Summer is not giving up without a fight. It has been hot, hot, hot lately. We've been cooling off on our own backyard waterslide.
We all took a quick trip to Houston for Helaman to finish the clinical portion of his board exams for the year.
This is the little basil plant that could, sprouting up between the bricks on the patio. I appreciate its effort to redeem me for not planting anything this year after our bountiful harvest last year.
Olivia is not picky about who feeds her and Charlotte is happy to help, and demonstrate proper mouth-opening technique.
At 6 months, Olivia is still tipping the scales at 20.7 lbs - 97% and is 28 inches tall - 93%.
To celebrate the 25 cent/lb sale on peaches at Walmart this week, we got a new blender! I have been using a broken blender operated with a bent paper clip for over 4 years, so to watch this blender tackle a smoothie with just a push of a button was fabulous.
She loved reading books with Charlotte and Grandpa.
and recently discovered that she has a tongue. For a little while she let it hang out all the time.
We went to see Uncle Mark and Aunt Amy's new house in Baytown, Texas. They have wonderful views out on the back patio of the golf course, and Amy took the girls on a tour to see the ducks.
Olivia is a frequent customer at Charlotte's diner.
She loves to do hair now and is always asking for "tails."
We took a trip to Houston and saw her old friend Lincoln. They go way back as Columbia dental school babies together. Charlotte was not so sure about playing with him at first, but running around in the rain proved to be the perfect ice breaker.
She also loved playing with Grandma's toys. I remember playing with these toys as a kid myself. 
Grandma came to visit us too and had many a picnic with Charlotte, who spent an additional week at Grandma's and is currently suffering from Grandma withdrawal. 
In fact we have had a lot of picnics lately. If you are in the middle of something and cannot attend a picnic, it's no problem - Charlotte will bring the picnic to you. 
One of her favorite things to do is jump in the bed with Charlotte, when Charlotte is taking a nap (but needs to get up). She looks as pleased as a pumpkin.
She can also sit up on her own! For a few seconds at a time.
She's decided to forgo her large collection of pacifiers in favor of the thumb. She is a thumb-sucker, but not a skilled one unfortunately. Sometimes she can find it, sometimes not.
I love what a great big sister Charlotte is. She loves to be around Olivia, play with her, go get her after naps and in the morning, shows her off to friends, and always remembers her in prayers. Olivia loves to watch Charlotte, especially when she's dancing, and laugh with her. I hope they are always this close:)
Olivia loves her cereal.
Here she is, literally grabbing for more. I can't make it fast enough for her!
Ready for the pool
They were opening for REO Speedwagon, who brought us right back to the 80s with their smoke machine, top of the platform drummer and guitarist with long blond hair. Awesome!
After they finished there was a good fireworks show, as there is after pretty much every event and holiday here in Texas. Love it!
A touch of pain reliever and she was back to being a sweetie.
I thought these drumsticks deserved a closeup.
In honor of the series finale of LOST, or three hours of church wrestling (more likely), Olivia slept from 7pm to 7am last night. Of course, I didn't - I woke up at 4 and crept in to make sure she was still alive. What a sweetie she is. Having two ladies to tote around with me everywhere I go isn't easy, but it is worlds easier than toting around one 3 year old and one colicky, screaming baby, and for that I am infinitely grateful.
Daddy's not-so-little girl
To celebrate, we got down the old Jumperoo, and Charlotte helped initiate Olivia into her new play center, which she really loves so far, though her patience for it only comes in short spurts. Hopefully soon she will want to spend as much time in it as Charlotte did at that age. It helped a lot, especially during a week when H and I got super sick and all I could do is lay on the couch and watch her jump.
Charlotte is a great big sister. She can't wait to see her each morning and loves reading with her.
We have also had a great strawberry harvest this year! The other night we brought in a whole container full of them.
We also had an awesome time at the grand opening of Red Mango, a new frozen yogurt place at the Shops at Legacy. They were giving out free bowls of frozen yogurt and toppings for all and Charlotte got a kick out of Junk Jammin' outside with her buddy.
She's also been helping out with spring cleaning. I love those Lysol wipes I got last summer - hand her one and she goes to town. She also loves taking baths with Olivia and washing Olivia's hair. I need to get a picture of that, but hello, I only have so many arms.
Today I even tackled the project of cleaning out Charlotte's closet. I found no less than 47 packs of diapers. Needless to say, every time there has been a great sale in the last couple years, I have stocked up. I never pay more than $5 for a pack and in most cases much less thanks to CVS extra bucks, Walgreens register rewards, and three computers from which to print the maximum amount of coupons from every source. I have wanted to inventory the sizes for a while, so it felt good to be able to accomplish that. During this, Olivia sat patiently in her chair while Charlotte tried various pairs of shoes on her feet.
We came to Phoenix so Helaman's parents could meet little Olivia.
Charlotte had a great time playing play-doh, cars, and jumping in the pool and spa. She is excited to go swimming this summer.
Olivia made friends with her cousin Emily. She also found her true love - the side-to-side swing. Emily loaned hers for the week and Olivia slept her days away in it. She was sleeping so much I didn't know what to do with myself. We got one immediately after getting home, and although she doesn't take the 3 hour naps anymore, it is still great for putting her right to sleep without my assistance.
Last month we got to go to Arizona for a week of fun in the sun. While we were there we visited my old roommate and BYU dorms pal Lachelle. I can't believe we've been friends for 12 years now - I'm glad I get to see her every time we come back to Arizona. Both our daughters are just months apart, I really wish we lived closer!! 
Charlotte and Ellie had a great time together at the science museum.
Olivia and Chloe also hit it off, as you can see.
The day after Charlotte's birthday, Olivia was blessed in church.
She was in a good mood so we took her picture in a couple outfits. This is one her Grandma brought her from the Philippines.
In her blessing dress
After the photo session she was ready for a nap!
