July Birthday's!

In the past week we have been able to celebrate 2 birthdays!  Sunday was Grandpa Brady's and we had fantastic homemade Cafe Rio salads and then a popcorn cook off!  Each family had to make a different kind of fancy popcorn (Grandpa loves popcorn) and then we judged.  But every single was was SOOOO good, there was no winning.  We celebrated Grandpa's birthday on a Sunday and Tyler and I had spent the entire previous day working on our talks for Sunday, so Grandpa's party wasn't as big and festive as usual, but I think everyone had fun and I hope Grandpa knows we LOVE him!

Wednesday we celebrated Devin's birthday at the coolest park in the world.  It was made the party twice as cool because Uncle Devin wanted to have his party there- I don't think the girls were even this excited for their own birthday's.  

 Devin is super cool and super nice.  There is no going wrong with Devin because he is either really easy to please or overly grateful and kind. I almost felt guilty for how easy it was to make him happy!

 We got to the park just in time for a windstorm.  It blew the big painted sign down but died down in time for mock JDawgs hotdogs and popsicles (perfect for the hot day it was!)

 Then there was a game of kickball.  It was so 'no pressure' and un-competative that I think everyone, even the kids had a blast.

 The only downside to the night was that Alex lied about eating her hotdog (she threw in the bushes), and so the consequence was not being able to play on the super amazing fantastic best playground I have ever been to.  I think it broke my heart just as much as it broke hers.  But lying has been a problem and we are trying to kick the habit.

So we stuck to our guns, and the kids had a ton of fun running in the grass.

 Tyler had gotten up super early to hike Timp with some friends, and came straight to the park afterwards.  Sunburn, blisters and all.  Then he played superdad and guarded the entire outfield against monster kicks by Devin and Ben.

It was a LOT of fun.  Great party Devin- Popcicles, Park and Kickball may be the best party ever.


T minus 12 days until we lose these guys to Southern Arizona.  As surly as they look, they've been pretty fun to have around the past few years.

Family Pictures for a Friend

I got to do the family pictures for some good friends today.

I LOVE taking pictures of these guys.  They make it so easy.

 The little girls are so well behaved and sweet, not to mention adorable!

 It was fun hanging out a bit and snapping their pictures which we caught up.

It really made me want to get our family pictures taken again.  It's almost that time.

I really like taking pictures of people, especially when they want me to.  I often feel like I'm invading everyone's personal space and making them feel awkward.  So having an excuse to do this is super fun.

I'm always so nervous before a shoot, will I get any good ones?  Is anyone looking at the camera? Will they even like the finished product?!  but by the time it's over I'm having the time of my life and can't wait to browse through and pick the best ones.  But like I said, this beautiful family make it easy.

End of July

We came back from vacation and went straight into "Have as much fun as possible with Kate, Archie and Annie because they are moving in 2 weeks" mode.

 We celebrated Pioneer day at Thanksgiving Point with Grandma and Kara and K,A,A.

 The kids sported their BYU hats.

 There were Pony rides, (Heidi rode all by herself and wasn't a bit afraid!)

 We took a wagon ride and got to see a brand new baby goat!

 It was so hot.  This picture about does the temperature justice.  Annie is quite the sport and always being hauled around by the big kids.  We have to keep an eye on Heidi though, because she headlocks Annie and then tries to lift her up.

 It turns out Annie was named after a Belgian draft horse.

 And Kara had the patience for a slow and wandering 2 year old who wanted to explore in the blistering heat.

 After the petting zoo was the botanical garden.  It was pretty neat and huge, but it was far too easy to get lost!

 The kids had a blast!

 And I know that I sure enjoyed the pretty walk and watching the kids go nuts.

  Grandma is very patient with the kids, especially Heidi, and still treats her like a 2 year old instead of a 4 year old like I keep doing!  No wonder she is so independent!

 By the time we got home, I was dead, and the girls went in the backyard and played the rest of the day away.

