August

Look at me almost all caught up on the blog! High five, Allison! I'll get around to posting Stephen's Africa pictures eventually but since I'll need his help captioning them we'll all just have to wait until he's done working nights and then done traveling for interviews and by then we'll have a newborn so... We'll see ;) For now, August! 

 ^^ Our travels from Alaska left us pretty exhausted, but happy to be home! ^^

 ^^ First things first, FRIENDS! ^^

 ^^ Another morning, another picture and video to send to daddy - counting down he days until he returned! ^^

 ^^ If you ask Ezra who her best friend is, she will say "Callum!" These two cuties helping "Mi Nicki" make smoothies ^^

 ^^ We ventured out to our "green spot" one afternoon to get some pre-dinner wiggles out and we found quite the mushroom treasure! Uriah was so eager to collect them all and bring them home "to study" - I love that he has an adventurous soul with a scientist brain! ^^

 ^^ Bike rides in the empty parking lot next door - urban living ;) ^^

 ^^ So, Stephen tried to surprise us and come home four days early, but completely by accident I found out about his plans...! I was so disappointed that I found out and thought seriously about just going along with it, but I knew it would come out eventually and I didn't want him to be disappointed that I had "faked" my surprise, so I decided to turn the tables! I thought I'd have to dig through his e-mail to find his flight change information but it turns out my mom was in on his secret ;) The kids and I stayed up late and surprised him at the airport before he could come home and surprise us! Truthfully, he wasn't all that surprised - there was too much evidence against him he had been worried I'd find out anyway. But either way...! HE CAME HOME!! I sorta fell apart in baggage claim, and just continued to unravel for the next few days. I don't think I'd realized how hard it had been to be without him and I'd just been holding on by a thread while it was all snowballing up. I was so relieved to have him back! ^^

 ^^ The kids weren't excited about it at all ;) ^^

 ^^ Momma and her babies! We were away in Alaska while they hatched, but got to spend the next couple of weeks watching them grow, get fed and learn to fly before taking off! ^^

 ^^ Just being a pregnant lady... ^^

 ^^ Family trip to the San Fransisco Zoo! We bought a membership while my parents were in town so we showed Stephen around our new stomping grounds ;) ^^

 ^^ She is definitely TWO these days - difficult, whiny and exhausting. But she's still just as cute and sweet so it evens out. ...For the most part ;) ^^

 ^^ Matching grey sweaters and Dip 'n Dots at the zoo ^^

 ^^ Dad life ^^

 ^^ Saturday morning trip to the Sunnyvale farmers market! It would be significantly easier to drive there, but taking the train is half the fun for the kids - they love it! ^^ 

 ^^ Snacking on our usual farmer's market purchases while listening to the local music - fruit, bread and sugary almonds ^^

 ^^ We usually end the morning outside a coffee shop with a big courtyard for the kids to run around in. On this trip, we found chalk! ^^

 ^^ Still so giddy that he's HOME! Also, those orange dahlias he bought me...! ^^

 ^^ Tried out DateBox and spent the evening making ice cream, learning how to waltz and playing an "I know you better" card game. Ps, I won! Also, I don't know how to let Stephen lead... ^^

 ^^ We made an impromptu trip to Big Basin for a night of camping. Truthfully, I was a little miserable. The braxton hicks contractions had just started kicking in that week and sleeping virtually on the dirt didn't help with my hip pain, and neither did the hike the next morning...! It was beautiful, though, and I am happy we went. The kids loved it - stick collecting, tree climbing, fort building, marshmallow roasting, stories around the fire, hiking and exploring... It was right up their alley! And Stephen's! I was happy to be able to make the quick trip before Disneyland, work and baby! ^^

 ^^ This kid and his sweet soul... Ezra wasn't in the mood to have mom brush her hair but she let Uriah pamper her for a solid ten minutes. ^^

 ^^ 30 weeks and a Sunday at church before Stephen started working nights ^^

 ^^ Cookies and potty training. Good combination ;) ^^

 ^^ Family time in the mornings after dad gets home and before he goes to bed. These people are everything to me - I can't believe there will be another little one squeezed in there soon...! ^^

 ^^ Jungle James at the Woodside library! Both Uriah and Ezra were super eager to touch all the critters and be able to tell dad about them when he woke up - bearded dragon, tortoises, blue tongued skink, snakes (that I can't remember) and a Burmese python ^^

^^ A trip to the children's library with friends for school books + snail hunting and park playing - perfect way to end the month! ^^