4th of July Weekend

Yes I know that was at least 3 months ago. I'm going to try and do a little catch up so try and stay with the really long posts that are about to come. I never have time to scrapbook anymore so I was using the blog to keep track of events and now I'm slacking at that too.

We started the weekend with Kyler's first hike up Adams Canyon. He seemed to really enjoy it until nap time hit as we were heading back down the hill. Zoey didn't bother to wait until we got back down the hill and crashed about an hour into the hike. Afterwords we went to lunch at what Kyler calls "the new doughnut house". Krispy Kreme is the original "doughnut house". Even with all those choices he always goes for whatever has sprinkles.The next days we went to Kaysville for the festivities. We had pancake breakfast, watched the parade and enjoyed the inflatable slides.
The family waiting for the parade to start. Kyler loved the candy but hated all the loud firetrucks.
Me and Zoey doing some tailgating while Kyler and grandma played on the slides in the hot, hot sun.

Why does time go by so fast!? Hightlights from June

We've been so busy the last couple of months I haven't stopped to update the blog for awhile. Besides the normal day to day craziness, our family has been doing lots of fun stuff too. It is so amazing to watch my kids grow and learn new things every day, so I'm sure most of this post will be about them (as usual).

Kyler's Birthday

Kyler turned 3 on June 1st. So for the 4-5 days leading up to that Blake and I spent all our free time (in between rain storms) trying to put together his present. We got him a big wooden swing set that comes as 3 boxes of lumber and a big bag of nuts and bolts.
We only got the tree house portion done before the big day with the swings and monkey bars still to come. He was really excited and calls it "my park".We also had the family over for cupcakes. I know it looks like my son is wearing lipstick but I promise it is chocolate frosting!! The following Saturday we had a big water party. I was so nervous because it had rained off and on all week and we had over 40 people coming over to swim and BBQ. We got so lucky even though it got a little cooler in the evening there was no rain.
Kyler hid in his room for the first little while overwhelmed by all the people but eventually he came out for presents and ice cream.
This is just a picture I thought was cute of Kyler with his cousin Alex on his laptops. He has 3 laptops already that he loves to play with. My little engineer in training!

Lagoon

We took the family to Lagoon for Blake's employee day. We were excited thinking Kyler might be old enough to enjoy a few things. Unfortunately things didn't go so well. The morning started with stitches on the back of his head after standing up into my nightstand. He recovered with a trip to the doughnut house "Krispy Kreme" and we thought he'd be good to go for Lagoon. We pulled up and he was so excited about all the big roller coasters and kept saying "I wanna go on dat" to which Blake and I thought "ya right". The marry go round went over well and next he wanted to try the puff roller coaster.
I don't know if you can see well in the picture but he is trying to hide under my arm. It didn't go so well and after that he didn't want to ride anything. We had to drag him onto the train. Yes that's right my son didn't want to ride a train. That's when I knew he was traumatized.
After some ice cream and relaxing time with grandma he seemed interested in Bulgy the Whale. I thought that might be more his level. He was very excited and jumping up and down waiting for his turn, but as soon as he realized I wasn't getting into that tiny whale with him it was all over.
Lucky for us Grandma Karyn was great to take him back home so Blake and I could enjoy some more rides. I don't think Kyler will be going back to Lagoon anytime soon!

Baseball

Blake and Kyler had some quality time going to a Bees Baseball game thanks to tickets from Grandpa Brad. Kyler even packed his backpack to get ready to go.

I guess it was necessary to document the brownies they were eating to show mom later.

I think the highlight for Kyler was when the Jazz Bear knocked down the Bee. He's not a fan of the giant bee suit so he kept yelling "squish the bee", and eventually it happened as the mascots were racing.

Zoey 8 Months Old

And each post wouldn't be complete without some pictures of my little Zoey all dressed up. These shots were taken at 8 months old.I caught this one right before an excited scream.

Zoey 6 Months

More old photos I forgot to post.

These are just some photos I took of Zoey a couple of days before she was 6 months old. My classic after church photos when she looks so cute all dressed up.

This is the official 6 months photos shoot just a week later.

The fun with 2

So I wrote this (and a couple other posts) almost 3 months ago and while finally looking at my blog again realized they never got posted. I figured they are a little out of date but I might as well hit publish anyway.

Having 2 kids is definitely more work but words cant really express what a blessing it is to watch your children play and laugh together. Zoey already thinks Kyler is just about the funniest thing around and Kyler is so sweet and kind with Zoey.

(for some reason this picture would always upload sideways)

Kyler seems to love being a big brother. He always wants to help out by bringing Zoey toys or her blanket and likes reading .her stories. He even shares his "snuggly" with her which is a pretty big deal. He recently learned that when she reaches for his toys just to give her another one and she'll leave his alone. I was impressed! The first thing he does when I bring him home each day is look for Zoey. He gets so excited to just say hi and then goes about whatever. I love watching what a tender hearted little boy he is.

A Day Out with Thomas Again

This was our 2nd pilgrimage to Heber City to meet Thomas the Tank Engine. I made the mistake of bringing it up on Tues night, 3 days before we were going. I'm not even sure how many times I had to try and explain to a 3 year old that Thomas had a long way to travel and wasn't here yet. He didn't seem as excited (jumping around) as last year but he's talked about it for the last 2 weeks and told everyone he got to ride on Thomas so I know he loved it.

This was just enough to remind Kyler how much he enjoys playing with trains so when we got home all the train stuff came back out.
This is his certificate he got for riding Thomas that is hanging in his room.

Zoey

The same kind of random post but this time all about Zoey.

The classic every Sunday photo. This time in her Easter Dress. She always looks so darn cute all dressed up for church.

Sitting up with help from the boppy pillow. This photo is a little old because she sits up great now and is rolling all over too, but I just love that big grin!

The first spoonful of baby cereal. She was definitely ready as that mouth came right open.

Not too much of a mess afterward.

The new favorite pastime of chewing on everything especially fingers and toes.

Kyler

Some random pics of my sweetest little boy!!

Wearing his new Seattle Mariners Hat. Makes his dad so proud!
The golf ball sized lump that showed up one morning and scared his mother to death. Turned out to be strep throat even though he seemed fine and happy as can be.

Watching some Pink Panther on the morning cartoons.

My very own Krispy Kreme delivery boy. His crazy long hair before the latest hair cut.

Freezer Meals

One of my favorite things about where we live is how close I am to my sister, Laurie. Our kids get to play together, she helps take care of Zoey, we can pick up what the other one forgot at the grocery store, these kinds of little things are SO wonderful. She also helps inspire me with new recipe ideas. Last week we got together and made some freezer meals. It sounds lame but my favorite Christmas present last year was my new freezer. I love being able to cook huge amounts of chicken or hamburger and just freezing it for later. One less step to do for dinner time later when kids are running around and Blake and I are both tired from work!

That giant pot is full to the top with yummy pasta sauce!!