Awhile back, we ended up somehow without a book to read at bedtime, so I decided to simply tell Joseph a story instead. Thus, the adventures of Moseph and Fosalie began, which have now grown to include not only Moseph and Fosalie's parents, of course, but Grandma Loosen, Grandpa Void, Grandma Windy, and Grandpa Heave! Joseph absolutely loves it, and regularly pleads to hear another tale. Earlier today, I told him about the time the garbage truck driver invited Moseph and Fosalie to take a ride with him, and now he can't stop talking about it! He's been jabbering on, bouncing around the room like this for at least 10 minutes, describing where everyone sat in the truck's cab and what they listened to on the radio. How fun to watch his imagination soar!

We recently had our family pictures taken by an Austin-based photographer recommended by an old friend from church up there. She met us down here in San Antonio at the botanical gardens, which was certainly convenient for us, but also meant we didn't get started until it was already getting pretty warm! As the pictures progress chronologically, we all get a little sweatier, and a little redder!



























In the end, though, I was impressed by the number of great shots she managed to get! These are just a few of our favorites. Someday, I'd like to be able to attempt our own family portraits, but with little ones like ours to wrangle, this was definitely a great alternative!

Trying on Daddy's shoes is always good for a few laughs! I just love that big, happy grin!

Tim is taking care of the kids pretty much solo today as I've come down with a nasty head cold. He wanted to get some work done on our garden box, so he got the kids dressed in their swimsuits, filled up the kiddie pool, and is now hard at work nearby! I could see Joseph and Rosalie having so much fun from the window, and I couldn't resist coming out to take a few shots. Now it's back to bed with me!

I don't know how I lucked out, but I've got two of the best helpers around here at home with me all day! Lately, Rosalie especially loves helping me unload the dishwasher. She even knows to leave the glass things alone and just hand me the plastic and utensils instead. What a clever little girl!

By the way, that's the Mack and the Mo Tabs' Pioneer Day concert playing in the background and it is fantastic! It's still available in the BYU TV online archives, and I've put it on just to hear the music a few different times now.

A little later, Joseph was pouring these blocks into different containers and suggested I take a picture of him. Naturally, I thought that was a fabulous idea! Looking at him playing up on the counter like this, though, I'm mostly struck with how tall he's getting to be. It reminds me of the insightful poem Tim's mom gave to us in cross-stitch format when Joseph was born. How true it is!

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep

It hasn't taken Rosalie nearly as long as it did Joseph to learn how to say "no". She's actually saying it in this shot, although she's continuing to eat as well!

Our little bug definitely has no problem expressing her opinion!

What a silly little goose!

Tonight is our last chance to visit with the Allison grandparents and the Houstons before they all go their separate ways. We found a fun Mexican restaurant with outdoor seating among some gorgeous Texas live oaks and a playground for the kids to boot!



What a bunch of cute, silly kiddos!







Joseph sure had fun playing hard at the playground after eating!



Allan's stepfather, Andy Goldsmith, joined us for dinner and took a few pictures of us all together before we headed off. All the Allison grandchildren are here, except Rick and Shelley's darling baby Jett. Hopefully we'll all have a chance to get together soon!

Our amazing little reader just gets better and better every day, picking up words not only from our short lessons, but just from his own keen observation. Here he is reading to Grandma Allison from The Day the Babies Crawled Away, one of his favorite books lately. He's so proud and excited about his newfound knowledge!

Rosalie discovered this fleece fabric I had laying around, and has been carrying it all over the house with her. This is the same fabric I used to make her baby blanket before she was born, which admittedly hasn't been used a whole lot yet since she was still being swaddled last winter, but likely will get some use this year. I pulled the blanket out of the closet thinking she might prefer to carry it around instead, but she quickly cast it aside in favor of the choppy, unfinished fabric!

Tonight, we got a special treat when Grandpa Allison called and said he'd like to stop by for dinner! He's been here in San Antonio working this week, but has been so busy, he hasn't had any time for visiting so far. He said he really should be working tonight as well, but desperately needed a break. Joseph and Rosalie are so excited to see him!



Rosalie is very cautious around unfamiliar people most of the time, but for some reason she seems quite taken with her Grandpa Steve. Here they are playing on the floor together...



and with the always-popular camel!

Joseph asked Grandma to lift him up high, but I got her off the hook by volunteering instead. He's getting pretty good at balancing himself there without holding on!

Back at home, here we are enjoying our hot dog dinner...





and lots of love and play together!

I came outside to say goodbye to the Houstons and found Tim and Benjamin engaged in a furious sword fight! We're sorry to see them go, but our sadness is somewhat assuaged since Grandma Allison will be staying here with us for another couple days, and then we'll have one more chance to get together. We sure do love visiting family!

A little while later, here we all are down at our neighborhood pool. When I first met Tim, he was actually living with Jen and Allan and their two little boys, Jonathan and Taylor, here in this very same neighborhood, only a few streets away from our house! My experience meeting Jen back then was one of those things that made me quite sure Tim was the man for me. She's such a great sister-in-law! How funny that she's back here again in this same old pool, but this time with five little ones of her own, and two of her brother's! We make quite the crowd, I suppose, and manage to make the pool seem pretty busy all by ourselves!

Benjamin has only recently learned to jump in the water this, and his excitement is obvious. I love the way Rosalie is excitedly pointing to him in the background!

Here, on the other hand, is an old pro at jumping into the pool. CAAAAAAAAAAN...

NOOOOOOOOOON...

BAAAAAAAAAALL! The kids sure love their happy and fun uncle and daddy!

It really is a nice day to be in the pool. It's plenty warm outside, but pool is still refreshing, not like some days where it feels like bathwater! I love this shot of Grandma Cindy playing in the water with Lindsey!



Joseph talked us into moseying on over to the little playground next to the pool for a bit, so here are Joseph and Benjamin trying out these tube phones...



and Rosalie climbing up the slide and stairs. She has none of the sense of self-preservation from which her brother has always benefited, and Tim thinks she'll end up with many more bangs and bumps because of it. On the other hand, she's also highly coordinated, so we'll just have to wait and see! Lindsey is being so helpful here making sure she gets up the stairs unscathed. The heat is already starting to get to us, though, so we'll be heading home now to get dinner started while the Houstons take a last dip in the pool!