Aaah, Summer...

So, I guess fabulous summer is pretty much over.:( Everyone's back in shool, the cold weather seems to have hit early, and the slew of fall family birthdays are upon us. It makes me so sad! I love summer! It is my favorite time of year! I have decided that I definitely live in the wrong place, because I wish I could bask in the heat all year long- I hate being cold and I get cold very easily. I am already dreading the thought of the 9 month Utah winter ahead, stuck home in a blizzard. I told James that if our families would all come with us, I would pack up and move to Hawaii! Or at least St. George. Even though there is so much more work to be done in the summer months, life just seems easier. During summer, we head out for ice cream or to play outside at 9 pm; in the winter we're ready to crash by 9. We can go where we want, when we want, because we don't have to dig our way out of our driveway. There are just so many more activities to do during the summer months. I made a list of fun things I wanted to do at the beginning of the summer and we checked them off one by one. This summer was so much fun for James and me since Isabelle gets so excited to do things, and everything is so much more exciting because of her! We have treasured every single warm night spent gardening, playing on the swingset, gazing at the stars, watching fireworks, riding Papa's tractor, and eating ice cream. Every year I ask the same question as my cold weather anxiety sets in- why can't it just stay summer forever? Here are a ton of pictures of our summer in the slideshow above (I can't figure out how to put it under this post)!

New Pictures of My Girl

These are new pictures taken for Isabelle's 18 month birthday. My friend Mitzi took them and she did a great job! It was a very hot day, and 18 month olds aren't very cooperative, but Mitzi got some really good shots and captured Isabelle as she really is. I love these pictures! Thanks Mitzi!

Mommy Moments

I love being a mom! It is the greatest job/gift in the world! My baby girl is growing up so fast and I sometimes just wish the little moments we share could last forever. She is so cute and sweet. The little things she does that seem so small are the moments I will treasure forever. Like the time we spend each day putting Dora and Hello Kitty band-aids all over her legs and kissing her pretend owies. Or like the other day when we walked through Target and she was squeezing me around the neck and kissing me on the lips over and over. One of my favorite times of day is breakfast, when Isabelle sits on my lap and we eat our chocolate chip waffles and she tells me, "Mama dink wa," for me to drink my milk. I love how every time we sit down to eat she starts saying a prayer. She squints her eyes and whispers a whole lot of jabber and then claps when she's done. I love the time we spend playing "ashes" (ring around the rosies) over and over and over. I definitely love any time we get to cuddle, since she is so busy all of the time. I love reading her favorite book "Baby's Birthday" with her hundreds of times a week! I could go on forever talking about the little moments I get to share with my baby. I just wish time could stand still and we could have tea parties all day, every day! I think Isabelle would like that!

Isabelle and Her Cousins

Isabelle loves her cousins! Brielle is just 2 1/2 weeks younger than her and Ike is 6 months older. It's kind of a love/hate relationship between Isabelle and Ike. They either have a really good time together or they totally beat each other up! Isabelle and Brielle get along quite well, but Isabelle has been in a hitting phase lately so I feel like poor Brielle needs to be protected from her! Here are some cute pictures of them.

Fish Farm Fun

Our trip to the fish farm was a while back, but our computer has been out of commission for a while. Anyway, Isabelle and I tagged along on a preschool fieldtrip to the fish farm with my brother and sister and their kids and we had a great time! Of course the whole experience goes by very quickly, because it takes approximately 2.5 seconds to catch a fish. The worst part was when my brother took off to another pond and left my sister and me alone to get our own fish off of the hooks(on purpose, because he wanted to see us suffer). Luckily, another dad came along and saved our day and our hands! We didn't want to have to actually touch the little buggers! The fish Isabelle caught was itty bitty and it still cost about $4! It was a fun time and definitely made for some good entertainment!

The First Three Years