Summer Lovin' {August 2014 in Pictures}

One thing that is always true of St. George summers is that they are way too darn hot! It's funny, though, looking back on all of these pictures, it makes me think about all the things I love about summer. When you look past the 110 degree weather, it really is a great time of year.

We had a wonderful time at Cliffrose Lodge in Springdale for my Papa Joe's 75th birthday. It was breezy and beautiful, and Emme just loved running around the beautiful gardens. Of course, I chased her around with my camera like the over eager mother everyone knows I am.

One of the greatest things about this outing in Springdale was that Macy and Breck brought their darling dog, Reggie. As you can see, Emme was totally in love and the dog happily put up with all her mauling. It was most definitely "puppy love."

 I adore this picture because it is totally real life over here. We spend at least an hour or so in bed as a family like this, usually with me teaching my online classes and Shaye reading up on tech blogs, and Emme will be watching something on the iPad. Sometimes we even run the TV simultaneously. We're multi-taskers like that.

Another thing that happens often is that Shaye will sit down at the piano and start playing some gorgeous melody like it's nothing. Emme and I will sit and listen. Sometimes Emme dances or sings loudly. Makes my heart happy. Both of them.

Another day, Emme sat down and started thumbing through some books of literary criticism. When I asked her what she was doing, she shushed me. I realized quickly that she was mimicking my behavior the many times I tried to get her to hush up while I was studying.

Here I am 6 months along. I was feeling very big by then and I still wasn't feeling well. It was very tiring trying to keep up with Em, but I continued to feel in awe each day at the miracle of this pregnancy.

 Emme and Baby Girl. A few minutes earlier she had tried to get Baby Girl to look at the camera. Another moment of darling mimicry.

 Dancing in the warm, fragrant summer rain.

 Someone got bored on a Sunday morning and decided to take a plunge in the toilet. Yuck!

 Waffle Luv came into our lives this month. I've managed to stay away for awhile, but they continue to haunt my dreams. Absolutely one of the yummiest things I've ever had!

On a day that I was feeling all right, we went on a little date to the library and Judd's. I relished time like this wish Emme because I knew it would be all too fleeting before baby #2 came.

Amy moved away to BYU, and it just really felt like the end of an era to me. My baby sister! In college!!

I went back to work in the fall. My schedule was a little bit more demanding in that I taught for 4 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was tough getting around being so pregnant, and I had one really lousy class with students who were pretty disrespectful about turning off their electronics and chatting, so that was hard, but my other classes were great. I really love my job, for the most part.

We bonded to our new ward very quickly. We had started attending in May and by August, they had already started to feel like life-long friends. Our bishop's daughter, Makenzie Lewis, was in a terrible ATV accident right after we moved in. She was unconscious for 6 weeks with a traumatic brain injury. Though I didn't know the family well then, I helped film a gathering for Makenzie and felt quite bonded to the family after that. This particular Sunday, our whole ward dressed in yellow to show support for the Lewis family. I knew about it before hand and made this dress for Emme. It was a really special day, and I loved the feeling of unity I felt with our ward members.