a visit from L & G...

Gunnar, Laura, Elsie and Charlotte.

I really do love visiting with the Gehring's. Yeah, Laura is my sister, so of course I love her. BUT, I don't think all sisters love being around eachother. Do they? When I hang out with her and her family, I always think...yeah baby, we're related. I can hang out with her forever. Gunnar is her perfect compliment, and their girls are just icing on the cake. My kids had a blast with them...dressing up, playing mommy to baby Charlotte, jumping on the trampoline. Thank heavens for that thing. Endless fun. This picture was taken about 5 minutes after they arrived. It's like a kid magnet!

On Friday, Laura and I went shopping for a bit, while Gunnar and Dave took the kids minus Margaret to the petting zoo. I THINK they had fun...you'd have to ask them to be sure. :) Laura and I had a good time though, even with poor Margaret's wailing in her carseat. Bless her heart.

Molly and Else (as Molly lovingly nicknamed her) dressed-up every time we were at the house. Where are the girls? Oh, naked in Molly's room, again. I'm not sure that they could be any cuter though. Elsie and Molly played so well together. Last year at the beach, we wanted them to be instant best friends. They enjoyed eachother, but from a distance. This time...they were pals. It made us so happy. Genuinely happy.

The Monte L. Bean museum up at BYU is a must. Even though we've been there a few dozen times, somehow it still interests them. Heaven forbid you go to the museum and not the creamery afterwards. The BEST ice-cream, and definitely the best prices.

OK...so maybe it doesn't interest Alex anymore. :)

WOW...looking good everybody. Grab those garlic fries before they disappear!

This is all of us, taken with my self-timer. The exposure was way off, but I love it anyway. Family get togethers are quite possibly the best thing in the world. They make me so, so happy.

Lots of swimming and sprinklers in the backyard. Pick a few warm raspberries, back in the pool. Heaven.

We love our cousin Christy! LOVE her.

Things like this are what make me love getting together SO much. Tramps are not made for women in the middle of their childbearing years. Laura would get on, fall, then she couldn't get back up. Mostly because Gunnar and the kids made it impossible for her. They would jump right by her, just as she was getting her footing, and down she would go, using every muscle possible to keep from wetting herself. I haven't laughed so hard in quite a long time. HILARIOUS!

Thanks for driving all that way you guys. We love you so much!

sad girl...

Photo by Laura Gehring :)

OK...I'm going to come right out and admit it. Miss Margaret is a bit of a cryer. I don't know why that is so hard to say. Like it reflects on my abilities as a mother or something. I know it doesn't. I know it doesn't. I know it doesn't. If I keep saying it, I just may believe it. :) I love this little girl so much. I think I'm being blessed with patience. I'm sad for her. Not angry with her, just wanting to understand. I'm back to thinking I need to eliminate chocolate for a bit. Heaven help me.

I'm wondering if any of you have a swing and/or a baby bjorn like thing that you would be willing to lend to this gorgeous little girl. I think they would make both of us a bit happier. Thanks!

a week's worth...

We've had a pretty great week. I'm just not getting the chance to blog as often as I would like, so here's a biggie. Margaret makes me melt in her new chickie towel from her Aunt Wendi. MELT.

We survived our first week at church as a family of 7. Aaaagh...SEVEN. Margaret was great. No tears in the carseat. In fact, she slept through most of the 3 hours. I held her the whole time, but I was cool with that. It was so nice for people to finally get a chance to meet her. She is a little lovie.

We've been having a blast with my nephew Adam in town. Christy has some serious competition for Molly's "favorite person" position. :) We've had lots of visitors lately and we're loving it! My sweet Mom, Dave's brother John and sister Kerri and their families, my nephews Rich and Adam, my cousin Matt and his family, and in a few days...my sister Laura and her crew. It's fun for my kids, and makes me feel so much better about providing them with nothing but boredom this summer.

Earrings made of magnetix. Probably all kinds of dangerous. They came off after a few pictures. Hilarious though.

Dress-up, dress-up, dress-up. All day, EVERY day. We cannot WAIT for Miss Elsie to get here on Thursday to join in the fun. YIPEE!

My cousin Matt's wife Sarah. I love her like a sister. I SO wish they lived closer, but I'm thrilled that we got a few hours with them last week. :)

This is Matt. Can you see why I love him SO much? Seriously, I can't get enough of him. He is a great, fun, kind person. Wonderful husband, wonderful father of 4. I am so proud of him. He's a dentist up in WA.

