Mission Call!!

 My parents got their mission call on July 31st. We were out at their pool when the mail came. Their envelope was inside! We had to wait until later that night for the group to get together before they opened it. It was a long few hours!!

 We all wrote down our guesses and my Dad read them all. None of us were even close!

We had everyone ready and 3 phones on speaker.... Kyiv Ukraine! We were all in shock. My mom actually screamed when she said it. No one was expecting that! They will be the Humanitarian Directors for the entire country. They were supposed to leave in November, but their Mission President called and asked them if they could leave on October 7th. They of course said Yes. So, they will be going to the MTC in less than 2 weeks! 

I'm so thankful for my wonderful parents! I'm thankful they have taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ and have been such great examples to me and to my family.

They are going to be AMAZING missionaries!

Tree House Museum

My good friend Jackie and her cute kids came to Utah in July and we were lucky enough to meet up with them for some play time. I was so excited! I miss my Illinois girls and loved being with Jackie!

 We met up at the Tree House Museum. We had never been. It is such a fun museum! 

 The kids dressed up and put on a play for us. Ella's not quite sure what to think of my 2 crazy kids!

 Brooklyn didn't want to miss out on any of the fun!

 They played in the music room and the cowboy area.

 Brooklyn and Jack Jack. Aren't they so cute together.

 By this point my kids were exhausted and melt downs were imminent! So, we took some last pictures before we left.

Then we had to say goodbye. I hate that part! But it was so great to get together! Hopefully we'll be able to do it again before too long :)

4th of July

We had a fun, relaxing 4th of July this year.

 After lounging the morning away, we went to Silver Lake and walked the trail.

 Then we headed to Natalie and Cody's for dinner, sparklers and poppers, and play time!

 After all of that fun, we went to Thanksgiving Point to watch the big firework show. Cole has super sensitive ears, so he did not like the fireworks and kept asking when they were going to stop. I like fireworks and I still thought it was too long. I was good after 15 minutes. Maybe I just have a short attention span!

The kids also played with glow sticks and made some fun creations, like Isaac's ball.

I'm so thankful to live in this great country and for all of the freedoms we have here. I'm also thankful to all of the people that make these freedoms possible!!

30

I turned 30 a couple months ago. Wow the big 3-0. To be honest I was pretty much dreading it. 30 seems so old! But life is pretty much the same, so what do you know ;)

 

Ryan had lots of surprises for my big day. He threw me a little surprise party with our family and friends at the park on my actual birthday. Then the next night my parents spent the night with our kids while we went out and stayed at their house. Ryan took me to dinner at a delicious restaurant at Sundance. It was so good!

 

The rest of my birthday was a plan to visit New York. We had sky miles, a Delta voucher, and hotel points to use. We just got back from the trip and I will blog about that soon.

 

It was a great birthday and so far being 30 is great!

Swim Lessons

 Hayden and Cole had swim lessons for a week this summer. They took them from a lady that lives fairly close. They just had them in her pool at her house. It was fantastic!

 She only teaches individual lessons to young children and that made a huge difference. On Monday, Cole was clinging to her for dear life. By Friday, he was floating on his own and loving the water.

Hayden learned and improved a lot, too!

Brooklyn got to just hang out!

 

My kids are all water babies and we got to spend a ton of time in the water between Grammy and Grampa's pool and going to 7 Peaks. So much fun!

Hayden turns 6 (2 1/2 months ago)

 We have one crazy week in June. Brooklyn's birthday, Hayden's birthday, Father's day, and my birthday. Complete chaos and fun for that week. We got to spend time with Ryan and both Grandpa's on Father's day. Too bad I'm horrible and didn't even get a picture of the kids with Ryan. Oops! Love you, Ryan :)

 Hayden had such a fun birthday. Brynli got to spend the night the night before her party. We let Hayden open a couple presents before Ryan headed to work. Roller skates and a scooter! She was so excited!

 Later we had a water party with a bunch of her friends. I'm so glad she's been able to make so many friends here.

 She picked to have these fishy cupcakes, and I didn't complain. They were so easy and she loved them.

 Hayden and all her loot!

Hayden is such a fun, smart, usually sweet but sometimes sassy, little girl. She's a great big sister, loves art and being outside,  and doing projects.

We love having this little girl in our family!

Happy birthday, Haydie Babe!

Brooklyn Turns 1 ( 2 1/2 months ago)

Our sweet little princess turned 1! Well it was actually over a month ago, but life is crazy. She's still one ;) 

 We had a lady bug party for her and invited family over to celebrate with us!

 She wasn't so sure about her cupcake. She didn't really eat much of it.

 We had a bunch of fun party stuff going on including snow cones and cotton candy.

 Sugar, sugar, sugar!

  This little bug is so loved and she got so spoiled!

Her one year stats were:
weight 18lbs 10 oz- 10 %
height 30.75 in- 90 %
head 45.2cm- 50%

So, she is tall and thin. Her doctor was worried about her weight because she is so thin and her percentage dropped a little. We will check in a couple weeks at her 15 month appointment to see where she's at.

14 month update:
-Great walker
-Climber, just learned to climb on the kitchen chairs, I'm sure the table is coming soon
-Says "Hi" and "Uh-oh"
-Gives great wide open mouth kisses
- Blows kisses
-Very busy, always on the move
-Very ticklish
-Friendly, will go to almost anyone
-Plays peek-a-boo
-Loves to get in other baby's personal space
-Can find her belly button, nose, eyes

This little girl is the sweetest thing ever! We just love her and can't get enough :)

Happy Late Birthday, Brookie!