Jewkes in NYC + Month of August

My brother, Beau, his wife, Amy and their 3 cute boys stayed in NYC for the entire month of August and I cannot even tell you how nice it was to have family here.  Not just ANY family, but this family right here...

They are so much fun to hang out and talk with--and their boys are so cute and really hilarious.   We saw them almost every single day and it still wasn't enough time.  It gave me a tease of what it might be like to have dear family live so close and made me excited to imagine it happening permanently (crossing fingers now!). 

It feels like we did a ton of cool outings and ate even more good food, but we had a few magical picnics in Central Park while they were here.  The weather was pretty perfect, so we'd stay out for a few hours and let the kids run wild around on the grass.  Christian has to be watched like a hawk- he disappeared once and when we saw him again, he was actually pooping under a tree!   Beau cleaned it up good, but it was really funny and also one of those eek! moments.   We visited the Museum of the City of New York one day, which was really delightful- followed by cupcakes at the Little Red Hen-yum! We also walked/ate our way through Greenwich Village and Chelsea with friends, Lizzie Davis and Mary Staples.   That was such a fun day that I could do on repeat most anytime.

Their little baby, Wes, is the cutest kid around.  We couldn't get enough of his chubby cheeks and sweet demeanor.  Love this baby boy, almost as much as his mom and dad do.

Popsicles on the lawn with Grandma Becky, who visited with Poppy at the end of August.  This was on a hot day in Central Park.   Love Wes's laser focus on Tessa's popsicle.  Looks like his hard work paid off in the end...hard to resist that cute face.

We love walking around the fountains and people watching.  This time, there were a couple of guys with huge yellow Burmese pythons that they put on Tenny- he looked absolutely terrified and fascinated at the same time...LOL

So so happy that we got to spend so much of the last month with family that we love so much.   Please move here Beau and Amy!!!

Brian's first visit to Israel

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My ink sketch while waiting for shabbat to begin. One of my favorite views in the Old City.

Cousin's Camp + JFR 2017

My kids look forward to cousin's camp for two loooong years (its held bi-annually), so when the time came for this summer's camp, they were beyond excited.  My sister, Jessica, and her husband, Dave, run the entire thing and they do such an amazing job.  Its stuffed full of fun lessons, games, obstacle courses, s'mores, cousin buddies, trips to the hot tub, ping pong and pool, campfire chats, crafts, cooking and so much more!  It always starts with an opening ceremony, awards to earn during the week, and some fun camp songs around the fire.  Every individual family--at our first camp 8 years ago--painted a family banner to represent themselves and those are hung for all to see.  We ate lots of really yummy food and my parents even rented an ATV so the kids could have some crazy rides captained by their crazy uncles, sprinkled in throughout the week.  They also have the sweetest Father's Firesides as well as devotionals where really heart-felt lessons are shared.  

The kids roasted regular s'mores as well as s'mores in an ice cream cone with foil wrapped around it.  They loved choosing what would go inside the cone and then wrapping it all up tight to throw in the fire for a few minutes.  Most of them charred pretty quick, but those resourceful kids just figured out a way to eat them anyway :)

They had an obstacle course one morning where the kids got wet and loved running around playing games.  A little friendly competition is always welcome in the Jewkes Family.

The boys took off really early one morning to go fishing at a lake far away that they'd heard good things about...too bad they didn't catch anything ("snaked" as uncle Jim called it), but I think they had a great time hanging out either way.

Following cousin's camp, the Jewkes Family Reunion started!  We began with a session in the gorgeous Manti Temple- which was about an hour away from the cabin we rented.  This temple is so stunning as you drive up and it is set high on the hill.  We took some family names with us, so that made it all the more special to attend.  All of the 12-and-up kids got to go as well.  It was probably one of the best parts of the reunion.

Cutest Tenny and his marshmallow face!

We got a LOT of really good family time in- our cabin was pretty secluded, so we didn't leave the premises often--other than morning runs with some of the adults. ;) . 

We had a lot of great meetings around this perfect set-up 

"Shoop on" was Caroline's favorite sentence...she wore this swimsuit every day.  And, we love her so much, swim shoop and all.  

The cousins got awards at the end, honoring my parents as well as grandparents.  These kids are so fantastic and we had such a great time all week with family in the mountains.  We are the luckiest!!