july: The Rest

Okkkkay, let's start off the final July post with something that I actually think happened in June, haha! Clyde had a free admission ticket to the art museum, so he and Grandpa packed up and headed over there for a fun afternoon, and my dad helpfully took all these pictures to show me:

And of course I had to pull up pictures of the one and only other time Clyde has been to the art museum - as a baby when we went to fulfill some homework assignment for Chuck. They've changed the magnets a bit, and Clyde's grown just a tad ;).

Girls night in July was pretty awesome, although we sincerely missed Kara. Nycole had to leave early but wore her amazing black shirt (that she found in McCall on our retreat) so obviously all was forgiven. We were at Emily's house and peer pressure was the name of the game, leading to a glimpse into Em's amazing hobby and also some Just Dance fun, which was possibly the best thing ever:

I legit may not have any friends after I post this, but it's worth it. Emily totally tricked us into doing the 'tetris'-type song and then recorded it. Quick reminder that at this point Paulina and Nicole had both had babies in the last three months, and Melinda was like three weeks out from her due date - and yet they all gamely hopped around like champs! 

The parks and rec department puts on a triathlon every summer, and this year Clyde signed up for it! Chuck was the designated cheerleader and support team, and Clyde did awesome! The swim and bike portion went great and Chuck even ran the last little bit with him. 

Clyde's good friend Andrew did the triathlon as well and Shelly helpfully got these cute pictures of them at the finish! 

And here's Clyde later that day in his official shirt, posing with other hardcore examples of extreme physical strength ;).

Speaking of extreme physical strength, my days of not getting completely squished when we do our family stacking might be coming to an end. They're all SO big and heavy!!

I think these were all pictures I sent to Chuck while he was at scout camp so he wouldn't worry about me going without cuddles in his absence. 

Family bike ride to the library!

Lined the kiddos up to make birthday videos for Grandpa/Uncle Lee/cousin Bri and took some pictures too. Cute little rascals!

We met my dad at Julia Davis one afternoon for some adventures, starting with lunch which Clyde brought to the picnic table from Grandpa's car, at great risk of bodily harm: 

Luckily his evasive maneuvers worked and we ate!

Grandpa had some fun glasses which made for awesome pictures haha:

And then it was off to the paddleboats! I started with Will and Carma, but I swapped out Carma for Clyde about halfway through. It was really fun and relaxing to paddle through the water and enjoy the beautiful day.

Carma enjoyed watching the ducks? geese? from a distance and stealing various brother's hats...

OH, and as we were leaving the park, I ran into the one and only Marcie! Super cute friend from junior high and high school who I hadn't seen since her baby shower back in... 2011? We both had baby boys that winter, Jaxson and Jack :). So fun to catch up real quick and it prompted me unearthing the picture on the left - 9th grade? 10th?

We had cute Mayan over one day and she and Carma had loads of fun AND HAD COORDINATING OUTFITS so that was amazing.

So far in my life the only book signings I've been to were when I happened to be in Utah for other things and was able to coordinate. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that one of my favorite authors would be signing books in Boise!! YAyyyy! 

I recruited Paulina and Melinda (and Carma, who wore Pioneer clothing and scored us a discount haha) and as always it was so fun and so nerve-racking to interact with a talented author that I admire so much! I honestly love both of her books (Edenbrooke is my favorite but Blackmoore is also wayyy good) and could tell you loads about them, but I suddenly stressed that she would ask me about my favorite part or character and I would freeze and not even be able to answer haha. Luckily that didn't happen and she was incredibly gracious as she signed our books and agreed to a picture and it was all awesome! 

And while all of that fangirl-ing was taking place, the boys got to cowboy up and go the rodeo with Grandpa! 

Between the smuggled in fruit snacks and the wild antics down on the floor (hello, glow stick covered trick horse riding?!?), an excellent time was had by all.

Emily and Andrew and I f.i.n.a.l.l.y. got together, after promising to for a year and a half... and now it's been nine months and we've been meaning to get together again in the meantime haha... We went to the brand new Cafe Zupas in Nampa and had such a good dinner catching up and hanging out. Love these two!

Aaaand here are some random July memories - Carma being unable to pass by a mirror without admiring herself, boys + friends lined up watching PBS, Jack's unique accessorizing, beloved juice boxes at lunch in the park, driving around with two sleeping kids, more of Jack in goggles because I legit can't get enough, and sneakily taking pictures to prove that Chuck is the cutest daddy to a little girl ever!!