tales of living happily ever after:: july for the bodtchers

(the girls watching me cook breakfast, new south asian exhibit at the aquarium, a couple of patriotic pictures in honor of independence day)

(the girls and i rowed a lap around oquirrh lake 5 days a week, i was determined to get some upper body muscle)

(my dad came on a walk with us on a friday morning, crafting some giant lollipops for christmastime, scarlett and her love for water, selfie because of the lack of pictures of just j and i, watermelon hogger at molly's party, more rowing, and pictures from the real monarchs game where amelia's soccer team escorted the players out on the field)

(amelia and brook are on the far right, with their hands over their hearts... even during the canadian national anthem)

(amelia notices all the bugs in nature and requests pictures for all of them, more darling lake pictures, and amelia finished an entire summer workbook and set 4 of reading for all learners by the middle of july)

(amelia's depiction of herself-- i adore the giant circles for eyes, finding dory with the cousins for molly's birthday, first day of swimming lessons, and a cute sister moment)

(the annual hedge trimming and scarlett too short to help discard the leaves pictured below)

(sometimes i just hate going to work, sleeping scarlett, amelia and her 10 fingers for 10 goals, new jogging stroller, cow appreciation day, and amelia's new elsa kite!)

(maybe you've already heard this story: basically it took us weeks to convince jer to come on the lake with us. the wind was awful we finally all went together, and the four of us tipped into the lake. it was a terrifying experience when my head came back up and i couldn't see scarlett. i absolutely panicked for a few seconds before we found her trapped underneath the upsidedown canoe. we waited for what seemed like ages to be rescued and we left shaken up, but feeling grateful that we were all safe. later that night, jer and i were in especially low spirits as we had lost the ziploc baggie containing my phone, our car keys, and my daybreak resident card. i couldn't sleep that night, and was determined to go back the next day with googles and find my hundreds of dollars worth of a baggie. i remembering committing to myself that i'd stay in the lake until i found my stuff. it was not as easy as i thought it would be. the water was freezing when we returned the next day, and i quickly felt defeated. after 20 minutes searching through moss and weeds, i came up to rest and let the water clear up. i prayed as hard as i could to be able to find our valuables. when i returned underwater, i noticed a blue tinted something. thinking it was a shoebox?, i decided to grab it so it would at least be out of the way... sure enough it was my ziploc bag, full of treasures... that we would later find all completely intact. yes, even my phone! i felt so relieved and blessed and just happy for this experience that left us unharmed and without loss.)

(we were definitely left with some post-traumatic stress. the girls and i stopped canoeing daily, and amelia talked often about tipping and almost drowning/dying in the lake, despite the fact that we were all wearing life jackets. i believe we went 2 additional times the remainder of summer, both times with a little cousin-encouragement)

(matching arms)

(her full name and the date, an ant carrying a potato bug, summer and swimsuits galore!, love my collettie, scarlett trying on amelia's flip-flops, and kissing and sleeping sisters from a day at murray pool with our cousins!)

(a few pictures while waiting for our photographer before family pictures, 7 miles around the lake with my babies, i'm learning to feel comfortable with the number on the scale, amelia celebrating her baby's birthday-- she even has elsa and anna toppings on her cake, and a picture of amelia's new backpack for school!)

(they emptied out all the toys to sit in the toy boxes)

(we felt so matchy in our floral dresses, amelia's room always has a scene of her imagination, popsicles at the jacksons, another run with the grumpy gills, frozen dance camp with hadley mae, and a windy soccer game with my scarlett)

(just a causal walmart run)

(ferris wheel selfies-- amelia was a little stressed about our seat "tipping" like our canoe on the lake, reupholstered folding chair-- more to come!, half marathon training, pool days, and thank you cards for amelia's birthday celebration)

(it only took me a month and a half to get these out...)

(days of 47 parade with our stake. the wimmers from our ward wrote an original song that the entire stake primary learned and sang as they marched. the girls also carried names of pioneer children that passed away on their journey across the plains.)

(it was such a touching experience and an especially memorable pioneer day, amelia got a new swimming teacher learned to float within her first 20 minutes lesson-- by her fifth lesson she was jumping off the diving board and kicking to the side of the pool by herself, the first low fuel light i saw in our terrain after a year and a half-- just a reminder of how blessed i am that j always serves us in simple ways like filling up the car, daddy's girls)

(afternoon cuddles)

(hike to doughnut falls and sandwiches in the trunk afterwards, scarlett being so big and brave in nursery, "oh broccoli," and love this bright-eyed girl)

(in a summer state of mind)

(another bug pictures, scarlett loves water, the girls and their chocolate milk-- notice scarlett has some dripping down her neck?, those shades tho, amelia and her favorite tattoo ever, she's also such a fashion statement!, and 9 miles in 87 minutes.