BiRtHdAy BaSh!!

First of all let me just say, eeekkk my BABY GIRL is 4 years old! 

It was a great day and I think Sophie enjoyed every minute of it.  I wanted to do something special with Sophie during the day so I thought it would be fun to take her to Build A Bear.  I think she had a great time.  She chose to make a kitty and dressed it as The Little Mermaid and named it 'Ariel.'  It has become her pal since we left the store.

Sophie thought it was a bit scary when her kitty was getting her stuffing.  It was kind of loud and she thought it better to stand back and cover her ears.  Too cute and silly!

Sophie loved giving her kitty a bath.  She made sure she was all clean and got a good brushing.

There is Sophie J with her treasured 'Ariel' kitty!

After we visited Build A Bear, we went home and waited for the party to start.  Sophie chose to have a Tinkerbelle party this year.  It was fun, because it was the first time that she has requested some sort of theme for her big day.   Grandmas and Grandpas came over, we ate pizza, and opened presents.  Sophie was totally into opening her gifts this year.  She barely noticed what was inside each one before she was on to the next.

Great Grandma Moss gave Sophie some musical instruments.  They were a hit.  We had to play them and sing "Happy Birthday" a million times.

Sophie got lots of Princess Dolls and My Little Pony's.  Two of her most favorite things right now!  What a lucky girl.

Here is Sophie with her Tinkerbelle cake that she picked out herself.  She had been looking forward to it for weeks.

Blowing out the candles after making a wish.  It took her a couple of tries, but she did it!

Sophie also got lots of art supplies and coloring books.  She spent most of the night sitting at the kitchen table coloring.

It was a great day and I know that Sophie is so grateful for all of the gifts and the time that everyone took to come celebrate this special day with her.  Love you Sophie!

Our Sophie J

For Sophie as you turn 4!

Your birthday has come and you are turning 4!  You have been waiting for this day with much excitement for months now!  You are Mommy and Daddy's little princess.  You are full of boundless energy and keep us on the move.  You love the color pink.  One of your favorite things to do is color with your crayons and markers.  Our house is full of all of your treasures pieces of art.  You love treats of any kind, especially ice cream and popsicles.  You are always asking for "Pink" milk or "Brown" milk.  You still love your special blanket which you call "Blankie" that mommy made for you before you were born.  You love animals and one of your favorite things to do is pretend to be a kitty (licking and all!)  You love Princesses, especially The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty.  You are a wonderful big sister who loves and helps Collin so much.  You are a super friendly, kind little girl.  You have made our lives what they are today!  We love you more than you can know and we are so glad that you are ours!  Hope that you have a wonderful birthday sweet pea!

Davis County FAIR!

I love fairs.  I have loved them ever since I was little and have many great memories of going to the fair with my parents.  I love everything about them, and look forward to taking my kids each year.  I was lucky enough to be able to go to the Davis County Fair with my good friend Tiff, her little girl, and one of her good friends.  It was such a good time.  We made the rounds and did just about everything.  It was a fun evening with friends.  

This flower was a highlight for Sophie.  She remembers getting one from last year and was looking forward to getting another one.  Unfortunately, it didn't make it through the night and popped before we left.

 

Sophie loved this tortoise.  It was one of the few animals that she wasn't afraid of.  It however was on the move and she had to chase it just to get a couple of touches in!

My favorite picture of the evening--I love it!

Mueler Park Trail

Yesterday I had the kids to myself in the morning so we decided to go on a hike. Soph and Collin have done only one hike before, which started in protests and ended with us carrying two kids on the return leg. I was a little nervous, but considered it my fatherly duty to teach the kids that hikes are indeed fun. I had them engaged for the first 30 minutes during the hike looking for bugs, lizards, and tracks on the trail. Soph was really starting to get into it when she started having mini-races on the trail with us. Then she inevitably tripped and scraped her knee and elbow. Although they were just little scratches there was no consoling her without the bandaids that I neglected to bring. She was screaming that she wanted home and mom. We headed back to a soundtrack of moaning and crying. The day was lost until we stopped at the creek. Once the tears were gone, the kids trudged through the water for over an hour. We took a break and ate our lunch on the side of the creek. With filthy hands and faces we ate sandwiches and apples and laughed enough to forget about our troubles earlier. The kids said they had fun and I won't forget the time we giggled for hours on the bank of Mueler Park creek.

Mother/Daughter, Father/Son

Yesterday we had a Mother/Daughter, Father/Son outing.  Logan took Collin on the frontrunner to the Ogden Train Museum (Collin loves trains, especially the frontrunner which he calls "the white train") and I took Sophie on a much anticipated trip to the zoo.  It was so fun to be able to spend some one on one time with the kids and grow a little bit closer to them.  Sophie loved the zoo and was all about doing what ever it was that she wanted--we hit every animal, ride, statue, slide, food stop, and gift shop in the zoo.  It was definitely her day.   Collin enjoyed riding the front runner and seeing all of the trains, especially the big train outside of the museum that he could climb all over.  It was a fun day and so nice to be able to make each child feel so special and loved.

Just a few cute pictures from Collins day with Dad.  Unfortunately we didn't get any of Sophie's day at the zoo because of camera shortages:)!

A Camping We Will Go..

   We took our 1st family camping trip this week.  We headed up Farmington Canyon and found a nice shady spot at Bountiful Peak Campground.  Not quite what Logan was visioning, but it worked out really well.  

2 Kids + LOTS of dirt + laid back mom and dad = a FUN camping trip

Sophie spent much of the day and evening digging in this sandy dirt.  She was looking for treasure!

Both kids were so dirty--I seriously don't think either one of them had ever been so dirty.  I guess that means they had a good time, right?

We took a hike, which didn't really go as planned.  Sophie refused to walk and then later needed to go potty and wasn't thrilled about becoming one with mother nature.  Therefore our hike was cut short in order to make it back to the potty seat set up at camp:)

Good times at camp!

Collin held onto this box of Rice Krispy Treats all night long.  He didn't want to eat one, but he had to hold them.

We roasted hot dogs, and made s'mores.  The kids were eating all night long.  I didn't take a picture, but Collin had set up his own camp on the table surrounded by chips, chocolate, marshmellows, graham crackers, and apple juice!

Sophie felt more at home once we discovered a pen and paper in the car.  She could color her life away, she seriously loves it.

There never have been 2 kids more excited to go to sleep.  They could not wait to get in the tent-- We wouldn't let them in it because of all the dirt they were covered in.  Once they got in, they were bouncing off the walls.  After finally getting the kids to sleep, I was thinking this might not be too bad--despite the hard ground that my pregnant self was not too thrilled about sleeping on!  After several hours, Collin woke up crying.  We got him settled down and then Sophie woke up crying to go home to her own bed.  She cried for probably a half hour before going to sleep and was up off and on throughout the night.  We also had a racoon rummaging through our camp.  Needless to say we were all pretty tired the next day!  Despite this, it was a fun camping trip and one that I hope we try again (this time with an air mattress!)

A Nice Sunday Evening

Last Sunday after a relaxing day at home, I was feeling itchy to get out of the house.  We decided to go to Temple Square and walk around--it had been a while since we had been there.  The evening was so nice.  The weather was cool (a little windy and rainy) and it was just so nice to get out with the family and enjoy each other on the grounds of the Temple.  I think this was probably the kids most favorite visit to Temple Square.

Both kids loved the fountains and had fun splashing in the water--maybe too much fun!

Sophie is just about impossible to take pictures of lately.  I usually have to bribe her our catch her off guard.  This is the only picture we got of her that is in focus.  She is constantly moving!