Summer photo dump!

This summer, more than most, has FLOWN by.  And like a lot of people,  I'm all of the sudden realizing that there were so many things I had hoped to do that I didn't do.  Fortunately, that doesn't fully align with reality, as I may not have done the exact things I planned, but I did do SO many wonderful things.  

The following pictures will give a little glimpse.  I tried to not duplicate many pictures from my other social media sites, as I don't want to be too redundant.  

And as an FYI, I have a deeper, more thoughtful blog post coming...so don't give up on me, and stay tuned!  

"Mom! I'm bottling Toby!" 

Love me some summer days just laying out in the sunshine!

The beginnings of rolling...only took another week or so and he was going front-to-back and back-to-front!

He loves showering!  

This is one of my favorite pics of me on the left.  Apparently I loved showering too.  So I took a little comparison pic of me holding Toby.  He did not inherit many of my genetics...except the bald head and the lips?

I realized this summer that not many pictures of me and the boys would be taken if they weren't selfies...sooo we have a few of those sprinkled in here. 

So Ben's great-aunt was going through her things getting ready to move and these nice long-john underwear got passed on to our family in MN.  They belonged to Ben's great-grandpa.  He was obviously much shorter.  But the boys thought it was hilarious and decided to model them for us.  

LOVE our summer flowers this year.  Definite perk of having a husband who gets to "trial" new flower varieties in our front yard!  (now if only we could control the creeping charlie in our grass...)

I had a mom-fail moment earlier this summer...  Toby was laying in the stroller, but wasn't strapped in.  I stopped the stroller on a bit of an incline and put the brake on.   Asher climbed on the stroller to give Tobes some loving and the whole thing flipped over.  Toby fell out and the stroller fell on top of him.  I felt horrible.  My MIL said she had never seen someone move as fast as I did to run and rescue him.  Thankfully this is the only evidence it ever happened and it cleared up in a few days.  After a bit of hyperventilating (me) and screaming (him) and judgmental glares (the park full of people attending the outdoor concert with us) and apologetic/sheepish cowering (asher)...we made a full recovery and were able to enjoy our evening.

Asher loves his lil' buddy Charlotte! 

Toby is a tummy sleeper, and gets his hands/arms in all kinds of strange uncomfortable-looking positions! 

CALIFORNIA!

First stop: the beach, obviously.

Checking out sand crabs

He LOVED the waves and the beach so much more than last year. it was so fun to watch! 

The much-anticipated hair cut.  Asher kept talking about how Mimi could cut his hair and he could watch a video.  The day after we arrived he informed her this was the plan right after breakfast and made it happen.  He did surprisingly well!

His love of water just increased exponentially this trip.  And he looks way too cool here. 

Tobes chillin' pool-side.

Ben and I went on a little lunch date to a new place not too far from my parents house.  It was SO good.  I tend to just like visiting my old favorites when I'm home...but this did not disappoint and we will definitely go back.  

Tobe and Meara.  She is my friend Kaeli's daughter...they are only a few weeks apart!

Asher gearing up to build an epic train set with my two cousins Nathan and Caleb.  The train set belonged to my Grampy and it was so sweet to see Ash play with it.  Not to mention that Nathan and Caleb were so patient and sweet to play with him!

This is his excited stance...

My brother Joe and his wife Heather had their baby a few days before we arrived.  Here is Joe, new dad, taking on diaper-changing duties like a pro.  

Sweet Stella was such a tiny peanut when she was born.  We sure loved being there for her first two weeks of life! 

I planned this trip around the wedding of a former coworker of mine.  She got married on the Queen Mary, an old passenger ship that is now permanently docked in the Long Beach harbor.  It was so fun!

So glad I got to be there to celebrate them!

Selfie-alert!  Love this crazy kid.  "I have a shirt-hat!" 

Had a delicious artichoke lunch one day.  

Emery and Asher being silly

Also got to eat fresh figs off my brother's tree.  

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig!

Sweet cuddling guys

All the heart eyes

A firetruck came to our National Night Out.  Someone was a little excited. 

Dusk walk around the lake!

Selfie #3

Love our community of friends here!

Made In Minnesota!

I just love this kid. He is so easy-going

Went to visit some friends at their lake house!

Tubing!

Ben and I snuck away for a little sunset ride after the kiddos were in bed!

My excitement this summer was getting my wisdom teeth pulled--all 4.  (And by excitement, I mean, not at all...)  

I don't remember taking this picture of myself. And apparently I don't remember the whole post-op meeting where I fully agreed to things I don't remember agreeing to. Ben said I seemed totally with it and taking it all in.  I found out like 3 days later that I missed a huge chunk of info haha!

Also don't remember this pic.  I'm just glad that selfies is all I did while out of it (and a few videos of myself saying that everyone keeps saying how hard I am to understand but I thought I was doing pretty good...you really could hardly make out what I'm saying haha).  

I am wearing what is known as a Jaw Bra (official name).  While I may not have been trending any fashion statements, it definitely was a lifesaver for swelling and pain! 

Pointing to the barge with one hand, pulling up his pants with another.  

That cheesy grin, tho. 

Making candles at a living history farm field trip this past week!

He loved it.  Until he insisted doing it all by himself (not possible), and then threw a huge tantrum and that ended that...

Cousins came to town and we got to do lots of fun things, including the zoo!

Celebrating my friend Ashley's bday.  Toby was mesmerized by the flame. 

Beach time with cousins!

The definition of frenemies.  They want so bad to play together, but they are also quite possessive of their toys, ornery with their poking/smacking, and dramatic in their responses.  Lively combo! 

Overall its been a fantastic summer!  We have done so many fun things.  We have one last hurrah with a fun vacation to Michigan to spend some more time with my family.  

Thanks for following along! 

au revoir!