July Update

Here's the update for July:

We have spent a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time at the pool this summer. It is so cheap and so fun, and Elsie just can't get enough of it. Her poor feet at the beginning of the summer were so sore and torn up from playing so much. It was quite the challenge to get her to put her face under the water. Aaron even bought her some goggles, but it still didn't really seem to help. But after spending some time with older friends, Elsie has become quite the swimmer. She loves to go underwater and swim around. She loves to jump off the side of the pool and will do it over and over and over again.

Whenever she comes up from the water, it is always such a production. She has to get her hair off her face, get all the water off her face, take a bunch of deep breaths, and then always a proud smile. Then she's back at it again!







There's the tongue! It's always hanging out.


ZOO:
We spend a day at the zoo with Pam, Ellie, Hailey, and Sam. It's always a good time at the zoo, but this day was especially nice weather and the kids were great.

The penguins were super active that day. We sat there for a quite a while watching them.
Elsie's favorite part was getting to touch the snake. She wanted Daddy to be there so badly just to freak him out.
She loves to feed the sheep and goats at the farm. She has no fear!! It kind of grosses me out.
We ended the trip off with lunch with Daddy at BlueSky Bagel. Oh, we will miss that place!

FRIENDS:
Elsie has made such great friends here in Nampa. We love spending time with them and doing fun things. I'm glad she's got kids to hang out with and have a good time.

Sam and Elsie's pre-engagement picture.
Elsie, Hailey, and Lauren
Elsie, Avery, Ellie, Hailey, and Lily at the Jumpin' Jungle
OTHER RANDOMS:
We spent an afternoon playing with playdoh and had such a great time. Elsie is always so fun to play with and always lets me know how much she loves me and how much fun she is having.
(I really hate when blogger puts the pictures up out of order when I took the time to download them correctly!!)

Anyway, a couple other side notes. We bought tickets to see Mary Poppins in Salt Lake in September, so we checked out the movie for Elsie to become more familiar with it. Oh my gosh! She loves it! We've been a little obsessed with the songs lately. Our ipod now rotates heavily between Mary Poppins, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Lady Gaga.

I was asked to speak at Girl's Camp this year. I was assigned the topic of enduring all things and was asked to talk about some of the trials our family has endured. I was dreading it...I'm not gonna lie. I was nervous, anxious, felt unqualified, you name it. But I put a lot of time and thought into it, and realized I needed to do it. It was an amazing experience. I had to present it to five different groups and each time I spoke I felt so much better. I'm really not one to get spiritual, especially on the blog, but I did want to make a note about that day and remember how I felt. I think it's Cali that I first heard say, "I can do hard things." That was my motto and still is my motto. It's all worth it, and we can make it through whatever we are given.