I {heart} Summer!

and after this weekend there is officially only 3 more weekends of summer vacation for us.

I can't hardly believe it. 

I definitely don't want these kids to go back to school any time soon. 



Not since we get to spend so much time together,

doing the simple, fun stuff like bubbles and . . .

building a bed, a ladder and a walkway  . . .

for our new friend we found in the "garden" that stayed with us for a few days.

He was just so entertaining and did not live up to his reputation for being slow.

And we get to enjoy beautiful sunsets and some great afternoon thunder storms . . .

and be reminded of how amazing the mountains are.

Plus we get to play with all the little critters, which we are very (very) fascinated with this year.



Green Thumb

Our garden sure is flourishing this year.  That is until I drenched it in round up a few nights ago. 

We had to face reality again this year and the reality was that we can barely keep our yard under control, let alone a garden.  And heck, let's be honest . . . the yard in not hardly under control either.

New Additions

Olivia got Kyland for Christmas in 2009.  She's been through the ringer.  Olivia got what I was hoping would be the "new Kyland" for her birthday this year.  Can you tell who is who?

Well it turns out, as of July 7th, we are now not the proud family of Kyland, but the proud family of old Kyland, new Maleah and new Molly Anabelle. 

Yes, that one backfired.  It backfired terribly. 

The Hike

It is no secret from our obvious physiques that we are not hikers by nature. 

However, it's never to late to change, right?

We decided to hike up to the "Y" last weekend.  Many warned us that it was a little more difficult than one might anticipate and many others ensured us it was super easy.  There were people running up and there were a few slower than us.  I think we'll lean towards the "more difficult than it looks" side . . . but doable.  

It was good though and we honestly planned on next hike on the way down.  The girls did not complain once and kept busy building "fires" at every turn.   Drew walked the whole way down and was fairly patient with his back pack ride up. 

Olivia had her first wilderness pee experience . . . it wasn't the smoothest first time. 

Everyone enjoyed the after hike ice-cream and everyone sure slept good that night.

Summer 2011 Part I

Summer is moving along . . . I know that I am not the only one feelin' the busy, busy summer.  I finally made it back to my morning routine without the extra 3 hours of just putting things away from the "come in, drop everything, reload, and go again" days we've been having for a couple of weeks.  Now I'm hoping for one of those impromptu afternoon naps . . .

This is the Place Park - We went on free day and the after the 45 minutes it took to just get turned in the parking lot and parked, we decided the $21 savings was not worth it.  But the park is big and once we got in, it was fine and we had a fun time!

V Chocolates Factory Tour - We went on a field trip to the factory and got quite a few yummy, yummy samples at the end.   Hair nets were definitely a hit . . . we took ours home of course to be kicked around and picked up and until Mom was finally able to throw them away without anyone noticing.

Lagoon - Round 1 - We went to Lagoon with dad's work and had a great time.  We headed up later in the afternoon, weathered a huge rain storm and then walked onto every ride for the rest of the night.  Addison was my little ride partner and nothing was too much for her.  (phone pictures)

Kids' Projects - The first accomplished project has been the CDs and movies!!  Addison was the Lead on this project and alphabetized all the CDs, put them in their new space saver case and we threw all the covers away (I was thrilled).  Then we moved to the movies.  Gettin' it done . . . Addison was awesome!

Outdoor Movie - We listened to the live band and watched Shrek 4.  Drew and I ended up bailing early since all he did was throw popcorn and scream (with joy) until we were quite the disturbance.   But I did finish hemming Lisa's quilt for her bridal shower just as the sun went down.

Lisa's Bridal Shower - Breakfast at Mimi's with all the Sharp side.  Fun girls outing before the big day.

Swimming- No summer comes without swimming, sprinklers and slip n' slides, right?  Well we're getting our share in.  Summers is when we get to see Tori, Mason, Luke and Emerson again since we can FINALLY make it work with our schedules.   Drew hated his swimming suit for the first 3 weeks of summer so he was just always in his clothes . . .

