Visitors, birthdays...Playing catch-up.

When I get discouraged about not making scrapbooks, or falling so behind on blogs, or all my unorganized photos, I try and remind myself that at least I'm doing something to document our sometimes busy, sometimes boring, sometimes challenging, sometimes exciting lives.  Probably more than most people.  And even doing a little is enough right now.  I just flipped through my phone pictures (BTW, it still bugs me that I never take real camera pictures) and there was something like 700 pictures from events from that past two weeks that haven't been blogged about yet. Don't worry, although all my posts are photo heavy, I won't bore you with all 700 pictures, just trying to hurry and catch up on the fun things!

My father in law turned 50 on August 16th.  I know, he's a young one.  We planned a surprise party for him and it went off without a hitch.  We ordered the main dish and dessert and I did all the side dishes and decorations.  We had a "One foot in the grave/Older than dirt" party, so it was fitting that we had the celebration at our friend's cemetery.  50 of Phil's closest friends and family members were there to surprise him with us.  His brother from Colorado, his best friend from Seattle, and my brother from St. George, just to name a few.  Taylor and Samira and baby Will showing up was even a surprise to me!

 I never get sick of sleeping baby pictures.  And this party wiped Addie out!

The next day, (Saturday) we went to Downtown Disney.  We got over half the way there when Taylor and Samira realized they forgot to move Williams back up oxygen from one car to the other so we had to go back home.  It was just one little moment where I saw how hard they work to care for their son.  There's so much to remember, pack up, pull, carry, all. the. time.  They're so good with him.  We were talking about them coming down for Thanksgiving and the determining factor for how long they'll stay was how many oxygen tanks they can fit in their car.  It's just overwhelming what some parents (and children) do everyday that I don't even think about with my own kids.  Feeling blessed, and thankful that William has the great parents he does.

 The Lego store and remote control cars.

 "Up" is William's favorite movie, and the artist went above and beyond to include so many details.  Taylor mentioned here how great it is to finally be doing things that 'normal' families do.  Again, something I never think about.

That night we went swimming at the in-laws and had dinner.  William entertained us all with his oxygen tube tricks.

  Addie and Garrett could not get enough of their cousin.  They'd even follow him when he was going to get his diaper changed.  When it was quiet or I couldn't find them, it was safe to say they were in the guest room checking on William.

It was a busy weekend and went by too fast, but it was so great to have them here.  Looking forward to a longer visit soon.

Project 365: 219-243

August 7- Working on some Minnie Mouse banners for a friend's daughter's first birthday party.

August 8- Paul and I were sitting on the couch talking and we heard Addie giggling to herself.  When I peeked over, I saw her holding tiny Lightening and Sally cars, making them kiss each other.  She's not even two.  Imagine the teenage years.  No don't.

August 9- Family movie night and living room sleep over.  These are the nights I'll always remember.

August 10- We went to dinner after Paul finished his six day work week.  The boys were in the bathroom when I took this.  And it's the only one I got.

August 11- Lots of birthdays coming up in the next couple weeks/months.  Working on some details tonight.

August 12- My Uncle Randy would have been so proud of these two little boot scootin' boogiers.  They were walking like Bambi on ice.

August 13- My sis in law took me to get a pedicure tonight.  It was a much needed break.  Look at that laundry mountain in the back ground... It can wait...

August 14- I love it when Paul gets a weekday off.  Less crowded at the beach.

August 15- It's my FIL's birthday tomorrow and his brother is in town.  Which means there will be a lot of meat consumed over the next few days.  We started with these beef and pork ribs.

August 16- We pulled it off!  A surprise 50th birthday party for my FIL with about 50 of his closest friends and family members.  And because 50 is so old, we figured the best place to have it was at a cemetery.  So we did.  I'm exhausted.

August 17- It's been a great day with this little guy.  I'm sad to see him go tomorrow.  He's made leaps and bounds since I last saw him over the 4th of July.

August 18- This little guy headed home today.  He was very patient this morning with Addie as she admired herself in the toy mirror.

August 19- I decided to take a break today to recover from a busy, full weekend.  So I took a picture of the cleanest spot in the house.  Sigh... I need a maid.

August 20- Garrett got a date alone tonight with mom and dad to celebrate potty training successes.  Dinner and a new toy.  But the whole time we were out he was wanting to get back to the grandparents.  He was pretty jealous that sis got to go in Bapa's car and he didn't.

August 21- We're pretty archaic around here when it comes to entertainment for the kids.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time they ever played a game on the ipad.

August 22- My MIL has a friend in town and she brought two Basset Hound puppies with her.  So dang cute!  It almost made me want a dog.  When they'd run they would step on their own ears and fall down.  Oh man, it was too much.

August 23- Power's out.

August 24- This Englishman became an American citizen this week.  And tonight we celebrated!

August 25- Pinterest fail.  Home made pulled taffy.  The flavor was fine and it probably would have eventually been fine if we'd been willing to take all night to pull it.  We gave up after about 10 minutes.  There's a reason taffy is made with machines.

August 26- We spent the day wandering around old town orange.  And we stopped at the train station for lunch on the way home and found this giant tree.

August 27- Eating ice cream in the shade after a fun day playing at Newport Beach.

August 28- A super hot, long, fun day at Knott's with Mimi and Papa.  Paul and Addie in a race car with Mimi and Garrett in the back ground.

August 29- Planes!  Addie's first theater movie, Garrett's second.  Garrett loved every minute of it, Addie might not even know we went to a movie.

August 30- The splash pad and sprinklers at the park weren't enough to cool off on this 100 degree day, so our last resort was Addie-sized snow cones.  Also, everyday I'm a little more convinced that Addie's going to be a lefty like Paul and me.

August 31- It was a Mongolian BBQ kind of night.  We haven't been below 100 degrees all week and I have a rule that I don't cook if it's over 90.  Ok, I just made that rule up, but I think it's a good one.  Maybe I'll change it to 80...