Road Trip

We took our first road trip last week to St. George with our good friends the McReavy's and their family.  We stayed in their super nice condo and enjoyed the relaxation and the heat.  It was so hot, therefore we spent a lot of time in the pool!  The kids did awesome on the drive thanks to a borrowed DVD player--it was a lifesaver.  Once in St. George we swam, took lots of naps, saw Kung Fu Panda, went to a 4th of July carnival, swam some more, created our own firework show, and took a trip down to Vegas.  It was so nice to get away and spend some good quality family time together.  

The kids loved the blow up slides at the carnival.  They went over and over again!  Collin also loved the swings.  He doesn't get to go high too often on swings because we don't have baby swings at the park near our house.  He was laughing away!

The kids were so excited to do fireworks.  We did a pre-show a couple of days before we left at our house--it left them anxiously awaiting more.  Sophie was thrilled when we bought them.  She took them to her room and insisted that she take a nap with them.

A family photo shoot.  Sophie was insistent that she not have her picture taken, hence Logan practically tying her down.

The kids enjoying the games at Circus Circus.  Daddy won them each a stuffed animal!  They couldn't have been happier--oh wait, there were many tears due to the fact that dad didn't win exactly the right stuffed animal!

The carousel at Circus Circus.

The Parade!

I love July because of all of the activities that take place throughout the month.  I have always loved parades and fireworks and I look forward every year to taking my kids to these event.  It is fun to experience their excitement with them.  We were lucky enough to see a 4th of July parade before we left on our vacation to St. George.  The kids and I went to the West Bountiful parade with my parents and then enjoyed a yummy BBQ.  The parade was shorter this year, but there was no shortage of candy.  Both Sophie and Collin brought home a gallon size Ziploc bag full of candy.  These are some cute shots of the kids in their "parade clothes" enjoying the parade.  The only thing missing was Logan.  I was sad that he had to work this year, but it was still a lot of fun.

Good Times in Colorado

After our failure of making it on our flight for Father's Day, Logan talked me into trying it one more time.  This time around the flights were looking better, and I actually had Logan to help me in the airport and on the flight to Colorado.  It was fun for the kids to see their Dad at work and to experience flying "high in the sky!"  Sophie loved the little things about flying--the "pop" as the landing gear raises and lowers, the briefing card, and the shade on the window.  Both kids were wonderful on the plane and I might even think about doing it again.

Once in Hayden, we had a blast doing nothing special.  We went swimming, spent some time at a taxidermy (the kids thought it was just as great as the zoo), and played at the park.  It was fun just being together as a family, when normally we wouldn't have been.

We ate at a Mexican restaurant that had these saddles.  The kids thought they were great!

The park we went to had these teeter totters.  Sophie and Collin had never been on one and couldn't seem to get enough of them.

Water Fun!

The kids love swimming and playing with the water in our yard.  A couple of Sundays ago, the kids went outside and were gone for quite a while.  Logan and I were enjoying the solitude and didn't want to disturb their play so we put off checking on them.  When we did, we found both kids drenched from the hose.  They were having the time of their lives.  

These are just some cute pictures from a few of our water play dates outside!  It is so nice to be able to cool off on these HOT days.  There have been a few times when I have wanted to jump in with them!  When we go to the swimming pool, Collin is afraid of the water and doesn't have too much fun however, in our yard he loves it and gets right in, especially if the water is warm!

Happy Father's Day

Today Jenn just gave me the best gift I could ever expect for Father's Day. For a while now I've been trying to swindle Jenn into coming on an overnight at work with me and bringing the kids. Often for one reason or another she can't. However this weekend she was out of excuses so I practically forced her into agreeing to come to Redmond OR tonight. Days ago the flight looked good for her and the kids to get on standby. The situation changed this morning when I checked in at work to find that the flight was sold out. I called Jenn to tell her it was not looking good, but there is always a chance that something would change and she would get on the flight. With the impossible and illogical hope of a child I was praying that she would decide to just give it a try and come out to the airport with the kids and by some miracle (bad weather in the East causing misconnecting passengers) they would all get on the flight and we'd have a great day in Oregon enjoying the pool. Later in the day I checked on the flight during a short stop in Reno. Not only was the flight still oversold but 48 of the 50 passengers had already checked in two and half hours early. Also there was another standby passenger checked in with priority over our family. I called Jenn to have her stay at home but to my surprise she had already loaded the kids in the car and was heading to the airport. After she had to drag two not-so-well-behaved kids onto the airport parking shuttle, through security, to the gate the inevitable happened; the flight left the gate full with Jenn and the kids behind. Well it meant the world to me that she would try and I felt horrible that they had to leave the airport disappointed.