And then . . . I wanted a swimshirt for Olivia and all I could find this late in the season was one I had to buy the swimming suit.  Drew claimed the top as his for the afternoon and he really could not have been more pleased with his "look."  One more solid reason to throw the top out . . .

Thanksgiving Point Farm - No camera, but it was the perfect day - that should be remembered.  Drew is really into the animals this year, so that makes it extra fun. 

Family - lots and lots of family time and it's been great.  Ryan, Kendall and Halle came for 3 weeks and then we kept Kendall and Halle here the second go around for almost 2 weeks.

It's been nice that Matt's job is so close and he can join us for lunches . . . too bad for Ansen, Ryan and Lisa . . . someone has to pay for these lunchings though.

Here's the two blond hair and blue eyed beauties . . . or at least one of them . . . I just thought I would throw in here.

And then the party . . .

I want so badly to be the mom that says we only have birthday parties for certain birthdays, but I've only gotten so far as to say we don't have parties on our 8th birthday. 

They just love it so much.  They eat up the attention, the presents, the singing, the invite delivery . . . and after going to all the other birthdays all year, don't they deserve their own special day in the sun?!

So with that said, I've been trying this "thing" (judge my methods if you want) . . . I don't do a whole ton of planning and prepping so that it's not stressful all week and then we just kind of throw it together the day of. 

 It's a little hectic, yeah. 

We need the "team" (me, my mom and Ansen) to make it all happen, yeah. 

And I've been coming home from Smith's right as party guests are starting to arrive twice now, yeah. 

But we pull it off, they have fun and most important . . .
She feels important!

We went with a water party again this year. 
We started with lunch and then onto slip n' slide races until that wore off.

Ansen's job was to make everyone feel better about their falls

by acting like what they just did was really cool . . . nothing serious and it worked really well.

Then we did games until that wore off.  So we did water balloons until that wore off.

Then when all else fails, you turn on the sprinklers and let them have at it. 

Of course, no party is complete without presents.

And cake . . . or the homemade ice cream sandwiches my mom slaved away at in the kitchen . . . maybe they weren't worth it for the party.  Word to the dumber than us . . . it would be the process that is fun, not the end result.

Happy Birthday Ollie Dolly!

I guess we'll keep going as long as the party stays easy and the kids stay cute.

Liv lately . . .

1)  Ansen and Ad went on a date night to a baseball game and knowing Olivia would feel bad they just told her they were going to Salt Lake.  All night she kept wondering out loud what was going on in Salt Lake, and how she had been to Salt Lake before, etc.  I finally had to tell her they were at a baseball game. 

When they got home, Ad and Ansen tried to sneek Addie into bed.  Olivia woke up out of a dead sleep . . .

"Not cool Dad.  A baseball game without me."

and back to sleep. 

2) While saying prayers with Olivia I had to prompt her . . .

Mom:  Help me to make good choices.

Liv:  Help my mom to make good choices.

I guess I do need a lot of help.

Livy Lou Who!

So I really think that the 4 year old - 5 year old birthdays might be the best because the kids are so, so excited for their birthdays, they get what all the festivities are and what they mean.  Poor Olivia has the last birthday of our family and it's a whole month and a half after Drew's.  It was painful for her to wait so long!

When birthday day finally came, Olivia had had plenty of time to know exactly what she wanted.  Addison, our little "happy go lucky" child is usually happy with whatever, but little Olivia had the birthday present list set for months, the meal plans, the party . . . everything all thought out. 

Olivia chose to wear the "official" birthday dress (here, here, and here)
 that was just recently passed down to her.

Banna took us to Monkey Island and lunch to start the day off.   Drew was the most thrilled with the unmoving merry go round.  He just sat there on the horsie, happy to be happy!

But the girls kept busy.

