These past few months there have been SO many things going on that I haven’t been able to keep up. I thought that I’d make a giant effort on just one big post to catch up on everything I’ve missed!
The craziness all started on June 29th… Kate’s Birthday! Here’s to our lovely Kate who thrives as the mom extraordinaire!! What an example she is to me, and I am eternally grateful for her kindness and support!
We next celebrated the 4th of July!! It was a fantastic time! We collaborated with friends and family to have a KILLER firework show right in our own front yard! HURRAY for our free country!
The day after that, July 5th, was “Baby” Nate’s Birthday, who is not so much a baby anymore! He is one of the cutest kids around! Last night at a restaurant, when he was served his meal he said, referring to our waitress: ‘That lady was so nice! She brought me macaroni and cheese!’ I love this little boy and HE sure loved that Lightning McQueen cake!
July 5th – With all of the celebration of life – births, birthdays, even the birth of our country- I guess the heavens would tend to remind us that death, as well, has an important part of our existence. My Grandfather, Bernardo Morales, passed away the same day as Nate’s birthday. My fondest memory of him is a pair of pajamas he gave to me when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. On the front was Garfield hugging his Teddy Bear, and saying ‘Te Quiero.’ I asked my Abuelo what that meant and he said: ‘I love you.’
July 11th – A few days after that, the ADVENTURES WITH KAIA began [I'm sure you've seen some of the pictures Nate has posted on his blog]. This gorgeous little gem is Nate’s cousin and we watched her for a week while her family took a not-so-baby-friendly vacation to the San Juan Islands. She was such a delight! I LOVED having the sights, the sounds, and yes, even the smells of a baby in our home. She was exuberant and a joy to us. I miss her dearly.
Julia was blessed on July 12th and it was a beautiful day to me. The little dress Jules is wearing was the same dress Kate AND Gracie wore for their blessings. I believe it was made by Kate’s Grandma. And the bracelet was provided by Mom Perkes, which tied all the loose ends together. Despite what this picture might say about Julia, she is NOT a grumpy baby. That grimace is just due to those chunky cheeks!
July 13th – Jake’s Turn!!! Happy Birthday to the big brother I never had! This day marked the starting point of all the wake boarding madness that currently encompasses our family. Kate planned a surprise birthday party for Jake and I haven’t been that giddy in a long time. Kate put a TON of time, effort and research into picking out the perfect gift for him. It paid off. It was a top of line ’09 Hyperlite Wake Board! More to come on THAT topic on a later post; wake boarding is taking over our family!!!
July 15th, two short days after that, another member was added to our family!! Claire Brooke came into the world, perfectly healthy and happy, as our newest niece. She is Nate’s oldest brothers’ fourth child!
July 25th- My turn, I guess! I’ve never been treated so well as I was on this day. Nate went ALL OUT and gave his all in planning the perfect day for me. He surprised me by taking the day off, taking me jetskiing, planning the perfect picnic lunch, and then taking me to the AMAZING Harry Potter movie. After that, we went home, had my favorite pizza EVER [DiGiorno's Stuffed Crust Rising Pepperoni Pizza], and fell asleep to School of Rock, one of the funniest movies of all time. During our picnic, Nate made me cry, which is a technique that many a seasoned jeweler has used before: ‘Make her cry and the diamond not only sparkles, but looks twice the size as well.’ Using the excuse of cleaning my engagement ring, he went and bought a wedding band that matches perfectly. It is beautiful and I finally have a band!!
This is how I felt by the end of the day….
As if to complete the perfection of my day, I got an impromptu visit from one of my dearest friends and mission companions. Ashlea Hass is one of my cherished ones and she came to ID with her sweet husband Eric for a family event. And look at her belly!!! She’s NEVER been more beautiful.
I LOVE entertaining guests! This is us at breakfast: Stuffed French Toast! YUM!!
I had one more visitor for my birthday. Does it get any better?!?! Since childhood, ‘Bindy’, or Belinda has been one of my favorite aunts. She came to visit us with her husband Paris, and two crazy dogs! I love my Aunt Bindy.
August 5th – 11 VERY short days later… Nate got his birthday wish granted. I found a SMOKIN’ deal on this get up…
…and this was his reaction. As a wife, can it get any more satisfying!?!?
This is Nate, trying his cool moves on his new wake board. Jake was kind enough to help me with the execution of this day.
After a LONG day of wake boarding in the very hot sun, we went home, took an hour nap and then got all dressed up to have a nice, classy dinner in downtown Boise. The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, is our new favorite place to eat. They treated us LIKE ROYALTY, with complimentary Pina Coladas, a birthday presentation and a coupon for $20 off!
After that, we watched Nate’s favorite TV Show, Wipeout, and presented him with his FAVORITE cake ever, ‘Ring of Coconut Bundt Cake’! It was a VERY intimidating recipe. Mom, thanks for your help!
August 7th – My Dad also had a birthday this month. Wish I could have been at home to celebrate with him. I miss him dearly. This picture, although humorous and endearing, has a lot of symbolic value to it as well. It embodies two of my Dad’s favorite scriptures: ‘…wear yourself out in the service of the Lord’ and ‘…you should not run faster than you have strength.’
I love you Daddy and Happy Birthday.
Canning & Gardening – A never ending part of this summer!! I LOVE gardening! And now I LOVE canning as well!
To finish it off, we had one final visitor… actually, captive, I guess. I did catch him and trap him in a vase for a couple of hours. That eliminates the ‘guest’ possibility.
This has probably been one of the happiest months of my life. I feel SO full and complete.
Life is good.
show hide 7 comments
Marlie - Your post is a timely cobitrnution to the debate
miss jen - Luisa, I hope you don't mind but I found your blog and just had to peek at it. I'm THRILLED that you have become the woman you are today. It looks like you've got a great guy and a good life. Good for you. Love you, Jen Lambert
Mandy - WOW! What a fun and fulfilling summer you guys have had! Way to go on the veggies! You are amazing Luisa!!
Linda - Sounds like a great summer, and I'm glad Kaia was one of the good things about your summer! Very impressed with the garden. I have my worse garden in years, and am sad I don't have more produce! Maybe next year! I love reading your blog because you make everything seem like a party! It jsut makes me happy to read it!
Bree - Holy cow–what a FUN month! I'm glad we got to have a little part in some of it!
You two are such a fun couple!! I love all the pictures!! Oh, and HELLO—your veggies are awesome!! You've gotten me excited for our garden next summer!!
Jen Perkes - What a fun whirlwind of a month or two. Wow! And that didn't include your triathlon adventures. What great photos and sweet words to express your months.
I LOVE the picture of Katie,….my goodness she looks happy and content — you'd never guess that she was a mother of 4 rambunctious kids (not to mention a rather rowdy Jake)!
The cake looks amazing!!! Definately a contest winner.
Thanks so much for sharing. Can't wait until next month to get to see you and get in on some of that play action.
Love! Mom
Ken and Jen Perkes - I can't imagine why you haven't had more time for blogging this summer! Ha!
Anyway, I loved the summer update. Great photo of Kate and "Baby" Nate. As always, your blog is a delight to see and read!
I think I will copy you and do a one-post catchup of our summer fun on our blog . . . I am SO behind!
Love,
–Dad