~ aunt mari ~

Aunt Mari (my youngest sister) came to visit for a whole week. Mari and Sofia had a good time entertaining eachother (well, more like Sofia entertaining Mari). Here are a few snaps of the week....

They did eachother's hair...

laughed laughed laughed

(I don't remember what this was about)

Ate cupcakes from The Cupcake Cottage {twice ;D}

And..................enjoyed outside

Thanks Aunt Mari for visiting us! See you again soon....

~ Garden Goods ~

"Steven, Steven, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" :o)

Steven has a LOVE for gardening. This year he planted tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, hot peppers and pinto beans. The tomatoes have come in full force and we are still waiting on the others - or maybe they will not do anything for us this year. In the meantime, salsa is in the very near future.

~ Weekend Party ~

This past weekend, we celebrated Zachary's 1st birthday party {Zachary is Steven's youngest sister's son}. The party was at a park and although it was insanely h*o*t* and h*u*m*i*d, everyone had a great time and loved being a part of an important day for Zachary.

This is the birthday boy gearing up his energy for the big bash...

(I love this pic!)

The excitement was more than Jude could stand! :o)

Do not let the calmness of this next photo fool you. Earlier, Sofia was placed in the swing backwards and almost kissed the ground but Steven scooped her up ever so fast before that occurred - YIKES! I am surprised of how well she is sitting.

Happy Birthday Sweet Zachary!

~ What a Difference a Day Makes ~

Sofia woke up feeling so much better! We were able to enjoy ourselves at one of our favorite hot spots - Barnes and Noble.

~ What a day!~

This morning, Sofia woke up at 5:45 am CRYING - which is usually an indication that she was still tired and needed more sleep. Steven brought her to our bed where she slept for a little over an hour. Shortly after, more crying but this time it was paired with screaming - and I could not console her!!! Mari (my sister) walked into the kitchen to find of us both crying. It was crushing that I could not help Sofia and her obvious pain. My first instinct was an ear infection, so I called the doctor and gratefully took the appointment opening at 10:15am. After a great visit - no ear infection, no fever - it was concluded that her bicuspids were coming. She has tried to be a trooper all day and be herself, but then she would crumble to her painful cries. :o( She was so tired after fighting her pain all day she fell asleep in Steven's arms as he walked her around outside. We are also grateful for ibuprofen.

Once these teeth come in, we will celebrate with great beef jerky! ;o)

After the doctor's visit

~ Happy Early Anniversary! ~

For a while, Steven and I have been talking about getting a new vehicle - and after moooonnnths of going back and forth of what I wanted, we decided to get a Toyota Highlander (aka - anniversary gift)!! So much fun!!!

Although the excitement of getting a new car was more than I could stand, I found myself so sad to turn over the PT Cruiser. The more I thought about the sentiments the vehicle held, the sadder I became. Sweetly, Steven would say that we didn't have to trade it in and we could keep it - but that would of been a crazy decision. It served great purposes in our lives and it was time to move on. In the meantime, here are pics of two important events we shared together.........

Leaving our wedding.....

Home from the hospital....

Great memories!

~ Sofia and Chloe ~

Last week, Grammie, Poppy and Chloe came in for a quick visit. Sofia and Chloe had a little time to cool off and have some fun in the pool :o)

~ July 4th ~

We enjoyed a relaxing 4th of July at home - friends came over and we swam, ate and enjoyed eachother's company.

I LOVE our flag!!

Sweet Sofia paying tribute for our freedom...

Jordan and Sofia

Getting dunked (up to her waist)

Wearing Jeremy's shoes...

Giving eachother a High-5

Great Day! (and only 6 more months till Christmas!!!!!! :o)

~ The Sprinkler Girls ~
In the middle of all this heat, Maddie invited her girlfriends (Maylee and Sofia) to cool off by enjoying water fun in her sprinkler :0)

First of all..... I have to show this..... Sofia has a like for socks on her hands. Now, if I looked on webmd.com long enough, I'm sure I can find this is a real issue, but putting all obsessions aside, I think it's actually quite cute.

Back to "Sprinkler Fun"...... here is Maddie enjoying her first run in the water.

In the middle of everything, Susan (Maddie's mom) had a ladybug on her shirt!

This is sweet Maylee and underneath her white hat she is hiding her beautiful RED hair. I took a quick pic which you will later see. P.S - she is also showing favor for her country and sporting her RED*WHITE*and*BLUE swimsuit.

Maddie - calling all for somebody, anybody, to come and rescue her from the front porch :)

Sofia - grabbing the ball from the water sprinkler - this was the ONLY time she went in the water on her own.

Maylee and her beautiful red hair :o) !

Overall, the girls lasted approximately 5 - 10 minutes in the water, but had lots of fun inside and enjoyed eachother's company (as did the moms!)

I am so grateful for these precious little girls and their mommies! We have great friendships ahead for all!