June!

 Oh, there were so many fun things in June! Here in our town there was a Wild West show, and with T as our little cowboy and 1/2 price tickets, we couldn't pass it up. The show was fun, with Buffalo Bill Cody and Annie Oakley characters, and many horses and trick riders. The kids just ate it up! Here is a favorite pic of Matthew with his boys!

J loves his oreos! I couldn't help but snap tons of pictures of this, all from just one cookie. I guess there is a story out there about me eating just one M&M as a baby and getting it all over, something similar to this, so I guess he fits in the family! Just check out those blue eyes!

The kids and I went to Lagoon with Aunt T and Grandma and Grandpa. T was a lot overwhelmed by all the noise and people and rides. He tried a rocket for the first ride and never quite recovered. E and L on the other hand were crazy kids going on every ride! L tried to get on Wicked (she's too short, WAY too short) and sobbed for 30 minutes after she was denied! We had a great time and were exhausted so it was a fabulous day with the Fam. I love these two pictures, the kids holding Aunt T's hand - they sure love her! and L and T sharing a boat - T isn't very impressed still with the boats. He said as we were leaving, "Next year Mom, I won't be scared because I'll be bigger." We'll see . . .

Last but not least for June, we went camping in Grace, Idaho, at my cousins house (their backyard is the canyon, literally!). It was gorgeous weather, and such an amazing place to be. The drive there was long (longer than I-15 Matthew, I agree), but the scenery was awesome! Grace I think is one of those places that has been preserved and is still small town and truly wonderful. Of course we had to roast marshmallows!

June was a good month to be busy. L attended a preschool during the summer that started in late June and is mainstreamed (gasp! No teachers trained for the deaf?!). She did really well, though we could see some gaping holes that still need to be filled before sending her to school with her hearing peers, she loved the school and the kids and everything. It was a great experience for Matthew and I to see her as well, as the classroom had observation booths where you could watch the kids and they wouldn't know!

Also, Matthew began a PhD program this summer. (No, he is not finished writing his thesis for the masters degree yet, but hey, its a journey!) So, busy June was great, and then we moved on to a lazy July!