Binky Binge

Ok, let me start out by saying that NONE of my babies would EVER take a binky...despite my desperate efforts. Believe me, it would've made my life so much easier. The other day Savi unearthed my stash of different sizes and brands I unsuccessfully went through in order to get them to attach to them and pacify themselves at least a little. They all picked one, and dressed up as "baby girls" which was a bigger stretch for Gunnar than the other two. This was about a week ago, and Sydney can now be seen occassionally walking around chewing on one. At least it's newborn size so she won't really start sucking on it....I hope... Wouldn't that be a bummer if she really became a binky baby at 18 months????

Camping

We have 2 trips that we take every year, it's a tradition that's been going on for the last 3 years and we are looking forward to doing the same trips until we're old and crusty!!

The kids love it because they can remember the previous years and really look forward to it. The site we went to has a little creek running along the back of it that is perfect for walking around in, the kids spent alot of time moving logs around and trying to build a dam this year. The water is FREEZING and was a bit high because of the cold Spring we had this year. We're still seeing a lot of snow melt. Our neighbors had a couple watermelons cooling in it, and the kids were so amazed. "Mom, there are wild watermelons growing in the creek!!!" LOL They also did a lot of balancing acts on a fallen tree right next to the bank. In the same hour Savannah's flip flop broke and Gunnar lost one in the fast moving current....so we had only hiking shoes after that. Dad rigged Savi's shoe and one of the campers we canvassed looking for Gunnar's shoe ended up finding it and brought it back the next morning. Shoe drama, there's nothing worse!!

Sydney LOVES being outdoors and was in heaven. Of course she believes she is a big kid too and takes off after her bro and sis. So Mom was on full alert the whole time. She also thought it was so cool to hang out in the car and turn all the knobs and press buttons.

We hiked to Donut Falls which is a waterfall that comes through a huge rock with a hole in the middle....you guessed it, a donut. On the hike we found a log that had been carved into a seat, but they called it a throne. The kids imagined that we had to make it through all the booby traps on the hike, like red ants, stinging nettle, steep hills and thorny bushes before we could claim the throne on the way back. It made for good motivation when they were tired out. See "Savi the Triumphant" above.

We had a couple of young moose saunter through the site and hang out for a while snacking on trees and bushes. We saw a lot of butterflies, ground squirrels and birds, all of which the girls were fascinated by. Gunnar had a littel squirrel-guy friend that chattered at us too.

After we'd packed up camp we headed up to Silver Lake to try some fishing. It was a HOT day and the fish weren't biting so we hung out for an hour and headed on home. Maybe we'll catch some little trout to fry up next time.

Swimming Lessons

We had our last swimming lessons last week. :( We were so lucky this year because an old friend of mine from the Singles Ward Days and I reconnected. She lives in my neighborhood and happens to be a certified instructor. She invited my kids to take part in her classes this year. She has only 3-4 per class and is able to be so hands on with them. Gunnar went from hanging onto the side of the pool to jumping off the diving board and holding his breath under water. Savannah can now freestyle and backstroke where before she could barely doggy-paddle. All of us are thrilled with the results of 2x per week, for a month lessons. I never realized what a difference a good instuctor can make, she is incredible. The added bonus? Sydney and I got to swim in the private pool she taught at during the kid's lessons each time. Cha-ching!

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?

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.

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.

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!