Sweet Summer

So much to say about the summer of 2016.  

I told myself (and everyone else) that we were going to take it easy this summer as we welcomed Margo Mae and tried to figure out life with four littles in tow.

In some ways it was exactly that (I miss you slow summer mornings!), but I am still a Hansen/Gunter, so you know I couldn't stay away from the parties for long. I mean, remember how I went to two dance recitals three days after I had a c-section?!

Thank goodness that for the first couple of weeks the party came to us.  Time with cousins, manicures with aunts, grandmas and grandpas, and just being together as a family made those early days with a newborn feel extra sweet.

And then everyone went home and it was time to figure out life with four kids.  Do the pictures above make it seem like things were going well?  Honestly, the transition has gone better than I could have hoped, but there's still been plenty of crazy for good measure.  Most of that crazy has come in the form a pint-sized blonde with an attitude and an adventurous soul.  Trying to sneak "nacks" from the pantry (we had to put a lock on that one real quick), climbing on tables, hanging from drawers and throwing epic fits were just a few of the moments that made our summer exciting.  Most days I had a baby strapped to my chest, a bigger baby on my hip, and a big girl fetching a diaper, watching TV or making everyone lunch (I'm mostly kidding about that last part).  And in case you were wondering, we are still a circus at least 75% of the time.

We spent some time in Utah meeting and celebrating new cousins, and making our annual visit to Lagoon.  It was so hot, and I was grateful we made the decision to leave a three-week-old Margo with Nana Joni and a bottle.  A 100 degree day at Lagoon is only acceptable when the tickets are free and there are cousins to ride the teacups with.

Because we were traveling to Utah for Keaton's blessing on July 3rd, we decided to skip our Fourth of July trip to Island Park, and instead we spent the day enjoying the small town festivities in Plain City.  It was fun day of riding four-wheelers in the parade, eating snow cones and swimming at grandma's.  It was also Margo's one month birthday, and we were both a little upset about it.

It wasn't long before we made our way to the cabin and the beaches of Bear Lake.  We ended up making three trips to Bear Lake this summer thanks to family reunions, High Adventure trips, and a weekend with old college friends.

Highlights included BABIES (Charlie, Margo and Ira were all born within a one month span), Grandma's Store, watching Hairspray at Pickleville Playhouse (my girls are STILL obsessed), and managing to fit in a quick visit in with dental school friends.

The beach life really is the best life.

The rest of the summer was spent being outside as much as possible, watching daddy play city league softball (champions!), passing out candy in parades, and one or two sick days just for good measure.

We crossed lots of items off our summer bucket list, and the girls even got spend a few days at Uncle Jace and Aunt Ashley's house while mom and dad attended a dental conference in Provo.

There were moments where everyone was crying, days I felt guilty for saying no to yet another outing with friends, and an average of at least two hours of tv each morning.  

But we also ate lots of popsicles on the tramp, spent hours in the backyard with friends, and topped it all of with all the baby snuggles we could get; making this sweet and simple summer one of my most favorite yet.