July is almost OVER?!?!?!

I can hardly believe August is a day away.  This summer has flown by.  Part of me can hardly wait for school to start and the other part is dreading it something fierce.  Well here's what we've been up to the month of July.

 Ben taught himself a new way to tie his tie.

 We spent the 4th of July swimming and eating with friends from our ward.

 We have also spent at least once a week swimming in said friends' pools.

 It's rad having all my kids pool safe and loving the water. It's the only way to stay cool around here.

 Sparklers and crazy eyes, courtesy of Shelby.

 We watched the city of Henderson fireworks this year.  Not to shabby of a spot we were at too.

 Stryder earned his Bear and is now a Webelo.  He is super excited for this next step in his scouting career.

 This balloon was from the boys birthday back on June 10th.  I took this picture a couple weeks ago and it is still floating, the end of July.  It's not quite as high but it has not crumpled to the ground either.  That Spiderman is one high flying dude ;)

 Ben turned 30!!!  I set up a little surprise dinner for him and had all our family down here come.  It was so fun to do something for him after all the hard work he has put into this house and the move.  I'm so grateful that I've shared the last 12 birthdays with this guy.  And yesterday was the 13 year anniversary of our first date.  Time sure does fly when you are having fun, especially if it's with your best friend.

 We have been trying to do something different everyday that doesn't involve xbox or computer, so crafting was a natural thing to try.  My kids love these stupid little perler beads and loved it even more once we printed off some new patterns.

 Jana, Ben's sister, came for a week long visit because of work and this was her rental car.  Ben took it for a quick spin and fell in love.  Doesn't he look like a stud?!

 This was by far the best batch of grapes from the front yard this season.  So yum!

 Of course Ben and I saw Wolverine the Friday it opened.  Did you expect any less from us?!  And it was awesome!!  I mean like really really good and Hugh was really really gorgeous! 

And lastly we are trying to keep our flip flops from melting as soon as they touch the pavement.  Luckily July has actually been slightly cooler than our freakishly hot June.  After 2 excessive heat warnings because the temps reached 115-120, our normal 105 is a breeze, hot but a breeze.

Toothless

Finally, a month after his seventh birthday, Soren lost his first front tooth and third tooth overall.  It's been wiggly for months it seems like but he's not been super anxious to lose it until recently.  Over the last two weeks it seemed to be able to be pushed back a little bit further or twist all the way around.  This morning, with very little effort, out it came.  I really don't like that my baby is getting adult teeth and growing up so fast but dang if I'm not going to treasure this smile for the time he's got it.

Soren is Seven!

On June 20th, my littlest baby turned 7.  I don't even have words for how much I love my Soren and how sad I am that he is getting so big.  I tried to cancel his birthday and keep him 6 indefinitely but he wasn't having that.  He just continues to grow and get older and melt his momma's heart with his love.  Soren is such a momma's boy and I love it so much. He will still give me hugs and kisses and hold my hands in public and tells me he loves me all day long.  It will be a tragic day when he grows out of all that.

Soren is obsessed with Spider man and can be seen with one in his hand or on his shirt all the time.

7 things about Soren Robert:
1. His favorite movie is Man of Steel and the Amazing Spider man
2. He loves cheese, all kinds, on everything.
3. Blue is his favorite color.
4. He is such a helper and will gladly do most anything I ask of him.
5. Soren is really concerned about me and what I will do when he goes to school all day in the fall.  When he started kindergarten he got a little sad at the thought of me all alone but cheered up at the thought of me home with the dogs.
6. He absolutely adores his older brother Stryder.  Stryder was having a bad day a few weeks ago and threatened to run away.  Soren was devastated and kept yelling at me to stop him and then tackled Stryder to the ground begging him not to go.  They made quite the scene but Stryder learned just how much his brother loved him that day.
7. Soren's nickname is 'Snore' and I probably call him that more than his actual name some days.  

I love my Soren so much and hope he always stays a momma's boy.  Happy Birthday Handsome Pants!

A Slice of Heaven

Back in June my beautiful cousin Bailey graduated from high school.  My awesome Aunt Joan opened her house to us and we enjoyed an amazing fun and family filled weekend.  Her graduation was on Friday and we had fun surprising her with a house full of friends and family and really good food.  Saturday morning we woke up and headed to the beach, with a stop at Potato Shack for breakfast.  Oh it was so good.

Then it was off to one of favorite places in the world, Moonlight Beach.

It was perfection!  Most of us got horribly sunburned that I'm still peeling and recovering from but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.  Sunburns heal and go away but the memories and moments I made and shared with my family will last forever.  I can't wait to go back.