Anatomy of a treehouse/ swingset

Treehouse phase one...

So as Josh was working on the treehouse today I took some pictures of it all.  But when I went to come put the pictures on the blog, I realized I hadn't put any of the older pictures up on the blog yet!  So here are the initial stages of the treehouse (sorry, they aren't really in order)

 A typical stare from Ben... Becca was taking pictures of the other kids in these next few shots.  I thought they were funny, so I kept them :)

 I don't know what's in her mouth?

 "Go away!"

 The elders came over and helped Josh get that pole up.  It was quite the feat!

 "Cheeee"  Caleb cuts the last sounds off of every word he says.  So he requires a lot of translating for anybody but me and Josh to know what he's saying.

 I thought it was completely built at this point.  Josh's mind had already gone right onto the next phase, though.

 Fat baby :)

 But he's happy! Sometimes...

Back to School!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  The house stays cleaner, quieter, and I can actually get things done! Here are the girls on their first day.  It was sunny (so Becca made a squinty face in every picture) and hit over 80 degrees all week.  Go figure...

Why the sweatshirt in such nice warm (hot?) weather?  I think she was just excited to wear her school hoodie?

Overheard...

How they got on this topic, I don't know, since I walked in mid-conversation.

Rebecca: I'm going to marry someone I don't know.
Isabel: You can't do that. You have to know them to marry them.
Rebecca: But all I know are boys... I'm going to marry a MAN

Welcome Baby Ben!

June 30th Benjamin Isaac Tracy came into the world in a hurry!  He was born after 45 minutes of labor, start to finish, and only about 10 minutes after we arrived at the birth center.  He weighed 10 lbs 5 oz, and was 22 3/4" long.  He's a big boy!  He had the cord wrapped tightly around both his neck and his chest, so he was pretty purple for about 24 hours.  Because of his cords he got a really good squeeze that led to bruising in his face, and he blew blood vessels in both eyes.  So he was purple and had red eyes, not so attractive.  At least it was only temporary.  He has blonde hair and blue eyes, and came with little fat rolls already built in.  

After one week, he looks so much better.  No more purple, no more red eyes and swollen face.  He's quite the cutie.  He's a particular little guy, though!  He is very picky about whether his diaper is wet, and makes his desires to be changed known as soon as he goes.  He won't do anything, not sleep, eat, or anything else, if his diaper is wet.  And since he eats like a little porker, he has lots of wet diapers.  At least we know he's healthy!

Larabee State Park

We went on a picnic and exploring trip to Larabee State Park with Grandma, Kali, and Miley.  We only had a couple hours, definitely need to go back for a full day trip.  It was gorgeous.

Run Run as fast as you can...

Seems like we've been at a lot of runs lately.  Here are the two most recent.  First is one that was put on by the Bellevue Stake, they had a 5K for adults and a 1K for primary age kids.  

 Whoops... Isabel running in the younger kids' race... I had to pull her out and get her into her proper age group :)

 Daddy helped Josh finish.

 Becca and Josh wearing their medals proudly.  Isabel had one too, but didn't want to stop playing for a picture.

 And Caleb was in the stroller...bored.

Josh tried his hardest to beat the guy in orange... but he later learned that this guy runs marathons in under 6 minute mile pace.  So Josh had no chance.  He came in 2nd, beat by a couple minutes!  This guy was crazy fast, and ran in his warmups no less.

 Then, this past weekend was Berry Dairy Days in Burlington.  Again, Josh came in 2nd, but ran his personal best for the 2 mile, so he was happy.  The kids, on the other hand, told him he lost!

 Josh's cheering section.

There was a fun parade and fireworks to go with the festival too.  Made for a really fun day.  And it only rained a little bit in the morning! Awesome.