Turnin' Two

Happy Birthday Parks! Parker's birthday was on Saturday this year and Grandma and Grandpa were able to come for a visit but had to leave in the afternoon, so we had a morning celebration. Which actually worked out quite nice because Parker wanted donuts instead of cake. Plus I am sure he appreciated getting to open presents first thing in the morning instead of having to wait until after dinner. He was/is totally obsessed with Diego this year and loved his rescue pack and Diego train. He also loves his shiny new red wagon, which already has been used on many a walks to the bus.

Potowatomi Zoo (say that 3 times)

While Matt was finishing up some of his orientation stuff I took the kids to the local zoo, which wasn't really a zoo, more like an animal park. But it was fun and the kids loved seeing the animals they had up close.

This is a rare sight...this is an albino alligator...he was pure white, kinda cool.

Emma's favorite animal, the peacock.

Honestly, I think petting zoo's should be banned, anyone else?

ND Orientation

Notre Dame has a new student orientation and for some of the activities the families are invited, so we went over to South Bend to see what to expect. Not that it matters at this point because our house still hasn't sold, so we are staying and Matt will be commuting back and forth. So he will go to school during the week and come home on the weekend. He "gets" to stay in a old nunnery that has been converted into dorm rooms for graduate students...and that is exactly what they are....his room is 2 beds, a desk, and a sink and he has to walk down the hall to the community bathroom---gross---thank goodness for flip-flops. Anyways, on family day of the orientation we were able to go down to the ND football locker room and then get to go out onto the field. We got to have lunch in the VIP room/sky box, which the kids though was pretty cool.

The mural on the library has been nicknamed "Touchdown Jesus" because it can bee seen from the stadium inbetween the goalpost.

What?

Here is Parker obviously enjoying a little summer fudgcicle.

The End

This picture pretty much sums up the end of our summertime in Utah...exhaustion from fun. One night as we were pulling into the garage after one of our activities, Parker got out of the car and just laid down on the garage floor. He couldn't even make it into the house, he was soo tired. Is there such a thing as having too much fun? :)

I Scream, You Scream

There is nothing like a Farr's ice cream cone, and you don't really appreciate it until you move away and can't have one. Caitlyn's favorite is Lime Rickey, Emma love chocolate chip cookie dough, Brandon loves playdough, Parker is still in the boring chocolate or vanilla phase (all my kids go through it), and I love the butter pecan. Ice cream is definitely my weakness.

L-A-G-O-O-N

No summer is complete without a trip (or two) to Lagoon. Why do kids love this place so much?

PS...I know that you can't really see these pictures, but there were just too many, and let's face it, Lagoon pics not really that interesting.

Pretty, Pretty Princess

Ok, so it was the girls turn for their big shindig. Grandma and grandpa pulled out all of the stops. The party started off with pink lemonade and finger foods dinner, then grandma treated the girls to a pedicure and of course there had to be a little dancin (which Aunt Gyla totally rocks at!). And of course what is a princess party without some fashion down the runway. The girls loved this girly night! Thanks grandma and grandpa!

Happy 78th Birthday, Grandma Nanny!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday at the Timbermine Restaurant. Yummy food, great family, and good memories. My kids are pretty lucky to get to be able to know and have memories of their great-great grandmother. Even though Grandma can barely see or hear, she knows each of the kids by name and always makes them feel special. We love you Grandma!

Great-Great Grandma Nanny

Great Grandma Bonnie

Discovering

We normally don't dress up when going to the children's museum, but we met the Ashtons and Aunt Jen at the museum after the temple open house. It is always a classic and the kids really love getting to spend time with their cousins.

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open House

We were so lucky that the Qquirrh Mountain Utah Temple open house was going on while we were in Utah. It is a rare opportunity to get to go to a temple open house and I was so glad my kids got the opportunity to go through the open house. They loved it and had lots of good questions about what takes place there. I just think it is so great because now when Matt and I say we are going to the temple they have a little bit of an idea of what that means and have a picture of what it looks like on the inside. Hopefully it has instilled in them a desire to want to go through and be married in the temple one day.

A Birthday Treat

We gathered to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma's birthday and Grandpa gave us all a little treat...he played a couple of songs on his harmonica, which is totally something he wold do. When I was growing up we would visit them on Sundays and Grandpa would often get out his Omnicord and sing "You Are My Sunshine" or "Babes In the Woods" to us. I love that my kids know their great-grandparents and they are able to make these great memories too. We love and miss you Grandma and Grandpa!

Click here for a link to the Babes in the Woods song.

Arrrgh! (It's a Real Pirate's Word)

I don't know where my mom gets her energy and I was definiely not blessed with the "party gene" considering my poor kids only get a friend birthday party every 4 years, but this summer she wanted to throw her grandkids a little party, just because it would be fun and they would definitely love it. She and my dad (her willing? helper) gave the boys a pirate party. They got to eat pirate pizza and peg leg pretzels, make their own goblets to drink from, dress-up in full pirate attire which included eye-patch, whiskers, and hook hand, walk the plank, and of course what pirate party would be complete without a treasure hunt? The boys LOVED it! Here are just a couple of pictures of the gazillion I took. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! ARRGGH!

Pineview

So we got this great idea to head up to Pineview Dam and spend the day there having a picnic, boating, waterskiing, and tubing. Unfortunately, everyone else had the exact same idea on the exact same day, so we spent hours driving from beach to beach looking for a good place to set up. After such a frazzled start, both the kids AND the grown-ups were glad when with a little stroke of luck we landed on a great beach, perfect for swimming and sand-castle-ing. Thanks Grandma for the great picnic and thanks grandpa for being our captain all day.

The Funniest Things

Isn't it amazing the simple things that keep kids entertained. Almost every morning the kids would spend a good hour out on the porch watching the diggers in Grandpa and Grandma's back yard (and usually grandpa was out there too.) :) I mean they had a whole play room full of every kind of toy imaginable, yet they were mesmerized by the truck digging a hole. Definitely gonna make me think twice when that new toy comes out that they just HAVE to have.