Partner in Crime

Hayley had her first professional pedicure:



And loved every second of it!
("Even the parts that tickled," she said.)



It's looking as though my "me time" has quickly become "mommy daughter time."

I wouldn't have it any other way!

Sad, But True...

This weekend marks the last few days of my summer vacation. Bum-mer! It's been a fun summer full of swimming lessons, and playing at the parks, but there was one summer activity on my list that we hadn't done yet...



Go to Grandma Heidi and Grandpa Bob's cabin! So off we went for the weekend. The cabin is about a half hour out of Evanston, near Bear River, on the way to Mirror Lake. We did some exploring, and found some fun spots to wade in the creek. It was so pretty, and the weather was perfect; high seventies to low eighties while it was near the 100's here at home.



We headed back Saturday for a birthday party for Cousin Tanner. Watermelon was served...



Because really, what's a party without watermelon?

Right Jackson?

(P.S. Check out the farmer tan on Little Boy. So cute!)

Library Square

During our trip to the Utah Arts Festival a few weeks ago, Hayley discovered the fountains at Library Square. I had known that they were there, but apparently I was unaware of the joy that they bring to young children. So today when we needed something that would wear kids out for a few hours, we headed downtown. I didn't tell Hayley where we were going, but I think that she approved of the surprise outing.

Jackson loved it too. The water was just the right depth that he could crawl around without getting a mouthful like he sometimes does at the swimming pool. He kept smiling even after he was full on drenched, and leaking a trail of water off of the bottom of the stroller.

Next we headed in out of the heat to check out the library. After riding the glass elevator up and down a few times, we discovered the Children's Library downstairs, and it's whole Playhouse Reading Corner. Pretty cool. After that, we found a craft that the Utah Museum of Fine Arts was doing, so Hayley sat down to do that, while Jackson happily played with the beads.

Three hours well spent, especially since no money was spent!



Love it when I find a fun free activity.

And love it when it means both kids take a nap.

At the same time.

I love summer!

Third of July

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it? Oh, well. My mom's neighborhood was having a Kids' Parade, so we decorated up Hayley's bike and headed on over!



This was my view for most of the parade:



The parade concluded at the park, where they had some little games and activities for the kids.
It was fun, low key, not too busy, and FREE!



After naps all around in the afternoon, we headed out to Aunt Kimi's for dinner and fireworks.
I'm pretty sure that grin on Jackson was because he was getting away with eating the grass.

We celebrated the actual Fourth of July by taking a few pictures.
(I know, you're shocked, right? Because I never take pictures!)





And to round out the day, Hayley gave us her rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Do you know which word she's missing?
If you do, you are one of 80% of Americans who know all the words to the pledge.
Did you know there were two versions of the pledge before the one that we now say?

The first one said "I pledge allegiance to my flag" and the second version added "under God."
Only about 0.01% of Americans know that.
Welcome to the club. And Happy Fourth!

I Couldn't Help Myself...

Remember how I scheduled the kids for a photo session and Jackson promptly got a bruise by smacking his head on the counter? Well, our coupon was about to expire, so I made us another appointment that Jackson actually made it to, unscathed.

However, since his "Stranger Danger" has now kicked in, the session started out a little rough:

Hayley had to show him how it was done:

And then things got quite a bit better.

Including some smiles!

Thanks to this little princess,

this little prince realized pictures aren't that bad,

and this mom spent more money than she intended to.

What can I say?

I'm a sucker for cute pictures of my kids!

West Fest 2010

Coming home from Lake Powell early meant we didn't have to miss out on these festivities:



We also went to the West Fest parade, and Hayley got a stash of freebies from the booths and got to watch some dancers that were part of the entertainment. The best part was when the fun was over, we got to go home to our air conditioned house and sleep in our own beds. I'm becoming a big fan of The Stay-cation Vacation!

June Faves

Favorite Color(s): Purple and Pink

Favorite Food: Strawberries and bananas and the inside of apples (no peel)
Favorite Treat: Ring Pop
Favorite Friend: Cousin Liesje and Sydnee and Payton
Favorite Book: Ariel's Beginning
Favorite Movie/Show: Barbie and the Three Musketeers
Favorite Thing to Do Inside: Play with Jackson
Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Ride her bike and Barbie car
Favorite Thing About Jackson: That he's so cute!
Least Favorite Thing to Do: Have a bandaid taken off.
Funny Things She Says: "That was just an accident!" after doing something naughty, when it was totally on purpose, and she's in trouble for it.
"Mom, I just love our baby so much I can't even stand it! I'm so glad you growed us a baby in your tummy!" He fared better than other things I've growed.

Favorite Color: Baby Blue

Favorite Food: Jam Sandwich
Favorite Treat: Otter Pops and Popsicles
Favorite Friend: Grandma Heidi
Favorite Book: the little ABC one that he's gnawed the corner off of
Favorite Movie/Show: Monsters vs. Aliens (At least, he liked it well enough to sleep through it, so that Hayley and I got to watch the entire movie.)
Favorite Things to do Inside: Throw things out of his crib. Or if he keeps a binky in his crib, suck on the wrong side. (Like the little handle thingy.)
Favorite Things to Do Outside: Splash in his kiddie pool. Wave to people. Or wave to himself.

Favorite Thing about Hayley: When she "talks" his Thumper stuffed animal while we're driving in the car. She can make him giggle like no one else!
Least Favorite Things to Do: Go to sleep without being rocked. Or sometimes just go to sleep, period. Once he's asleep, he'll still stay asleep well, he just doesn't want to miss anything!
Funny Things He Says: "Na, na." I think he means "No, no" since we say that to him a lot more than "Banana." This kid is on the move, and into everything!