Catching Up

Well, I don't know why I always wait and post a whole bunch at once, but as usual here I go again.

Our ward had a Pioneer Day activity a few weeks ago. I took the kids and had a fun time in spite of the heat! It was seriously hot that day. Heath couldn't make it because he was taking finals for his summer semester.

Here is Sydney waiting for lunch on our blanket. How do you like her pioneer costume? I decided to go last minute so she just got a scarf for her head.

Here is Sydney running in the 3-5 year old footrace. I know, she is only 2 but she really wanted to try. However, she got scared or worried half way through and just stopped. So funny. Notice that all the other children are already finished.

Here is the only picture I took of Logan. He spent most of the time sleeping in the stroller. The other time he spent doing his favorite things eating and chewing on things.

We had to leave a little early because of nap time, but we still had a fun time.

Time To Eat

Logan is a champ at eating "real" food these days. He especially likes puffs (the are little fruit flavored puffed rice things that disintegrate when they come in contact with saliva) and will stop fussing if you just shake the puff container. Some days I can't believe how big he is getting. Time really does fly!

Shoveling in the puffs.

A few weeks ago I decided to try an edible play dough recipe I heard about. It turned out okay, but when I told the children (daycare kids included) that they could eat it everyone stopped playing with it and just ate it. It was pretty tasty - kind of like the inside of peanut butter balls just not quite as sweet.

I know, I know - it looks like poop. Good Thing it didn't taste like it.

Trying Out Some New Camera Features

Here are a few pictures of the children that I thought were pretty cute.

Evening Walks

We have started to take short evening walks several times a week. It helps Sydney get some energy out before bed and it is nice to have a little family time together away from schoolwork, TV, telephones, and housework. We usually try to go after dinner when it has started to cool off a little bit. We decided to take our camera one night and here are some pics from our walk.

Our Street

There is a little park that we always pass on our short walks and we always have to stop for a few minutes. Here are the children at the park. Poor Logan normally just hangs out in is stroller, he actually doesn't seem to mind.

Swingin' and Slidin'

A few weeks ago my sister and her kids came for a visit. (Unfortunately all the pictures from that weekend got erased while we were trying to learn how to use our new camera...Oops.) When they came they brought us their old play set and the children love it! It has a swing and a slide, two of Sydney's favorite playground items. We put it out on the deck for a few days but decided that it would be more fun inside since it is so HOT outside for the next few months. So, we cleaned it really well and brought it inside. We love it. Sydney loves to slide and Logan loves to swing so it works out nicely. Here are a few pics of Sydney and some friends playing on it (it was still outside then).

Sydney also enjoyed a popsicle - also a favorite.

On the Move...

Logan is definitely mobile! He has been rolling and getting around for about two months but he has recently become a speed crawler. The kid can move! If he sees something he wants (like a pile of dirt I just swept in the kitchen) he makes a beeline for it. He gets really pleased with himself if he makes it in enough time to play a little before mommy catches him. It is so fun to watch him grow and learn how to use his little body.

Long Time

Well, I have lots of catching up to do since it has been so long since I posted. We have had a busy few weeks and are enjoying our summer. Heath dropped our camera a few weeks ago and it finally broke (it has been dropped several times before)and we have finally gotten another one and are starting to learn how to use it. We lost some great pictures when the other one broke, but that is how it goes sometimes. Heath took this picture out front of our house a few days ago. So gorgeous!

The Rest of Our Trip

After staying at the beach for a few days we headed to my parents house for a little more fun and family time. On Sunday we celebrated Fathers Day and several family birthdays. We had a great time with everyone. Here are some pictures from our day.

This is Logan and his cousin, Amelia. She is one week older than him. It is always fun to get them together.

My sister brought this baby deer over after a visit to her friends house who are caring for it after they found it abandoned. So cute! The children had lots of fun bottle feeding it. It was really tame and would let the children pet and play with it. It was really neat, I've never been so close to such a young deer.

My nephew Lincoln was turning 3 and he decided that he wanted a Diego themed party so that what he got. Here is Sydney trying to break the Diego pinata.


Here Sydney is standing by her cousin Kimball. I think that she has a little crush on him. She constantly asks about him and wants to know when she will be able to see him again. She tagged along with him much of the day.

The next day we decided to head to Williamsburg, VA so we could take Heath's mom to some of the historical sites that this part of the country has to offer. It was really neat but way too hot! The children did great, especially considering how hot it was. Heath and his mom take a turn in the stocks. This looks really uncomfortable. So glad that I never got punished this way.

Here are some random pictures from Williamsburg. Notice how hot Sydney looks.

These are just pictures of Colonial Williamsburg. Notice the decorations in the Governor's Palace. So weird, maybe I should start decorating with weapons.

All in all we had a great trip and a wonderful visit with Heath's mom. We only wish it was longer.

Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Heath's mom came for a visit so we headed to Emerald Isle, NC to the beach for some fun, and fun we had! We stayed at my Aunt's beach house and it was great! The kids seemed to have a good time and I think we all secretly wished that we had a few more days to spend at the beach.

Here are the children at the beach. (you didn't really expect to see a picture of me at the beach did you?) Sydney liked the water but I think she liked the sand a little more. If you ask her which she liked more - the water or the sand? - she says something different each time. Logan fell asleep on Grandma Charter after a little while and slept like a champ!

These next pictures were taken on the deck of the beach house. The weather was really nice while we were there and we enjoyed our dinners outside on the deck each night.

There is a pretty nice aquarium at the beach that we like to go to when we are there. Sydney enjoyed herself for most of the time but she got a little tired toward the end. Logan did great while we there. He liked the exhibits with larger fish the best because he would find one and follow it the length of the tank and then find another and watch it swim to the other end. I thought this was pretty fun to watch.

This is where Sydney started to get tired and a little grouchy.

So cute but so tired!

Here is Heath and his mom! We had a great time with her and were so glad that she came to visit!

Our Little Fish!

We decided to get Sydney a little pool for the backyard this summer. She loves it! I took her with me to the store to get it and promised her that we would use it the next day when the daycare kids came over. She was sooooo excited about it. Asking about her new pool was the last thing she did that night before she went to sleep. Sadly, the next morning we woke to rain. It rained all day long and Sydney was pretty disappointed. She kept looking out the back door and then would come running telling me, "not raining no more." (It was always still raining, plus it was really chilly out!) The next day it wasn't raining so I decided it was time to get the pool together. It was still pretty chilly out but Sydney didn't care. Here she is all ready in her new bathing suit.

Here she is out in the pool. I only put a little bit of water in there because I thought it would be too cold. Notice that she is just crouched down. She didn't sit down the whole time because it was too cold. Despite the chill she loved it and didn't want to go in.

A few days later we tried again and it was much better. It was hot out and Sydney had friends over (daycare kids plus one friend from church) and they had a ball! Sydney was too busy playing to stop and look at the camera despite my repeated requests. Sydney had also started a swimming class, the kind you do with a parent. She loves going to the big pool! We have gone under the water a few times and she doesn't like that but she is proud of herself and loves to tell people that she went under. I can get her to do just about anything so that she can go outside and play in the pool.