Where did the summer go?

I am a slow comer to the world of blogging, and even slower at updating the blog I created last October. We have had a busy and eventful summer. We started the summer off by heading to SoCal with our good friends the Allreds. It was a jam packed week of Disneyland, California Adventure, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, and of course the beach. Owen was very brave this year and went on all the big rides...including California Screamin', which turned out to be his favorite. Chad and I were so proud of him and loved seeing him have fun with his buddies Emilee, McKayla, and Eli. Nate was quite a trooper and did great getting carted around. He even rode some of the rides and had fun. We feel so blessed to have had such an amazing adventure.



We spent the fourth of July with our neighbores the Griffin's and the Allred's. These guys have become our Montana family and we are so lucky to have them in our lives. The kids played outside in the water, we had home made slushies, ate way too much delicious food, almost got busted setting off fireworks, and ended the night watching the Harvest Church's firework show. It was a wonderful day!



July also brought the annual Merrell family trip to Florence, Oregon. Owen looks forward to this all year. Nothing is better to him than playing with his cousins, getting dirty, riding wheelers, and the the possibility of finding pirate treasure. This year did not disappoint. We had fun playing in the surf at the beach, flying kites, sitting around the campfire listening to grandpa play his accordian and uncle John play his guitar. The only dark spot of the whole trip was when Owen, Chad, and I were on a ride at the beach and I almost broke Owen's arm. It was the dumbest accident...and I wasn't even doing anything cool. Luckily Owen's arm was not broken, he has heeled nicely, and he forgave his mother. We are lucky it wasn't worse.



So we got home from our Oregon trip about 12 am on a Wednesday night, and packed and headed off to Island Park, Idaho the next afternoon to spend some time with Chad's family. We all rented a beautiful cabin for a long weekend. The kids had so much fun running around playing. We went out in uncle Wade's boat, cooked amazing food, and really enjoyed each other's company. It was such a fun trip, we all decided to make it an annual reunion.



Well these are just the hightlights. It has been a wonderful, busy summer. Here is a list of some other things that kept us busy...swim lessons, playing with friends, fishing trips, a quick visit from grandpa John and grandma Diane, a backyard campout with the neighbors, and lots of hanging out at home.



Sadly summer vacation has come to a close. Owen started 1st grade last Wednesday. I keep threatening to stop feeding him so he will stop growing up so fast. He loves his new teacher Mrs. Jimmerson, and is excited for a fun year. He will start soccer again in September and we are excited to watch his games.



Nathan is eight months old now and looks so much like his big brother. Someone at church made the comment, "you didn't know you were going to have twins 6 years apart, did you?". There are times when Nate is wearing an old outfit of Owen's that I feel like I am right back with him at this age six years ago. Nate loves to laugh, spit, bounce in his excersaucer, and baths with big brother. Owen is great at making him laugh and is shaping up to be an awsome big brother...in fact Owen has put in a request for one more brother and three sisters. I just tell him we will have to see what Heavenly Father gives us.



One last update. Owen has been dying for a pet for some time now. He finally came to the conclusion that if he ever got one it would have to be a fish since mom is conveniently allergic to all other animals. After his first day of school Owen's wish finally came true. Our good friends Tate, AnnMarie, and Chandler surprised hime with two goldfish of his very own. He has been in heaven ever since.