. It's one of those Gerber yogurt melts totally stuck to her face.

 A beautiful July sunset at my parents' house.

 Getting their picture taken with Darth Vader at the Bountiful Handcart Days Parade.

 The munchkin learning to pull herself up to standing and cruise around holding onto the furniture. As of today, she's standing on her own.

The good luck poster we made for Nate as he tackled the bar exam. We should get the results back any day now...

We did a massive overhaul on the exterior of our house and front yard this summer. This monstrous pile of rock was delivered to our yard and spread around what used to be our front flower bed. A few more things to do first and then I'll post before and after pics of the house and front yard. I think it's an AMAZING transformation. Thanks to Breckon, Blake, and my mom and dad for their hours of hard labor digging out weeds, prepping for the rocks to go down, and hauling the rocks into place.

We took lots of walks and trips to the park. And Halle loves to pose for pictures. I mean LOVES to pose like a fashion model. And it seems totally instinctual. We don't have TV at our house, so I can't imagine where else she would have learned this. It's just her.

Halle likes to steal my glasses and try them on before I put them on for the day. One of my favorite parts of this summer was all the time I got to spend just hanging out with my girls. We spent a few minutes every morning lounging around just playing and giggling. This is the biggest reason I'm sad to see this summer end.

We took several trips to the Rockin' E Country Store in Woods Cross for plants and various cowgirl items for Katie. This mechanical pony at the front of the store only cost a dime to ride. Yeah, that horse was tired by the time we left the store.

 We had lots of fun times at my mom and dad's house. This day was obviously such a party that Livvy just couldn't handle the excitement. :)

We got my grandma's piano back this summer and Nate has definitely enjoyed its return. I love that he fills our house with music and that our girls want to join in. Very few things make me happier than these moments.

 One of Halle's distinct poses.

We organized a bridal shower for my cousin Kyle's fiancee, Jocelyn. This is the towel cake we made as our gift.

I made cupcakes and homemade frosting. They turned out really well. The frosting recipe was especially amazing. I've loved making time for cooking this summer. I've expanded my recipe repertoire and I really enjoy trying to make/bake something new.

Our last major summer outing was Hogle Zoo. I was impressed by the improvements the zoo has made in the last year. The new polar bear exhibit is really cool.

 More posing.

 And one more. :)

 I just found her like this. She'd climbed in the box all by herself.

 This is one my father-in-law took when they were here in August to bring Emily back to BYU.

All the C&J babies...all the employees who have kids at my husband's law firm. This was taken at the summer company party at Boondocks.

 Another visit to the Rockin' E Country Store.

 Her first real, genuine pair of cowgirl boots! Now "when Waffle steps on her, he won't scratch her foot."

And a goofy pose...

 Our trip to the Brigham City temple open house. We had an awesome time together.

We did so many other things this summer. I should have been better at taking more pictures. We swam at my aunt and uncle's community pool; Nate and I began coordinating our ward's performance in our stake Broadway cultural activity; I was called to be a Sunday School teacher (16-17-year-olds); I started doing contract voice over and QC work at Allen again; Halle and I took trips to the library, got her first library card, and also checked out some eBooks on the iPad (this girl is an amazing reader...I wonder if she'll be bored to death in kindergarten--but then I remember how excited she is to just get to be with other kids, and I think it will be OK); Halle memorized our address and phone number, and she also learned to correctly drag and drop (on the iPad) all 50 states onto their correct locations on a map in less than two minutes; Olivia stood up on her own and is mustering up the courage to take those first few unassisted steps--she also does an adorable wave while saying, "Hi!"; and Nate gets busier and busier with work by the day, but he truly loves his job... and that's a blessing. Oh, and I sprained my foot on a crack in our driveway--yes, brilliant, I know (this one could be a continued nuisance well into the fall).

Overall I'm really excited for the changes fall will bring. Halle starts school tomorrow and I'm so excited for her I can't sleep and so I've chosen to sit up and compile this little summer recap. I can't believe I'm old enough to have a child in school. More updates to come.