Time With Family - July 2010

It has been a while since I've blogged and I have a great excuse...my sister and nephews have been visiting from Alaska.  It has been absolutely wonderful having them around because there is nothing better than family, in moderation:)  My girls don't have any cousins around here and it appears that it may be a long time before they do.  Due to that little fact, I love that my sister was able to come down for the entire month of July so that my girls can get to know their Aunt Jujee, Noah, Austin, and Connor.

 Aunt Jujee and Irelyn

 Nommie (as she is known) and Irelyn

 Noah (1 1/2 yrs. ) and Brooklynn (2 1/2 yrs.)

 Irelyn enjoying some sunshine.  Can't you see the thrill on her face?

Irelyn, Noah, and Brooklynn ~ best buds

The month started out with a bang, literally.  Brooklynn truly enjoyed her first fireworks show from our front yard and then came inside to tell me "They were so beautiful."  The following weekend was my big race, the Half-Marathon which Brooklynn was very excited to see me cross the finish line.  As things go in a family with kids Brooklynn woke up that morning and began puking.  So Jesse cleaned up the puke, got Brooklynn dressed and raced down to the finish line.  Being that I ran like lightning, OK more like a small wind storm, my Sunshine did not get to see me cross the finish line.  I made the 13.1 miles in 2 hours 2 minutes, well under my goal time of 2 hours and 10 minutes.  Next year's goal will be to get Brooklynn to the finish line and make it in under 2 hours!

Irelyn has been a very busy girl, crawling all over the house now.  It is absolutely amazing that with all of the toys in this house Irelyn always wants the toy that Brooklynn has and surprisingly Brooklynn always wants the toy that Irelyn has.  Now that Irelyn is on the go things are getting much more exciting around here. It sure does bring back memories from my childhood and my needing whatever Julie had at the time. 

Brooklynn was able to take a short trip to spend time with Oma, aka Sandi.  The two of them had a wonderful time taking a few swims out at the hot springs, strolling through Art in the Park, and doing some uneventful fishing.  It is very important to Jesse and I that the girls are able to spend lots of time with their grandparents, plus it gives us a chance to give Irelyn some one-on-one time.

And now, as if all of that family time wasn't enough, my grandparents have driven out from Michigan to meet their two newest great grandchildren, Noah and Irelyn.  We will be heading back up to Bop and Nommies ranch this weekend for another fun-filled weekend.

And now, more pictures of my adorable girls:)