Random happenings

So, I feel as if our lives are consumed by our construction. I have let the kids watch FAR too much TV, and I am exhausted. However, I realized that we have done some other things this summer, so I thought I'd post a few posts of other things we've been up to. In my mind, the kids will remember what we have pictures of. Therefore, you will NOT find any pictures of them watching TV all day while I paint! :)

So, almost a year after losing his first tooth, Tyler lost tooth #3, his first on the top. He was SO HAPPY! He was going to pull it out July 3rd, until I told him it would be cool to lose on the 4th of July. He woke me up the morning of the fourth talking about what a celebration we'd have to have for the tooth he lost on Independence Day:


I've also been able to spend a bit of time loving on my niece's new baby. She let me do a little photo shoot with him (during which my niece, Kimmie, said, "Denise -- seriously, you're going to blind him!") so I could make these cute announcements:


Becca joined our stake on a trek, on which they walked 30 miles. Can you imagine? I actually was hoping they'd ask me and Paul to be a ma and pa, but when it came time I realized what a blessing it was not to be asked, because we were still tiling our floor. Here she is the day she left:


And the best part is that I've had several friends visit. Bekki visited from Seattle, and I didn't think to get a picture of us together. Melissa visited from California (we were single gals together back in Seattle, not Cali), and I also forgot my camera then. So when Cameron and Tonia came from Florida, I was not about to forget to take a picture:


(They were both wearing shoes, which is why I look so short ... not because I am short.) I haven't seen these dear friends since we graduated college, before any of us were married. So, two weddings and eight kids later, here we are:


I had a blast having them visit, and I hope they can move to Utah county soon. :) Anyway, as we were talking, Cameron said something to the effect that it was cool that we could pick up and have chat 10 years later like we hadn't been apart all this time. Amen! Aren't friends awesome?

I thought it would be fun to post a pic of the three of us together on graduation day (the last time we saw each other), but it turns out I don't have one. Really? I could have sworn I did! I found pics of me and Cameron at Harvard, at a Freedom Festival dinner, at an Etiquette dinner, and at a tailgate party, but I didn't find one picture of me with Tonia!!! I can't believe that. I have one picture of her alone with her big pager on for Newsnet. Oh, pagers. Remember those? So, Cameron, if you were dating Tonia, why didn't you bring her along once in a while? ;)

Anyway, the cutest thing is that their little girl and my little girl have almost exactly the same hair color. Aren't they cute?