Baby girls

Our camera lens went wonky so these aren't the best focused. But I wanted to finally show off the two nieces we recently met.

First baby Kate. The siblings below (JB and Sarah) are showing off their summer babies.

Then baby Kaylee, and the siblings (Joe and me) show off our summer babies. 

Holding each baby girl was such a dream. They are so sweet and small still, compared to my quickly growing boys. And they smell like heaven. 

Just one request to their parents: please, for my sake, put ruffles and pink and bows and ribbons on them as much as possible!

Running and Regatta

Did you know we have a cub scout now?

Did you know that "did you know" is a common phrase at our house? Max says it a lot, then I realized I say it a lot.

Anyway, he's the bestest cub scout and already has his bobcat in the month that he's been involved in scouting. At their first pac meeting recently, they had a rain gutter regatta.

Andrew wanted to watch from as close a view as possible. It was very exciting.

 



Then, did you know about our school's yearly jogathon? The boys run laps to fundraise.  This was Benny's first year and as the kindergarteners took their turn, he took it very seriously.  JB says he ran the whole time.

I got there from work in time to see the third-graders go, and give my Max fives as he came around.

They now carry their new water bottles around everywhere. Andrew steals drinks from them. He has to prepare for his first jogathon in three years, right?

Beating the bees

JB-the-brave put soapy water in the shop vac, pointed the nozzle at the place where it seems the wasp nest is, turned it on and skeedaddled.

He sucked up hundreds. And they all drowned. Muahahaha!

We are not the only ones battling these things. On our walk, I talked to a neighbor on the next street who had just trapped one in her house. Then at Sunday dinner at JB's brother's house in Draper, a couple of us got stung walking by a hidden nest there. 

Shudder. 

Here's a happier thought: all the newest Richards cousins together at the latest Sunday dinner. They will all be in the same school year!

Aaron is a September birthday, Phin and James are June, and the newest arrival Kate is August. Doesn't she look sweet by the big boys? 

I'll post pictures soon of meeting Kate and our other new sweet baby girl cousin Kaylee. JB has the big camera -- and the 3 older boys -- at dads and kids camp tonight. Baby James and I are going to cuddle and watch movies. 

Just nothing involving bees. 

Three months of chubby cuteness

Jamsey-boy is 3 months old and so much fun.

He is getting rolls on his rolls. He has found his hands and his laugh -- we love to tickle and kiss him. Andrew likes to kiss him a bit too much though, often climbing to reach him or getting right in his face. Cute, but give the baby some space!

He is so much happier now, though he still protests in the stroller. He kinda catnaps during the day (unless he's right by me in the afternoon on the bed) but he does a great job at night. I get him up to nurse him before I have to be in the newsroom at 4-ish (I started back again last week) and then he's usually up around 6 or 6:30 for JB. 

I wuv him so. 

The Skycoaster

In August, to celebrate Max turning 8, Papa got us passes to ride the skycoaster at Lagoon.

This is the one where you are pulled by cords way up in the air, then free fall down and then soar like a bird. It's very thrilling. Some would say scary. Some, who rode this ride while dating a certain tall blonde hunk and trying to impress him, would say they were never going to ride it again. But then she had a son who turned 8 and wanted to ride it and so she decided to toughen up again.

Good decision. It was a blast! Max was nervous at first, but flying through the air he yelled "Best ride ever!" and waved to his brothers and Papa on the ground below.

The rest of the day was fun, as Benny is apparently trying to say in the picture below.

Handsome Richards menfolk.

The log flume. They didn't get splashed at all and scolded me about it. Next time I'll try harder to figure it out!