Where does the time go

We have had a fabulous summer! The little sunshine we had was thoroughly enjoyed. I can't believe it's already September so I better post the last few months, before I get too far behind. I have to first start with Collin's new favorite game. He loves hide and go seek. He would play it for hours if WE had the attention span. I have to say his hiding skills are lacking a little, but he is 3 and I can't say I really want him to be too good or else we might never find him. This is one of his oh so tricky hiding spots :)




And although it may look like Marissa is using the same hiding technique she is in fact sleeping. We went to check on her the other night and found this, it was hilarious!



Aunt Cristy came for an awesome visit. We loved having her and it was fun for me to get to know her even better, I keep thinking of her as my "little" 15 year-old sister, even though she's 19 and in college. So it was fun to get to really know my beautiful, wonderful, smart, spiritual sister. I am so proud of her. The kids loved her and Collin still mentions her and every once she makes it into his prayers.






At the end of her visit we all mushed into our little car and drove down to the Redwoods to go camping with my whole family. I guess it was our first "Valenza family" reunion. We spent a week down there and got to sleep in a tent. It was quite the adventure. We had a blast and I did fairly well with the mess. Marissa was covered in a thick layer of dirt, but she was happy. The kids did awesome and we all loved the quality time we had together. You really can't beat the peace and beauty of the outdoors. What an awesome family we have! Here is a picture of Collin, Marissa, and Cayley in their camp chairs. Collin's favorite part besides sleeping in a tent was having a fire every morning and night.




Marissa is becoming quite the little independent woman! Much to our dismay. She is a mover and much more adventurous and daring than Collin is/was. She has figured out how to climb onto the kitchen table, how to make a mess of Toby's kitty food, how to get all cute outfits dirty, etc. you get the picture. She is a ham! We love her and she keeps us on our toes. She is a doll and she is so loving and cuddly, but man is she sweet and sassy! This is what happens when we let her feed herself...


I just couldn't resist! ha ha what a girl.


Again, what a girl


And even though these two can drive each other crazy already, there is sure a lot of laughs and love.


And just to show you that it isn't all fun and games, even though sometimes it sure does feel like I just get to play all day. These little munchkins sure wear me out. I love them so so much. I really can't believe how incredibly blessed we are and I love being home with these precious children.

And don't worry, Adam is around he just somehow never makes it into pictures. I'll have to work on that. We sure love that amazing man. What a good daddy and husband :) He does so much for us and we are lucky to have him :) Sorry, I had to brag and I'm allowed, it's my blog right!!!