Vacation & Summer Fun

This is going to be a long post so I hope everyone has patience to make it through. LOL. We've had a lot going on so I will make the explanations short. 1st-we went to Park City for 5 days and that as tons of fun. While we were down there we went to the Living Planet Aquarium which the kids loved, the Hogle Zoo and Olympic Park. In between we went shopping at the Outlet Mall, ate out and went swimming. It was tons of fun. I think the funnest part is not being home!! Just being somewhere else, not having the worries of every day life and just being able to spend the time with my wonderful husband and kids.
The day we left, my mom was on her way back from picking my little brother Josh up from the Airport. So we met in McCammon to eat lunch. Mady was super excited.

The kids at the Aquarium


The condo, nothing spectacular but much more comfortable then a hotel room, the kids had a bigger area to trash! It was basically like a small apartment with washer/dryer, BBQ etc.. so it was nice to have the kitchen, (saved on food!)


Shopping and hanging out at the condo!



The Zoo; the baby giraffe was just 7 days old.




This monkey came right over to Noah and met his hands up against the glass, Noah thought that was so funny.

Olympic Park, all the times we've been to Park City we've never been there. It was really neat. You can go zip lining or on the bob sleds. Someday when the kids are older it will be tons of fun to take them there.


People were skiing off these jumps into the pool, then they would turn on these jet things that pushed them to the side. It was really neat to watch them do back flips and stuff.


Craig and Bridgettes (soon to be sister-in-law)
We went to their house the other day so she could cut my hair and color my moms. The kids had tons of fun playing. For those of you who don't realize, I have VERY thick hair. So she thinned it and layered it. When I looked at the floor I just about flipped. It's funny though, you can hardly tell when I do it except when its in a pony tail. I can't believe how much time it cuts off from shampooing, drying and straightening. Ahhh... that's nice.

When Adam got off work we came back over for dinner. They have these little choppers and a 4-wheeler that has a chip in it; kind of crazy. But we had tons of fun.

My mom and John even got on them and raced, they were like 2 crazy kids!

Kynden also has a little 4 wheeler of his own. They can control the speed so its perfect for the him and Mady. As we all know, she loves 4 wheelers. Aren't they just the cutest things you've ever seen?

Blessing Baby Kru

Well today Adam's dad blessed his sister's baby, Kru. It went really well and was really neat to hear all the blessings this little guy has to look forward to! Afterwards we had dinner and his parents house, and of course after Mady asking a billion times, we got the 4 wheelers out!



Mady, just cheesin it!

Of course! A trip to grandpa's wouldn't be a complete without a ride! And Mady will bumb a ride from anyone who will take her!


Noah had such a long day, he just couldn't take it anymore. We were on a 4 wheeler ride and realized his head was bobbing around. Poor kid!

Noah just loves his baby Kru; he wanted to share his tiara with him.

The Sun.....or Scrapbooking?

The Sun!
So I've been in this debate lately. I am SO behind on scrapbooking. And by behind I mean I haven't even started on Noah's yet. I have everything to do it: the book, tons of paper, stickers for his 1st Halloween and blessing etc... so it's just a matter of doing it. But it is so hard to stay holed up in the house while I can be outside with the kids. So lately, the sun has won over my guilt. So when the weather gets crappier and I'm not working an insane amount of hours, that is my goal. I refuse to give up despite how behind I am because I love doing it and I love the final result! Mady's is so cute, so anyhow...here's some fun pictures of the kids!
Mady helping me wash the car!


Noah chillin' by the pool


When we emptied the pool, it made this big puddle on the sidewalk and the kids giggled and ran through it forever. It's cute the simple things that can make them so happy!



So Noah is learning to climb. Today I found him on the coffee table and on our kitchen chairs. And we have the bar stool ones! He scares me already.

We're in trouble

Pioneer Day

So this last weekend Adam's sister and brother-in-law came over and we went to the Pioneer Day Parade. It goes right by his sister Emily's house so we could sit right in her yard. Afterwards we took all the kids to McDonalds and then came back to our house for the kids to play. We had a BBQ that night and Katie and Craig brought their camper and stayed the night. We watched a movie and stayed up until 3:30 a.m. playing the Wii. Kind of stupid since we all have kids that get up at 8:30, so yeah we were a little tired the next day. But it was fun!


The kids waiting for candy



Mady was in the middle of throwing a fit, but I still got a strange smile!


Noah loves his baby Kru!

Fun in the Sun!

So my sister-in-law and her 2 kids spent the night on Monday (I know... sleepovers!! lol) but we had fun. She brought a bunch of projects to do with the kids and we stayed up late talking. I had to work until 11:00 although they told me it would only be until 9:30. ya right. Anyhow... the next day we took all the kids to the splash park, which doesn't seem to entertain them long, which is fine with me. The kids there are wild, they will push anyone out of the way! That's why Mady has never wanted to go down the slides, she doesn't like all the kids and all the water that sprays so she just plays in the fountains. But this time she was daring, she went down the slide with Kenzie (her cousin) and she loved it. Noah on the other had wouldn't even play in the little fountains. He's kind of a pansy about the water. He only likes his pool outside if it is as warm as his bath water!! Anyhow.. they had fun, and of course Zach was here which is all Mady needs to entertain her

Mady is such a cheeser!


