Happy Birthday, Colton!!

Colton turned 2 on Sunday! I can not believe how fast time has gone by! I just love this sweet little boy so so much! He is my little buddy. He still loves his binky and blanket. He likes them together! He likes to have his binky in his mouth, and his blanket right under his nose. Then he puts his blanket in his mouth with his binky for a little bit. Pretty funny. Colton LOVES his sisters. He stands on his chair to eat. He sleeps 10-12 hours a night still.  Sometimes he takes a nap, sometimes he doesnt. He just recently started to grab my hands or legs to take me where he wants me to go, especially if he wants something, like milk, or a toy, or whatever. He hates getting his hair cut. He loves airplanes. He likes to watch Cars the movie. He likes to be where the twins are. Colton has lots of nick names ... Bubba, Bubs, Coltie, Colton boy, C-train, Aaron calls him Colt, even though I dont like it! Colton calls both of the girls Carlie. I know he knows there is a difference, I just think he is too lazy to say Claire. I find it funny, Claire does not!  Colton is just a sweet little boy and we love having him in our family!

Duck Creek

We went to Duck Creek straight from Parowan last week. We went with all of my family, except for my youngest sister Kim, who had to work. We missed her!!  My mom kept us well fed, all of my family were great with the kids. I didn't have to do much at all that week! My kids were well entertained!
Monday we got camp set up, just in time for a huge thunder and rain storm! It rained for a good hour or so. Claire and Carlie were in David and Linda's tent for a while, then after a few really loud thunder claps, Carlie was back in our tent! Colton slept through most of the storm!
Tuesday we slept in, had scones for breakfast, then hiked down to the creek. We saw an owl in the grassy area hiding. We think it was injured. It was neat to see an owl up close though. We had lunch, some of the kids napped, then we headed up to Strawberry Point. I don't think i've ever been up there, but it was beautiful! A little scary though!
Wednesday we got ready, and headed down to Parowan to take a mid week shower! Im SO glad the yellow house is so close. I don't think I could of handled being dirty for an entire week! After everyone got showered, we went to Cedar to have dinner at the Pizza Factory. David and Linda headed back to Vegas and everyone else went back up to camp.
Thursday Aaron, Joey and Keri took Claire and Carlie fishing. They didn't catch anything, but they sure had fun watching the people around them catch fish! I don't think they tried too hard! :)
Friday we got everything packed up and headed home!
During our down time, the kids went on hikes, everyone played volleyball, and threw a frisbee around. We had a deer that was wondering around the campsite all week. She came SO close to us. We were able to walk up to her, and she would just keep eating, and not run away. It was pretty neat. there were TONS of chipmunks/squirrels that kept us entertained. A couple of them would walk right under the table we were sitting at!
We had a great time, and the week went by way too fast.  I think we may have to make this a yearly tradition!

July in Parowan

The kids and I stayed in Parowan for a few weeks. It was SO nice to be out of the Vegas heat, and just relax! We didn't have much planned, we were lazy, our schedule went out the window, but we had a blast! There were many walks to the park, we went to the bakery a few times and got ice cream, we rode 4 wheelers to the pond, played outside, the kids slept in my bed every night, and we lounged on the porch. It was a perfect way to spend part of our summer! I hope the kids enjoyed it as much as I did!

Hiking to the 'P'

Aaron took the girls on a little hike up to the P on the Parowan mountain. It wasnt a little hike like they thought it was going to be! It was pretty steep! The girls were troopers though, and didnt complain once!

Lemonade Stand

Claire and Carlie knew they wanted to make a Lemonade stand up in Parowan, and once Aaron got back in town, he helped them get it going. They colored the sign, made the lemonade and got the table all set up in the front yard. At first, people were just driving by waving, but not stopping. Carlie was pretty frustrated and told Aaron, "The sign says LEMONADE, not HELLO!" That cracked me up. Then they started getting real customers!  Every time someone would buy a cup, Carlie would run upstairs and tell me how much money they made! 

After being outside for almost an hour, they ran out of Lemonade, and made $8!! They were SO excited! 

Friend Weekend

While in Parowan, my friend Stacey and Chrissi came down with their kids and stayed for the weekend! They got in late Friday night, so we got everyone settled in and went to bed. Saturday we got up, played in the yard, got everyone ready and headed in to Cedar and went to Cafe Rio for lunch. When we got back we relaxed some more. Once it got cooler, we headed over to the park! When we came home the sprinklers were on, so we let the kids run through them for a bit. The kids loved it! Afterwards we put all the boys in the tub! It was quite funny! Sunday they headed back home. It sure was fun to have some visitors!

