Swimming lessons

 

One of the highlights of our summer by far for the kids, was their four weeks (2 sessions) of swimming lessons. They were taught by a college girl (on the BYU swim team) and her brother at a nearby private residence, and they

LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!

 Even when they seemed to be were practically drowning, don't worry, they were oblivious. They had smiles on their faces and were just sure they were becoming the world's greatest swimmers. Parker especially was convinced, I know because he told me that he might need to compete in the Olympics.

Although I can't really say that they came out ready for Rio in four years (er that they can even really doggy-paddle "swim" by themselves yet), I was so proud of their efforts, their upbeat attitudes and their courage in the water. Their no-fear attitudes terrify ME, but we'll just keep taking those lessons year after year until they can swim like the fish they think they are!

Meanwhile, I think the only unsupervised water I'll leave them in for now is the bath.

Who knew swim lessons could be such a source of FUN?!

Somehow I only recall anxiety from mine...!

Still July

The night of the 4th we met up with the Hansens outside of the Marriott Center at BYU for their annual picnic while waiting for the Stadium of Fire firework show.

 

 

It was a fun night of food, family and fireworks!

Fourth of July Parade

Our kids have asked for the last 11 months when they get to do the parade again. No, not Macy's Thanksgiving Day or the 24th of July Pioneer Parade in Salt Lake.
They meant the Fourth of July  neighborhood parade.
On their bikes.
We live in the best area and celebrating America's birthday is so much fun around here. No need to go to an event to be entertained for this holiday. It's pretty much one big block party here from the 9 a.m. parade to the p.m. firework extravaganza.
 It's the best and we love it (although this year we weren't around for the night show)!

Chris had to work during the day.
 It's funny how appalled people seem to get when he has to work a holiday or a weekend. They act like he has a terrible job or something, which is funny to me because  in reality, it's a pretty darn good one! I don't know about you, but illnesses at our house don't just occur M-F, 8-5. And I'm sure glad we can get medicine when we need it! Just sayin'. And he's not working 60 hour weeks. Just a regular 40! If you want to work in healthcare, that's just how it is, odd hours.  I am so grateful everyday that he picked the profession that he did. It's perfect for him, he will always have a good, secure job, and even better, he enjoys it!
There you have it.
 Apparently I needed to get that off my chest. :)

Onto the Fourth.
Emmie and her cute friend, Braylen.
The flyers for the parade didn't get out this year, so the turnout wasn't nearly as good as usual, but our kids still loved it and that's all that mattered!

Lexi and her porcelin doll friend, Millie. Isn't she striking?!



P and his buddy, Baden. Notice the smoky background. The mountain went up in flames a day or two prior and it had us all a little nervous for a while there. Pretty crazy. There obviously was a ban placed on fireworks so the usual neighborhood show didn't happen. Although I was told (because we were in Provo) that the firework show that night WAS the mountain. Our neighbors barbequed and got together despite the ban.

How cute is this little lemonade stand? Free drinks for the parade goers!
And Emmie's infamous Jessie boots made their appearance once again! My mom bought them for her 2 years ago, 3 sizes too big for Halloween, and it's a good thing because these babies have been well-used!
Kids parade - a success!

The Itty Bitty Baby Queen

Miss Alexis turned 9 months on the 4th of July!
Her 9 month stats resulted in proof that she is
ITTY BITTY...
Her WEIGHT: 0.49%! (14 lbs)
& HEIGHT: 2.49%
She may be tiny but
we love every itty-bitty BIT of her!!!

I was going to try some more pictures because she would not sit still, but, of course I never got back to it....

Most of the pics ended up like this one by the time I could snap it. Oh well, this pretty much sums up her 9th month anyhow....on-the-go and WATCH OUT!!

She has gotten good at the art of crawling! And destruction!
 She loves to examine all her new-found treasures by giving them a little spit wash in her mouth.
She thinks her new mode of transportation is pretty awesome... me... I think it's a little stressful! :) There is no worm-sliding nonsense for this girl, her crawl style is all business. She is very dainty in her movements, each step graceful and deliberate, slow and purposeful. I might be biased, but it's pretty darn cute!

 
Her passion for clapping continues... she's been applauding for the Olympics all week!
GO TEAM USA!!!
This girl has an obsession with remote controls and cell phones. If she sees one, she wants it and will scream until she gets it! Parker was the exact same way at this age. I think we're in trouble!

She defintely recognizes and addresses us by name (mama and dada), and she even says "doddy" over and over when the "doggy" comes into the room. She has the cutest high-pitched "Hiiiieeee" greeting, accompanied with her sweet smile while she bats her big gray-blue eyes. She continues to LOOOVE rice cereal, so we continue to give it to her. She is also obsessed with the Gerber Graduate dissolvable cereal puffs. She goes through at least 3-4 containers in a week.
 She got her 2nd sickness of her little life this week. A pretty bad one. She's had a fever, red throat, I can't suction out her nose fast enough of thick nasty goop, and she just started antibiotics today for an ear infection. Our whole fam has been pretty sick, miserable and sleep-deprived this last 6 days!
(But honestly we've had such a healthy summer to this point - I can't complain!)

