Sunny or not... Here we come!!!

It started out as a beautiful morning, and we got off to a slow start.  We packed our lunch and swim gear and headed south for even more sunshine.  Or so we hoped.  By the time we reached Honeydew, we realized that the clouds had blown in and it was a breezy 69 degrees.  Obviously being from  Humboldt, a bit of cool weather isn't going to stop us from having fun outside.  We played in the sand and my crazy family even spent quite a bit of time out in the river.  Not this smart momma.  It must've taken Talullah twenty minutes to lose the blue lips and stop shivering once they got out.  We all had a fabulous time.

On a roll!!!

I was folding laundry and turned around to find this little stinker.  The roll of toilet paper came out of the bathroom, through my room, and was being torn into little pieces by her busy little hands.  We laughed and grabbed the camera.  Then, I spent the next few minutes patiently rolling the paper back onto the roll.  I did NOT laugh when I came into the bathroom minutes later and found Berlyn spinning the same roll of toilet paper into a big pile.  Only cute once, and Havanna stole that round.

Helping Daddy

Nick is building a small concrete wall to build a new fence on.  Talullah spent hours outside with him, learning how to level the wall with her daddy.  She came in and told me she got 'very good' at using the tool.  Maybe it's time to hand her a broom and see how she handles that 'tool'.

Spaghetti-Oh!!!

We had spaghetti for dinner, and the girls enjoyed it so much I believe I'll make this a weekly meal.  There was no begging or pleading for them to take 'one more bite'.  We didn't have to sit at the table for thirty minutes after Nick and I had devoured our own meals, just waiting for the girls to eat enough to hold them over until breakfast.  I'll go so far as to say the meal was a 100% enjoyable experience.  Yes, spaghetti is a hit at the Downey house.  I gave Havanna a fork, and she was so proud to get some food on the utensil.  Most of her time at the table was simply spent putting on, taking off noodles from the pronged toy.  Every once in awhile she actually got something into her mouth.  Berlyn, a girl after my own heart, put fistfuls of spaghetti in her mouth.  I'm not sure she even picked up her fork at all.  I'm not big on utensils, either.  Talullah's favorite thing to do was slurp up the stringy goodness, one piece at a time.  What's YOUR favorite way to eat it?

Stop, already!

I can't even handle this.  It's just too cute for words.  But, here it goes...
We had the pleasure of having Jase and Aiden over tonight for a little play date.  The girls were absolutely thrilled.  Minutes after Emily dropped them off, all 6 of us (Jase, Aiden, Talullah, Berlyn, Havanna, and myself) were all locked up in the trampoline, showing off our individual talents.  Everyone would sit around the edge while one person took their turn showing off a special 'trick'.  The kids could do this for hours.  We were even giving Havanna her own turn, which was comical, to say the least.  We went inside for pizza, then the kids all played legos and care bears while I cleaned house.  They even picked up all the toys while I got Havanna in her pj's.  I will say that the process was pretty painless once I bribed them with a tv show and otter pops if everything got put in the proper place.  Worked like a charm.  Sitting on the couch watching 'Signing Time', there was little Berlyn holding Jase's hand.  She just wouldn't let him go.  He was so cooperative and willing, being a sweet friend and staying right by her side.  Aiden and Talullah teamed together to pull their chairs as close as possible to the screen.  It was a sweet site.
I admit that there are many times things do not go this smoothly with a house full of kids.  But, sometimes... sometimes God slips miracle moments into our lives so we can go to bed feeling all warm and fuzzy and quite accomplished.  This was a very good day.

Happy Father's Day, to my daddy

Family Reunion!

My brother Adam and his family with the grandparents

Little Logan giving great grandma a kiss goodbye

A little auntie love.  Hugging Michael and realize how much he's grown.

My family and my grandparents.

Hey, sometimes this mom and dad need a break.

Rare moment caught on camera.  Toddlers sharing?!

Eating a good bbq lunch and playing volleyball.

Teaching Berlyn the fine art of being horrible at tennis.

Berlyn is such a cutie.

My cousin Nicole and her baby Sierra.

I'm blowing the bubble gun for the babies.

Seriously.  Is she adorable, or what?!

Aunt Jackie and baby Sierra.

Wow.  Nana without any kiddo's in hand?!  Where are the girls???

Grandma and Grandpa Perry

Looks like Havanna is being a little rough with Papa.

Ha!  Get him, Berlyn!  Squirting daddy with water.

Papa caught in the act.  He's spraying Logan with the silly string!

My Aunt Lois made a trip to Sylmar, CA to pick up my grandma and grandpa Perry.  Then, all of the aunts/uncles/cousins met up at a park in Redding to spend valuable time with family.  I wish we'd taken more pictures; there are so many family members I didn't capture.  However, when the majority of your time is spent trying to keep 3 very active children in your line of vision, your social life tends to take the back burner.  I was so happy that Nick was able to take time off work to join us, and we truly enjoyed ourselves.  A big thanks to Lois and Ken for making it all happen!