Back it up!

On our way out of town to Parowan, we stopped by my best friend Sarah's house. She just recently moved out of Vegas, so we made a stop to see the house, and hang out for a little bit! I love how our kids play together! I sure miss having her being only 10 minutes away!

Happy 4th of July!

For the 4th of July, we headed up to Parowan. I love how small towns do 4th of July. First thing in the morning, we headed to Main street for the parade. A parade isnt complete without firetrucks, and tractors! After the parade, Aaron and the twins went to the park where there a bunch of booths with games for the kids to play, and win prizes. At one of the booths, the girls each won a GOLDFISH! yippee! After playing at the park, everyone came home and relaxed until we went to dinner at Larry and Cindy's house for a BBQ. The kids love playing with Mason and Lily! We watched fireworks in Larrys backyard and had dessert. 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, and im thankful that we were able to spend it with family!

Feeling Crafty!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know I have an obsession with Chevron stripes. I have been dying to make something with Chevron, so last week I finally did! 

I had a 12x24 piece of wood, and some vinyl cut that says "Live Love Laugh and be Happy" 

I sanded and painted the board grey.

Then made a grid to draw the Chevron. I had to really use my brain for a minute, to figure out how to map this out!  I ended up drawing horizontal lines 3 inches apart, then vertical dots every 3 inches. Then I just connected the dots. 

Then I taped the part I didnt want painted. 

Painted some teal stripes (I LOVE teal right now) 

Took the tape off a little too soon. I was very impatient. I wanted to see how it turned out! 

Then I waited maybe 7 minutes before I put the vinyl on. 

I LOVE how it turned out! I have it by our kitchen table, opposite of my teal Keep Calm, Carry On canvas. There are going to be more Chevron projects in the future! Im dying to paint in Coltons room, and I really want a Chevron quilt! 

June

JUNE! This is a looooong post. With lots of pictures. Grab some popcorn. 

At the beginning of June, Aaron and I went out on a date! It had been SO long since we had gone out to do something other than run errands together! Im really thankful that my family lives so close, and that they are so willing to watch my kids. We went out to dinner, then probably walked around Target. 

Since school has been out, I've tried doing fun stuff with the kids. We went to a park near our house, and had a little picnic. 

One of my favorite things to do is go watch airplanes land and take off at the airport. So, we grabbed some dinner and got ice cream from Sonic, and we watched planes land for a good hour. Everytime a plane would land, Colton would scream like a little girl! It was pretty funny! 

When we were at my parents house one day, all 3 kids were sitting at the piano. So cute! 

We have done a LOT of swimming at Grandpa Pauls house this month! The twins started swim lessons and love showing me what they have learned. Both girls are GREAT swimmers now, and are so confident in the water! 

One morning, Carlie really wanted to make me breakfast. I usually eat scrambled egg whites, and toast or oatmeal. She set the table, and made my toast! Claire helped make a few little notes. I just love these girls! 

 The girls LOVED their swim teacher! And she just happened to live 1 street over from us! 

Another swimming day! Colton went this time, and loved playing in the water. He isnt a huge fan of using any flotation devices, so he just plays on the steps.

We met up with Melissa and her kids at the Lied Childrens Museum. The kids had a blast playing in all of the stations! 

 Afterwards we hit up the Meadows Mall and had lunch! 

Oh look! Another swimming day! 

We had the family over for Fathers day! 

 I love that Colton and Abi are only 4 months apart! They are so cute together! 

We invited Melissa and the kids over to go swimming. Carter and Claire loved going down the slide! 

My 29th Birthday was on the 23rd, and I had an AMAZING day. Seriously. I was spoiled rotten. 

My Visiting Teaching companion dropped off WARM cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning! Seriously, how can your day go wrong when you have freshly baked goods waiting for you when you wake up?! 

 After Colton went down for his nap, I took the girls swimming! We LOVE being at the pool, and that was one of my requests for the day. I had to lay out! 

Later in the evening I went out to dinner and dessert at The CheeseCake Factory with my friend Nicci! I love chit chatting with her! And my dessert was SO GOOD! 

Sunday we had my family and some friends over for cake and ice cream! Aaron and the girls made cupcakes, and Aaron bought the cake! super cute! 

 Joey and Colton are like BFFs! 

On one of Aarons nights off we took the kids to Macayos! We love that place! 

The girls had their last swim lesson this month! They both did great!!