Our growing girl

Well, Ashley finally attempted the dreaded mowing of the lawn, which she was not very excited about. But she successfully mowed the front yard, after some tutoring from her dad. She's a pro!

Our growing boys

Blessing day for Joshua! It was wonderful to have Joshua blessed and to feel the support of our family who was there for this great event.

Joshua enjoys his bouncer chair...

... but Justin seems to enjoy it even more. He has taken it over as his lounge chair.

Joshua doesn't enjoy his car seat as much as Justin did at this age. Justin would have been happy to sleep in the car seat all of the time when he was an infant. I guess Justin is still attached to that car seat.

Day at the lake

We were able to go with a few other families to the lake and enjoy our last Saturday before school started up again. One of the families had a couple of wave runners, which Scot enjoyed taking all of the kids out for rides on. He even got me out there with him. I tried driving one for awhile, but I guess I'm too cautious these days because I actually had more fun holding on for dear life while Scot was driving it.

While waiting for turns out on the water, the kids were not lacking for fun playing on the beach.

Justin was in absolute heaven as he played in the sand to his heart's content.

I had not been planning to go on this outing since we do have a five week old baby. But I decided that maybe Joshua would be okay for a little while, as long as we could hang out in the shade. Joshua was completely content sleeping in his car seat and I ended up staying most of the afternoon. It was wonderful to be outside enjoying this fun day with my family.

One of the rare awake moments Joshua had during the day.


Justin's adorable mud-splattered face.

Singing in the rain

We so seldom get a good downpour of rain, that when this rainstorm hit, the girls decided to make the most of it. It was actually very refreshing to see this much rain.

Ashley really knows how to enjoy life and drink it all in (playing in the rain was her idea)

Kelsey seems a bit dazed by all the rain.

The cold and wet finally got to them and they had to finish off their festivities with some hot chocolate and a warm bath.

Kaitlyn's baptism

Kaitlyn turned 8 on July 15, the same day as her daddy's birthday and the day after our little Joshua was born. We were a few hours away from having three July 15 birthdays. Kaitlyn was excited to be baptized and confirmed by her dad on August 7. There were many family members there to support her on this very special day.

Brothers

Justin has been very excited about baby Joshua and, surprisingly, has not been very jealous of all the attention our new baby receives. He likes to hold Joshua and loves when I hold both of them and say, "I've got my two boys."

Don't worry, the third baby is just a doll, I think five children will do for us.

Welcoming Baby Joshua

Our new baby boy arrived on Wednesday, July 14. Joshua Paul Allen weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. Everything went well with the delivery and Joshua's first few days at home have been filled with gratitude. It is incredible the love that a new baby brings into a home.

Happy and relieved parents!

Justin suddenly seems like a little boy instead of our little baby. He is a sweet big brother.


Can life get any better than five beautiful children?!