Murdock July

July was a busy month for us! Not only was it the hottest July in Calgary since 1960, which made sleeping with no A/C a little difficult, but we were kept on the run with all sorts of adventures, visitors, and fun, fun, fun! First of all, let me defend my inablilty to sleep and my crankiness about the 87-degree heat. Everyone here teased me mercilessly because I'm supposed to be this tough Texan who is used to heat. Well, in Texas, 87 degrees in the summer would be considered a cool day, that is right. But Texans do not usually go outside if it's much hotter than that (unless it's to the pool or something) AND we are smart enough to make sure that the air conditioning is working wherever we live. Otherwise, we die. And, I've never been seven-plus months pregnant in the summer either. I will from now on, plan winter babies :) So, all you Canadians, lay off. It's hot, I could barely sleep for most of July, and I am not a wimp just because I installed a window-mounted A/C unit in my living room. So there :)

Okay, on to the fun things.......

1. Adam's brother Paul and his wife Rachael and their 20-month-old daughter Sydney visited Calgary this month. We went with them to the Calgary Stampede. Super fun. Nate cried for a couple days after Sydney left. They were really good buddies. He kept saying "I want my cousin back."

Really great photo of Adam and Nate on the roller coaster. You'd never guess that I actually know how to use my camera :)

Nate and Sydney riding the train to the Stampede

2. Adam's uncle Wade brought his family to visit from Arizona and we got to go on a day trip to the mountains with the Melchin clan. These pictures are from Morraine Lake and some falls that I think are called Takawaka or something.

3. Nate got his first bike. I think it's way too big, but his ever-so-frugal dad says he'll grow into it. We decorated it with Spiderman and Superman stickers so that it would be "cool."

4. Adam's brother Jared also visited Calgary, although we hardly got to see him because...

5. Adam's grandmother (his father's mother) passed away at the spry age of 95. The family was able to go down for the funeral (even Paul and Jared could go because they were in town). So they drove down to Idaho and were gone for a few days. The services were beautiful, I'm told, and we will all remember the sweet and fun woman she was. She was finally able to go "home" and be with her husband and son, Dennis, who preceded her in death.

6. Adam's aunt Robyn and uncle Nyle were here to visit. (Robyn's actually still here) We loved having dinner with them and we even celebrated "Heritage Day" with a Melchin family picnic in the park. I was having too much fun to take any pictures, so sorry....

7. Adam and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on July 25. It's nearly impossible for me to wrap my head around the fact that it's been six years since we were married in the LDS Salt Lake Temple. What a blessing it is to be married to your best friend and what a blessing that we have each other forever. Also, I couldn't help but get emotional over the fact that we're blessed to have our own children, with a sweet and loving four-year-old and another little boy on the way. We are richly blessed.

I couldn't resist adding this side shot, this baby is growing every day! (This pic is from 30 weeks....only a few more to go!)

8. Other than all that, we've just been soaking up the sun and enjoying life. Here are some bonus pictures :)

Having a great time with friends Alden and Jackson at Riley Park, a wading pool park that is FREE! (By the way, this was the 4th of July. I made sure Nate was wearing his red, white and blue swim shorts. Even if no one else noticed, at least we remembered the holiday...and thought about how much I miss my country and how blessed we are to be American.)

Nate and his neighbor buddies...we've been spending a lot of time outdoors playing with these guys. Some days Nate is literally outside from 8 am to 7 or 8 pm, only taking breaks to eat!