Mallie turns 4

On Mallie's fourth birthday we were homeless. We had been living out of a hotel on post in downtown San Antonio  for 3 days after we left Utah. On her actual birthday at 9am we closed on our house so when we took her to Chuck E. Cheese we were just waiting for the call to come get our keys. This little girl is so easy going and had zero expectations for her birthday. I didn't have a single present for her so I walked her into Walmart and told her to pick out anything she wanted. Here are some things I love about Mallie. If she wants something she doesn't whine about it. She quietly figures out a way to make it happen. We always find her eating in closets, climbing up counters, and opening up new packages. She is a real life lesson that if you're quiet about it you can definitely get away with a lot. When her brother and sister try to rat her out we generally tell them to just leave her alone because she wasn't bothering us. She also is a gamer. She's up for anything and very few things scare her. She hates to clean up her own toys but I'll often walk into my bedroom to find my nightstand and bathroom counter completely organized and put away. She has better penmanship than any 4 year old I've ever met and she can color for hours. She loves being a big sister and has great manners. She's so much fun and the perfect middle child. we love you Mal Pal!

Limbo

 I called my parents one afternoon in June and said, "We're buying a house. But we can't close until July 30th. Can I come there?" Not only did my parents let me come spend almost 3 weeks in there house but they came and picked me up! I was nervous about driving 22 hours on my own so they drove the 16 hours to Kansas and then my mom hopped in my car and we caravan-ed all the way back to St. George. That is love people. David went and checked into San Antonio and then flew up to meet us. We played and played for those 18 days. We swam twice a day and my non swimmers turned into swimmers that no longer needed any floaties. I wish I had pictures of them in the pool during their swim lessons or Lucy saying "ready?" every time she'd go down the slide without floaties. It was so impressive that after just 5 days they all were swimming and even Lucy would go under water and kick.

 One afternoon we went to Pine Valley for some cooler weather.

 The cooler weather was a treat.

And this little girl had Nana and Papa wrapped around her little fingers. My Dad woke up every morning with the kids while we slept in. He changed more of Lucy's diapers than I did while we were there!

At one point David was sitting on the rocks with the girls. He loves those girls and they adore him.

Scotty is usually hanging out in the stroller getting pushed along. He has turned out to be the best little baby.

We took the kids to every kids place in St. George. The museum was a favorite spot. It was free and they had tons of dress up clothes. Hannah kept saying, "Mom, bow to me!"

One Sunday I convinced everyone we needed to go the Visitor's Center at the temple.

They had kids' drawings hanging on the walls so Ashton drew a picture of the Brother of Jared and the barges. The sister missionary let him choose where he wanted to hang it.

 Then we did a photo op outside the temple. What a blessing it is to know that within these walls families are sealed together forever.

 I haven't been great about taking pictures of my parents until recently. Every time they tell me they don't need a picture I always remind them that they're going to die soon and I'll need some form of documentation. Mean but very effective.

Being in St. George this summer was one of the best summers of my life. It was so relaxing and so fun. I also used the time to dive into family history a lot of journals from my ancestors. It motivated me to get serious about my family history work to be done.

 And then our last Saturday morning we loaded the kids up with heavy hearts and prepared for the two day drive to Texas. Lucy asked for Papa and Nana for the next 4 days straight. Next summer we just might pretend we're homeless again to come stay with them for another 2.5 weeks.

4th of July

I finally uploaded all my phone pictures today so it's time to catch up on summer!

First off Jeffrey and Debbie came to visit one last time for the 4th of July.

 The kids had so much being together again. This picture of them in the cave makes me realize how quickly the Jacobsons have reproduced and we were even missing Scotty and Juliet.

 This cave is on the side of a cliff and we were constantly having an adult man the opening. Here was Jeffrey and Debbie letting the kids crawl through a tunnel to David on the other side.

 On the actual 4th Fort Leonard Wood did a huge festival with 12 bounce houses and games and food.

 And pony rides!!

I wanted to proved to my Mom that the flag treats lived on even in Missouri.

These are my favorite pictures of the week. We played hard with the kids during the day and at night we would stay up late playing games and eating as a result the Dads were constantly exhausted. One afternoon Hannah came up to us and said, "The Daddys are both sleeping!" It was hilarious. We love this family and are sad that we're no longer just 7.5 hours away from them!