Summah

"Gymnastics" in the front room




Thank goodness for friends that let us use their swimming pools! Here we are getting our snack during "adult swim." That's a very long 10 minutes by the way.






Ballet. Far from graceful but VERY entertaining.




Nate suiting up to hit the streets selling Moxie Pest Control. Although the heat is for the birds, he actually enjoys the work a lot. Funny story: One guy angrily told Nate, "you know there's no soliciting allowed in this neighborhood." Nate's reply was, "Oh, okay, if I see anyone soliciting, I'll let them know." I guess the guy actually laughed so...nevertheless I think he'll be glad to be back in the classroom NEXT WEEK. Since when does school start back in July?




I'm sure my girls think popsicles are one of the main food groups. $1.66 a bag = cheap cool treat.

Group dinner at our house:)



Discovery Place with the Mechams:
Hannah and Kirill pass on the "synthetic" rainforest rope bridge. Just felt like being outside in Charlotte, NC to me.



H the brave tries the bed of nails...(after watching 30+ previous kids)



Da bears...



Water time



Ellie and Alex working on a project



So pleased that we're having record high temperatures this summer (not). Heat index of 108? Are you kidding me? So, yes, Nate came home from church to find me in my bathing suit today. Sue me. Good news: no more indigestion. None. Nill. As you can see, this baby girls has dropped so low I feel like I'm transporting a bowling ball around with me. 36 weeks y'all!

Shower

At a moment's notice, I have at least 15 girlfriends in my life who I could call for help with my kids, hair color opinions, positive chit-chat, auto emergencies, craft advice, gospel discussion, breastfeeding dilemmas, emotional breakdown, or career advice. I have never been surrounded by so many women that I absolutely idolize. These same women were kind enough to drop everything going in their busy personal/family lives on a Sat morning to celebrate WM3 (Walbruch Munchkin #3)with me. I, for one, had a super fun time (it started with working 4 hours the night before...not all night:)...the food was delish (you've GOT to try these), the girl time thoroughly enjoyed, and the gifts spot-on! Thank you a million times to Molly for hosting in your beautiful home, and Emily, Shanda, Sharon, and whoever else brought food, etc. My only hope is to raise these girls of ours to be strong, beautiful, virtuous women like y'all (Finding myself using that word quite often now)!


L to R: Shanda,Michelle,moi,Natalie,Tricia,Sharon,Molly,Emily & Stella (not seen), Vickie, and Juliana (photographer)




So bright and sooooooooo scrumptious




~Michelle, me in all my chubby glory, Natalie~




Check out the adorable crib bedding I got! It's even cuter in person and I can't wait to paint the room and get everything ready! I love these last few weeks when it starts to get R-E-A-L!

And to top it all off, I come home to napping husband and kiddos and a spotless house. It's a fabulous day folks!

Today's lunch prayer:

H: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Please help my body...(pause)

ME: ...in the

H: NAME OF JANE AND MICHAEL BANKS AMEN!



No lie, I was laughing so hard. I promise we only watch Mary Poppins every few weeks.

Mechams cousins/Twilight

Think of that last really brave endeavor you tackled with your kids...without your husband. Well, my cousin Liisa drove from Moab, UT to Winston-Salem, NC ALONE with her adorable 5 children, ages 8,6,2,2, and 1. That's 2012 miles in 4 days folks; an average of 8 hours a day of driving. Your endeavor doesn't seem so bad huh? It was so fun to see everyone and take part in the chaos for a few hours. Thanks Liisa, Vern, and Phyllis for letting us come visit!

Courtney, Gracie, Hannah, Ellie on the swing
(note: Liisa gave us the 12-mo UNC cheer outfit. El just had to try it on)

Girls plus Alex take a ride on Vern's golf cart to see the dogs, goats, honey bees, wild berries, etc. My question is: did Hannah really drive that thing?

5 little monkeys jumping on the bed
(miraculously) None fell off and broke their head!



Course we could have stayed longer but mama had her once-a-year movie theater experience to get back for. Saw ECLIPSE with a fabulous bunch of ladies and actually enjoyed the movie more than the popcorn. Huh?


Juliana and myself

As if I don't stand out enough there in my orange maternity smock and all...hey, when the gal says squeeze in, I squeeze.

July 4th

Of course, Hannah was singing "America, America" all day...just in case we forgot whose birthday it was.

H at the Indian Trail Parade. Apparently, we're gonna have to work on her aggressiveness since she had to compete with a 12 year old boy and a 70+ grandma for candy:)


The best part of our weekend was attending Juliana's baptism. I was lucky enough to be invited to go along with the missionaries to meet Juliana and her family a couple months ago. Never having served a mission, it was totally inspiring to me to be able to have the missionaries teach Juliana in our home and to see her faith and commitment as she embraced each different gospel principle. I am so grateful for the freedom that America offers me but I'm even more grateful for the freedom that comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The freedom that comes through His Atonement and our humility as we fight every day to keep the commandments and only allow that which is uplifting and edifying in our homes and thoughts.