Catching up...AGAIN!!

We've been super busy...and I can't even tell you what has be preoccupying my time. Just life I guess with 2 kids that keep me busy, busy, busy. So forgive the 2 months of catch-up.

A visit from Emily and the kids

July 4 - July 8

Oh my goodness - we had such a fun, fun time with Emily and the kids (Hunter, Lynnsey and Rachel). They came in for Emily's dad's reunion but afterwards, we partied!! We took so many
pics, I don't even know where to begin...so here I go:

On Friday, July 4th, we went to Gateway to play in the water fountain. Hunter and Lynnsey had fun. Ashlyn - not so much. And Ethan, well they led him out to the water but when he got sprayed from the bottom up ... he was so done. Afterwards, the kids had snowcones and Ashlyn was the only one that finished hers - you go girl!! Then we did Temple Square. It was great to go the visitor centers for some relief from the heat and to have some nice cold water. The kids were super smart when it came to identifying the various pictures that depicted biblical stories. Now for the "grand finale" - and I do hope that I won't be offending anyone, but Ashlyn was bound and determined to see a "fountain" and I could not talk her out if it. SOOO...since our car was across the street from the Conference Center, we walked over there and let the kids put their hands in the fountain. Then, they were putting their feet in it....then, we noticed steps INSIDE the fountain leading into the water..so the kids got a little crazy and started diving in - oh my goodness!! The only signage Emily and I saw just said that the water was recirculated water. So we thought - what the hey!! Let the kids have at it. So...enjoy the slide show. Oh, and thanks Todd for the fireworks - they were great!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Saturday, we hit Kangaroo Zoo and the kids had so much fun with the different blow up slides and bounce houses. They had a super cool "black light mini golf course." Loved it!! I highly recommend this place. It may be a little far off, but so worth it.

Thank you Emily and cousins for coming and staying with us. It was sooo much fun to play, play, play. Can't wait to see you all again in San Diego!!

The "happiest" place on earth - or so they say.....

June 13

Todd has been wanting to take Ashlyn to an amusement park. And since we really don't live next door to Disneyland, we thought the next best place was...LAGOON...and why not? What Utahn doesn't have some crazy, fun memory of Lagoon back in the days??? So after weighing our options of whether or not we should buy her an all out pass...we decided to go ahead with it. Oh boy was that a big mistake. We started out "slow" - the bumper cars. She hated it:

By the way, she's screaming her head off!!
Poor girl, totally traumatized but nonetheless, she's asking for the carousal so we try that. She hated it:

Alrighty, we're getting frustrated. So we try the train. What kid doesn't like the train. Now I do have to say that I didn't get a pic of this experience, but I can assure you that she hated it...until she saw the animals. Then she calmed down. There were 2 rides that she actually liked - and I really thought that she would freak out again. The first was the Rattlesnake Rapids and the other, the kiddie Tidalwave. Ethan on the other hand had a ball. Not necessarily on the rides, but at this really cool water fountain.

Don't worry, he's not going commando! He's shorts got so soaked that they just...fell off. The whole experience was hilarious. People would just stop and laugh at the sight - he was totally in his element.

I didn't have the heart to stop him so he just did his thing and it was awesome!

By the way, you should check out my SIL's blog. Devan loved Lagoon and did not want to leave. At least we had fun watching him have fun.

Murray Park for pics

May 30

Like so many grandmothers, my mother loves ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING that has to do with the grandkids. So for her birthday, we decided to take photos of the grandkids at Murray Park. Our thinking was, with 3 moms with 3 cameras....we're bound to get a few good shots, right? And I do have to say that we did alright.

Our 5 year Anniversary...we've come such a long way..

From this...

To this...

Where did the time go? It seems like life has been flying by and we're hanging on by our fingernails. We're definitely older, with less energy but more in need of it. I think we're wiser and yet...it seems like we're not always sure if we're coming or going.

But there hasn't been a dull moment. And something tells me that life is only going to get crazier and sillier and well, out of control. Hon, you've really been great through it all. The schooling, the exams, the BARS (ugh!!) and everything in between. Thank you sweetie. I couldn't have asked for a more amazing husband. I know that you probably have forgotten that today is our anniversary since your going nuts at work, but that's o.k. I hope you do have a wonderful day regardless. I'll try to keep your dinner warm (depending on what time you get home)....other than that, I love you tons!! "LMM" (for everyone else, don't ask what it stands for - our "pet names").

Didn't we say that we'd never do this??...

....yes hon, we did say we would never vote on American Idol, but we broke down. We couldn't help it, he's too good. And besides, he's from Utah!! Go Archuleta!!

"I'm The Mom!!"

You gotta love YouTube for this. This makes me realize that us moms are in it together!!..and if ever our kids question our ways...well, we can always say "I'm the mom" and I say so!!

How much do you love me?...

....A Mother's Day Story

Can you guess??...

..so a few days ago, I was getting breakfast ready and in the midst of it all, I heard Ethan "squeal." Hmmmm...sounded like a "I'm in trouble and I don't know what to do about it" squeal. So I started searching our very small place and I seriously could not find him. I asked Todd if he'd seen him...."nope." So Todd and I started searching for him. The bathroom, no. The pantry, no. The closets, no. Kitchen?..no. O.k...now I was panicking. How could we have lost our son??? Then Todd found him. We were floored. So here's the pic. Can YOU guess where he's at?...and my family (who knows this story), are NOT allowed to answer!!

A Trip To The Dentist

So Ashlyn had her first dental checkup today. And she did pretty good. We've been talking to her about going to the dentist and what he'll be doing. She seemed pretty excited to see the "tooth doctor." When we got there though, she got super shy and wouldn't even look at the nurses. The Dentist was great and when he saw that she wasn't ready to see him, he just left for several minutes and would come back to see if she was ready. Ashlyn finally started warming up to him (with the hellp of "mama" of course). She let him count her fingers, then her fingernails and then finally opened her mouth for him to count her teeth. It was fun and I think that she had a good "first" experience. I do have to say that my first dental experience was not a good memory and I really wanted Ashlyn's to be much better than mine. She did walk away with some fun treats:

The only think missing is a red ring...that got lost in the car (on the way home)...kinda knew that was gonna happen..oh well...

I just can't believe our "little girl" is growing up so fast. I feel old.