Pioneer Day Parade

For the past 4 years now our neighborhood has done a kids Pioneer Day Parade. The kids in the neighborhood meet in front of a specific house with their decorated bikes, scooters, wagons and selves. They follow the pace car through the neighborhood, past a few of us spectators, to the church at the end of our street. Once there we have a small pot luck finger-food breakfast. The kids LOVE this and they love being a part of something together.
Thanks again for all the participation and for the fun morning. Even though we know the parade literally only lasts about 5 min. ;-) Emma is on her scooter in the middle of the picture.
Happy Pioneer Day!

Lagoon...Take 4

This was our 4th and final trip to Lagoon this summer. We had to take advantage of the bounce back passes with the 1st and 3rd trips we made. This is Ryan and Emma on I think the lady-bug ride. Mommy and Emma on the Dinasaur Egg drop ride.
Ryan and Emma on a ride I'm not sure of.

Mommy and Jax got really good at chilling on the sidelines this trip.

The More the Merrier

So my cute sister-in-law has recently had to start chemo due to breast cancer. So I've tried helping lighten her load some and have taken her boys on several occasions. Here is one occasion when Ashton came with us to the zoo. We were also so lucky to have my neice's little guy Kreyton with us too. It was such a fun, easy going day. However, I don't think it could have been any hotter though. I feel bad. I was kind of in a bad mood due to the heat and probably snapped once or twice with the kids. But all in all it was a great day. Time to leave, just one last picture. Man we all wanted to jump in the fountain by then.
Thanks for coming and having fun with us!

Bitter Sweet Good-Byes

So anyone that knows me, knows that I am a huge creature of habit and routine. I have a hard time just being spontanious. It literally stresses me out. Some say they don't even realize I'm stressed, but that's only because I hide it. So anytime we have visitors it's always stressful to me. Only because things are always changing from day to day and schedules get totally whacked out of alignment. However much this upsets my daily routine, I LOVE having family/friends come and stay. As much as I look forward to life getting back to normal, I dread saying goodbye to loved ones. I hate living so far from my parents and my siblings and their families. I miss my kids always having this extra love and support in their lives. However, I do feel that it makes me appreciate these visits even more. I can honestly say that I definitely cried when it was time for them to go back to Phoenix. I know that my kids and I are missing them all so terribly. Thanks for such a fantastic visit and we can't wait for the next time. Final group hug with Nana.
Jax just couldn't let go.

We love and miss you Nana, Ethan, Maryn, Mallory, and Courtney! (Courtney was only here for a night and then she went back with her dad to Phoenix. That's why she's not in the pics.)

Day at the Pool

We are so lucky to have such a fun indoor and outdoor pool facility literally around the block from our house. On the last day of their trip we spent it at Murray Pool. Here's Emma and Maryn taking a break during one of the chemical checks the city does. Jax taking a snack break. Nothing like wet hands and orange doritos. Yum! Mallory and Nana taking an ice cream break.

A RARE picture of Ethan. Even though he is broding, I'm still posting it. If he'd give me something better then I'd have posted that one. ;-)

Temple Square

During the peak visit season this summer we took a trip down to Temple Square in downtown SL. We rode trax down, of course, since it's Jax's favorite way to get around. It was REALLY hot that day, but all the kids were such good sports about being out in the heat.
We did take a few breaks for some indoor tours too. Here is a picture of Maryn, Mallory, Jax, Ethan, and Emma in front of one of the fountains on Temple Square.
We miss you guys already!

You're My Favorite Deputy

Like I said before, Jax is really into Woody lately. So for his birthday we got him a Baby Woody Plush that comes with it's own blankie. These were just a couple of adorable pics I captured of him loving his new buddy. This is just the sweetest thing ever.

It's Pary Time

Jax has been really into Buzz Light Year and Woody lately. Probably because of the recent release of Toy Story 3. This however was fine with us since it made finding a theme for his 3rd birthday party very easy. Plus there was so much stuff available to use. Here is a picture of those that attended. Instead of a traditional cake I made these cupcake/ice cream cones. They turned out a lot better than I even thought they would, if I say so myself.
Jax blowing out his birthday boy candle.

The happy crew enjoying their tasty treats.

Happy Birthday Jax!

Rockin' the Zoo

We have an annual pass to the Hogel Zoo, so of course, whenever cousins come in town we take advantage of this place. Maryn, Emma, and Mallory all decided to rock their zoo hats for this occasion. Hangin' at the penguin encounter.
A VERY rare pic of cousin Ethan and Jax riding the train.

Another pic of Mommy and Jax on their second train trip for the day.

We love the zoo and anytime anyone ever wants to go we're game.

Sharing a Birthday with the Dinosaurs

For Jax's birthday we decided to go to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum. This place is awesome and one of Jax's favorites. Even though it doesn't have a train. But there was a pony ride, and a buggy ride at the Thanksgiving Point Farm right after the Museum, so he was slightly happy. As it turned out the Museum was also celebrating it's birthday, so a bunch of the dinosaurs were wearing birthday hats throughout the tour. My kids thought this was fun because they truely believed they were celebrating Jax's bday too. So cute, but how do I tell them when this never happens again on anyone elses birthdays. Nana, Emma, Jax, and cousins Maryn and Mallory at the Museum.
Jax was very excited about the water/sand play area.

This was one of their favorite exibits. Why I will never understand. We spent forever here while they explored this horrible thing. I'm not kidding, it actually gave me nightmares that night.

Jax having a good time on his 3rd birthday while holding his Mickey (it's actually a blankie he got as a baby, but he calls it his Mickey). Too cute. Love you Buggie.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jax

On July 6th Jax officially turned 3. And as per tradition, our house birthday fairy struck again. This is one of our many beloved fairies that live in and around our home and loves to make a showing on special events. Jax and Emma have come to love and anticipate just what their birthday fairy is going to do to their bedrooms now. We are always so surprised that this said fairy is able to sneak in and do some much damage with crepe paper without them even ever sturring. Must be a very sneaky and very good fairy to always pull it off with such grace and elegance.

Thank you Jax for being in our lives and for always being such a joy. Happy 3rd Birthday Buggie!!

Our Nation's Independence

For some reason, I chose not to take very many pictures on this our nation's birthday. So the pickin's were slim. We decided to go down town to the SL Farmer's Market. Which, was okay, but I won't be rushing back ANY time soon. The amount of acutal booths selling acutal produce could be counted on less fingers than I have on my right hand. The rest of the ENTIRE market was nothing but craft fair vendors selling their homemade goods, or actual food establishment carts. While I think that is nice and all, I was hoping the whole Farmer's Market theme would come into play. Oh well, now the wait for the good Farmer's Market, the Murray City one, begins.

This is a pic of Emma and Jax with their Nana being troopers at the Market. This is another pic of Emma and Jax with the balloons that a clown made for them at the Market.
For our evening festivities we chose to go to Murray park and watch their always great fireworks show. Thank you Murray City for always coming through with fabulous activities for our family. First thing this morning Ryan took Emma to the Murray City Parade while Jax slept. He forgot to take the camera and that is why there is a lacking picture of the said activity.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and were able to share it with friends and family. Thank you to our founding Father's who had the knowledge, forsight, and inspiration from God to build this nation we all love and hold dear to our hearts.