Happy 10 months, Gabe!!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting it...



While Daddy & Gma were with Gpa at the hospital during open-heart surgery, your sister took the opportunity to play dress-up...with you! You didn't really know how you felt about all that head-gear. You kept reaching up to remove it, but stopped yourself short each time.

This month, you've learned to crawl on your hands and knees, growl like a scary monster (that gets a reaction you LOVE), blow kisses, and bite. You're always very remorseful after digging into my shoulder with your teeth, but can't seem to completely stop yourself yet. We're working on it!

What everyone always says about you is that you are such an easy baby. And it's true...normally, you just hang back and observe quietly. Then, after you've had enough of that, you start babbling away at full volume, with occasional "scary" growls. You are a sweet, sweet boy, my little angel Gabriel.

This is why I haven't been blogging

We've been hiking & making wishes,


Catching some MUCH-needed zzz's on the way home from camping at the reunion


Micah after his last t-ball game. He is a very coachable kid, and really enjoyed playing both soccer & t-ball for the first time this spring/summer. But he looks WAY too grown up in a baseball cap!! Where has my baby gone!?


I've been enjoying the beautiful part of the world we live in


Clint on our last hike


Clint has kept busy, among other things, building this chicken coop (the bldg. behind the shed) and the fence. Right now, we have about 22 chickens. We'll eventually (after several Sunday dinners) get down to 6 or 7 hens. In other words, we've got a whole bunch of roosters!!! Sorry if that grosses you out...I won't post pictures of the slaughter... because I'll be hiding someplace inside while it happens.


Playing games with friends and family. These guys just couldn't get enough of each other! Jonah misses you, Caleb!!


Hanging with some cousins at the reunion. Micah's silly face kills me!


Making soda bottle rockets at the family reunion last week: (This is one of the most exciting events of the year for J & M...even A really got into it this year!)


Creating on a lazy summer morning... (Autumn had just been accidentally tipped over the front Gabe's baby car by one of their neighbor friends. It was a pretty icky sight, but now she's all healed up)


Taking a picture after our first hike of the season. It was a little cold that day.


After finishing up with Jonah's basketball team, Clint got roped into coaching Micah's soccer team. They sure were a bunch of cuties!! Here they are, minus a couple absent players:




Jonah doing his 2nd-favorite thing w/ the soccer ball. His very favorite became head-butting it.



He ended up on a great team this year...his cousin's cousin (not himself) was even on his team!



We're just enjoying our summertime! Warm weather is harder to come by now that we've moved from sunny California. And Clint has still got almost 2 weeks before he starts his new teaching job (with a 7-minute commute...yea!!). So you probably won't hear much from me until then. Hope you're all enjoying your summer, too!