28th Birthday

Am I really only 2 years away from 30?! Wow, that just seems crazy. I am not feeling old yet, so that's good at least. Although when I see pictures of kids I babysat on Facebook who are going on missions it really reminds me that I'm not 18 anymore and it really has been 10 years since I graduated from high school.

I always tease Josh about celebrating my "Birthday Week" and wanting to get or do things all week. Well, this year he really went all out and we did something/he gave me a gift EVERY day from July 1st to the 8th.

The 8 things were:
Day 1: Flowers
Day 2: See's Candy (Josh hand picked each of my favorite chocolates)
Day 3: Silverware- which I have been wanting for a long time now, ha
Day 4: Stadium of Fire for the 4th of July
Day 5: Breakfast together at my favorite place, the Original Pancake House
Day 6: Visa Gift Card to buy whatever I wanted
Day 7: Surprise dinner and cake at my parents house. Wally's fam and Cindy also came
Day 8: Went to a restaurant, my pick, which was Archibald's, mmmm....

Whew! Can you believe how spoiled I was ALL week?! It was pretty awesome, I loved that he really took it to heart and celebrated me all week. I am so lucky to have a husband who treats me like a queen and always makes holidays and birthdays a big deal (which I love). Happy Birthday to me!

Birthday dinner at my parents house

Here we are as a family on my actual birthday at Archibald's

4th of July

Super lame, I have not one picture from the 4th of July, but we had a most excellent day. We started off by going to the Murray parade with the Days. Then swimming at the pool with Grandpa Green (they are in town this week just for fun). The night was finished off with going to the Stadium of Fire. Josh and I went together and the kids went off to Kurts house with Grandma and Grandpa. They did fireworks there together and sounded like they had a blast. 

Mac "Jumping"

Mac is learning how to jump. He never quite gets both feet off the ground, but is so cute while he's trying. 

Parade with Grandma

 The weekend before the 4th of July they have a festival in Elk Ridge. Since watching the parade last year my Mom knew she wanted to drive their golf cart with the Grandkids in it this year. She decorated the cart, bought some candy to throw, and loaded the kids in together to be in the parade.

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The parade "theme" was military so this golf cart was made into a tank. Love it

Only Elk Ridge would have llamas in the parade...

 The next morning we went to the city's pancake breakfast and the carnival. It had games, booths, jump houses and other fun stuff to do. Lyla really wanted her face painted and chose this design out. She talked about it all day and loved it. 

Here they are driving by. It was so cute to see them all waving and excited to be in the parade.

Swimming

This Saturday we went swimming at the Lehi pool. Its one of my favorite pools in Utah. Its far away, but worth the drive. 

These swings are really for smaller babies, but they sure looked cute in them.

 Lyla loving the slide. She is such a water child, and always has been. She jumps off the side with no fear, loves to be in any water, and even when she is shivering and has purple lips she wants to just "keep swimming"

Mac's favorite part was this little fountain off to the side of the pool. He played over here forever and just laughed and laughed when it would spray up in his face

Canyon BBQ

We went with Mary Nelson and the kids up to the canyon to roast some hot dogs and mallows. Its our favorite part of camping anyway (eating) so we decided to spend the evening together and enjoy the cool mountain air. 

 Hey, can I have some of that?!

Throwing rocks into the river

 Josh getting the BIG rocks to make a huge splash in the river. We did this for probably an hour after dinner. The kids loved it. 

Everyday Life

 Just a few pictures of everyday things going on at the house. I usually just post events or things we do but I had a few pictures of things the kids are doing too. 

Mac LOVES to push Lyla's baby stroller, most times its empty but I thought it was cute that he put his car in it the other day. It made it a little more "manly" I guess, haha

Playdoh. You know your baby is growing up when you play for over a half hour with playdoh and he doesn't eat any of it. We usually do playdoh when Mac is sleeping for that reason, but we tried it out today and he didn't even take one bite, I was happy, but also a little sad he's getting so big.

 Love this little concentration face

 We dance a lot in our kitchen/dining area. Its a perfect open space for dancing. I've posted several pictures of this very thing before, but today I was loving Lyla's choice of dress-ups. Rapunzel dress, fairy wings, and a headband from when she was a baby. 

We love having a yard. Its our first place since being married that we've had a yard all to ourselves. Its perfect for days like today, when a little boy just wants to do some digging. He knows right where the shovels are in the garage, and can reach them, so he just wanders around the garage, gets a shovel, and goes right for the dirt. 

He decided to wave to me as I was taking his picture. He always puts his hand straight up like this when he waves. It melts my heart

Father's Day

The Friday before Father's Day we went up to my parents house and spent the night. Saturday morning I surprised Josh with a game of golf at the local course with my Dad and Wally. 

After golf we had a yummy dinner and played a bean bag toss game that we gave Dad. The bean bag toss was surprisingly fun and competitive, it was a great game to play as a group. 

Here's Dad with all the kids (and holding the bean bag game)

A silly one for good measure

Sunday wasn't too exciting, mostly just church and naps. Then we just hung around and had dinner together. I framed Josh's graduation diploma (finally) and gave that to him in the morning. It wasn't a super awesome present or anything but he was surprised and the frame turned out really nice. (no picture though, have to go to his office to see it, ha)

Reading The Friend magazine together after church

 Enjoying popsicles on the back deck after dinner. It was a hot day. 

 We are so lucky to have such a wonderful Father in our home, we love him so much. He takes such good care of us and we couldn't ask for a better Dad or Husband. The way both of the kids look at him and get excited when he comes home is only the beginning of how much they love and adore their Dad. One of the main reasons I married Josh is because of how much he loved kids and he is still proving to me today what a wonderful Dad he is and always will be. Love you Joshie, thank you for always being a rock in our house for me and the kids. Happy Fathers Day

1 Year Anniversary

My parents have officially lived in Utah for one year, so they (my Mom) wanted to celebrate. She invited all the family members that we have in Utah over, which is at least 40. Not everyone could come (Cliff and Jennifer's family got sick) but just about everyone else was there and we had a lot of fun, sun, and food. 

I once again used my awesome silhouette machine and made this sign 

A few of the kids

 Hula Hoopin'

We have loved having my parents closer and have enjoyed their awesome house and property this past year. We are excited for all the more memories to come!