The Odds and Ends of July

The 4th of July

Sibling love!

or not . . . .

We didn’t buy any real fireworks, just noisemakers, but Nathan was stilled thrilled!

We went to Les Gove park with our friends the Steeles and played in the water.

Ben had a lot of fun filling his boot with water.

Hannah, Ben, and Nathan on the swing.

We finally said goodbye to our BLUE bathroom.

It turned out a lot more orange than I wanted it to, but hey, it’s not blue!

 

Summer time baby

Nathan feeding Emma a bottle. Neither was really a fan of this.

What are YOU lookin’ at?!

Emma meeting her great-grandma

 

While we had family in town, all the girls went to tea in Puyallup.

sisters

all the ladies

 

For Valentines’ Day, I gave Ryan a date a month for the next year. Our July date was a picnic so we went out last night (July 30th, of course).

We both wore same outfit (plaid button up shirts with jeans) but didn’t notice until the end of the date.

I guess we need to spend less time smooching  and more time coordinating our outfits!

Emma’s Blessing

We blessed Emma on Sunday, July 22nd. It was such a wonderful day! I admit I went a little crazy planning and preparing but ultimately wanted to make the day about the blessing, not about the celebration.

Ryan gave Emma a name and a blessing. Her name, Emma Jane is one we have thought about for a long time and although I have felt a strong prompting to name a baby girl Emma since long before I got pregnant with Nathan, we didn’t make the decision until after she was born. My middle name is Jane and my mom’s first name is Jane. My Grandma Beverly, whom I have never met, also had the middle name Jane. She was a step-grandma, so this is purely coincidence, but I think we would have been friends had I known her and I love that Emma has such a wonderful connection to some pretty great women.

We had a lot of family in town for the occasion. Two of my three brothers came from out of town (Ryan from Rexburg and Kevin from Bellingham). My Grandma (my Dad’s mom) and Aunt Sue came from the Boise area. Ryan’s cousin Aaron and his wife Kelly also came from Rexburg. Our friends Lloyd and Natalie Oaks came from Tacoma but I didn’t even get to talk to them since they had to rush back to their own ward right after the sacrament and we were a little late to sacrament meeting. Alex and Devin Steele came with their kids from South Hill. We sorely missed having Ryan’s parents with us and know they really wanted to be there!

The Priesthood holders who participated in the blessing included: Ryan Bartron, Papa Rickard Ward, Uncle Ryan Ward, Cousin Aaron Bartron, family friends Devin Steele, and Lloyd Oaks, as well as our Bishop, John Hafner.

I was so pleased to be able to make Emma’s dress. I love the way it turned out.

Our family.

After church, we all came back to our house for lunch. Everyone enjoyed visiting and snuggling baby Emma.

Well, Nathan mostly enjoyed running around with a bucket on his head.

Most of the Ward kids with Emma (and Nathan).

Uncle Ryan

Uncle Kevin

Nathan got some quality time with the uncles too.

Aaron and Kelly drove all the way from Rexburg on Saturday and turned around and went home again on Sunday! We’re so glad they came!

Nana Jane and Emma Jane

Nana and Papa

3 generations of Janes

The Steele family. It’s not a real family picture unless someone has a finger up their nose.

Emma with my Grandma Ward

Emma and Joshua. Soul mates.

The girl of the hour!

She was grumpy, but I had to get a picture of her showing off her dress.

With Daddy

With Mommy

Backyard Camping

Last weekend, Ryan and Nathan decided to camp in the backyard.

Setting up the tent.

Nathan was pretty excited.

Emma wasn’t as excited. That’s why she and I slept inside. Actually, she slept while I stayed up most of the night watching random shows on Netflix and finishing her blessing dress.

Roasting marshmallows

Yummy S’mores!

 

Snuggling in his sleeping bag. At this point I don’t think he realized that he was going to stay out there all night. When we asked him where he would be when he woke up in the morning he said, “My bed?”

Ryan says Nathan asked to come in a few times but he made it through the night and was really excited to tell me a few scary ghost stories the next morning.