A Teeny, Tiny Update

Oh my, what a last month we have had. I kept telling myself, "I'll update the blog once we ________." Our last ________ is finally done, so here is a whopper of an update for you:

Blake: Finished summer school last week, and got a 4.0 in each of the four classes he took. It was pretty crazy there for a while, and I am SO proud of all his hard work! Blake's committed to getting good grades (I would happily settle for C's in his situation!) and I respect that so much. Cultural anthropology was definitely the worst class, both in content and instruction, and public speaking was by far the most fun. He's also been busy at work and has managed to be an amazing husband and papa on top of it all. He has a week off before fall semester begins and we're planning on getting some hiking in.

Brittany: Got to help throw a surprise baby shower for a sweet friend who's due next month. I love planning events with friends; it's so neat to see how all of our gifts are used to come up with something special. I also enjoyed watching (far less than I had hoped for) some of the Olympics, including a fun Olympic evening with friends (we all picked a country and brought food from it to a potluck- we represented Cuba with some delicious cubano sandwiches!). I love the diving and gymnastics; track and field is pretty cool too. Monsoon season is by far the most delightful in Flagstaff. As I'm writing this, I'm wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, drinking coffee. It's so refreshing. I'm still writing for the company I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm very happy with it so far. I've been writing pretty sporadically since the summer was so insane, but am planning on upping the hours I put in quite a bit once fall gets underway/Bash finally sleeps through the night. We had awesome visits from both my sister and niece and my parents back to back, which were a lot of fun. We also got to spend a couple days in Palm Desert, CA with my Granddad and in Pittsburgh with some good friends from college. Finally, MOPS is starting back up and I am sooo excited for this year! I'm in charge of publicity, which basically means I monitor the facebook and pinterest accounts, update the blog, and write the newsletter. It's totally up my alley and I'm already enjoying it.

Rory: Seriously, two is such a fun age! Well, besides the temper tantrums and potty training instability. Rory wows us everyday; not only does she say new things basically every time she opens her mouth, her pronunciation is improving drastically. Rory had so much fun playing with her beloved cousin Evelyn. She's been kind of obsessed with her since she was born, and they play so well together. They played in the water, on the swings, danced a lot, went to a kids concert at Bookmans, and laughed a ton. When her gramma and grampa were here for a few days, we went to the creek in Sedona- Rory was very underwhelmed and required a great amount of coaxing to take one tiny independent step in the water to Gramma's open arms. She did really well on the airplane (she's very fond of airplanes) and in Pittsburgh. She made friends with a bunny named Olive and ate tofu and smiled away during lunch with friends when the whole conversation was conducted in Spanish. Though she tests us everyday and is a challenging little thing, she is charming and engaging and we just love her to pieces. Her newest love: tunnels. Every time we drive through a tunnel she pipes up, "More tunnel, Papa!" We've taken to calling overpasses "baby tunnels," and she often requests "more baby tunnels!" Her favorite thing to say: "What's that?!" In a very demanding voice, about everything. Once we answer her, she replies, "Yes," in a satisfied tone. When my parents were here, we spent an evening at Blake's parent's home. Rory apparently pooped on the deck, which no one noticed. She came in, asked for a napkin, and proceeded to try to clean it up. We didn't catch on until she offered the napkin to my mom who immediately noticed something was askew. While it was disgusting, it was also so cute that she was trying to deal with it. Silly girl! And, just last night, we were eating lo mein and edamame. Rory's not a huge fan of edamame, but didn't make a big deal about it. I absentmindedly asked her to use her napkin to wipe her face. When she whisked it into the air, we were all astonished when a neat little pile of edamame was revealed! I thought she was too young to try that one!

Bash: What can I say about Bash? He's stinkin' adorable, sweet, grabby, affectionate, and goofy. He's eating finger foods and is not remotely picky. He's very small for his age but is healthy and lively. Rory is our talker and Bash is our observer: He is still and quiet but sees everything and takes it in calmly. His two little teeth are so cute, and he nonchalantly gets into mischief. He loves the water more than anything, even if it's freezing cold. Bash and Rory are the best of friends, which is so awesome. Bash got to play with his buddy Philip in Pittsburgh. Philip is one week younger than him- the last time they met, they were both just a couple months old. They enjoyed each other much more this time! He got tons of compliments from his amazing behavior on the airplane coming home (our family was split up: me and Bud-o in the front and Blake and Aurora in the back). Bash was so smiley and cute and funny; even the business men couldn't help but love him! He managed to crack the stony veneer of the man sitting next to us, who gifted him this dirty Smoky the Bear zipper pull from his backpack. Gross but sweet.

Now we're home, enjoying the rain, and the garden, and the quiet. We're getting things nice and orderly and are preparing for another semester- only three more left, God willing! Thank you Jesus, for summer, and thanks as well that we're somehow always ready for one season to end and the next to begin.

What a cutie pie!

Ready to go fishing!

Sometimes I talk to my kids and they just stare at me like this. It's like they're teenagers already!

Stretching out

We visited our friends' farm! Rory was braver than usual and got down to check out the chickens.

Rory and Evelyn had so much fun together. I'm excited for them to be bridesmaids at each other's weddings!

My Bud-o would be happy if we left him in the water all day long.

Rory would never go down the slide herself, but she was game to cheer on her friend Trinity! Go T., go!

Little girls in pink

Evie and Rory shared runny noses, which kept them from doing everything we had planned. They couldn't have cared less.

Again, the "Mom's crazy" faces

Sweet cousins/siblings

Aurora adores her swing!

Rory kept trying to force an amiable Evelyn to drink and drive.

A grumpy Saturday morning was saved by a surprise Chuck Cheeseman concert at Bookmans.

Excited fingers!!!

I just think she's so pretty!

Poor little man wasn't feeling too great at the concert.

Hooray for monsoon season!

In the car early in the morning on the way to Palm Desert. Bash was staring at his Auntie Lindsay creepily until he fully woke up.

Rory girl, all dressed up and ready to see Great Granddad

"I kees you Bash. I kees you!" Not sure where she got the Russian accent from...

Tuckered out Evie

The drive home was long. And hot.

Just. Can't. Go on.

Dad and Blake and the babies at the creek.

Father and son

Putting his two toofers to work

Rory LOVES feeding Bash. She coos at him and makes faces and is surprisingly adept. I'll put up a video sometime- it's priceless!

Cheeseball

Check out those chucks!

We were able to meet up with my college pastor, his wife, and another friend from our Spanish language congregation. It was amazing to see them all after too many years!! Makes me so excited for Heaven.

Rory was very fond of the "bunnee." "Hi Bunnee! Hi Owive!"

First time with sprinkles on her ice cream

Frozen custard at Rita's

Pittsburgh is such a cool city. The architecture is amazing; everywhere you look there's something unique and beautiful. I wish we had that kind of character in the homes out west. This lovely old church is right down the street from my friend Meg's home, where we stayed.

Sebastian and his good buddy Philip

Eating Philip's leftovers!

Some old and good friends. It was so great to see them again!