Tour de Utah

Friday, A and I drove to Utah.  She is a trooper.  She watched some Barney on the DVD player but mostly wanted to look out the window or sleep.  Seriously, a mom could not ask for a better traveling companion.

We made it to Draper where we stayed with a good friend from back in the college days, Sarah.  She and her family were so good to us.  Her boys were excited to play with A.  We stayed up late visiting and playing.  In the morning, Sarah made suckers for A to take to the party we were going to.  A loved this!  Then we walked down the street to visit the neighborhood zebra.  Really.  

Checking out the zebra by Sarah's house because, you know, everyone has zebras!

A and I had to get going because we were meeting a bunch of friends from high school for a party in Lehi.  It was so great to see everyone.  Some of those people I haven't seen for nearly 5 years!  I will post this picture only if you promise to pretend like the face I'm making is totally normal.  Seriously though, we had so much fun.  We really need to get together like this more than once every 10 years or so.

Unfortunately Jentry had a phone call and missed the photo.

After the party, A and I jumped back in the car for a trip to St. George.  We met up with D and K after nearly 2 weeks of separation.  It was nice that K ran over to give me a hug when I finally got there.  D stayed on his barstool eating dinner.  He was happy to see me but afraid I was the signal he had to leave and he wasn't ready for that yet.  K on the other hand wanted to make sure I didn't leave without her.  A was so happy to see both D and K she was like a wiggly new puppy.  She really missed her big brother and sister.

We stayed the night at my SIL's house down the way from my in-laws' condo.  Her youngest is a girl D's age.  They really had a great time together.  They "camped" out in the family room together, L on the couch and D on the floor.  K and A both wanted to sleep in the room with me.  K really didn't want to let me too far out of sight.  A gets that way too when we are in a new place.  In fact, A ended up joining me in bed sometime during the night.  

We went to church with Tara and her girls this morning.  After church the kids had a really good time playing, eating popcorn and riding the zip line Uncle Chris installed in their backyard.  D and L probably spent most of the day out there.

We headed back to Grandma's house for dinner and some quality grandma time before the girls and I left for Delta.  Both girls start swim lessons tomorrow morning so we needed to get into town.  D was glad to stay.  He will spend the week in St. George with Aunt Tara and Grandma Pyatt.  Should be a good time!

K wasn't too sure about the zip line but she finally decided it was okay.

Slow start but then D was a ziplinin' fool!  He couldn't get enough!

A --a little less enthusiastic than her siblings.

Finally in Delta tonight.  It has been a really great weekend full of wonderful people I rarely get to see but A and I have logged a lot of miles over the last 3 days.  It will be nice to be settled for a week or so before we head back down to get D.

Dusting off the blog

I'm going to try to get back in the swing of posting.  again.
After girls' camp, Grandma took D and K with her back to Utah for two weeks! The have been looking forward to this for months.  I kind of have been too but with a little trepidation.  I wasn't sure how K would do and I wasn't sure how A would be.  Turns out K did fine and A was a clingy, chatty shadow.  As soon as Roy got home at night, A would be right at his side until it was time to put her to bed.  During the day I couldn't get her to leave my side.  She is so used to having people to play with and doesn't like to be alone.
I've only spoken to K and D a few times.  They are having too much fun to miss home or talk on the phone much.  K had a few rough nights around bedtime but she got over those and all is well.  It is good to know they can survive without me for a few weeks!
I had asked my mom to bring up her carpet shampooer so that while the kids were gone I could shampoo the carpet.  That's part of why I haven't blogged.  Not much to say...

A's opinion about all the cleaning going on around here.

She slept like this for nearly 90 minutes.  Wowza.  Talk about uncomfortable! 

We did go blueberry picking one Saturday morning though.  Lucky little A followed Roy around filling her bucket with blueberries and keeping up a constant stream of chatter and questions.

She was pretty proud of her haul and did a really good job of not eating the berries until we paid for them. 

Tomorrow, A and I are off for Utah.  We will drive all day to get Draper before we begin our two day tour of Utah!  Wish us luck!

Been a little busy

The crazy started the last weekend of June and has continued through today.  I've done Youth Conference, two birthdays, a birthday 'outing', a birthday party and Girls' Camp.
My mom came from Utah to watch the kids while I spent last week (Monday through Friday) camping it up with the young women in our stake.  I have to say, I love our ward but going as a YCL "mom/leader" is totally the way to go!  It is loads of fun with less than 25% of the work.
Then this morning at 6 a.m. my mom left with two of my kids in her back seat.  They are off on an adventure!  This is their first time going to grandma's house without at least one parent.  We'll see how it goes... for all of us!  They will spend this week with my parents and next week with Roy's parents before A and I will drive down to Utah to join them.  By the time we get back it will almost be time for K to start her Jump Start program (a 10 day early start to kindergarten.  Mostly just to get her familiar with the school and routine of school.  It is only 2 hours in the morning but it was so helpful for D.)  And just like that, summer is gone.
But for now, I'm spending the next two weeks shampooing all the carpets in my house and finishing up a few dozen craft projects that somehow keep getting put off!

Look who turned 3!

 This little girl is the sweetest, most even tempered little person I have ever met.  She has a naturally peaceful and loving spirit.  She loves to " 'nuggle" with her big brother and play with her big sister.  She is everyone's friend and has a kiss for any family member who will hold still long enough.  We are so blessed and happy to have her as part of our family!

Birthday party time!

With two birthdays this week we could hardly be expected to not party right?!  Since the party would actually be on A's birthday and we had a small family party on K's birthday I geared the party more toward A.  She loves Elmo and Sesame Street right now and I've seen some particularly cute SS ideas on Pinterest so I figured I'd give it a try.

Here's what we had for activities:

I can tell you that Ernie's Duck Pond and Oscar's Bounce House were far and above the favorite activities!

I tried to get creative with the food and gift bags.  All the food was a hit, even Oscar the Grouch although I still have tons of broccoli left!

I spent a great deal of time and effort on this party but these smiles are what make it worth it!

JJJUMP

 

 

We have a business in town called J.J. Jump.  It is basically a warehouse with a few giant bounce houses in it.  You pay admission and can jump for as long as you want.  K went to a birthday party there over a year ago and  has been asking lately if she can go for her birthday.  We went today, not as a birthday party but as a birthday week activity.  A couple of friends joined us which just increased the fun!

It is so hard to get a picture of them actually looking at the camera!  They were too busy playing!

I'd say it was a hit!

K turns 5!

My first baby girl turned 5 today!  Hard to remember she's only been here for 5 years and at the same time hard to believe it's already been 5 years.  

We had to have a before and after shot of the cake because someone's big brother thought it would be a great idea to smash everything down into the cake.  K was pretty disappointed that he ruined her cake.  She told him she forgave him though and was pretty okay about it.  I love it when the kids actually get along so well!

She's a fierce one and we love her!

The story behind this shirt is pretty sweet.  D had the idea to make a kitty shirt of K because she loves cats so much.    He asked me for permanent markers, luckily we already had a plain white t-shirt.  He wrote "I learned purrsive today".  He drew a picture of a cat saying, "prrr" and K petting the cat and giggling, "heeheehee".  He was so excited to give it to her!

Outdoor Day