Kenzie and Mady! She said it was "awesome!"


Mady with her Zachery!


Both Jamie and Katie tried to get him in the water but he wasn't going for it! His face kind of says it all.



This was as close as he was getting; he preferred to be a spectator.


I just had to take a picture of his cute feet! They are so chubby! When we buy him shoes we have to try them on because his feet don't always fit! But they're so cute.

All work & no play

At least that's what it feels like. So many people at work have quit that I've picked up twice as many shifts as I would like. I keep hoping to be put on call, but that never happnes. We're just too many nurses short and I feel bad. So Tuesday night, we took the kids to the park and out to dinner. It was nice just to spend a night together playing with the kids. We're having such nice weather and we have such a big yard now that I want to take full advantage of the summer. I certainly don't want to spend it all working, but we're trying to fit in all the fun we can. And in a few weeks we got a condo in park city for 4 nights. We're going to the Living Planet Aquarium and the Hogle Zoo. Nothing exciting, but at least we're going to get away and it's something to look forward to. Anyhow... just want to share a few cute pictures of the kids.

Noah loves my mp3 player, he reaches for it any time it's on the counter!


The kids love the swings, and Mady has the cheesiest smile, but it's cute!




Lately Mady likes to have "picnics" on the living room floor. (And yes, she's eating lunch still in her pajamas. Some days we're lazy!)

Does this ever feel like anyone elses whole day?

Some days I swear this is all we do. Noah is just a boob butt lately. He just wants to be held constantly. (and yes he is cutting teeth) But honestly, ALL DAY? Ahh! I swear it has to wear on even the most patient persons nerves. But he is very cuddly and I love that part. And whoever said 2 year olds were the worst didn't have a 3 year old! Mady is so emotional. This kid SCREAMS over everything. There is no such thing as tantrums, for her it's the end of the world. Last night she was sitting in her room for a monsterous fit and me and Adam decided that if we cut her arm off with a dull knife she would scream the same. It is miserable. And sometimes I don't know what to do with her. She's pretty difficult at times. Oh and since we've been potty training, she doesn't EVER pee her pants but she will let her self get constipated and then poop her pants. Let me just tell you how fun that is. Today I made her clean it. As bad as it sounds, the duties of being a mother are not all great. Between tantrums, scooping poop out of panties, taking away scissors (and getting hit for it), and listening to constant crying because I won't let them have popsicles for breakfast, its been a pretty long day. But for all the hard duties of motherhood, there are so many rewards. When my little girl grabs my face and says, "mommy, I love you the mostest" or Noah grabs his blankie and juice and says "Mom! Up!", it makes me forget all the other things and treasure being a mother. And in moments where Mady leans over and tells Noah he's a good boy and kisses him, or covers him up with her forbidden blanket, I think maybe we are doing something right and that there's hope for well-behaved kids yet!

4th of July

So we had a pretty great 4th of July. Adam had a 3 day weekend and we had fun. On friday night Adams sister and brother-in-law and their kids came over. We BBQ'd and then we did fireworks out in the driveway for the kids. They had a lot of fun. Then Saturday they came back and we all went to the parade with Adam's parents. That is where we realized our daughter is destined to dance :) After the parade everyone came to our house and we had a big BBQ. We had the pool and slip 'n' slide out and it was just a really nice day. After everyone left, we all took a nap! Then that night we went to the Menan fireworks; I know, real exciting. But I was actually pretty surprised. They weren't as long as Idaho Falls, but you could get a lot closer, there was more room for the kids to play and we actually got home by 11:00!!! We almost got to see them blow things up (they had a few accidents. lol.) Craig (brother-in-law) joked that there was nothing high tech about Menan's fireworks; it's just red necks running around lighting them with their cigarettes. Ha ha. Not really, but it was fun. To say the least we had some pretty tired kids for the next day at church, but it was worth it. I feel so blessed to spend times like that with our family and to honor the freedoms that we all share, it reminds me of what's important.



All the kids watching the firworks.

After each one Mady would throw her hands in the air and go, "Yea! Woo hoo! Go Daddy" she was so excited. Of course there were tears when it was over.

Getting ready for the parade; Aunt Katie is giving him a blue mohawk.


My cute kids would not cooperate in their cute outfits! This was the best I got.


Every dance team or cheerleading squad that came by, Mady would copy them! She was jumping and flipping those arms around. The people in front of us even turned around and asked if she was ours because she was so cute! I wish I'd had the video camera because the pictures just don't capture it.


The BBQ



Aubrey got mouthy and got thrown in the water, clothes and all!!! (Oh and thanks Grandma Hesse for the birthday $, we got a new pool!)

The fireworks. A nice ending to the day; it was a beautiful night.