We had Enchiladas (her favorite, Addison's not so favorite) for dinner and then straight into presents per Olivia's scheduling preferences.
She got Baby Alive, a new baby, clothes, Rapunzel barbie, a robe and slippers, and a cute little doggie.

Luckily there was something for everyone and now Olivia really wants Drew to get his own Rapunzel Barbie and I really want to not have to brush her hair out all the time.

Then a little surprise for her cake. 

The rainbow chip frosting is a family favorite, so that alone made it a winner. 

But it was the inside that made it really exciting!

 I've seen this idea on lots of blogs and I was kind of excited to see how our version turned out.  Ansen made the cake and as directed, he used plenty of food coloring to get the perfect bright colors.

I totally missed the picture of her cute little face when she saw the inside!

I know that all mothers say this, but oh my goodness, she's growing up too fast! 
And I am so grateful that I got to be the mother of this spunky, little girl. 
That we get to have her as part of our family and in our lives everyday!

Ah Ha! We did it!

We successfully got rid of the binky!! 

I've been dreading it for weeks (months) knowing it was "time"  but loving that we just popped the plug in and all worries were taken away, all sound was immediately deadened, and life seemed manageable again.  But 2 weeks ago, we woke up, I decided enough was enough, showed the girls the final resting spot for all found binkies and we were done. 

He asked for it at naps and bedtime for the first couple of days, but we all played dumb (I wonder how he likes his little game played in reverse) and it was over!

But I'm still sad, since it just means he's getting older. 

(We still have the "friends" to deal with . . .)

We also got rid of the "official" church diaper bag that week - moving on and growing up.

I noticed this as we were getting ready to leave dinner . . .

Thanks Addison.

Freedom Festivites!

Was this not the best 4th of July ever since they legalized the big, in-the-sky fireworks?!  Seriously the best ever!  Not because we bought any, only because we could see about 3-4 separate amazing (and probably VERY expensive) fire works shows going on right from my parents' driveway! 

This is Lisa's favorite holiday and I think I'm ready to move it into #2 position on my personal list . . . especially after this year!

First off . . . the parade and bagels.  And we started the morning off with a child throwing up again (the 3rd year of 5 years) but we rebounded and made it right in time for the beginning of the parade.   The best part was the Star Wars float and the army (would you call it that?) that accompanied the float. 
Seriously, best part.

Since Halle and Kendall weren't planning on staying this long, we had to dig out this cute fourth of July outfit for her and clearly she loved it!

BBQ, watermelon, BBQ'd corn on the cob, home-made ice-cream.

We played games outside in the PERFECT weather. 

Luckily Matt is a meteorologist so we were able to plan around the weather.

We did a craft project with finger paints . . . no set subjects, just create as you will. 
We were all very happy with the way things turned out.  I think some people would have gone further with their masterpieces had the sprinklers not turned on right in the middle of the project.

There was just something about sitting in the driveway hearing and watching fireworks going off all over the place.  Trying to see through our own thick haze of smoke and watching these 3 grown men turn into

. . . idiots!

Lisa saw a side of Matt she never knew existed as he (practically) aimed roman candles right at their car. 
My Dad dug out the stash of fireworks he had confiscated from Ryan in his high school days.  Ansen, who doesn't leave the toaster plugged in was picking up and holding the fireworks that tipped over.  They all had lighters, they had Jeff's stash of bottle rockets zooming all over the driveway and not one of them was concerned about trees, houses, or for the safety of the children . . . as long as they were having fun! 

Jeff was in on it too, but when he came to the party with this backpack specifically used only for hauling fireworks with the boys . . . there was no surprise with him as to what happened next.

And the night before with the pre-show . . . Drew tried to snag a drink of soda out of the firework can.

And at the end of it all, we had to say goodbye to Halle (and Kendall) since they were flying home the next day!  We are so glad they let us keep talking them in to staying longer and longer!

After a busy week, Lisa and Matt'ss wedding, our big family reunion and then straight into a holiday weekend, Drew is definitely worse for the wear . . . he's out right exhausted.