Goodbyes and hellos

We've had a lot of fun things happen the last few weeks of summer. Here's a recap.

Goodbye to . . .

1. Temperatures in the 90s. It's still been an incredibly warm and dry month, but at least we're done with the major summer heat! The mornings are cool and getting cooler, but that means the afternoons are glorious.

2. Naps. Matthew has mostly abandoned his nap and Jacob generally takes just one nap a day. We can still steal a few minutes of peace during quiet time, but it's not quite the same. Rest in peace, naps.

3. Teeth. Joseph has lost two now! The first one he might have swallowed on Pioneer Day, so we forgot about putting a quarter under his pillow. The second one he put under his pillow but we forgot about it for a few days. So I sneaked in right before bedtime and put a quarter under his pillow and told him to check what the Tooth Fairy brought. "Ooohh!! Mon-ay!!!" he said.

4. Peaches. Despite initial appearances, there were in fact only a finite number of peaches on the trees, and they eventually were all canned or eaten. So far we haven't said goodbye to tomatoes or raspberries yet, but that'll happen soon.

5. Kevin's grandpa. Last weekend we went down to Duchesne to attend the viewing and burial of Kevin's grandpa. It was a really lovely service and it was great to hear stories about him we'd never heard. It was nice to see a lot of family that we hadn't seen in years.

Hello to . . .

1. Underwear! You know, I feel like there are about 10 steps it takes to potty train a child. The child has to like underwear, has to develop awareness, etc. With Joseph I felt like we spent several months working through steps 5-9, so it took a lot of work to get it done. With Matthew, I feel like we were stalled forever on steps 1-4.
But one day he finally decided he liked the feeling of underwear, and after several, several, several torturous days (it wasn't accidents making things torturous, fyi  . . . it was worse), he just up and decided he knew how to do it. So that was that. It's been mostly a good development, especially since he doesn't have accidents, but he's become really sensitive to clothes now that they fit differently on him, so getting dressed is an agonizing endeavor most days.

2. Grapes and apples. Bring on the juice and the applesauce.

3. School! Joseph started 1st grade and has been doing great! I've been walking him to school most days and it's been fun having telling him stories about the houses we pass or memorable walks to school I had as a kid. Matthew and Jacob also started a fun music class, too.

4. And speaking of walking, Jacob does it all the time now! He is so delightful to watch. And he sure knows how to move fast!

5. Music! My mom has been great about watching the boys a set time every day so I can transcribe/practice. I decided now is as good a time as any to get things in motion, so I have started taking piano/composition lessons, too.

6. Construction! I've been a bit coy about this on my blog (especially because it's been such a slow process), but we started construction on a house! We're excited. (And a little terrified.)

It's a little small, and when the snow comes we might get a bit wet, but other than that it's a great house!

8. Spencer! After two years of serving a mission in Spain, he's back! We were able to have the whole family up for the weekend to celebrate. (In total there were 19 people in the house . . . don't tell the TLC network.) It was a fun weekend of cousin time, family pictures, and delicious tacos. It's all good to be on the same continent again.

We're excited to see what the fall brings!