Swinging

We haven't made it to the park much this summer so a few weeks ago I decided to pack a picnic and take the kids. Grace loves the swings so we spent the majority of the time there and I decided Garett needed to have his first try.

He Loved it!
Until he actually started swinging.

Then decided that it really was fun!

The Chain on the swing however, was even more entertaining than actually swinging.

On the way home Grace was tired and didn't want to walk. My car was in the shop that day with my double stroller so this is how we managed. I'm grateful my stroller supported both their weight and that Garett wasn't to wiggly and fell out. We would have never made it home with me holding Garett pushing Grace and on brink of naptime.

Our little Garden

We had our first harvest from the Garden! Peas! We love peas and finally got a few of them.

My high hopes for our garden have not proven themselves yet. I was expecting a flourishing garden and the only thing that seems to be flourishing is the potatoes! Hopefully they turn out well. The broccolli has finally come in and my squash keeps flowering but there are no squash on them! I don't know what to do. I need more sun!

Here's to hoping planting this garden will be worth it in the end.

The Wall

Probably the favorite 4th of July activity we did was writing on the wall. Ben's parents are redoing their front room, and they recently sheetrocked the room. We were sitting around trying to decide what to do and the next thing I know Ben and his brother Seth are writing on the wall! They were writing dumb stuff, so I told Ben if he was going to write on the wall he ought to at least tell the world how much he loved me. So he did.... a lot!

In the midst of Ben writing the rest of the family got in on the action. Here is our little family's hands.
Grace enjoyed coloring on Grandma's wall!
Here is Ben's finished product. "The Epistle of Ben" or "Ode to Alyson my love" is what he officially named it.

Click on the picture if you want to read a cheesy sample of how much my husband loves me! It was actually really cute!

The walls were covered by the time we were done playing!

What's a fun family activity without a good game or two of hangman on the wall?

Poor Grandma had to use a special primer to cover it all up and I think 2 coats of paint. Hopefully it doesn't leak through, but the memories created that day were totally worth it!

The 4th of July

Our 4th was so much fun. Garett was excited to show off his Mohawk that Ben wanted to give him. It didn't last long even with a bit of junk in it. Plus he's just to sweet to wear a doo like that.

We headed up to West Jordan for the Parade. We got great seats right at the start of the Parade so we got LOTS of candy!

There were TONS of Corvetts there showing off in the parade.

This float was made by Ben's Parent's Stake. It was pretty neat (I'll give them a plug and tell you to vote for it at the Days of 47 Float Preview)

Garett loves all the attention the Granparents give him, but wasn't so sure about that hat!

He got really lucky here. While Grandpa was holding him a lady from the parade gave him that little wooden car! She secretly snuck it out of a bag and gave it to him and gave the rest of the kids candy. He played with it the rest of the time!

After the parade we headed over to the park and walked through the booths. This was one of our favorite past times the summer we lived in Logan. Unfortunately there wasn't much to look at this year. We then headed back to Ben's Parents for some naps, games, and a BBQ. When it got dark we pulled out the sparklers and fireworks.

This was one of the strobe light fireworks. Ben was strutting his stuff in front of it. It looked really cool while it was flashing, but a little dorky in the picture.

We had a wonderful 4th and was reminded again how grateful we are to live in our great country!

Boating with the Lynes

On July 3rd we headed out boating with the Lynes Family! Ben was excited to use his new life jacket and I was excited to get some sun! Garett wasn't that excited.....

Grace was a little timid about the temperature of the water but after she got in had a great time!


Ben thought Garett should have a turn. He did not like how cold it was, or maybe he didn't like that he couldn't move his head because of the life jacket. Either way he didn't last very long in the water.

After swimming around for a few minutes Jenny braved the tube with all the kids. Go Jenny! They had a nice smooth ride until Nicole was done.

Garett and I hung out in the shade while Jenny rode the tube. (it should have been the other way around. Jenny had just had her baby 2 1/2 weeks ago! She Wake Boarded too! She is Super Woman!)

Matthew and Grace could have gone on forever riding the tube....until Ben got in.

I had a turn on the Wake Board. I was a little nervous since I hadn't done it in 2 years and had only done it once then. I got up several times and even crossed the wake! I was pretty proud of myself but was sooo sore for a few days! Ben did really great this year and got up several times too! Oh, and he looked awesome in his new life jacket!

"Camping"

After we got home from Bowling, Ben decided that it really wasn't going to rain and that he and Grace were going to sleep in the tent. So we set it up in the backyard and they "camped". I decided to sleep inside in my bed (I know party pooper) but someone had to listen for Garett, right?

Garett and I went out to visit them in the morning. Ben and Grace slept out there for 2 nights!

Bowling

I had great plans for our extended 4th of July weekend! We started out by going to the Oakley Rodeo on the 1st which was so much fun! Pictures to come if Mike and Heather will share. :)

On Thursday we were supposed to go camping....until the weather forecast called for rain. So we bailed on that idea and headed for the bowling lanes with the Lynes. It's been almost a year since we've been bowling and we had a blast! The kids were really excited too.

They were almost as excited as they were to take pictures of the event. Both Grace and Matthew had to have their turns with the camera.
Garett had a great time watching. He is always happy to observe the action going on. Grace on the other hand, is more of a hands on person. Patience isn't really one of her strong points as you can see her here waiting for her turn.
I love these boys!

