Flip Flop Summer

We are soaking up the last little bit of our flip flop summer before we start the new school year. Here's a few of the things we have been up to this month:

Grandma Bonnie fell and broke her shoulder, arm, and a few ribs. She is in a lot of pain, but she is seriously one of the strongest people I know. Despite being in pain, she tries to find joy in everything. 

When we got back from our vacation, we stopped by to see her. Grandma Bonnie is one tough granny and someone I really admire. 

Brynnli's friends, and our neighbors, the Moffats, asked her if she wanted to go to a bakery that was celebrating everything Barbie... Apparently you could get a discount if you dressed up in pink, so Brynnli got every pink clothing and accessory item she had to go with her friends. 

Look how cute these girls are. The Moffats have 4 girls all really close to Brynnli's age, so she ends up playing with at least one of them every day. 

We are so sad because the Moffats are going to be moving next month to Florida. They plan to stay there for a few years. Brynnli is so sad because she plays with the Moffats almost every day, and when they move she won't have any friends to play with in our neighborhood. 

Who's going to play restaurant with Brynni now? I guess Grandma Kathy will have to do. 

These two cuties got back to school haircuts. Don't they look so grown up?

My mom and I took Bella to feed the ducks in the canal by their house. Both Grandma and Bella had a great time. 

Brynnli had a few friends over for a late night movie. These girls are so cute and had so much fun. I don't know how much of the movie they actually watched because they were giggling the entire time.

Don't let Makayla's face confuse you. She loved this ride at Lagoon. 

That smile is much better. 

Thanks to Tyler he timed our ride on the Ferris Wheel perfectly to have the perfect view of the sunset. 

Our kids are so lucky to have Tyler as their dad. I mean what 40 year old dad would do flips on the tramp?

Brynnli loves her new playroom and spends hours just playing up there. If you ever have the chance, go to her store.. it's one of the best places. 

My parent's new house is starting! They dug the concrete footings. They will hopefully be in their new house by February or March. 

Makayla is a little bit nervous about 7th grade and opening her locker. Tyler took her to the school so she could practice. 

My niece Hanna got married on August 19th. She makes a beautiful bride. 

I loved this picture of Hannah in her wedding dress with the picture of Hannah's mom in her wedding dress. Hannah's biological mom, Amber, passed away in a car accident when Hannah was just 2 years old. I love that she was able to honor her mom this way. 

Bella really is the most spoiled dog around here. We just love her. 

She's a walrus!

I wanted to document this moment because this will be the last time my dad grows a huge garden. My dad has always had a huge garden filled with corn, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, raspberries, and cucumbers. I remember summer nights when we would just have dinner from the garden, and I loved it. I think moments like this are bitter sweet. I know this yard is so much work and my dad his getting so tired trying to keep up with it all, but I am going to miss my childhood home and the memories I had there. 

I walked past Makayla one afternoon and just had to snap this picture of her. It was a "glimmer" moment for me. A moment where I wondered how she grew up so fast and marveling at how she's become such an amazing young woman in the blink of an eye. Makayla is an excellent student, a loyal friend, a great sister, and such a fun daughter. Don't let people try to tell you that teenagers these days are difficult because I think the rising generation is pretty great. 

This one too... they don't come any more thoughtful, hard working, funny, and smart as Caden. 

Saturday mornings are made for quick trips to the local farmer's market and library. The kids got to plant some seeds in a pot. 

And a huge shout out to Tyler for always making our back yard look amazing. 

I found this picture of me and my best friend in elementary school, Staci. Tyler was laughing so hard that the two of us would get matching clothes and have professional photos taken. Tyler said Caden looked exactly like me and made Caden do the same pose as me. What do you think? Does Caden look like me? I couldn't see it. 

Just in case you didn't know... our kids are really talented. Just look at Makayla. She said this was a really comfortable way to watch t.v.