Summer Kickoff

Whoever coined the term "lazy days of summer," obviously didn't live at our house. The month of June was a blur, and already we find ourselves gearing up for the 4th of July. Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks:

Jackson's Little League season ends.

This year Jackson played for the Diamond Backs. He loved playing with his good friends, Jetta, Kevin and Korey, and playing against many of his friends from school. Jackson's favorite things about playing baseball are, "the cool trophy" he got at the end of the season, and true to form, "getting a soda and a treat after every game."

Happy Birthday Joel!

We celebrated Joel's birthday at home this year with homemade pizza, and his favorite chocolate cake. Later on he hit the driving range with Jackson to test out his new, awesome golf clubs--a gift from yours truly. Joel is hoping this next year brings him a little more time on the course. Dare to dream, babe. We love you!

Jackson learns to ride a bike...again!

After learning to ride his bike last summer, Jackson briefly returned to 4 wheels this year. But after literally only a few minutes of practicing, we are happy to announce that Jackson is officially back on two wheels, baby. And this time he's there to stay. The BIG!, HUGE!, GINORMOUS! bike that scared him last year has amazingly shrunk to just the right size. Funny how that happens, huh?

More Bikes:

Jackson is not the only one feeling the wind in his hair--Lola has also fallen in love with bikes. She'll ride anything with wheels, from her own princess bike, to Jackson's scooter, to her cousins Big Wheel. By next summer she should be sporting her own big girl bike.

Still more bikes:

Not to be left out, Dallin has also joined the Mattingley Biker Gang. He spent most nights at the beach peddling around on Anthony's Big Wheel, or pushing his own bike from behind--always managing to lose his shorts in the process.

Claire's first steps!

After months of threatening to walk, Claire finally took her first steps. And because I'm officially the worst mom ever, we don't even have a picture to show for it! (That might be something we have to recreate for posterity--hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do!) Since taking those first steps, she has embraced her full capacity for destruction as now both hands are free to dump, rip, smudge, and smear anything in her path. Claire is officially on the GO!