June was kicked off with Elias' long-awaited Styrka. Elias and his brother John came up with the idea last year and have been working on it since. "Styrka" is a Swedish verb meaning to prove, strengthen, fortify, invigorate, toughen, validate. The weekend was designed for friends to come together to perform manly feats of strength while learning from each other.
They held the event at Tober and had 20 guys attend.
Amid many great discussions they also had a day white-water rafting,
hiked a few mountains, and held a "mountain olympics." It was an epic adventure enjoyed by all.
While Elias was off in the mountains, the kids and I enjoyed city-life in Denver. Since Chelsea's husband Taylor attended Styrka we convinced her to come party with us.
We had a blast going to the bounce house, children's museum, and splash pad. 
We met up with some dear high school friends and their kids.
Mandy and Ian were also in town so it was fun to cross paths and catch up!
All-in-all, the kids were pretty good travelers.
Summer continues to amaze me with how creative she is. She's always making little crafts and finding solutions to problems.
One day she wanted to carry around a few things so she made and taped a pocket to her dress.
She loves her family and is constantly asking to call and FaceTime them. 
One day she came up to me like this and announced, "I have a baby inside my belly and I'm getting married today." (Clearly, we need to review the proper order of things.)
Boyd is constantly figuring things out, or coming to his own conclusions on how things should be.
Boyd is very into his toys. Each morning he takes a little inventory of the toys he has decided are important for the day and he carries them everywhere. For weeks he insisted on being in his cardboard car and threw a fit each time he rediscovered it didn't fit in his carseat.
He has had a really hard time going to nursery at church. He would rather be with Elias; even if he is teaching.
Smith continues to crack me up with his accessories.
He is extremely adventurous when at the park,
and is still quick to put things in his mouth.
Elias gave the kids haircuts and it was so sad to watch those gorgeous golden locks fall to the ground.
Luckily he still has curls! Everyone turned out looking great.
I can't believe my boys are two years old! We had a fun little celebration with them.
They each bring so much joy and laughter into our family.
We are so grateful for our amazing neighbors the Beesons. They celebrated the boys' birthday with us and have enriched our Santa Fe experience so much since moving in last year.
I spent one week this month at a Girls Camp for teenage girls in our church.
It was so fun to spend a week in the mountains with these strong, inspiring young girls.
I'm so grateful for a wonderful husband and great friends who were willing to watch my kids while I was away.
The rest of the month was filled with meeting Daddy for lunch,
making cardboard box cars,
saying goodbye to dear friends,
enjoying our splash pad,
reading books,
visiting the temple,
cooking together,
playing together (this is a bunk bed that Summer created that was a hit for days),
and making each other laugh.
One night we camped in the backyard.
The kids loved it and were all smiles. So was I when bedtime came and we brought them all back into the house to tuck them in their beds!
Elias and I had a date night at the Santa Fe Rodeo. When we left Summer gave us both beaded necklaces with a heart on it. She instructed us that when we miss her, we should just hold onto the heart bead and think of her to feel better.
The rodeo was a riot and very "Santa Fe" In fact, we even parked behind this very Santa Fe car. There are more cars here with bumper stickers than I have ever seen. And this sticker, "My other car is in the arroyo", is classic "Santa Fe". An arroyo is pretty much a dried-up riverbed; people seem to think they are beautiful here and yet it's fairly common to find a deserted car there.
And so, our life here continues to be rich in laughter and blessings. We hope life for you is going well and that our paths cross soon.
Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith
1 comment:
Great haircuts! And that Styrka idea is brilliant!! You guys are so creative. And happy birthday to your boys! Can't wait to see you in August!
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