Looong Weekend

Ian had Friday off from work as well, which was awesome.  It was like have three Saturdays!  Friday I took the big boys to Trafalga to play laser tag.  They have been wanting me to play laser tag with them for a awhile now.  It was pretty fun, even though we spent most of the time wandering around in a corner of the arena where there weren't any opponents.  :)  We also played a round of indoor glow in the dark mini golf while we waited for our laser tag game.  I sure love my cute, goofy boys!

That night Ian and I went out on a date.  First we went to our friend, Jenn's wedding reception.  It was outside in her in-laws backyard, which was beautiful.  As we were driving over there though it started pouring rain.  It was just a passing thunderstorm, but the 20 minutes we were there it was pouring and we got soaked!  Jenn looked beautiful and seemed so very happy as we hugged and congratulated her and her new hubby in the downpour.  It was fun to catch up with her sister, Kate too.

After the reception we booked it up to Sandy to see the movie 42.  We were a few minutes late because I was starving and got popcorn, which I then spilled (not all of it luckily) on the man in front of me while getting into my seat in the dark.  Sigh.  I'm so lame.  He was super nice about it though.  The movie was fantastic!  We loved it.  We grabbed a quick dinner after the movie then headed home so we could get to bed at a decent time.

Saturday morning we set our alarms and got up early.  At 5:20am.  Why? Because for years I have wanted to go to the Freedom Festival and see the hot air balloons in Provo.  This year I decided we were for sure going.  I got the kids up and loaded into the car and we drove down to Provo.  We parked then noticed people walking away from the field.  Hmmm.

Yup.  They cancelled the hot air balloon flights due to possible thunderstorms and rain.  I was so bummed!  We wandered around a little anyway.  The kids climbed in and explored a fire truck and Ian bought these cool foam gliders from a vendor.  Then it started raining so we left.  We tried to make the most of being up so early and stopped for donuts at Station 13 on our way back to Lehi.  It was fine.  I'm still disappointed we didn't get to see the balloons.  Maybe next year.

Later that day I played the piano for the stake baptisms.  It was kind of fun being on the piano again.  It's been awhile!  I was tired after playing for an hour and a half.  Also our stake is huge.  And prolific.  There were three different sessions of stake baptisms and there were 22 kids baptized total on Saturday.  Sheesh!

Saturday evening the Bayles' came over for a BBQ.  It had been awhile since we had hung out and it was super fun! This was the first time they had been over since they brought home their cute boys, Tam and Yeb.  It went really well and it was fun to get to know the boys a little bit.  After dinner Kerry and Alison brought stuff to make shaker bag ice cream.  It was kind of a lot of work!  But we had fun and the ice cream was really yummy!

We ended the weekend by having a quiet Sunday and resting a little bit.  Definitely a fun little break from regular life.  We got to spend lots of time together as a family and it was awesome.  I love my cute family!

Happy Independence Day!

We had such a wonderful, relaxing, fun 4th of July!  We had a lazy morning then packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the splash park.  It was a blast.  Not too crowded, great weather.  I really like this one because even Talia can just go and play in it without me.  I watch from the grass or go in and help Beckett play in the fountains.  It was super fun to have Ian with us.  He played some Frisbee with Weston too.  

That afternoon we napped the babies and got some organizing done in the basement.  That evening we had a BBQ with our friends, the Krueger's.  It was delish.  We bought fresh corn from the produce stand on the way home from the splash park, so we had corn, watermelon, hamburgers and hot dogs, chips, and baked beans.  Mmmm.  Carrie made fun 4th of July jello for dessert.

After dinner we all went to Thanksgiving Point to watch fireworks.  It's nice that it's so close.  It's fun to hang out in the park while waiting.  And their show is awesome.  It was over 30 minutes of great fireworks.  We brought candy, glow sticks, and sparklers to keep ourselves entertained while we waited.  The adults also played a little Space Team.

Talia wasn't too happy about how loud the fireworks were, but after the first few she sat with Ian and watched without a fuss.  Beckett watched for a little bit then fell asleep on my lap.  Davin got cold and wrapped himself up in a blanket and fell asleep halfway through the fireworks.

I love celebrating our country and reflecting on how blessed we are to live here and have so many freedoms and opportunities.  It's not perfect, but I am so proud to be an American!

Cousins

Last weekend we got to have Eli, Emilee and their girls come and stay with us!  It was really fun to get to spend some time with them.  Especially since they recently moved to Florida and it will probably be awhile before we get to see them again.  They were in town for Emilee's brother's wedding.