She is so good-natured and is very patient with her brother and sis who think they can tote her around when Mom's not looking. Getting a pic of the trio is next to impossible these days as coordinated cooperation of three kids just doesn't seem to exist.

Parker declared a few days ago,
"Mom, Lexi is the BEST baby!
She's the QUEEEEN of ALL the babies!"
So there you have it. I couldn't say it better myself!

Baby J

By far the most exciting event that took place in June was the birth of our new nephew,
 Baby Jack!

{This picture is him around 6 weeks because of course I am just now writing this down}

Isn't he the cutest? 
I remember my little brother telling me a few years back (before he was even married) that he was going to name one of his kids Jack, & that I wasn't to use it since we both liked it.
Well, he kept his word!
 Here's JACK!


Visiting the day he was born.
Parker and Emmie were soooo excited for their new cuz.

Steven is almost 7 years younger than me, so I wasn't sure we'd have any kids very close together in age. Good thing I was almost 27 when I had my first baby, so that my last and his first could coincide in age! (well, most likely my last...)
I love that Lexi and Jack are just 9 months apart and will be the same grade in school!

The cute new family.
I remember first getting to know Kylie and right away I knew that she'd be such a great Mom, and she is!
Jack is a lucky guy!

 

If you can believe it, these two have the same size feet - we measured!
 Lexi is still wearing 0-3 month shoes.
What a shrimp!

YAY for a new cousin!!!

Anniversary outting with the whole crew

Our anniversary was back on June 24th.
This is the lovely picture (I look hideous, I know) of the happy couple taken by our cute 5 year old photographer.
We'd been wanting to make it out to the new City Creek Center for awhile, so that is where we headed for our big day.
 Our three greatest achievements this last 12 (cringe - that # makes me feel old!) years would most definitely be this little trio:

So why not take them with us?!
Everyone takes their kids with them on their anniversary celebrations right?
Truth be told, getting a sitter is just more trouble than it's worth sometimes (not really a fan of leaving my baby with pretty much anyone other than my MIL), and besides I thought it'd be a fun outing for all of us.
We had a great time, but I quickly remembered the answer to my previous stated question,
"why not take them with us"....

Here's a few good reminders..
.Let's see...first off, there's E (top left) right before getting IN the Temple Square fountain.
Nice. Of course she wanted in - she's OBSESSED with water.
Next, is P throwing a classic Parker tantrum (head back, lower body limp) right there in front of the temple. Mmmhmmm. Proud moment. But a good reminder as to why we made good a choice in NOT sending our summer birthday boy to Kindergarten last year. :)
 After that, we have P as he was falling into the looking pond - awesome. And last but not least, E at the water fountain where she spent what seemed like 20 minutes ignoring our calls for her to hurry and come as she obsessed over the germy water fountain.
Have I mentioned the hearing impairment of this 3 year old? And her water obsession?...
Oh, and I forgot the pic of them sitting in the middle of a newly married couple's wedding portrait session... the photographer loved us. I'm sure they served as nice photo props anyhow.
Ahhhh....PATIENCE.
 Something I thought I possessed before having children. I actually even once thought it was a virtue that I was good at. Wow, was I wrong. The truth is,
you have no idea what patience even IS until you have a 3 and a 5 year old...

Good thing they're cute...;)
I think that was strategic on Heavenly Father's part... or we might be in trouble.

Onto City Creek... my awesome uncle did the fountains here! WET Design is his firm (based in LA). He also did the Gateway fountain, Bellagio Hotel fountain in Vegas, The Grove & Americana fountains in LA, Epcot, several Disney, among many other well known fountains around the world.
I have to brag about him just a little bit. :) With no apologies.
 We're so proud of him and what a neat legacy to leave behind and be able to share with our kids about his example of following your dreams and developing such an inspiring talent.

 

Faye and William Fuller are my grandparents!
It was fun to see their names carved into the sidewalk there.

All in all, even with a few mishaps, we had a great day!
 Oh and to top off the afternoon, we had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants - The Cheesecake Factory!  We're so grateful for our little Party of 5 that makes us a family and the wild adventures that come with it.
 Truthfully, we wouldn't change a thing & feel very blessed!!

