Have I Mentioned How Much I LOVE Summer?

Well, I do! For obvious reasons, I loved summers as a kid/tween/teen, I LOVED my summer breaks when I was in college, I lived for my summer breaks when I was a teacher, and I am loving this summer as a mom.

My first summer as a mom was okay. It was fun, but Garrett was just a tiny baby and I was still adjusting to all the new mom business, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. The next summer, I was pregnant with Abby and S-I-C-K. I barfed pretty much every time I stood up, so I spent most of the summer lying on the couch while Garrett explored our little apartment. I think we played outside once or twice and I am sad to admit we didn't even go swimming once that summer. Sad, I know. And then there was last summer...between Greg being sick/almost dying/not being able to get out bed until September and me falling down the stairs and breaking my leg, let's just say the summer of 2010 wasn't our best one ever.

Enter Summer 2011. Oh, how we love you! Mother Nature has been messing with us a bit, but it's all good. I can honestly say I'm grateful the past two summers were crappy, because it has made me appreciate every ounce of sunshine we get. (And the fact I can play outside with my kiddos without either barfing or feeling the agony of putting weight on a broken bone is just fabulous--and I mean that sincerely.)

We made a quick trip to St. George and the kids enjoyed playing in the water on Main Street.

Everything was going great until Miss Abby dove right out of Greg's arms and cracked her head open. Imagine us standing in the middle of the water park with blood pouring down Abby's face and all of the other parents and kids pointing and gasping. It was awesome.

Thankfully, Greg's brother Mike just happened to be visiting from North Carolina and was with us. When he's not campaigning for the coveted Favorite Uncle Award, he moonlights as a resident surgeon at the UNC-Chapel Hill Hospital. We turned the little princess over into his very capable hands and she was better than new in just a few minutes. (It really helps to travel with your own personal physician. I highly recommend it. And while we're at it, I'll brag about him for a minute. While he was with us, Mike got a message that he was going to be receiving a couple of different awards for his surgical work and for getting the highest score on a test. He was humble and tried to downplay it, but we could tell it was a big deal. Way to go, Uncle/Dr. Mike!)

We journeyed back to Salt Lake and had some fun in the sun with Annabelle and Lydia.

Greg and Cathy were pretty excited about getting their picture taken. (Disclaimer: I warned them I was going to post the picture I took of them and this is the best they could give me.)

Jack Adams, Willy's best friend from his Marine days, was also visiting from Ohio. He's a gem of a guy and we loved the chance to visit with him and hear glory stories of our two favorite Marines.

That Brian is so hot right now....

Abby loves to play peek-a-boo and will hide behind anything she gets in her hands.

Then we had to say good-bye to Mike. :(

Abby couldn't get away from him fast enough...

...but the rest of us were awfully sad to see him go.

Anybody who has ever stood in between Greg and Mike for a picture may understand why Brian is smiling the way he is...they put one arm around your shoulders all chummy-like and smile like a couple of first-class saints, all the while using their free arms to torture you where the camera can't see. Mean, mean, mean!

Garrett loved having Mike visit and keeps telling us how much he misses him.

A nice view of Abby's war wounds.

Mike flew out Friday afternoon and the rest of the clan headed up to our house to spend the night and Saturday at our house. Brian got out his racecar/go-cart and the kids (and adults) had a blast driving it around the neighborhood. Abby was especially fond of it and thought she should be riding it at all times. I didn't get any pictures, but Cathy took some and promised she would blog about it, so the pressure is on. Do it, Cath!!! :)

Everybody went home Saturday night and we enjoyed a lovely Sunday evening with my family. My parents got these Jeeps at Christmas time, but waited until the weather was decent to bust them out. The kids had a blast riding them up and down the driveway.

The Dream Team worked ferociously on putting the boy Jeep together. There's a Barbie Jeep for the girls and a Hot Wheels Jeep for the boy(s). For once, Garrett is lucky to have only girl cousins. He has 4 to 1 odds of getting his own Jeep. (One day, the girls will wise up and realize the Jeeps are the same, but in the mean time, he gets his own while the 3 girls fight over the pink one. Sometimes it pays to be outnumbered.)

Not the best picture ever taken of us, but I'm happy to announce Greg and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary this Friday! HOORAY for us! Considering that 50% of couples don't make it past the first five years, we're feeling like a couple of all-stars.

Garrett got the hose out and was having a grand time spraying everybody with it. It was all fun and games until Daddy ended up with it and the little guy got a taste of his own medicine. My mom said, "He'll be bawling in 30 seconds."


I actually think it was only about 5 seconds before the tears started flowing. Poor kid.

He perked up in no time and didn't waste any time getting Gracie wet.

If you look closely, you will see a little bunny rabbit by the side of the shed. We showed it to Garrett and he took off running and yelled, "I'm going to get that rabbit."

It quickly ran away and Garrett spent the next little bit searching for it and calling, "Come out, little bunny." We never found it, but are hoping for a few more bunny sightings this summer.

Stay tuned...more summer fun to come!