Random Stuff

This has been the best summer I've had since I had kids. I think they are finally old enough to do fun things, or maybe I finally feel good enough to do the fun things. Anyway, it's nothing but Fun around here!

 Evie has a little problem with being a total spaz when you take her picture. Mouth wide open, eyes squeezed shut, weird expression. This picture is awesome because you can see her being a spaz in the Father's Day tie she made for Trav, and being a spaz on his lap. Silly thing.

 We had our Annual Eve Celebration Birthday party at the splash pad in Spanish Fork. I wish I had taken more pictures, but this one is classic. Evie and all her little boy friends.

 Travis and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on June 20. I am so glad that I married this guy! He is the best, and I really feel like our marriage is happier and more fulfilling now than it has ever been. We went to Tucano's the night of our anniversary, then that weekend we went on a date to Seven Peaks (no kids=lots of slides!) and had a blast! Love you Trav!

 Eve got some paints for her birthday and LOVES them. She wants to paint all the time. Luckily I have this nasty old tablecloth to keep our new table safe, because this girl does not limit her paint to her project.

 We met up with our friends the Bassetts in Lehi during their city celebration and there was a little table where the kids could write a letter/draw a picture for soldiers serving overseas. Anna made this frighteningly realistic drawing with an airplane dropping a bomb (BAM) and people with guns (?) and other people saying  "Ow!" and "We're losing." I have absolutely no idea how she knew so much about war, but I did want to record this very accurate record. And then make sure she only watches My Little Ponies from now on.

 Splash pad in Highland. I am pretty sure Kate has more fun than most people. She just loves to play!

 We have also loved swimming at my parents' house. The kids could literally swim all day every day. Eve has absolutely no fear and thinks it's super cool that she can swim underneath the water. Anna and Kate love to jump off the diving board and swim to the side all by themselves. Even little Max likes to get in and splash, a habit that he has transferred to bathtime as well.

Now that I think about it, I guess the real reason that this is the best summer is because my kids have started to really like each other and enjoy playing all together. This was a village in China they created one Sunday afternoon all on their own. I love to see them working together like that, especially since it meant Trav and I could just sit at the table eating chips and guacamole.

 This little guy has got some teeth! Right now he has the two on the bottom in the front and one on the top. He went through a little phase where he would bite my upper arm every time I held him and a couple times I even bled! Luckily he's over that now and the teeth don't seem to be bugging him. He has turned into a little eating machine. He loves all fruit, Cheerios, and especially those little Yogurt Melts. Oh, and french fries. He's a big fan of french fries.

 He is also MOBILE! He can crawl anywhere, and he can get there fast. He loves to play in the dog's water dish, so we usually keep the door to the pantry shut. As soon as that door opens, you better believe he is speeding over there to soak himself. Again.
He also loves to pull himself up on things and cruise around. Yesterday I bought one of those buckets of ice cream and left it on the floor while I put some stuff in the fridge. Max crawled over and pulled up on it, then burst into tears. It was so cold, and he couldn't figure out that all he needed to do was let go. There's so much to learn when you're little.

 The girls took tennis lessons in June and love to "play" on our patio in the backyard. They use duct tape for the net. Genius.

 Have you been to the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point? Because it's awesome.

Look out, ladies. It's pretty much all I can do to not kiss those cheeks every minute of the day.

 We have a new baby cousin named Kaizlee. She is so sweet! The girls love to hold her, and why shouldn't they? New little babies are the best!

Bridal Veil: Check

One thing we absolutely must do each summer is hike to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. We love that it is a short hike with a fun pool to play in at the end. This time our good friends the Claytons invited us to tag along with them. And we were happy to do so.

We are kind of destined to be best friends with the Claytons. Know why? 

Because of this. (Hannah and Anna, 7 years old.)

And this. (Megan and Kate, 5 years old.)

 Also Maddie and Eve (3 years old). And Wyatt and Max. (Okay, that one is a stretch because Wyatt is 2 and Max is 9 months.... But you get the idea.)

 We had a great time playing in the water,

 climbing the rocks,

 and creating little hospitals for bugs. Is there a better way to spend a summer day?

I had to take this one of Eve because the previous day I had read this quote from A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White: "We have not made mudpies for nothing."
That totally speaks to me. Children are engaged, primarily, in the business of play. They play dolls, they play Legos, they play dress-ups. Play is how they learn about and interpret the world. Play is a reflection of who they are and what they experience. (So, yes, when you overhear your child telling her teddy bear that he is going to have a "consequence" you only have yourself to blame.) Play is hardly inconsequential. Rather, play is crucial, and especially between siblings. They do not make mudpies (or block towers or spa-la-la days or Kool-Aid stands) for nothing, they make it for everything. For every happy moment those children have together is further cementing a strong relationship that they will take with them into the future, so that when hard times come and they feel alone and afraid, they KNOW they can count on their sisters (or brothers, whatever...). That a bond has been formed by their hours of joy together that will not be severed by distance, time, or "borrowing" a shirt from another's closet during those teenage years. That is why they play.

Ahem. Off my soapbox. Thanks, Claytons! Love Bridal Veil, love you!