Porter Park

Yesterday we went to the Porter Park spray park while Grandpa went golfing. I thought it was perfectly reasonable to be dropped off at 9:30am not realizing it didn't open until 10am. I also did not realize that the reason we were the only ones there was because of how cold it was. Lauren and Landon were good sports though and played really hard for about 45 minutes before we went in the bathroom and used the hand heaters to get warm. Kenzi came with us and was a good sport. Sadie and Ellie came and met us as well. The sad part of the day came when the carousel just did not open when it was supposed to. Many tears were shed.

Uncle Dave's

We had a great time going to Uncle Dave's for Sunday dinner to celebrate Ryan's birthday. Some of the highlights were Landon's trip to the chicken coop to gather eggs, Lauren's new found love for her cousin Abby. She said, "Abby, I am not going to be mean to you anymore!" We are all so happy about this relationship. Abby even made her a book with a bedtime story about the time Abby ran into a barbed wire fence with her face. She was so sweet to do this for Lauren. We also enjoyed watching Ryan eat an entire pie plate full of asphalt pie. He is the birthday boy so he can do whatever he wants! When we were loading up the car Landon told Lauren, "Sissy, we just went to a real, live FARM!" Dave had a new litter of dogs and kittens and also has sheep, pigs and I think a llama. They were both so happy. Lauren had a stomach ache in the car which ended with her throwing up everywhere. Grandpa tried to pull over but it didn't work too well. We stopped at Rod's to clean up and the first thing she asked for when she got inside was something to eat. It is amazing how fast kids recover. Mike was there working for Rod so it was nice to visit with him. He has been building a hot tub room for Rod. Thanks for the hose and cleaning supplies to make the rest of our ride home bearable.

Idaho

We have had a really fun week at Grandma and Grandpa's. The kids love having so much space to run and play. We have had Gary's older three kids here as well because their Mom is out of town. We have thrown lots of parties and attended some as well. We had Shelby stay with us and she and Kenzi watched the kids while we went and shopped for the week. Matt, Katherine and Jennifer came out for FHE but we forgot to have a lesson! We had a good dinner though and enjoyed each other's company. The kids and I went to Rod's one day and they played in his yard and we had hot dogs for lunch. He has a beautiful yard. Nate brought a Monarch butterfly in the house one night and you can see the kids were a little scared. My parents have some horses in their pasture and the kids have loved feeding them carrots and watering them each day. They love to work outside with their grandparents spreading sand, watering flowers, weeding and helping with everything they are doing. A big highlight of the week was that I found my baby book which my Mom thought I had lost when I moved from California. I also found boxes with dolls of mine my Mom had saved and I can now have my girls play with them. It has been so much fun. We had a girls night where we did face masques and pedicures. Lauren sure had fun when she found Grandma's lipstick in the drawer. Lauren and Landon also had a water party on the trampoline and with the sprinklers. My Mom and I went shopping to get food for Kenzi's party, Jessie's party and a party at Rod's. These all took place on Friday and it was fun. Dave's family came to Rod's because he flooded his yard and we all ate, watched a movie and spent time together. Grandpa stayed home to supervise Jessie's party. I think it was a successful day. Karen and Paetan came to visit on Saturday. We had a good time with them. Matt, Katherine and Marianne came for dinner which was fun. Katherine and I looked for baby stuff online for most of the night. It is so fun to spend time with family. We are really missing Jerry and wish he was here.

Wedding

Teresa and Doug were married this weekend in Salt Lake. We went up on Saturday. We were able to see Rozalynn and Richard, Kevin and Lindsay, Brent and Jill and we stayed with Clyde and Jeannette. The wedding was a difficult time being reminded of not having Gary but it was nice and his kids did really well. On Sunday morning we had a breakfast for Father's day at Lindsay's. They have an amazing yard and a swingset the kids love although Lauren seems to get knocked down a lot. Lindsay prepared a really good breakfast. We had Shelby with us on the ride back which was really fun. She is so good with the kids and so pleasant to be around. It was sad to part ways with Jerry. We will miss him!

Neighbors

We have the best neighbors but they have their home as a second home so we don't see them often enough. They are great people. Their son Luke and Landon get along really well. We had a play date with them and they had an awesome time. We wish they could play more often!

Six Months Old

Avery is six months old. She is such a delight. She is a very happy baby. She has started to roll over. She loves to stand up and put weight on her legs. She loves her brother and sister to play with her. She is eating rice cereal and just started squash and bananas. She has started to find her voice and coos and babbles. We love to hear her voice.

Fever

Avery has had a fever for the past few days. I am not sure if it is just teething or something else. We have been attempting to spend as much time at home as we can so she can get her rest but it is difficult with the two toddlers. I wish I just had a big enclosed play land with a trampoline so they could expel some of the energy they have each day. Landon's newest self appointed task is carrying around the fly "snapper" and "snapping" flies. He is doing really well. Lauren continues to focus on the potty, her baby and making messes. We will be glad when Avery feels a little better so we can become a little more active and leave the house.

Landon

Landon is a true leader in our home. He is such a good helper. He cries when he doesn't get to vacuum. He loves to clean up and helps his sisters all the time. He is missing preschool but continues to have a need to learn everything! He is a sponge and is constantly asking questions. So many questions I can't even answer them all. He loves space right now and has memorized the order of the planets from the sun. When Lauren gets up in the morning he tells her she can choose to watch a movie about space or volcanoes (documentaries from the library). Of course, she wants to watch Dora. He draws the planets constantly and is always asking us about how God created the earth and other questions we don't quite know how to explain. He is also obsessed with Yellowstone National Park (thanks to another library documentary.) He cried and cried when we had to take it back because another patron had reserved it. He asks if we can go wait by the book drop to watch and see when it is returned! WOW. We are hoping to take him to the park when we go up to Idaho so he can see it all first hand. He has an amazing mind. His other past time is to study my college human anatomy book. I tried to check out a book that was more "age appropriate" but he insists the book we have is better. We are constantly looking for ways to help him continue to learn. He is writing his letters really well and doing great with letter recognition. He wants me to go to the outlet mall and park so he can read all the letters for me. He is very good at directions and always makes sure we are driving the right way. He loves his Dad and kind of had fun playing catch with him. Jerry had to discuss with him "coaching" because Landon just said Dad was being mad at him. I know how he feels because I had a similar experience with Jerry when we attempted to play catch. We don't do sports together anymore. Landon is doing great at swimming and will be playing soccer this fall. He does really well in Primary and has given a few talks we didn't even know about. He loves his teachers and they say he is very reverent and a good listener. He has a lot of energy and is very perceptive. We love him.