Austin's 5th Birthday

This boy was SO excited for his birthday. It couldn't come fast enough! We opened presents first thing when he woke up.

He got a slip and slide, a growing dinosaur, mad matter, flarp putty, and Hi-chews.

Grandma and Grandpa gave him a Smoothie King gift card and a rock collection.

 

On our way to Smoothie King, we saw this beautiful double rainbow.

Austin also had a Dinosaur Birthday Party a few days later.

These are his preschool friends and his cousin.

We did a dinosaur craft, played Bingo, ate pizza, went on a dinosaur egg hunt, and did a dino egg relay.

Then Austin opened up presents and everyone ate rainbow cupcakes.

Austin got super confused this year thinking he turned 5 on his birthday and then turned 6 a few days later when we had his birthday party. He keeps wanting to be the same age or older than his cousin, and doesn't seem to comprehend that she will always be older than him!

Random

This lady has been a close friend ever since Matt and I married and moved into our first house. She and her husband were one of the first couples we met and a quick friendship grew. Moving into separate wards put a strain on our close friendship, but we tried to keep in touch regularly. Kim and I have our love of books and music in common. She has had many ups and downs with adoption, divorce, and marrying again to name a few. We worked harder this last year to get together once a month for lunch. It's so nice to have a friend that is a kindred spirit, and I was so sad when she and her new husband moved to Utah. This is our last lunch together. :(

We went with some friends to the zoo in July. It was annoying to wear masks the whole time, but we still had a great time. And we were able to stay cool by the on and off-again rain.

Dinosaur exhibit

 

Caleb's Birthday

This boy turned 13 years old! We have a teenager in the house now!

He got a kickball, soccer ball, soccer cleats, an *I owe you* Prelude game (out of stock), Hi-Chews, Smarties, and his favorite store-bought sugar cookies. Matt grilled some steaks for his birthday dinner.

I neglected to take pictures, but he celebrated that night by having a few close friends over for banana splits and his first PG-13 movie: Pirates of the Caribbean. 

First day of school as an 8th grader. School officially started August 12th, but all students started virtually.  His first day of in-person school was September 8th. He has to wear a mask all day, which he has adapted to okay. He much prefers being in school than virtual school.

Destin Vacation Part 2

Beach time! We went to the beach almost daily. Because it was crowded, we tried to go early from 8-11am. The boys had a blast boogie-boarding and building with the sand. We also played some Kubb and Can Jam (Frisbee game) at the beach.

Austin boogie-boarding

 Clear waters and beautiful scenery

We spent the afternoons playing games and relaxing. It was another wonderful break from the day-to-day life and so fun to create memories.

Destin Vacation Part 1

 We made another trip to Destin to enjoy the beautiful beaches. We went with Jared's family, his mother-in-law, and my parent.

Celebrating my dad's 66th birthday!

 Enjoying the brownie bowl

These two are great playmates (Austin and Morgan)

 Working on a puzzle together

4th of July craft

Tired after long days in the sun

Pool time

(Note that Austin is officially a swimmer without floaties! He had to wear them at the beach though...)