Library Day

Well this is proof that I literally save all the things I promised the kids we'd do over the summer till last minute. 

So our day at the library was today.

Enjoying the gardened grounds. 

Story time for the little girls and the big kids joining in, because they are awesome. 

Exploring the library and finding new favorites to get excited for. 

Reading and playing.

And throwing pennies down the "spinner". 

Lemonade Stand

SO MOM 101 = NEVER PROMISE ANYTHING!

I promised we'd do a lemonade stand this summer and that came back to bite me again and again.

I am just proud of myself for FINALLY following through and letting them do it. 

It was quite the little event and they had fun doing it!

From cutting out letters and decorating letters to make a sign, to making the lemonade and sitting in the sun. 

The kids knocked doors and rounded up friends, I called our Martin crew to come visit it and all in all we SOLD OUT!

I did my best to sit back and let them handle
it all (except filling new cups, next year I hope
to get a drink dispenser so then they can do it
all themselves).

The happy lemonade greeter

The Mooch
Talking her customers into buying her some.

The straw giver outer, and she possessively
held her position strong

Drinkin on the job

Connor was ALL too excited to get into the
MULLAH!

Counting his winnings...
to be evenly distributed to the whole
lemonade crew.

And the clean up wasn't too bad either. 

Temple Trip

It is about time we made the trip to the Philadelphia Temple.

Considering the Washington DC Temple is closed for at least the next two years.

 

I can say it was a LONG driving trip and it was frustrating to say the least, the traffic was so rough and the temple schedule is so strict we missed the endowment session we wanted to attend. 

So we did initiatories and sealings for awhile and then headed the LONG way home.  

I am so appreciative of the temple I've called mine for so many years. 

I can't imagine doing this permanently. 

I also think in the future we will need to plan an overnight stay. Which makes it even harder to come because we'd need an overnight babysitter and the finances for a hotel stay and food.

Overall though I am glad we made it there and I know the temple is a place of healing.

We have struggled a lot with wanting to grow our family but struggling more than ever and just feeling extreme burdens from all directions as we move forward.

I also got a new calling as Primary President, that is overwhelming to say the least.

 I hope that my prayers of healing and comfort through this rough year can bring some little miracles of peace. 

I also feel great power in desire. 

I can only hope that Heavenly Father knows my desire to attend the temple is there, now more than ever. My internal battle has made me so weak and of all times in my life to have the temple ripped from grasp ... well it seems like some cruel joke. 

I know that as I struggle emotionally, physically, and spiritually; the Lord is on my side. 

Even when I doubt he is there. 

I know that years down the line I will have a renewed perspective of our happenings now and I can only continue now choosing the right in all the small and simple things; so that the big things can happen in there own way and time. 

A BRAND NEW COUSIN

WELCOME

BABY MARTIN

COUSIN HENRY

HENRY SPENCER MARTIN

Daniel is a Daddy!

We wish we were there to snuggle that little newborn and watch him grow. It is amazing to see what a sweet little family this brother of mine is growing. What an exciting time and beautiful boy. I am so excited to be an Aunt to the newest sweetest bundle of the Martin crew.

Congrats Uncle Daniel and Aunt Nicole!

You have a wonderful and rewarding (and exhausting) journey ahead.

SUMMER STEM

I love making some goals for summer and having a daily routine to remind us to get outside, to play games, to keep studying, reading and writing.

I have tried hard to do a STEM project whenever we get a chance.
I'd love to say we did one every single day, but I was just proud if we did two in one week.
We'd start with a Bill Nye episode or Magic School Bus or youtube video and do an activity based on that theme.
I didn't get a lot of pictures but these are some of the activities we did.

Oil Spill Clean Up
Magnetic or Not
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Volcano
Air Pressure
Static Electricity Game
Taste Test
What temperature does Hot Chocolate Dissolve?
Tornado in a Bottle
Float or Sink
Does Light Shine Through?
Heart Beat: Marshmallow Pulse
Egg Drop
What Melts?
Marshmallow Buildings

33rd

We spoiled our favorite guy with...

 Birthday Breakfast in Bed. 

A lazy day.

Dinner out. 

And made his favorite cake from childhood, 

his Mom's Chocolate Mousse Cake. 

He said it was perfect!

He specifically told me he wanted to have a day doing nothing. 

So I did my best to make it as low key as possible. 

He deserves whatever he wants!

We love making this guy smile, because he sure makes us smile a whole lot!

Movie in the Park

OKAY OKAY I LOVE THESE!

Again this year we only caught one. Coco!
But it was so fun and I can't wait to try and do more next year.

Summer Swimmin Had Us a BLAST

It has been a WILD season of SUMMER SWIMMING!

I think they are ready to swim with the sharks!

They have been at it for a month and I won't lie they play more than anything but I love watching them enjoy the pool, like I never did. 

We also enjoyed playing at the park and having picnics after swim. 

Doing our best to really soak up that summer sun.

We made sure to even feed the ducks one day. 

 To celebrate all their hard work, we had our annual RITAS ICE!