They flew in and came to our house on Thursday night.  We had dinner and hung out for awhile before getting everyone's beds figured out and the kiddos settled.  Then the adults got shakes.  :)  Friday was the wedding, so they were gone all day until late that night.  Saturday morning we had pancakes and pajama playtime.  Eli and Emilee went to a family reunion for most of the day.

They got back late Saturday afternoon.  We had a blast hanging out in the backyard and playing in the kiddie pool until dinner time.  We had a BBQ that night.  After the kids were in bed we stayed up chatting and watching Wizard People.

Sunday morning they packed up and headed out early to catch their flight back to Florida.  It was really a fun visit.  The kids loved having their cousins here and everyone got along well.  We are so glad they could stay with us!

9 Months

"The Leader of the Babies!" -Davin

Beckett turned 9 months old on the Friday we got back from our cruise.  I was happy to see him again and he looked so much bigger after only 5 days.  Beckett is such a sweet baby.  Grandma B said that while we were gone he didn't cry unless he was hungry, tired or poopy.  Beckett is really an easy going kid.  He is a great sleeper.  He sleeps 11-12 hours at night and then takes two naps during the day.

He is a good eater.  His appetite is growing and I'm not used to a baby who eats so much!  I have to remind myself to feed him whole meals instead of just tiny pieces like I did with my other babies.  He will even eat the baby food dinners that my other kids would spit out.  I'm hopeful that he will continue to be a good eater as a toddler.

At 9 months Beck is crawling everywhere and is into everything.  I wish I had the energy to vacuum three times a day because he is always finding scraps to put in his mouth!  We have to be really careful about keeping the door to the basement closed so he doesn't fall down the stairs too.  The kids understand about it and have been pretty good about remembering.  His favorite thing is to get into the entertainment center and pull out all of the movies.  It's currently rubber banded shut and I had to dig out all the outlet covers this week.  I'm definitely on my toes all day with this baby.

Beckett had his 9 month doctor's appointment last week.  He smiled and flirted with the nurse and doctor the whole time.  It was a fun appointment too because he didn't have to get any shots, so it was all the good stuff.  Beckett is perfectly healthy.  Thankfully nothing to report.  Well, he did dip under the growth chart, but he's still growing and proportional and small kids are nothing new around here, so I'm not concerned and neither is the doctor.

Beckett's 9 Month Stats:
Height: 27 in., 10th %ile
Weight: 15 lbs. 14 oz., 0%ile
Head: 17.1 in., 15th %ile

The Last Few Days

Talia was a nightmare on Friday.  So fussy.  Luckily she got a nap in the afternoon while Grandma took the big boys to the La Habra Children's Museum. 

That night we all went out for Golden Spoon and to see Monster's University.  It was a fun movie!  I didn't know if we would make it through with Talia and Beckett since they were so tired, but Beckett fell asleep with Ian and Talia snuggled up with me and stayed awake for the movie.  

 Saturday morning was slow moving, but after lunch we drove down to Laguna Beach.  Talia was so excited and kept saying "I go a beach!"  Grandma and Grandpa walked over to check out the tide pools with Weston and Davin while Ian and I hung out with the babies.  It was kind of miserable.  As soon as we stepped off the boardwalk and onto the sand Talia started screaming.  She only calmed down a little to eat a pack of fruit snacks then kept right on screaming.  She hated the sand and barely tolerated the water.  Beckett didn't seem to mind the sand so much, but didn't love the water.  It didn't help that the piles of kelp on the beach were stinky and buzzing with thousands of flies.  As soon as the boys were done at the tide pools Mom, Dad, and I took the babies home.  Ian stayed for another hour or so with the boys so they could have some time to play in the sand and water.

Beckett's first time at the beach!

 The. Whole. Time.

 My handsome guys

 Saturday night I was not feeling good.  I couldn't even pack up, so I just went to bed early and hoped to wake up nice and early feeling better.  Luckily I felt much better when I woke up on Sunday at 5:20am.  I showered and we packed up our stuff and headed out for our drive home.  We ended up leaving a little after 7am.  It was a long day of driving.  We ended up having to make four stops instead of three, but we finally made it home at 7:30pm.

At our last stop in Scipio checking out the little petting zoo

 We had a really fun trip!  Big big THANKS to Grandma B and Grandpa Bob for watching the kiddos for us so we could go on our cruise!  And thanks to Aunties for helping out too.  I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family.  It's nice to be back home and enjoying the long, hot days of our Utah summer!