Lastly, my handsome little guy. He's changing...from a boy to a pre-teen, and it scares me. It scares me that I will lose some control, and he will have to make his own decisions. I sure hope we have taught him well. I think we have.

tears...

Who says infants don't produce tears? I've read it, but it doesn't hold true here at our house. This is Margaret yesterday, after crying for 25 minutes straight in the car. I say crying, but it is SO much more than that. It is total meltdown, stop breathing for seconds at a time, screaming. I'm not sure that she even knows why she is screaming, although it IS generally tied to the carseat. She'll stop as soon as I get her out and hold her. She becomes pale and almost listless. I was going to edit this photo to try and make her look cute...take out the red splotches, etc. but that just wouldn't be real life.

My question for you dear friends of mine...how do you cope with an infant who hates the carseat? None of mine ever have. In fact, I could leave most of them in it for hours. At least through 3 hours of church. What am I going to do? Hold her for 3 hours? I don't want her screaming as we walk in to the chapel. The thing is, she is genuinely sad, and so that makes ME sad. Sad and really, really anxious. About to explode with anxiety. Noone can attempt to talk to me while she is out of control. I just have to breathe slowly, deeply, and count the seconds till we are home. She is so happy with being home all day, eating, napping, and being cuddled. I guess I shouldn't complain. The cuddling really isn't so bad. :)

my dad.

This is my handsome dad with his beautiful girl. He is 74 years old today. I don't think he looks a day over 64. Happy Birthday Dad! Rather than a long, elaborate post with millions of pictures, I am going to try to keep this simple and tell you why I love him so much and count myself as one of the luckiest 8 kids in the world to have him as my father.

Joel Richard Temple. Son. Brother. Husband. Father. Uncle. Allergist. Teacher. My Dad is faithful. Since being converted to the church over 35 years ago, he has been faithful. Faithful to his beliefs, faithful in his responsibilities, faithful to my Mom. My Dad is who I turn to first when I need some serious council. He knows what is right, and he'll remind me. As I've mentioned before, he is a letter writer. The old fashioned kind...you know, with a pen and paper? He has gorgeous pens. Lots of them. All for writing letters when he feels inspired. And he does get inspired, I know it. He is able to write the most beautiful things. Things you want to read over and over again. He wrote my mom a letter while she was here, telling her how much he missed her and how hugely important she is in his life. Who does that? Seriously. My Dad does.

He gives and gives. He would give anything to his children. I think that is partly why he makes a nice amount of money...so that he can give it to people that he loves. I always felt very secure growing up. I still do. He somehow knows when my little family is strapped, and will send a blessing our way.

He makes me laugh. I don't remember laughing a whole lot with him when I was younger, but man...he has really gotten silly in his old age. :) Laughing makes me happy. Laughing makes things seem less stressful. He made me laugh today...and I really needed that.

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you so very much.

our 3 year old...

How is Molly adjusting to life with a new baby in the house? I'll give you one guess. I don't think I have ever heard her whine/cry so much or yell NO so many times in a day. I'm thinking we may have dug our own hole. The other day she said she was a big girl and wanted to get rid of her paci's. I know...you're thinking she's WAY too old for a paci anyway. I realize that. I thought we would have them gone well before the baby came, but we didn't. We just never got to it. Then I let her keep them because I didn't want to turn her entire world upside down just after a new baby arrives. Anyhow, when she said she was ready to part with them, I was ready to go ahead with it. We took them to the $ Tree, and traded them for wonderful toys and treats. She's done OK in terms of asking about them. She hasn't...at all. But MAN alive is she ever fussy. She won't nap. If she does, it's only for an hour instead of 2 or 3. Part of the problem is that Grandma is gone. Grandma gave Molly lots and lots of attention. Part of it is the paci...I just know it. SO...after a little discussion with Dave last night, and listening to my pounding headache...we gave her one of Margaret's. We'll deal with it later. The end.

I have to say how much I love this picture though. Molly was so sad...and Daddy was right there to calm her. He loves his baby. She loves him. They have a beautiful relationship. I am so thankful for that.

tiny details...

Tiny little details I want to be able to remember forever. I wish I could capture the softness, the smell.