What a weekend!

I must apologize in advance - this post starts with what we did on Sunday and then back tracks through the rest of the weekend. SOrry about the reverse chronological order, its weird.

Anyway, we had the annual VanDyke family reunion up at the farm on Sunday. Oliver was so excited to go up, and rightly so. There was delicious food, wonderful people (plenty of 4 year olds for Ollie), a pinata stuffed to the gills, and a hayride to boot. The pinata was shaped like a pig, and Oliver said, "that is a perfect pinata for the farm, because animals live on farms, haha!" He was great at giving the other kids encouragement during the pinata activity (hit it as hard as you can, give it all you got, etc.) and everyone got a turn to hit it before all the candy came crashing out. Avery was tired and pretty skiddish around all the new faces, so she spent a lot of time with Mom, but enjoyed the farm tire swing and the lollipop she got from the pinata. Michelle and Eddie (Eddie is Jed's Uncle, Scott's brother) made all different kinds of beef for sandwiches, and it was to die for. We had an array of salads, the sweetest corn I've ever had, and get this...yellow watermelon. Then we finished off with dutch oven desserts and ice cream. It was great to see everyone that made it this year, even Grandpers was in attendance. We did miss everyone who couldn't make it this year, and not having Grammers there with us definitely leaves a void. Something about the farm and the farm house makes you feel nostalgic for earlier times, and although I did not know Grampers and Grammers when they were really young, I like to try and imagine what their lives were like at that farm with all their kids (before their kids had kids who now have kids) - how much harder it was than life is now, but also simpler in a way. As we were driving away at about 9:00 PM we saw Leigh out in the fields moving sprinklers around, and it reminded me how the farm has shaped every one of their kids, become a part of them in some way. I think it is still shaping the rest of us too.

The Cooks were so gracious to take us up boating on Friday at Pineview. We got up early (though not as early as the Cook family) and got on the water with enough time for the guys to wakeboard. Garrison was awesome - he totally looked like a natural. Jed got on the board with ease too, which is amazing as we have not gone boating in something like four years. After all the wakeboarding, we got out the triple tube and Ollie, Jed, and Kade went for a ride. Ollie loved it and did not want to get off. He kept pointing up with his pointer finger to go faster rather than giving a thumbs up (so cute), but got the a-okay hand movement down too. He loved the bumps and waves. We even took Avery out for a slow leisurely ride. She was pretty skiddish on the boat just as she was at the reunion, so again she spent a lot of time on my lap. When we got home from boating everyone was exhausted, except for her, since all she did was sit all day! Garrison also took a turn on the tube by himself, which was wild and wooly to say the least. I made the mistake of hanging out in the cuddy with the kids during that part - I got pretty sick, but recovered in time for some lunch and fishing. We didn't catch anything, but that did not bother Oliver. That night when he was saying a prayer, I prompted him to say, "Thank you for time with family boating today," and he added on his own, "and fishing was fun too." After boating and dinner on Friday we went and got fireworks and lit them at our house with Ryan. A wonderful end to our Pioneer day.

We also sealed up some rice and flour this weekend. The LDS church lends out the coolest machine that seals the big #10 cans, so Wendy and I loaded up on these basic necessities. Jed loved the big contraption and helped me with all of our cans. The best part is the flour should last for 10 years and the rice for 30! I thought this was a pretty appropriate way to observe Pioneer Day.

The rest of the pics in the slideshow above are just random moments from the summer that I think are fun. Enjoy!

Seven Years!!

Happy anniversary to you Jed!! Seven years ago we were both getting all fancied up for our wedding up in the hills of Parley's Canyon. It was the second hottest day of the year, during the hottest July in something like 10 years (I am still apologizing to all the guys in tuxedos). For all of you that know my husband, you know I have the best. I can't imagine someone more perfect for me. I have enjoyed our journey so far and just can't believe that together we have been able to create our family - something so magnanimous and bigger than ourselves. I love you Jed and always will!!

Before bed last night I told Oliver that our anniversary would be the next day, and first he asked, "Do I have to go to Kade's?"
"No," I told him - we celebrated with a date over the weekend.
Then he asked, "Can I come to the party?" With no party plans drawn up yet, I explained that we didn't have a big party to go along with the anniversary. He then asked, "What does it mean then?" I told him about our wedding day and how every year we celebrate again. He asked if I had a fancy dress. And that was that. It occurred to me that in his mind, being husband and a wife is less of an accomplishment. Through a child's eyes, their parents are a Mom and a Dad in such a concrete way - not by choice, but because that is how they were born or something. I hope we will always be able to live up to his ideal of a mom and a dad :)

Fantastic Fourth

We decided last minute to go up to Park City for the fourth of July weekend - thanks for the tip on the hotel Stacy! We had an absolute blast. Friday night the Disco Drippers were performing in their annual concert at the Canyons. This is a show we have been to multiple times and enjoyed it so much - it is a laid back time with good music and fireworks at the end, plus you get the added bonus of riding their cabriolet up to the concert site and then back to your car after the show. This was the first time we have been able to talk anybody into going to the event with us, and it really added to the enjoyment - thanks Carrera, Garrison, Trevin, and Ryan, as well as your significant others that also attended. Saturday all kinds of events were happening around town, so we biked to Main Street and caught the parade and some entertainment/food at the park, then headed over to the PCMR to ride the alpine slide. We took Avery on it for the very first time and she LOVED it! There was a slight issue at the beginning of the ride though. A bug flew in my ear and I brought my arm up to swat it away, and inadvertantly swatted her binky out of her mouth and onto the grass at the top of the mountain. It all worked out okay though because Jed and Ollie rode the slide a second time and found the binky for us! Ollie was also quite proud when he and Jed beat Ryan in the race on the slide - I think they had a little bit of an advantage as far as weight goes - one of the advantages of having a kid with you! We ended our time with a merry-go-round ride that was much to long for me but much too short for the kids, and then headed back to the hotel for some swim time. Ollie was a little fish in his life jacket, and Avery seems to have a death wish when she is in the water. She is all the time trying to stick her face in the water - I think she wants to be like big brother. There is just one big difference between the two kids, however. Oliver knows how to hold his breath under water, and Avery does not. We ended the night with dinner at Park City Pizza and Noodle, a leisurely walk home, and fireworks. Neither kid was able to stay awake until the fireworks started - Avery fell asleep in her stroller on the walk home, and then Oliver (who was riding in the basket of the single stroller mind you) nodded off 3 minutes before the fireworks show started. Well he did not exactly nod off since he fell asleep holding his head straight up, but you get the drift. Poor guy! To finish off the trip, we did some outlet shopping on our way out of town. When we told Oliver we were going to the Outlets to shop, he gave us a funny look and asked why we wanted to go shopping for plugs (thought we were going to an electrical outlet store)! Too cute! The only bad thing that I can say about the entire weekend was that Avery split her chin open at the playground at the outlet shopping center. Luckily it is already healing up. Happy fourth to everyone, we missed seeing a lot of our friends and family. Hope everyone had as good a time as we did.

One Year Ago....

Here is a flashback to 2008 - Oliver is 3, cute as can be but not potty trained, Avery is 6 months old and very picky about who even looks at her, also cute as can be. Jed is in mourning because I made him sell the house he loved. We are living with Sharma and Jim, our life is very much in transition. My, what a difference a year makes! The kids have changed so much, and hopefully the grown-ups have grown as much as the kiddos :)