Cousin chaos

We have had so much fun with cousins and their cousins this summer! The photos have been piling up and I have been so busy going, that I don't blog as much as I used to, so here is the mother of all slide show summaries!

We have done fun things like the I am a Child of God exhibit at the Church History museum, followed by lunch at the Gateway and running through the fountains. Jenna had multiple birthday parties. (Aubrey will have the same in a few weeks) We went to a Bee's game for my dad's 60th birthday. There were about 40 people in our group and everyone who had a birthday in July from our group got their name on the big score board- Jenna was excited!

We went boating for Darin's bday. Tim was a great sport and helped the kids fish. The girls also swam there on the shore. (To my delight and his dismay!) Jenna & Aubrey even got brave and got in the lake out in the middle while Steve was getting ready to ski!

One day, we went with the Gibsons and Arveseths to Cabela's and had a great time looking at the animals and shooting in the gallery. After that we went to McDonald's in Lehi to play and have lunch. We ended up staying for two hours! Since we weren't quite exhausted yet, I took my kids to a splash park in Riverton on the way home where we played for two more hours. The picture of Aubrey asleep is on the way home from that day-long adventure!

We have had so much fun already this summer and there's plenty more to come! Plus, I have more pictures with Prestwich cousins that will be their own post. My kids are feeling neglected, so this will have to do for now!

Small victory update

On Monday, I told you that I was down 5 lbs from my last monthly weigh-in at Curves. Well, I just got back from my weekly weigh-in at Weight Watchers and I am down 2.2 lbs for the week & 11.6 since I started about 6 weeks ago.

Considering all of the family get-togethers while the Arveseths were here and all of the July bday parties, I am really proud of myself for losing! I have been really trying to pay attention and work on my bad habits that got me here in the first place! Just being aware and CARING has already helped!

So, yeah me! Thanks family and friends for being so supportive, especially Tim!

Holy Rain!

It is pouring rain! Here are a few pictures from the first storm. It's started again!



This bucket was empty this morning and has since filled up!


There is a nickel next to the hail so you can see how big it was. My kids are freaking out, so I'm

going to go now...

I found the pics below on ksl.com. This intersection is very close to our house- right by our Little Caesar's Pizza, for those who are familiar with the area.

Pioneer Day preparations

My girls are anxiously awaiting Pioneer Day! They love any reason for a party or parade, so this is no exception! Add dress-ups and they are insufferable!

We started the festivities on Saturday morning at the Days of '47 Youth Parade downtown. It was so fun! The crowd was mostly parents of the kids in the parade, so it wasn't as crowded and hectic as we feared. We got a nice shady spot and had a great time!

The parade was mostly different Primary groups, with a few other organizations mixed in. Some of the stakes had zillions of kids! The general Primary presidency was in the parade, too.


We also saw our neighbor, Tonya, in the KHS marching band!


Jenna's friend, Shaylee, was in the parade with her Sunshine Generation group. (My sisters and I were in the parade a few times with Sunshine, too.)


I got interviewed my Casey what'-his-name from channel 2, which got the kids free tshirts. (I really hate cameras, so this was NOT my favorite part! I felt like such a nerd!)

Our other Pioneer Day warm-up was the Float Preview at the South Towne Expo center yesterday. Today is the last day to see them before the parade, so if you can go, GO! It is free!
They are open today from 11 am until 9:00pm. I was great fun!
The girls had to wear the dress ups from Gma Barb!

The Cottonwood Heights float was Jenna & Aubrey's favorite since it shows the Old Mill, which we drive past to get to Grandma & Papa's house. The Bee & Jazz float was a close second!
You can see my kids & Libby Gibby in the pics. They met us there, along with Kat & her Gibsons!

It is hard to appreciate the time & effort that goes into each float without seeing them up close. They are amazing! There is one with lots of animation that shows seagulls BBQing crickets, putting them in green Jell-O and other cute things. Watch for that- I'm sure it will win a big prize!

For journaling purposes, we ran into the Deems & Snowders from our old ward and Wendy & McKenzie Maxfield.

Have a great Pioneer Day, whatever you decide to do. Be safe!

Celebrating small victories

Every month at Curves we weigh in and do body measurements. Today was my best weigh-in ever!

I was down 5 pounds & 6 inches. My BMI & body fat were each down 3 points.

Woo hoo!

Jenna's party

Here are some pictures from Jenna's class party and her birthday party. She had a wild week of parties!

Goats, and geese and ducks, oh my!

My friend, Janet, who I met at Curves, invited my to bring the girls to her family farm to feed the goats, geese, and ducks. It is on 1300 West right next to I 215. You can feed the geese and ducks in the canal from the road, but the goats are inside the farm. It was quite the experience walking through the goats, as they try to get your bread and butting each others' heads to stake their claim. The girls were a little nervous at first, but had a great time.

Goats are one of the few animals that Papa Jess doesn't have at his farm, so it was a fun change!

We rode in golf carts up to the area where the animals are, which the girls loved as much as anything! They are always ready for a new adventure...

Janet and Margie (another friend from Curves) had their grand kids there who were girls the same ages as mine, so it was really fun! I had to pry mine off the trampoline when it was time to go! Thanks, ladies for a really fun afternoon!

Fun Time at the Dentist

No, really! We found a great pediatric dentist. His name Eric Johansen and his office is in Jordan Landing right by Target and Best Buy, very convenient!



The girls had a great time there. When you walk into the office there is a huge shark mouth that leads into a play room that looks like a coral reef. It has a fish tank and puppets for puppet shows, toys, block, and Finding Nemo on the DVD player. Once in the treatment rooms, there are TVs over each chair and the kids can choose a movie or play a video game. (Having held hands down from little faces as a dental assistant, I think the game controller in-hand is a great idea!) The assistants are all really sweet and made the girls very comfortable. Dr Johansen also was very sweet and friendly. He wears a baseball jersey over his shirt and tie, which the girls found amusing!

They were both cavity-free, so they got their pictures put on the No Cavity Club wall and we took their picture in front of the castle (which has another treatment room inside). There is also a whole wall that is a huge pirate ship. This office is huge!


They each got to choose a prize from the treasure chest when they were done. Their favorite part, though, was the carousel. Each child gets a gold token when they are done. The token turns on the carousel in the waiting room. The girls had a blast!

After we were done, Jenna asked me why some people don't like going to the dentist.

"That was really fun, Mom!"

Slacker

I am so far behind on my blogging, so I will try to play catch up over the next few days. We have been having a really fun summer! Jenna was in school until June 28th, so summer is a bit shorter, but it has been action packed!

Here are a few random moments to start.

We started early with the ReAL Salt Lake game back in May. The girls thought it was awesome! It was fun to be Rice Eccles Stadium with a mellow crowd and good weather! We were in the seventh row right by the goal and we saw ReAL score right in front of us. Kat and Darin and their kids were there, too, so we went and sat with them during the second half where the kids had more room to roam.

Due to the horrific gas prices, our travels are a bit restricted, but we have managed to have lots of fun! This was the sign as we left town for the 4th of July, now that looks like a reasonable price compared to $4.15. Yikes!

We have worn Lydia out more than once.

Aubrey is exploring her inner 80's rocker.

We have also had a few fun get-togethers with Libby Gibby and her family. This is in front of the Bountiful Temple.