Summer 2014 - the 2nd half

Annnnndddd since it's October, I figured I should probably get around to documenting the second half of our summer.
So that I can go ahead and be behind documenting Fall, naturally.


Abbey did lots of art work this summer, combining stickers and markers and crayons and foam pieces, and making absolute masterpieces...

 

She also played Basketball on Fridays at the local Community Center...

 

 

Abbey was awesome at basketball! She was in a group with about seven other boys ages 3-5, and she never even noticed she was the only girl. I was so proud of her. Confident and hard working, that's our girl!!  It was fun to see her shine on her own, and it was a good discipline for Luke to just sit with me and watch.

Luke played baseball on Tuesdays this summer, and he was a natural! Dave has been very active about playing sports with both kids since they were able to walk, so it shouldn't surprise me to see how quickly they take to these lessons, but it still does. Luke has a natural confidence about him when it comes to athletics, and it was great to see him work so hard and continue to persevere even when his first attempt needed a little work. I was so proud of his team work as well!

 And, again, it was an exercise in discipline for Abbey to just sit and watch with me. It was nice to send the message that we all support each other as individuals in our little family, so even when it's not about you, you support and encourage your family member =).

Two cuties before Church one sunny Sunday...

 

 

 

 

We had Date Days in early August. Abbey and I went to Hopworks for lunch (her pick - hooray!) and then to the Humane Society to pet kitties...

 

 

 

David and Luke went to lunch and then went to the aquarium.

 

 

We got to have a big ol' reunion of the Five Brown Sisters and all their spouses and offspring when Emily came back from Zambia...

 

It's always so fun when we can all get together!!

 

We are all so stinkin' happy to have Aunt Mem back in the area!

 

We had lots of fun times at home, creating with Play-Doh...

 

...and just being creative in general...
Luke turned this box into a rocket ship...
 



 

 

We got to babysit a sweet baby for an afternoon...

I'm told Luke and Abbey collaborated on this work of art for quite awhile (David took it while I was at work)...

 

Abbey and Luke spent so much time playing together this summer. Four is a fun age =).  There were times that they had too much of each other and needed to be separated, but those really were few and far between. It's so nice to have a built in playmate!

Some sweet cousin cuddle time...

And this was a pretty familiar site over the summer...

 ...AbbeyGirl was really into helping me bake and cook on a regular basis this Summer, which is (hopefully) creating fun memories for both of us. She sure loves to help in the kitchen. Who knows? Maybe she'll be a chef someday.

 

 

We enjoyed lots and lots of park time!! Oregon is such a beautiful place to live, but that beauty requires lots of rain. So it rains here from like late October through early April. It's hard to find dry days to play at the park during those months, so I always feel (self-imposed) pressure to get out and enjoy the good weather while we can.

 

On this particular day we drove through BurgerVille on our way home from Abbey's basketball classes and had a picnic together...

 

 

 



And of course, lots of fighting bad guys and saving the world...

Abbey drew this picture of us on a chalkboard at a restaurant. Complete with an "M for Momma and an A for Abbey!"
She also drew them holding hands.
Have I mentioned I really like Four???
=)

Lukey doing some painting...

 (he's put his tongue out while focusing for as long as I can remember! His first steps were taken with his tongue out =) )

And dancing around on his bed, showing off all his hung-up artwork he likes to look at while up on his bunk...

 

(It totally cracks me up now thinking about the time I wasted  spent day-dreaming about my kids' nurseries and toddler rooms. VERY early on, they had opinions about what went in their rooms, and I made a choice awhile back to resign to letting them choose most of it (within reason, of course), because it's their room, and really they should get to decide what is on the walls. Even if that means a hideous amount of blue painters tape every few inches. Whatever. It makes them happy =). And the Pottery Barn matching sets I would have picked out would have been way too expensive anyways. )

 

Which also means they now have a hammock in their room...

 

...I swear, my kids have the most fun Daddy ever =).

 

Luke had mentioned he wanted a hammock, and David said he could put his old one up for them. He suggested the Living Room, but I just couldn't handle that thought. It wraps up small, but the big black bike hooks it requires in the wall were just more than I could stand seeing sticking out every time I sat down on the couch. But their room seemed like a decent second option. The twins LOVE IT, and Dave and I have loved the renewed cuddle time it has afforded...

 

 

So. There you have it. Summer, 2014 is officially on the books =). What a great one it was.