It got me to thinking about all the different ways Jenn puts up with me. My unpredictable job that makes us spend money like we're broke when we're really doing fine, my resistance to internet service in the home, the way I make her drive at 60 mph close behind a semi-truck just to save gas. Me and the kids are so fortunate to have her. Thanks for all you put up with babe. I love you.

The Booger and Pom Poms

Collin and I were watching a Baby Einsteins DVD while Sophie was taking a much neeeded nap (although much too late in the afternnon). After sitting with his fingr in his nose for a few minutes it came out with a booger on it.

Collin: "Whats dat?"

Mom: "A booger."

Collin: "A booger!"

I get up to go get a tissue. Just as I am returning I hear this: "I eat it! I eat it in my mouth, tastes good!"

Mom: "Collin, that is yucky."

Collin: "No, not yucky, it's good!"

Collin cracks me up. It was fun spending some one on one time with him while Sophie was sleeping.

. . .

Sophie has been a little challenging lately and we have been trying to come up with some solutions that might make her behavior improve. One has been to create a schedule for her (putting some structure into her day like she got from preschool). Another has been a reward system. I got this idea from a friend and thought that Sophie would love it. We went to the craft store and bought a jar and some pom poms. Everytime Sophie does something exemplary, she gets to put a pom pom into the jar. Everytime she does soemthing inappropraite she has to take one out. When the jar get full she gets to choose her reward out of several options--this time around, she chose a trip to the toy store.

I gave her the rules and we had some practice scenarios just to ensure her understanding. She was very excited and she then got some pom poms from the mornings activities. After 3 I told that was all for now. She was devastated and started to cry. I explained that she would earn more soon. Ever since, she has been anxiously trying to earn her pom poms--going potty many more times a day than usual all by herself, wanting to eat luch like a big girl when we already ate lunch hours ago, and my favorite "I am going to read a story so that I can have a pom pom." She is even trying to con me into having each activity count as more than 1 pom pom. It is working good for her, but it is good for me also because it helps me focus on the positive things that she does, not just the things that makes my want to send her away to boarding school!

A New Found FREEDOM!

In the past week or so, Collin has discovered a new found freedom. He has learned how to get out of his crib all on his own. It hasn't become annoying yet, it is still pretty funny any time I see him slowly creep into the room we are in. Both Logan and I bust out laughing pretty hard. The first time it happened, it was bedtime. Sophie had gottten out of bed several times and I had just put her back to bed. Collin was jumping around in his crib and I could hear him through the ceiling. The jumping stopped and I was relieved hoping that he had given up and was going to sleep. I then hear a door open upstairs. I was waiting for Sophie to make her way down the stairs telling me that she needed to go potty or that she needed some particular stuffed animal that didn't happen to be in her bed. I waited, and waited. A few minutes later, Collin came creeping quietly down the stairs and asked for some juice. He acted as if this was a totally normal occurence for him. It happened again this morning. He woke up at 6:30, however I do not wake up with my kids before 7:00 if I don't have too. I went into his room and told him we were still sleeping. After staring at me for a few minutes, he layed back down. I went back to bed and enjoyed some additional sleep. At 7:30 Logan and I are still in bed. I am half asleep and half awake totally expecting Collin to yell out his usual "Mommy!" I heard a door open and waited for Sophie to come running in with all of her moring enthusiasm. She didn't come. I sat up and looked out and saw that her door was still shut. Logan mentioned that maybe it was Luke. A few minutes later Collin creeps into our bedroom, "Hi mommy!" We bust out laughing. It is so funny to see him, knowing that he came from his crib. Later this morning, Logan informs me that it is probably his fault that he is getting out of his crib because he pointed out to him that he could do it on his own a couple of days ago and had him do it himself. What was he thinking? Looks like he may need a big boy bed sooner than I had hoped!