Perfect Day

Sunday was a really great day for me - we did a lot of fun things but got a lot of jobs done too, and it just really seemed to flow. I was able to get Avery down for an early nap without a fight, which is wonderful because naps have proven a little tricky this summer with all the playdate activities and errands and such. Pretty much poor Ave does not get a chance to nap when she needs to very often. Anyway, while she was asleep Jed got some tasks done in the yard and Oliver and I cleaned the kitchen. He was adorable using his new broom to help me sweep - he asked me over and over again how to hold the broom. I think he was expecting there was an offical way to hold a broom, much like a baseball bat or tennis racket, and wanted to make sure he was doing it the right way. It was a wonderful and unexpected bonding time for me with my little guy - he was very eager to help and I found that I had some patience and the time to appreciate his amazing little personality all while getting an important task done.

After all the work, we went swimming at the Roy pool. It was really nice to have Jed with us for our swimming outing so both kids could have constant one on one supervision. We brought the life jackets, but sometimes it just really takes very physical supervision to keep kids safe! Especially with Avery who insisted on crawling in the water until it was over her head. Jed or I would pull her out and start her in shallow water again, she would crawl, and the cycle would repeat. The girl has no fear!! Oliver enjoyed the BIG twisty slide too - going down with both mom and dad. He really has no fear either! I wsa proud that I went the fastest - Dad beats me out in the cool department most of the time these days. After swimming for 4 hours, we came home and both kids fell asleep on the way. They caught enough of a nap time for me to shower and feel rejuvenated. The day just felt very efficient because we got the chores in and we had great bonding time as a family. I couldn't ask for better!

Jon Schmidt - Mash Up of Love Story & Viva La Vida

Take a listen to this - it is so pretty!

Reunion, holes, father's day, t-ball, and more!!

We seem to keep ourselves very busy around here!! Jed has been busy digging gigantic holes in the front yard in search of the water line to start our sprinkling system. When the first couple of holes did not hit anything, he decided to go right next to the water main, where he did find the line but it was copper instead of plastic, as he was expecting it to be. I am so proud of him taking on such a big project like the sprinklers and the landscaping - I know it will be awesome when all is said and done!! The kids found the hole rather exciting, and wanted to get in it for some reason. We joked that it was like a caveman's version of a playpen.

Ollie had is one and only t-ball game on Saturday as part of his instructional league experience. Thanks to everyone who came out to support him. He loved being in the spotlight and I could tell he was having a lot of fun. The night before his game he was telling Jed and I that he was going to "hit a homerun all the way to Ogden and Salt Lake," as well as other outlandish places that are escaping my mind right now. He and the rest of the boys really learned what the game was all about and it was fun to see their knowledge in action. The parents that were involved with the team made all the difference.

My 10 year reunion was Saturday night - weird that it has been ten years! We met some friends there and ran into some people we had not seen in ages. It was a fun time, and great to be out as adults. A couple of people did bring their babies with them to the reunion and that was actually my favorite part - turns out I am way more interested in what kinds of kids all my classmates have created than in my actual classmates! Next time hopefully it is a family friendly event - although by that time my kids will be teenagers and not at all interested in my old friends!! Thanks so much to Wendy for babysitting the kiddos!

We celebrated father's day up at the family farm on Sunday and had an amazing time. There was a threat of rain all afternoon but somehow we only got a drizzle up there, which did not bother us at all because we had the trees to cover us. We had amazing food and just a carefree afternoon. There is something about the farm that just takes you out of your humdrum life and allows you to be a kid again! Avery came down with a cold and was an extremely good sport up there - a testament to the "good farm aura!" She didn't even have a binky (she lost her last one, but then found it when we got home) and was pretty jovial all day. It was a perfect fathers day celebration as all the dads in our family, especially Jed, deserved something out of the ordinary for all their hard work day in and day out. I don't know what I would do without him!

Check out the picture Ollie drew for Jed for father's day in the slideshow - it is adorable. It is he and Jed in the hole in our yard looking for the water line - I was tickled to see his brain creating an entire story on paper, he is so amazing. Avery drew one too and I apologize I did not scan it in to the computer before Jed took it to work this morning. Hers is a more abstract version, though when asked if hers was the water line she nodded "yes". Oliver said he hoped that was not what the real water line looked like as it was a squiggly line all over the paper!

Sweet's Candy Factory Tour

The kids and I met some of our friends today at the Sweet Candy Company in SLC for a fun tour of the factory to see how candy is made and get a taste for ourselves. Most of us had done the tour before, but a lot of the kids were pretty little last time, so they got much more excited about it this time around. Oliver had grandiose ideas of the factory looking like the Candyland game and being outside, so I was a little concerned that he might be let down, but he said he enjoyed it. After the tour, we found our way to Sugarhouse park for a picnic and some playground time, and then as a reward to the mommies for being so good all day we went to Nordstrom Rack ;) Thanks so much Nicole, Amber, and Delia for the great time - your kids are all adorable too!

Nothing is cuter than a baby in a hairnet!

Most of the gang - Sorry Nicole, I am guessing you are not thrilled this pic of you is on my blog, but at least you looked the best in the hairnet out of all of us!

This kid is precious!!

The goings-on

I realized that I have not posted to the blog in over a week now, so here are some of the highlights from the last little while.

Cheese!

Avery has starting talking quite a bit as of late - some of the words in her vocabulary include brubber (brother), juice, baby, uh-oh, and cheese, which she demonstrates in the video below!