Kings Canyon National Park

Michael:

Had his weekly day off early on this week, on Monday. We took off to finally explore King's Canyon, which is right next to Sequoia but for some reason we've only ever done Sequoia a few times. It was fun to explore somewhere new! We loved the kid friendly hikes and awesome waterfalls. It was a fun day together. He had so many sad situations at work this week. His patient situations just make me feel so grateful for every normal day we manage to not have a freak accident around here... Kind of a jaded attitude but some of his stories are just unfathomable to me. Others make me really glad for the kind of choices we'll just never make. Don't go to parties at 4 a.m., guys. 

Maddie:

Loved having a day outside with the boys at the beginning of the week, but I've felt like I'm falling apart ever since that day. No more hikes or full days happening over here. My old BYU roomie Emily and my friend Ginny put together a girls night to celebrate baby boy and it was so sweet of them. I also went to dinner Friday night with a few friends as a little goodbye dinner for one who's moving soon. Her husband is finishing up oral surgery residency right now and they're off to Oregon. I'm so excited for them!

Westin:

Misses his routine for sure, he does better with a nice and full week ahead of them and that's just now how our summer is going to roll. But we got a blow up pool this week and he loved that! But we're going to have to exchange it for a different one for a few reasons, so he's been missing it already. Michael left some notes for their boys in their little mailbox they share in our room and he has been loving it ever since. He loves notes. He'll sleep with them, ask me to read them to him regularly, and just carry them around with him throughout the day. Such a sweetie.

Bennett:

Has such a tender heart! I feel like it's normal to have a little journal of funny things your kids say but I want to start a little journal of tender-hearted things he does for me. He is so observant of the way people are feeling, and little ways to make them happy, and just wants everyone to be happy around him. Anytime I am stressed he does a cute little fake laugh and makes me make eye contact with him until we are both laughing together for real. We watched some extra cute dogs this week and he loved that. One of them was named Sasha and it's one of my favorite words Bennett says now. We are going to a speech evaluation on Tuesday to help him out a little, but I do notice he's improving more lately than he has in the last little while. I'm excited to be able to chat with him more and more :)

So much water right now. The river was pretty daunting.

Found notes from daddy first thing that day!
He always notices that mailbox flag being up ASAP.

My current "entertain the kids as much as possible from here" spot.
We read lots of books from here and pretend it's story time at the library, so they sit in the floor around the chair
and bring me more and more books. I'm all for this stationary activity right now. :)

Rookie mistake -- sending them outside not in their swimsuits. Should've known! :)

Cheerios on a pipe cleaner stuck in play dough.
I think Westin requests this activity when he really just wants to eat all the cheerios.

Double headlock... this kid has no fear with animals.