#Vancouver Rocks, A Hike and Picnic, and Pigtails

So, exciting news!!!! Rhaevyn may be getting her braces off next month. It's a 50/50 chance, her orthodontist said. If it isn't next month it will be in October for sure. Frankly, I will miss going to the orthodontic office each month. They are the nicest people ever, and her orthodontist often comes out to sit in the waiting room and chat. He gave Rhaevyn the nicest compliment the other day when he was talking to me. He said he'll miss seeing her each month because he can throw out the most random thing, and she always has some deep response. He says she's unlike most teenagers. I have to agree, but then I think she's pretty special.

Myles is coming along on his "S's". He qualified for speech therapy visits until November and has already made such great progress!!

Tuesday at Myles's speech appointment a boy the same age, his brother, and mother were showing Myles the painted rocks they had just found. They let him choose one to take home and filled him in on the rules of painting and hiding rocks. That afternoon the kids painted some rocks to hide.

Thursday morning we had a wonderful time hiking a trail at Lewisville Park, wading in the river, and having a picnic. We went early as it was going to be a scorcher that day. We ended up leaving before the littler kids had a chance to do their second dip in the river because Aeva was feeling lightheaded.
Myles was excited to be given the responsibility of the vintage Bushnell binoculars that Chris just scored for $5. I thought he looked very outdoorsy wearing the case.One little girl came up to Elsa after our picnic and showed her a rock she had found and gave it to her.... super sweet.

The pictures are in reverse order:
Myles, Elsa, and Meg played Frisbee after they finished their lunch.

Everybody enjoyed sugar cookies for dessert

The hike must have made Meg hungry because she ate her entire sandwich.

We found a new spot to hang out at the park. We'd never ventured down this one path to the river. It was so quiet and peaceful with no one else around.

Myles loved the way the water accentuated the cracks in this rock.

As soon as Meg saw the river off came the socks and shoes. She was about to take off her clothes, but I talked her into keeping those on. I ended up having to take her shorts off because she got them muddy and soaked.

I just love little toddler feet and toes :)

Elsa brought a magnifying glass along with her for the hike and shared it with Meg.

My young explorer.

Getting started on the hike....

Thursday evening Myles, Elsa, and Chris laid out on the trampoline and watched the Perseid Meteor Shower.  They had such a great time watching the sky and saw some pretty big meteors.

Rhaevyn loves putting Meg's hair up in pigtails. I am not sure why, but it makes us all giggle and laugh when she has her hair up in them.

I forgot to add this last time. This was on the walk that Myles and I took.

Friday was spent making sure everyone had the necessary clothing items needed as summer ends and fall approaches. It's amazing how fast all the kids seem to grow, including their feet. Myles was the only one I didn't have to purchase anything for. I had a whole bag of size 10 clothes, so he's set! I felt extremely blessed that between a gift card from Elsa's birthday, sales, and coupons I spent very little on the amount of shoes and clothing we came home with. My cup runneth over indeed!

The girls and I did their shopping Friday evening, as it gets a bit hard with littles who aren't interested in waiting around while their sisters try on clothes. We had a late dinner and just sat and talked, asked each other questions, learned about one another, and laughed a lot. It was a wonderful evening. Time well spent making a memory :)

I've got at least the first month of school all mapped out. While I'm excited to start the new school year, it means the lazy crazy days of summer are coming to an end. I have loved all the books I've read this summer, all the documentaries I've watched, and all the British shows I've vedged out on at the end of evenings, and to top that off I've just loved spending lots of fun time with the kids.

In other news:
I made two lemon meringue pies this last week. It isn't one of my favorites, not like coconut cream, but for the past month I've had a hankering for a slice. I decided to be daring and make one. A good friend brought over some cornstarch since I realized that I didn't have any. I thought I'd then make two and take one to her. They didn't quite end up like they should have. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong or at what point it all went wrong. I am wondering if I didn't put the right amount of cornstarch in. At the moment I was doing that poor Meg was wrapped around my legs having a meltdown because she really needed to be snuggled and to have a nap, but no one else could console her. Plus a lady from the ward stopped by while I was doing the meringue part to pick up the Relief Society quilting frame. In the end my pies were more like Lemon Meringue soup. The girls were so sweet. I just wanted to cry because it took so long to make the pies, and they hadn't thickened or set up. My friend who loaned me the cornstarch says I should give it another go, as does Chris, and said she'll even come help and occupy Meg. Everyone at least was vying for a piece. They all loved the taste, and really they looked beautiful, that is, until you cut into them. We sat and slurped up our own slices of lemon meringue soup :)
Elsa is excited for August 27th to roll around.She has been waiting two years for this moment..............flag football starts, and she is now old enough to join! Love her spunkyness. Now to find her a mouth guard and cleats!
My four quilts are being put together. I'm so happy and relieved. This takes a bit of a load off of me, and I love the look the long-arm gives quilts. I was only going to be charged for the thread used,but since my project is charity, the lady said she'd do them for free. Tender mercy for sure!! They probably won't be done in time for my September 2nd drop off to the hospital, but that is okay. I know I've got several other ladies who will have theirs done in time. It's proving to be a bit of an emotional month. Thoughts of what we thought was to be still find me in quiet moments and catch me off guard. The kids were so cute the other day. I love that they all would still love to have another sibling. I told them if that was what Heavenly Father had in store I'd do it in a heartbeat. We had a big group hug as I let the tears flow. Sometimes I marvel at how blessed I am to have the children I do. I'm not sure what I did to deserve them, but as Julie Andrew's sings in The Sound of Music, "I must have done something good..."