Friday, July 25, 2008

Bead Mania


My little beaders


Mom's Birthday Bracelet

My girls are suddenly very interested in a hobby that used to be JUST mine. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what little girl doesn't love making and wearing jewelry. It all started when Savannah was planning to go to a friend's birthday party last week. She thought it would be fun to make a bracelet to tie in the bow on top of the gift. She used the design board and created a pattern, then strung it herself. All I did was tie the knot and make sure to dab a bit of glue on it so it wouldn't break 5 minutes after it was gifted. She then made another just like it, for herself. (girl after my own heart :)) In the following week she has made a few more things and always asks to make more when she is bored. I think she likes making them more than she likes wearing them though. Maybe we can stockpile some gifts for her friends. Sydney even wants to get in on the act, which can be treacherous, choking hazard anyone? So, now the rule is, no beading when Sydney is awake...which is generally the rule for Mommy too. (since it's too stressful to begin with to try to be creative and fend off clingy-girl at the same time!) I just wish I had more time available to actually do it....I recently completed a bracelet for my Mom's birthday (see picture) and it's the first I've done this summer with all the kids in tow. (it happened between 10pm and midnight though.) Is anybody else excited for school to start next month?

Monday, July 21, 2008

Free to blow stuff up

I took this picture of the kids on the Fourth of July as we were heading out to a BBQ and fireworks with friends. It's so rare that I get all 3 to sit down and pose for me these days, and I thought this one turned out cute. I can't believe how fast they are growing up.
Our kids love fireworks, and luckily, for them, we get to blow things up 2 weeks during July. Pioneer Day is heavily celebrated in our state (I never had heard that it was an official holiday until I moved here almost 13 years ago) and is coming up on the 24th. We're already hearing the fireworks popping around the neighborhood as soon as the sun goes down. So, we'll probably bust some out on Thursday too, just cuz it's fun! Sparklers, anyone?
We have been running around quite a bit and I didn't get to post on the 4th, but during this month we are especially grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy in this country and pray that God will continue to bless us, and guide the leaders of our nation.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

1 going on 14


My Sydney baby thinks she is a big girl. I usually tell people she is 1 going on 5, but in this case she has proved underestimated. While we were all in my bathroom yesterday morning, trying to get dressed and out of the house, Gunnar shouted out. I looked down to see what was the matter, and there was our resident rug rat with a disposable razor in hand, running it over her knee like she's been shaving her legs for years!! She only got one little nick by the time I wrestled in from her fingers. She screamed in protest, and then screamed some more when she noticed she had some blood starting to seep from her nick. My goodness, she is determined to grow up way too fast!! Sheesh.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Summertime

..and the living is easy.... OK, I kind of hate that song. But, we have been having a pretty nice summer so far and that's what comes to mind. We like to be outdoors, and we have had plenty of opportunity lately. We've been hiking, exploring our local attractions and even camping.


We recently took the kids to Timpanogos Cave, which is a pretty steep hike, it's only about 1.5 miles, but you gain lots of elevation. It generally takes about an hour to hike to the cave entrance and then you are met by a guide for a tour. They usually take about 20 people in at a time. We were luckily surrounded by two large groups though and we ended up getting a private tour out of it! It was amazing, such a cool experience that our kids were given the guide's undivided attention to ask questions. Would you believe our kids complained more on the way DOWN the mountain, than on the way UP??? I was shocked! All in all, they did really well though! It was a nice day, we went early enough that it wasn't too hot yet and I think that made all the difference.


The following week we went to Red Butte Garden, it happened to be the Tahitian Dancers night, which was an added bonus. The girls even went up front for a hula lesson. Sydney was NOT being left out of THAT. I even shot a short video of Sydney shaking it! LOL. It was fun to walk around and see what grows well in our climate and put a name to things that we also have growing in our yard that we haven't been able to identify yet. Chris has an ongoing project that he's been working on, an almanac of sorts that lists all the flora in our yard with a corresponding picture, actually taken in our yard. It's quite an undertaking, and I'm sure the result will be wonderful to read through, especially for our kids. Maybe their Dad's love of plants and trees will continue on in them!


The week of the Fourth, we had our 3rd annual camping trip. Just 3 days, 2 nights, but it always takes a day to get ready and at least a day to recover!! Maybe as the kids get older it won't be so much work. We had a good time splashing around in the river and took a couple of hikes. One of the hikes was to a natural spring, that was so huge, it was like a river just flowing down out of nowhere.... We hiked in from the highway following the bank of this creek and as we got closer the creek became fuller and faster. It was really incredible. We also found some huge rocks that the kids and Chris climbed all over that had huge Spruce trees growing out of the top of them. Sydney tried to make it up onto the rocks too, but I was successful in diverting her attention to other things, it was really steep and she kept sliding! It was a really amazing site, and I'm sure this hike will be added to the adgenda for our annual trip going forward!

We hope you are all finding new places to explore and having as much fun as we are!