Ben showing off his moves.

The kids pretty much just played on our games. We got to take 1 turn and then they would finish it up for us. As you can guess our scores were not that great, except for Jenny. Somehow she managed to break 100 and left the rest of us in the dust.

Grace was so funny to watch. She would put her ball on the stand. Walk backwards and then run forward and push her ball down. Then she would stand back with her hands on her hips and watch the ball go all the way to the end and then cheer for herself. It was hilarious!

Neighborhood BBQ

In continuation of the Lehi Round Up Days celebrations we decided to throw a neighborhood BBQ in front of our house instead of going to the one at the park. It was a smashing success! We had tons of friends come. The food was yummy and the kids played and had fun. I didn't pull my camera out until the very end so I missed everyone that was there, but I did get a few group shots of the lingerers.

(Lindsey Parkisnon, Me, Jen Ross, Erin Cowley, Melanie Zimmerman, Jenny Lynes (yes she's holding my baby), Lacey Varner, and Jana Lever) These girls are some of my greatest friends!

Here's another one adding in Clint Cowley, Brad Ross, Ben, and Woodson Lynes. Dave Parkinson is hiding behind Erin.
This was a wonderful way to spend an evening and WAY better than cooking dinner for ourselves. I can't wait to do it again!

Lehi's Got Talent

At the end of June we headed to the park for a Picnic with friends and to listen to Lehi's Got Talent, which was part of the Round Up Days Celebration. We had a fun time cheering on our friend Jen who was performing, and chatting with all our friends.

This was also the first time we saw our friends Brad and Jen's twin baby girls. They are adorable! Thanks to all who came!

Grace really got into it and was dancing a ton. She is the funniest little dancer. Lately Ben has been singing this Chocolate song and they dance to it. She loves it.

Grace the Entertainer

Grace is so full of personality. She loves to sing songs and has started making up her own tunes, taking after her daddy. Here she is sharing her favorite song. The end is my very favorite!

I don't know where she picked it up from (probably one of the Princess movies she loves to watch), but she is saying "Thank you my Majesties" after every thing she does. I love it!

Garett 9 months!

Garett is 9 months old as of June 22! After taking him to his Dr apt I am still in shock.

Height: 29 in (74%)

Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz (35%- WHAT?)

Head: 18 in

Seriously, what in the world? My baby is in the 35th percentile? When did that happen? He has only grown a pound in the past 3 months? I know! shocking.... After Grace I thought I was destined for all chubby babies, and Garett sure started out that way. Oh well, he's still as cute as can be!

Garett is still sleeping 12 hours through the night! :) He now has 8 teeth (I know!). I have started to slowly wean him, which basically means I am giving him 1 bottle a day and still nursing the other feedings. It will happen slowly, or more quickly depending on how he's biting. He LOVES to eat anything and prefers to feed himself though will tolerate being spoon fed. He is the happiest little guy, but is becoming quite attached to me, and his blanket. He started scooting at the end of May and is now quite quick. He is starting to pull himself up a little bit, can push back to sit, and is starting to rock back on his knees. One of these day he will decide that crawling is faster than scooting. He is the joy of my life. I love his "games" he plays with me, I love his laughter, I love how he snuggles into me, I love how he tolerates Grace's loves, I love when he thinks he's so funny, I just love everything about my adorable baby! What a blessing he is!

Grace in Gymnastics

Grace started Gymnastic the first week of June. It has been so much fun! The first week was classic Grace. Totally cooperative and excited for about the first 15 minutes, and then she was so naughty. She didn't want to do anything the teacher told her to do but when they went on with out her she would get totally upset. She would fold her arms and "hmph" and walk away and wander around. So all the next week we had long talks about how we listen to the teacher and do what she says. The next week she was perfect! (also bribed by a piece of Gum...but it worked!) She has been fairly good since and is loving it! Here she is with her class. Her little friend Hattie is on the left, I love having Hattie's mom Tomie there to talk to during class.

(She is in the black....she picked it out herself. They had a pink one but she wanted the black which totally surprised me!)

Here she is looking up and saying "HI MOMMY!!!!" She does this at least 10 times per class. If one kid does it another one has too. It's like yawning- contagious!
Here she is doing one of her little routines. I love how she moves the circles so they are closer. Also check out the little boy and his somersault! He's pretty good.


I am so glad we decided to put her in gymnastics this summer! It has really taught her how to participate in a class and listen to directions and to someone besides me. Good preparation for Preschool this fall and other fun classes!

Liberty Land

On the 19th of June we had Bryan and Alyssa and Jacob and Alyssa, Ben's brother's and their wives, down for a visit. I also hosted Bunco that night so it was a fun weekend! Bryan's Alyssa played Bunco with us and won a Gift Card to Liberty Land! So the next day we all headed over to Liberty Land for some fun. This was our first trip and we were surprised to see a big blow up slide inside! Garett enjoyed taking a ride down with me.

Grace and
Ben had a fun time too.

We had turns driving the go carts.

I was REALLY Awful!!! I could not do the turns, plus it started raining so the track was really slick. Yeah, lets blame it on the rain!

Ben rocked climbed and the boys and Jacob's Alyssa all played laser tag.

Gracie rode some of the rides inside so overall it was a fun day. Since it was raining there were some things we really wanted to do but couldn't so we'll definitely have to go back!