hello! it's been a full, whirlwind couple of weeks

 this post is a little scrambled but I'm very short on time.  I tried to pack in the last 2 weeks in very few words and a lot of pictures.  I'm still running like crazy, probably until the end of next week.  but we are having a great time

the week before school started we packed in as much fun as we could

wednesday we went to the zoo

friday austin & I went to the demolition derby

2 cars rolled, it was AWESOME!

monday we went for a hike

and found a great place to play in the river

it had wonderful mud to squish

tuesday was pool day

thursday we did park hopping and caught 2 water snakes.  with snakes in my hand it made it hard to get any pics, but the kids were very impressed.

friday we had a back to school party at the ranch, so much fun and sun

last night we went to the ranch again to celebrate austin's 35th birthday!  I got him a zombie cake.  I got it from SIMPLY JUICY (I couldn't find their facebook page, I'll try to set up a link later) here in salem and they did an fabulous job.  the chainsaw is made of rice krispies and the cake was chocolate with a chocolate mousse layer, very very yummy.

this is 32 years of being buddies, and they never run out of things to talk about.

the boys started school this past Monday, just me and the girls all day.  it's fun, but we miss the boys, too.

this is how we found wes sleeping the night before the first day of school.  I think he was pretty excited.

this is how wes eats a pear, that skinny little thing on the top is where he's eaten all the way to the core, ALL THE WAY!

today fiona started preschool.  she has a 'my little pony' backpack that she is very fond of.  she had a great time, especially because her cousin milo is in her class and he always makes her laugh.

Salem Days "caught it!"

We just finished a weeklong celebration of Salem Days, the theme this year is "Spirit of Salem, catch it". It’s a great way to end the summer and we have so much fun every year.


Tuesday: Austin and I played on a team in the kickball tournament. Amberlee, Alli and Trevor were all on the team as well.  We had a lot of fun, the competition was fierce. We were playing until 9pm. Our team lost all 4 of our games, but it was good fun.

Wednesday: Lydia was in the baby contest for the last time. She did great and she was so excited to wear the outfit she had picked out. She was very personable, telling the judges her name, age, favorite colors and even that Fiona was her best friend. That night we went to the movie in the park. They had soda, popcorn and glow sticks all for free and the kids had such a good time.

Friday: I decorated the kids’ bikes with balloons and streamers and they rode them in the children’s parade. It was the first time for Fiona and Lydia to ride their bikes, they’ve always rode in the wagon before. They both did great and kept up with their brothers well. After the parade we found out that Lydia hadn’t won the baby contest, but her picture sure was darling. I don’t know how those judges didn’t see it.

Saturday: We went to the big parade in the morning with 4 plastic sacks and came home with bags loaded with candy. We saw a tractor with 3 dogs riding on it, lots of horses and Lydia saw the ‘grumpy’ fireman. She was so excited to shake his hand as he walked by. waving to the Mayor (aka Grandpa)
In the evening we went to the pageant and watched local talent perform.  A boy from our ward did a Hawaiin fire dance that was awesome.  And they had a fabulous rockabilly band, Kenzie James and the Knockouts. After the show we watched the fireworks over the pond. It’s so beautiful how the water reflects the colors; I think they are my favorite fireworks every year.



on a side note:
Lydia is progressing in potty training finally. We figured out how to motivate her, and it was quite by accident. I’ve tried everything. We had a sticker chart, candy (even chocolate), toys, and the promise of a party with cake as incentive. But one day while she was crying as I was sitting her on the potty I started singing the ‘itsy, bitsy spider’. She stopped to listen and started to pee. Then she smiled at me and laughing said, “I just peed on the spider!” Now when she has to use the potty she runs to pee on the ‘bipsy, yipsy spider’. Austin & I laugh about it every time.  She gets quite a kick out of it now, too.  Austin tells her not to pee on his spider friend and she's proud to tell him that he died again. We may have her potty trained by next week, I’m so excited.

well, hello again!

what a summer so far.  and in a few short weeks we have school starting, wow!

fiona was in the fiesta days parade and loved it. she is amazing. she is so timid and insecure at times, but when she is on that horse or even the barrel there is no fear. the confidence and joy just radiate from her. she was smiling and waving to the crowds as she performed on the barrel. it just amazes me.


here she is on the trailer with her legs dangling over the edge, in the pink

I also had the insane idea of taking the kids on a hike to the Y.  I haven't hiked it since college and I had forgotten how very steep it is.  We heard a lot of complaints, we left late in the day, and it was very humid.  Only my stubbornness kept me pushing them all to the goal.  I'm just so grateful that my sweet companion is so patient with me and my crazy ideas.  And now the kids are excited to tell all their friends that they've touched the Y.  What an accomplishment.  I was really proud of them all.

here we are by the Y, the white behind us

looking at Provo spread below us.  the white in the very top is actually the lake.  my camera was on a weird setting and I didn't realize it until we had already gotten home.

we hope to have many more adventures before the 22nd.