Little things from June. . .

Since we're heading out of town tomorrow and gone for the rest of the month, I figured I should do a quick little random update of life around here. Otherwise I'm pretty sure these pictures will never get blogged!

Superman with super power eye goggles created by sister! I couldn't stop laughing!

Madi sharing her writing with Cal, She loves a captive audience. 

Hawaiian day the last week of school:

Morning rays of sunlight in the girls bedroom:

Cal's last nap with a binky was on June 6th. I was shocked at how easy it was to break him of the habit.

Forcing Cal to sit on the potty (he's obviously not a fan)!

I love reading the letters that Madi writes. Every time I read one I think, "I should take a picture of that." This time I actually did take a picture:

Madi and Elle playing school . . . 

These two might fight like cats and dogs, but they sure are the best of friends and I'm so glad they have each other.

The project they made in their "home school".

Park outings. This was taken the Saturday after school got out. Spencer had been working non-stop (tying up a bunch of loose ends before we head out of town) this past month (or two) so I've been forced to find ways to stay sane.

My handsome guy! I love that he now insists on wearing a tie to church!

A little over a month ago (mid May) Spencer started noticing that he was getting a cough. It wasn't bad though and we figured it would just go away. It's only gotten worse though - it's so bad that he'll start gagging and almost throw up every time he coughs. Its pretty scary and our kids have become really worried and have started leaving "get well" cards on Spencer's side of the bed.

Let's take a closer look at those cute cards made by our sweet girls. 

I love how concerned they are about their dad. Hoping he kicks this cough once and for all! 

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day with buttermilk pancakes for breakfast . . .

an assortment of the sweetest cards and treats . . . 

and a backyard BBQ after church with Grandpa Al, Uncle Shaun, Boppi and Brittany.  

I love seeing the sweet relationships that Spencer has with each of our kids. They all get one-on-one dates (adventures for Cal) with their dad every month. He uses this time to interview them and set goals with them. That one-on-one time is so special and they always come home beaming. I love these memories that I'm sure they'll never forget. 

Spence also tells the best adventure stories every night before bed. The nights that he's not home at bedtime he'll make sure to tell one in the morning. Madi's already requested that Spencer make a book with all his adventures stories in it. 

Madi's art

As we've been de-junking bins and trying to get rid of stuff, I couldn't bring myself to throw Madi's artwork away without getting a picture first.

I think she used a picture of a whale for inspiration above and that turtle sticker for inspiration below.

Temples are one of her favorite things to draw. 

But I think her very favorite thing to draw is our family! Melts my heart so much that even after taking pictures of these drawings, I still haven't been able to toss them!

First week of Summer!!

I was a little sad when school got out last Friday and was wondering how I was going to stay sane for the next 2 1/2 months with the kids home all day. When would I run errands? Would I get any quiet time? Would I be able to get my 10 minute afternoon naps in? So Sunday night I got organized. I wanted to be prepared for our first day of summer! And let me tell ya, it was amazing! This whole week has been incredible!! I have been loving every minute of summer! I'm loving how relaxed I feel, how productive we've been, and how much fun we've all had!

Here's a run down of our first week of summer vacation!

I LOVE my new white board from Costco! It's amazing how organized and prepared I feel when I have our day planned out the night before!

We wasted no time and jumped right into summer with running club at the track at 8:30am! After running one mile in 13 minutes (Madi's working on running the mile in 10 minutes), the kids all climbed a half mile worth of stairs!

After running we came home and set summer goals:

 It's going to be an exciting summer for Elle - she has some big goals of learning how to swim and how to ride a bike!! I took down her goals from the beginning of the school year to replace with these new goals. It's fun to see the things she accomplished and to notice how her handwriting has improved.

I love the thought and detail Madi put into her goals:

Aside from setting goals, I typed up a summer study schedule for each of the girls - a list of things that after our training on Monday, they now do independently everyday. It keeps them busy and gives me time to get the things that I need to do each morning. 

Jessy Cheney and her boys joined us at the park Monday afternoon and we ended up staying till almost 4pm. It was the best park outing we've had in a LONG time! The kids played perfectly together with no arguments. I had to laugh at Madi's comment as we drove away - "It's funny how Trevor and I just always work out."

The girls gave an awesome family home evening lesson on Monday night. They were just like 2 sister missionaries up there - reading the lesson together and taking turns sharing their thoughts and testimonies. I was one proud mama!

Monday was a really busy day and I was exhausted by 9pm, so I planned Tuesday to be a little more low-key. 

Cal's not used to the new busy schedule yet and totally crashed at the pool Tuesday afternoon. 

We had the BEST beach day on Wednesday! 

Best part of the day was watching Madi build up enough confidence to ride her boogie board out to the Carpinteria docks. This was a big moment and I was so grateful to the Nelson girls for taking Madi under their wing and encouraging her to do it and helping her get out there and back.

She borrowed the Nelson's wet suit (cause the water was freezing) and insisted on wearing her goggles! This picture totally cracked me up!

After she flipped over the first wave going out, I didn't think she would really go through with it, but

there they go. . . the 3 girls and Trevor!  

About 45 minutes later they were back!

Madi was freezing but totally elated!!

BEST beach day ever!!!

Running Club was a favorite from last summer, so even though I don't like leaving the house by 8:30, I'm determined to stick to it. I'm also determined to get my kids in shape this summer. They always start with the track and then end with the stairs.

Future Camarillo Scorpions?!

The kids weren't really thrilled with all the errands we had to run on Thursday, but they were great sports and we managed to have some fun!

We all loved having a quiet afternoon after a busy morning!

Today we decided to do a kid swap with the Nelsons. Elle went over there to play, and we brought Macee and Maddi Mae home with us! It was a busy 2 hours!

Playing doctor . . . 

Painting . . . 

Cake pop making . . . 

A great adventure . . .

At 2pm we went back over to the Nelson's for swimming. After swimming we got ready for bed, then ate pizza while watching McFarland USA!

What a fabulous week it's been! Such a great start to summer!!!