So around here this week...
Yes, I know it's been a minute, or several. It's just been pretty much a whirlwind for the past several weeks and something had to give. Catching you up in a nutshell, and maybe these stories will be expanded on at some point...

Collin's family came to visit from back east. We last saw them in February when we went out to Virginia to see them. They're now in a completely different state, but still far away.

John loves Ollie and Gus. It's slightly reminiscent of how Caroline used to crawl all over them. Ollie was his usual long-suffering self. Gus was more than willing to play. #doghairfordays

The family did its best to congregate to spend time with the out-of-towners, which meant lots of post-visit laundry.

There were copious amounts of food involved, although not this particular food. I honestly ran out of time preparing for an imminent arrival, so there was only....gasp....store-bought bread. My kids used to beg for store-bought bread when they were little. "Mom, can we PLEASE have some squishy bread???"

There was lots of cousin time, and if you really want something that will get a group of kids going, invest in some of these "rocket copters." They shoot up in the air sling shot style, then twirl back down. Some even had a light-up feature. The kids had a total blast with them. That said, use them as instructed. Do not take the little plastic wings off. That happened with one of the boys and when he shot it up, it came down like a projectile instead of twirling down gently, and it hit his brother in the eye, giving him an injury that required an eye patch and several days of quiet to resolve. Ah, kiddos....

Spent a little time in this place after everyone left, but there wasn't a whole lot of time to rest on our laurels, because I needed to prep for this year's Cackle & Craft, which happened this past week.

It's been a very smokey month with the smoke from fires in western states making its way this direction. This is a picture of the Snake River Canyon near our house. The water is really low, and the air has smelled vaguely of campfire for a while now.

Edward celebrated his 14th birthday with a donut cake.

Elisa and the girlies ran a 5K,

And are feeling pretty good about that accomplishment. Gwen is running cross-country for her middle school and has started practice for that.

It was the first day of school for some. Jurassic James had his first day of first grade.

As did Isaac.

Levi started kindergarten.

And Jude went down for his nap dreaming of going to school.

Bryce and his wife missed most of Collin's family's visit. They had a visit to her parents previously scheduled, and headed to Texas. Bryce attended his first baseball game.

My daughter and the babies also made and appearance so they could meet the back-east cousins. They are almost 6 months old now, which just boggles the mind. Their family has also moved to a different place. So there is the catch up. Probably some of these stories will be expanded on at some point, but I did want to drop in and give a report.