backyard parties

There is something glorious about Colorado in June... bright blue skies, warm days, cool nights, very few bugs, the beautiful mountains... just perfect, I tell you! And now that our once-weed-jungle backyard has been reclaimed and tamed and turned into the perfect spot to enjoy this summer-y, Colorado-y glory, we find ourselves jumping at the chance to host parties at our house.

Though I hate it that our sweet friends, the Breshears, are leaving Denver, Saturday night's "Lemons to Lemonade" farewell party was quite the celebration of this family and our friendships with them...

kimiko, mary (one of our guests of honor) and I enjoying that bright colorado sunshine- haha!

lily kate (another guest of honor), will and kalena enjoying the party

the row of prego's- aren't they darling?

burke toddling around the backyard

And y'all know how I love a party with a theme. I have found a kindred spirit in my friend and fellow party planner Kimiko (who was also the co-hostess of the fabulous annie-burke-turn-1 bash). I had so much fun planning the menu (including a lemonade bar a la kiji's wedding), the decor, the kid's table (ok, yep, kiji's wedding was the inspiration for this as well) with her!

the lemonade bar

the kid's table- our next party will definitely have one of these again!

Hopefully this is just the beginning of parties in our backyard this summer (though, I think I'd prefer the next one not be a farewell party... I hate saying good-bye!).

a list

1. I love spinach from the garden... it's WAY tastier than spinach from the store.
2. Burke has been giving kisses like a fiend. It melts my heart.

3. I hate dental school boards. July 11th is the big day... Until then, it's study, study, study around here.

4. I have been so thankful lately for great conversation with sweet friends.

5. I miss my siblings and their families.

6. There are tons of kojo projects plus a few other 'extras' taking over my house and time currently... I'll show you when I'm done. :)

7. I love summer. Love it.

mobile!

The little punkin is walking! His steps are still wobbley, high-stepp-y and there are tons of tumbles involved, but what fun! There's a video at mama's blog...

i love these guys!

Despite a normal amount of "too-many-people-in-one-small-space" tension and Burke's serious slumber strike (wait- did I tell y'all about this? my dear sweet one allowed periods of sleep ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 hours of sleep every night [yes, EVERY NIGHT] that we were in Idaho... little punk... Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child has moved to the top of my summer reading list), we had a blast in Idaho! It was terrific to see and be a part of Aji, Trish, Kiji and Patrick's every day lives... we got to see their apartments, meet their friends, go to their church, watch their soccer and softball games, make meals together, scope out the local real estate, visit the oh-so-famous Kroc Center, wander around Coeur D'Alene (always a treat) and just generally be a part of their lives.

I am so thankful for my siblings and their spouses, and so proud of them. I love it that Aj has discovered how much he loves building things, that Kiji is so diligent about her job (and that they LOVE her so much!), that Trish is taking on this 'adventure' of living 3,000 miles away from her family with such devotion to my brother, and that Patrick's ministry to junior high aged guys is having such an impact on them. I have watched all of their plans change many (many!) times and I know that sometime in the not-too-distant fuutre they'll be scattered around the country (or the world?)... but my thought at the end of this trip was that right now, they're exactly where they should be. What a great place to be, eh?

Oh yeah, and after a week with three babies, I don't think they'll be having kids anytime soon- haha!

idaho fabulousness

We're loving our time in couer d'alene (jordi, her girls and I are visiting kiji, patrick, aji and trish for the week)!

Burke's favorites so far:-watching aji and pat play softball-the park by the lake

-going on the infamous camo boat-honeysuckle beach-playing with keadryn and sayla (burke just watches whatever kead is doing and tries to join in... and pats sayla's head and hands her toys... so sweet!) and being doted on by all his aunts and uncles

And my favorite part? Hanging out with my siblings and their families. Have I mentioned how fantastic they are? My stomach hurts from laughing so much, we've been making fabulous food (jordi's recipes mostly...) and june is a great time to visit CDA (gorgeous weather plus lots of lakes and beautiful scenery equals lots of opportunity for enjoying northern idaho's best features). I also love knowing that by us being here, adam is having all sorts of opportunities to study for his boards. Good stuff all around. The best part of this post? We're still here for five more days.

somebody stop him (or at least teach me how)

I may have mentioned burke's incredible propensity toward dangerous, gross and fragile objects... It's amazing to watch really. He's totally uninterested in everything on the table unless there's a knife. Or something hot enough to burn his little fingers. He can find sharp or germ-y objects in an immaculate house (not mine... thanks to Dear Sweet One, my house won't be in the immaculate category for years now, I'm sure). He loves the toilet brush (ewww!), a whole variety of household cleaners (any that would warrent a call to poison control if ingested, really... if they aren't in that category, he's not interested), knives and other sharp utencils, items retrieved from the trash can (gross! and dangerous!), powertools and a wide range of breakable electronic devices (the camera and Adam's computer top his list here).

This being said, I regularly walk into a room to find my little punkin eating, err... playing with, something he shouldn't have. Ever. So what does a competent mama like myself do when she finds her barely-one year old IN the dishwasher or swirling the toilet water? Grabs her camera, of course.

Since this doesn't seem to be a passing fad, if y'all have any tips for keeping both Burke and our house simultaneously safe from danger, it'd be great if you passed them along.