Evan, the Cheese!

Evan is growing and getting into all sorts of things. He is 10 months old (slow down, time!) His personality is starting to really develop and he is starting to have strong preferences - like he prefers to sit in the front seat of the stroller. He likes to eat blueberries and play with his siblings. He pulls himself up on everything. He loves to chase the vacuum robot.

Evan really likes to unload the recycling bin. Boxes make great toys!

One night we were talking about Evan at dinner and every time we mentioned his name he gave a big, cheesy grin! He has 5 teeth now!

Evan is just a happy guy most of the time!!

We sure do love Evan!

(modeling with my pumpkin shaped bread bowls on Halloween)

 

Farms and Zoos

We had an animal filled weekend! On Friday we went to a local farm, The Crowes Nest. There were buffalo, an ostrich, llamas, sheep, pigs, cows, birds, alpacas, etc. Everyone had a fun time walking around and feeding some of the animals. 

 On Saturday we went to the Waco zoo and saw lots of fun animals, including a baby orangutan. He was very active and put on quite a show. He also had a big sheet-blanket that he liked to play with and wrap himself in. He was really fun to watch!

Joel liked posing for pictures with all of the statues as you will see as you scroll. These were all his own picture requests.

Joel Turns 4!

 Joel turned 4 this last week. He was so excited and waited for his birthday with much anticipation. A couple of days before he told me he was excited. It was interesting because it was like he had never really expressed that feeling before in words, but as he said, "I'm excited for my birthday!" he knew it was the right thing to say. 

He had a fun day eating cake, opening presents, and visiting a farm! 

Joel with his farm/sea cake!

Blowing out candles.

After he blew out his candles, he lifted his hands above his head in celebration!

The family at the farm with the goats and chickens.

Joel petting the goat! This goat was very friendly and wanted to be in Joel's face. It was a little intimidating!

Joel is in tune with the simple things in life. He looks forward to great anticipation to events though is usually a little uncertain when it comes time to experience them. He loves his birthday! He is looking forward to when he turns five. Joel is an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy. He often is the first one awake in the morning. He likes to draw pictures, elaborate scenes that often include some kind of vehicle. When Joel is not drawing pictures he is playing Legos. Joel and Taft are good friends and spend a lot of time together building and playing. Sometimes Joel and Taft draw collaborative pictures! Joel likes to give hugs and is sensitive to everyone's feelings. 

Joel really loves sheep, dolphins, sharks, dinosaurs, and whales. His favorite foods are noodles and watermelon. He likes to ride his bike and water the plants. 

We love Joel!

Playing in the Rain

Alyssa came running inside on Monday and said we all needed to come outside because it was raining and it was deliciously beautiful! (She had already gone inside by the time I took pictures.) Everyone took her invitation to heart and played outside in the rain while it poured for the better part of an hour! 

The puddles were the best in the gutter area, of course! There was much fascination with the way the water ran down the storm drain. A few bits of grass, flowers, and leaves were sent on a journey to the great unknown.

Unfortunately the water was not quite deep enough to float a boat, but it was worth a try.

 

Average Summer Activities

 Erik and Alyssa have been hiking on Saturdays to prepare for a longer hike - maybe Mount Timpanogos - while we are in Utah. They had fun last Saturday hiking along the Barton Creek greenbelt. They crossed the creek at some point and then ran out of trail and found themselves back in the creek and eventually swimming to get back on the trail. There was a little more water than they had anticipated!

While Alyssa and Erik are gone, I have been taking the boys to a community soccer thing. Taft loved it the last week because there was a school advertising and he got hand sanitizer! And chips and juice. Taft also played more than he had the previous week, which probably made it enjoyable. Can you find Taft and Joel? Joel is holding a rainbow kickball if that helps you and Taft has eyes...

We've also been engaging in fun playdates and water activities. This week we went to a splash pad. Joel spent most of the 2 hours on this frog. Alyssa and Taft also played on the nearby playground. There was a giant web swing and a bunch of kids piled on it while Alyssa pushed them and another kid dumped water on them. I had the lovely privilege of holding my sleeping Evan the entire time. :)

When we are not out and about which is actually most days, this is what our mornings look like. Alyssa and Taft have been doing Hoffman Academy piano lessons and everyone gathers around, doing their own thing.

Some Pictures of Late - a short update

Kent put this monkey on his head like a head band. 

I have visitors most mornings during scripture study. They're kind of noisy, but they are cute.

Joel draws pictures and narrates as he draws. On this day he drew a house with stairs. He has a T on his head and Kent has a G on his head. Dad is pushing a lawn mower. Taft is carrying an H with a house on it and our garden is growing. (Taft collaborates and drew himself in the picture.)

It's a thing to wear stuff on your head. Joel's eyes look magnified in the VR goggles. Kent's eyes look depressed with his pants pushing them down.

Kirsten had a birthday so Alyssa made an apple cinnamon cake and we had a birthday party. It was so fun! Yay for birthdays of dolls! She's 6 now.

And here's the cutest baby in our house! He's a happy guy, that Evan! He likes to eat and sit up with some help. He ate a graham cracker yesterday - his first solid food. Now his poop will not be sweet and innocent any more. One graham cracker can do that. We all love him. Taft, Kent, and Joel played with him yesterday with baby toys. They made a tower of little cups and had him knock it over. They also hung Sir Prance-a-lot from his bouncer thing so he could play with it. What a crew of brothers we have!

Evan fell asleep like this in his swing. It's hard to get a clear picture of a baby that's swinging, but you can't let these cute moments pass you by!

 

Pedernales Falls 2021

Our family took a day trip to Pedernales Falls. We hiked to the falls and saw the water running over the massive rocks. We went a couple of years ago and it was bone dry. There has been enough rain this year that there was water!

Later we went to the swimming hole farther down river. It also involves a little hike with a lot of stairs, but the kids did great! Evan fell asleep on the way down and took a little nap under the large cypress tree that was our day camp shelter.

After swimming, Evan took another nap and I held him for that one. Erik had taken the kids in a tube down the river. He and Alyssa swung off a rope swing. Then he pulled the kids in the tube back up river against the current. I went down later on my own and couldn't even make it 10 feet back up the river. I don't know how he did it! But everyone had fun!

Kent and Joel spent a lot of time in this little pool. One time Kent managed to push out the pineapple (scented) tube and Erik went to grab it. Kent also managed to push himself out, so Erik grabbed him too.

Joel was ready to hike back up. He wanted to help carry something, so he carried Erik's life jacket. He was pretty proud of his water bottle's spot!

It's interesting. Even though we still have a baby and a 2 year old and a 3 year old, our family is figuring out how to go on adventures. I love being outside with the kids. It is not easy to take 5 kids hiking. We often don't get very far, and if we do go far, we end up carrying 3 of the 5 kids back. But we are creating memories that are priceless. We are developing our family culture and it is one that will endure throughout our entire lives. It probably won't be very easy for a long time. We will have little kids for quite awhile, but it doesn't have to stop us! Our outdoor adventures aren't so much about getting somewhere but about being together and soaking in nature while we do it.