Ahoy Mateys! P's 6th Birthday party!

 Right after his dinosaur birthday party last year, Parker reported to me that for his sixth bday party he wanted a PIRATE PARTY.
 And so, from that moment, the planning began.
A year ago.
 Er, better phrasing might be "the party pestering" began. We would be at a store, and Parker would say, "Moooom, why aren't you buying stuff for my pirate party? We need to get stuff for my party!". Or we'd be at home and he'd ask, "Mooooom, why aren't you making my pirate party decorations?". I would gently remind him that we still had a good 7,8, even 9 months to go until his birthday...
but he was on the countdown and he had grand plans for his big event!
Alas, July eventually rolled around and it really was time to get moving on the party plans.
No pressure, right?!



First went out the invitations.
To say he was ecstatic to deliver them would be an understatement.
Presenting...


CAPTAIN PARKER!
The day had finally arrived and he couldn't wait!

Here he is with his 11 member crew! I have to say they were just about the cutest pirate buccaneers around. Buuuut, I might be biased. :)
 First off we read one of Parker's favorite books, "How I Became A Pirate", and with an exagerrated and chorused "ARGHH!" here and an "AYE" there, they really got into their new identities! They were quite impressive! :)

The pirate attire!
As all the guests arrived, they transformed into mini Jack Sparrows with a bandana, an eye patch, and a sash to hold their swords (the swords had nametags so we could keep them straight). Yo Ho, Yo Ho A Pirates Life for Me was playing in the background. :)

 

Parker requested (months in advance) that pizza be served as the grub.
Aye, aye, Captain!
They also had canon balls (cheese balls), the Catch of the Day (swedish fish), Shark's blood (red Squeeze It's) and Pirate's Rope (Twizzlers). Very well rounded meal. It was okay though, because, afterall, they were PIRATES!

Of course they had to go on a treasure hunt!
 We are so lucky to have so many of P's buddies live right by us - as in both sides next door, and right across the street! So for the treasure hunt, the clues led them to some of the friend's yards, which made it much more exciting. I have to say, it was pretty darn cute seeing this crew run excitedly in character from clue to clue with their swords drawn and eye patches in place.
I love these little boys pirates!
 They were pretty thrilled to actually dig up the buried treasure (hidden in a pile of dirt that we happened to have on the side of our house).
 

Next up was an obstacle course complete with tunnels, walking the plank, blowing  paper boats across the water, a spinning stunt and a soccer goal. Emmie and Aunt B (who was sooo nice to help us out that day! Thank you thank you!), were the hungry crocodiles (I found croc hats at the dollar store!) waiting for unfortunate mateys to lose their balance on the planks.

Last of all, we had presents, a pinata (a must for my kids) and, of course, cake! (Thanks Costco! I owe the cute bakery lady for doing such an awesome job and making this cake custom at my pleading request..)

The matey's all took home these party favors
(plus their "treasures" and pinata bags).

 

Honestly, the party went great! I was sooo grateful that it all came together, for how smoothly it went, that the kiddos had fun, and most importantly of all that my cute little Pirate Captain had a great swashbuckling time at his much-anticipated event!
As for me, I needed a nap for the following 3 weeks, but hey, I would do it all again to make my sweet Pirate happy! Happy Birthday my Cute Pirate Parker!

 

Let the parties begin...

The birthday extravaganzas are finally coming to a close around here....
For a minute.
So now that I HAVE a minute, it seems like a good time to catch up on recording some of them! :)
The day after Parker's friend party, ( post of which is coming soon!), we had the Hansens over for a little celebration.
We surprised the Birthday Boy with this that day:


He had worn out his Buzz Light Year (ahem, piece of junk) bike from the year before, so this was his birthday request. His only requirement was that it be his favorite color, RED (2nd choice was orange). It took some serious searching around for a good quality RED bike, & thankfully Chris found this one at the last minute.
 It was a hit!
After racing it up and down the street for a few minutes, I asked him if he liked it.
He told me, "NO, I LOVE it!!!".  

I didn't do much for this party...all my birthday efforts went into his party the day before and I was just ready for a nap by the time this one rolled around! Apparently a few others were ready for one too... hence the THREE nappers in the pics above. Ha! I love it. I don't blame them, I would have been snoozing too if I could have. Parker loves this crew. They were nice to come out in honor of his bday. We barbequed and I even reused the 2/3 leftover cake from his friend party the day before. Call me tacky. I don't even care. :) Why make more to just be wasted?
 No thanks...

And since we all happened to have coordinating outfits on we had to take a family picture!

The next morning was Parker's actual birthday. Here he is opening his gifts in his jams before Dad had to run to work and the rest of us were off to church. 

That night we were off to Grandpa Todd's for yet another birthday celebration, complete with new Baby Jack in attendance, a Spiderman cake, and the the dart game!

Just a few of his awesome gifts... I love the girl's faces - they say it all!

On Monday, Chris' day off, we went on our family birthday outting. For the past few years, we have gone to Boondocks for P's big day, but this year we decided to try out a  new place - Planet Play. It was pretty fun and the mini bowling was a hit!

Yep, we pretty much celebrated his birthday for four days straight! We might be crazy. And tired. :) But, he looks forward to his birthday all year so I don't mind making a big deal out of it. After all HE IS a big deal.
I can't believe he is SIX!
We are so blessed to have him in our family & we love him so much!

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!!