Father's Day Review and a little Bachelorette talk

I really am wanting to catch up on this so-called documentation of our life, but I'm so behind!  Now that The Bachelorette (*SIGH*) season is over however, maybe MY reality will start getting some attention!:) Alright so I can't bring it up and just ignore it....Can I just say, was that not the greatest season ever? (or is it just because we're coming off of Ben's season -- the absolute WORST ever?! Agghh. Ben.)
 I. LOVED. it!
I used to kind of apologize for being hooked on this show, but I'm so over that! I love every minute of this guilty pleasure of mine. :)

My quick thoughts....I thought the final 3 were all awesome guys. I was shocked when she sent Shawn home however and even moreso when she picked JEF! But once I forgive him for his skinny jeans and skateboard entrance (and cartoon-swish hair), he really is a genuine guy and it might just really work! (Okay so who am  I kidding...?) And he's a Salt Laker! What is it with this show and it's love for Utah people? Anyways, I was surprised by the ending (I kind of was thinking she was going to weasel out on both of them), but loved it too! I even have to admit that with him being a local, for a minute there I was having visions of Emily and Jef moving in down the street and Emily's daughter racing bikes with Parker and Emmie....

Yeah, I might need some help... :)

Anyhow, happy for them, and am hoping that Shawn is the next Bachelor. For sure. :)

Whattya think?

Okay, on with my reality show....FATHER'S DAY!

Mmmhmm, it's almost August... I'm late for everything these days. ;)

My cute husband had to work on Father's Day.

Sad!

But he was sent off to work with one of HIS favorite addictions and a message from the kiddos....

I know, I know. Mt Dew and The Bachelor. In Happy Valley too.

Real sinners around here. ;)

Emmie's card! She wrote/drew it all herself. ;) A big deal for her because unlike her brother, she has a hard time sitting and focusing on practicing her letters.

The trio who call my husband Dad.

We love them so much!

 

 After church and Chris' work, my Dad and Grandma and fam came over for dinner and gifts for a true Father's Day celebration.
 The Hansens were in TX this Father's Day so we missed them. In all honestly I can't recall much of the day... my brain has about a 5 minute memory retention since this 3rd baby came along. :)
 (Exactly the reason I should blog or I'll never remember anything!)
 But I do remember that it was nice to see everyone and I'm so lucky to have an awesome Dad for my kids, a great Dad for myself, great Stepdad and Father in Law!
XOXO to them all!

Princess Festival

Emmie loves princesses.

Like most little girls.

 She also loves playing in the dirt, soccer, playing with dinosaurs, and racing fearlessly around on her bike. She claims to love football as well, although I'm not exactly sure she's clear as to what sport that actually is.

 So no worries --she hasn't exactly BECOME a princess. Yet. :)

My brother called one day in June and told me that a neighbor had some extra tickets to the Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point and wondered if we could use them. I wasn't planning on going, but since these were FREE I told him yes. Needless to say after telling Emmie, it was all she could talk about for the next few days. She couldn't wait. Well, ended up, the friend never followed through on giving up the tickets, but Emmie was so looking forward to the event that I didn't have the heart to tell her we weren't going. So, as any good mom would, I bought tickets and we were set to go.

At 2:30 a.m. the morning of the festival, I woke up to her cute little face in mine urgently saying, "MOM! Hurry and get up! We need to pick out what I'm going to wear to the Princess Festiball today!".

Seriously?!

 Somehow I coaxed her back to bed and  the next morning she picked out one of her only princess dresses that isn't shredded (those things don't hold up so well), we put some princess curls in, a little lip gloss at her request, and we were off to the antcipated Festival.

 

 It was a bit (a lot) corny, but hey it was for charity, Emmie had fun, and it was so fun to have a date just her and me!

We watched several little shows, ate lunch, took some pictures with some "princesses" and

even watched a performance by the "Osmond Girls". (Alan Osmond's granddaughters)

They were such cute girls, I have to say.

 

We had a fun time and she keeps asking when we are going again, so I'd call that a success!

Soccer Party and Camp, 2012

Parker had such a fun soccer year. He has been lucky to be on the same team as so many friends and great kids this last 2 years. We didn't make it to his last few games as we were out of town so I didn't get any team pictures of them on the field, but I did snap this one at his post-season soccer swim party in June.

 Lucky for Emmie, siblings got to come too!
Combine my kids with 2 of their favorite things - swimming and friends - and they were loving life!

Emmie marched right over to the slide as soon as we got to the party. She is one fearless 3 year old!
Parker can't wait to play again next year!
 I don't know that it's because he's so in love with soccer yet, but more just the fun time that comes along with it!

 A few weeks later (the last week of June) he began a one week soccer camp from 8-10 each morning. It was 90+ degrees that early in the morning that week so it was a scorcher.
 But no worries, he loved it nonetheless!

The coaches were pro (or semi-pro??) players from Ireland. Some had played on the National Championship Team (or something like that, haha.). Parker loved Coach Tony (to the right) and also loved that he could go to camp with one of his very best buddies, Owen.
 Are they cute little toe-heads or what? :)
Parker also made "Camper of the Day" and they posted that picture of him and his coaches on their Facebook page. Pretty exciting!
P did another soccer camp this week put on by some teenage players in our neighborhood.
 He absolutely loved it and learned a lot!
He's all geared up, trained and ready to play this Fall!
...which will be here before we know it!