 The second stop I made the day we got home from Wyoming, was the garden.  A windstorm had come and blown 4 sunflower plants over, but out jungle is still thriving.  The Potatoes have all but died- I'm not sure if it is because of a bug or the morning glory which has taken over the patch.  I also discovered that I'm some kind of allergic to potato plants and possible Tomatoes.  My arms itch like CRAZY for days after I go and weed. I suppose it's time to stop gardening barefoot in shorts and short sleeves.

It took days and hours upon hours to reclaim the veggies from the weeds, but here it is looking pretty good.  We ripped out the dead pea plants so that all looks a lot nicer.  The onions are big and ready to harvest, the tomatoes are starting to produce slowly and the peppers are coming on nicely.  I learned that it is insanity to plant 3 rows of tomatoes so close to each other- it's a jungle in there.  Our bush beans turned out to be green beans and so now we have to figure out trellises.  The cucumber plants survived and are growing all over, but not using the corn to grow UP like I had planned.  The green beans among the corn are wrapping around the stalks nicely and the zucchini are doing great!
   I think my greatest achievement in gardening is getting Alex to sit and talk with me while I do it.  She comes and goes, but often stays and helps me weed.  She is very interested in learning about how the plants grow and the names of things.  She was sad when she learned that the pretty morning glory flowers were attached to the terrible vine that kills our good plants.  She found 4 cherry tomatoes and gobbled them up without sharing and then found a regular tomato and ate it like and apple!  I was so proud of her!
    The garden is less in danger of being destroyed by the kids now, and they love to hide in the corn jungle and look for tomatoes.  I think about the time I leave for Montana in August everything should be under control and producing like crazy, it will be so hard to leave it!

Cheyenne

Monday we left Worland on our way to Cheyenne!!!!  We were making a tour of all the grandparents it seems!

Wind River Canyon is probably my favorite place on earth.  Or at least top 3.  I'd love to float the river someday, and every time we drive through the 3 tunnels I always roll down the windows of the car and honk the horn obnoxiously to hear the echo.  My Dad used to do this, and my children have not yet accepted the coolness of this tradition.

This drive seemed to take FOREVER.  It was hot and dry and the kids were whiney.  But I did see a forest fire and we listened to plenty of song from the 50's to pass the time.

We arrived at Grandma Sanderson's house and the girls warmed up to her instantly.  The first thing Alex wanted to do (and had been talking about doing for days) was feed the ducks.  Unfortunately we arrived at the park in the middle of a terrible downpour that soon turned into hail!

So first thing the next morning we got our bread and headed back.

There were no ducks.  Only giant aggressive Geese!

It was unbelievable!  They recognized the bread bags and came RUNNING at us.  It terrified poor Alex and I had to take pictures and video, leaving Grandma and Heidi to fend for themselves.

Heidi was a stud and Grandma was braver than I.

We played at the park.

The girls ate up Grandma Sanderson.

We attempted a family picture (minus Tyler).

And then the girls discovered that the Geese were more afraid of them, than the girls were of the Geese.

So we chased Geese for 20 minutes.

And then went to another park.

Next on the day's activities was a picnic at the park!  We had a feast and then walked along the lake for awhile.  The weather was perfect in the shade and the water was shallow enough the kids could wade a bit.

Heidi noticed that Alex was holding up her skirt to keep it dry.  She then proceeded to walk around holding her shirt up to keep it out of the water.

Then of course they had to fish.

This park is in the middle of the city although you feel like you are way out of town.  Right next to it is a big airport and we got to enjoy air show quality fly overs by the planes.  Heidi was part ecstatic, and part terrified by this.

Then we stumbled upon the happiest place on earth.

It was like a little secret garden for kids where they could do whatever they wanted!

The only rule was "No throwing rocks", and the kids could climb all over everything and wade into the coy ponds.

There were sandboxes, windmills, statues, and a botanical garden with these beautiful benches all over.

Alex and Heidi played Thumbinlina and rode the butterfly and ran through the paths smelling the flowers.  It was magical.  We could have stayed there all day but we really wanted to see the Buffalo!

Outside of town is a big Buffalo Ranch.  With a few oddities.

We took the Buffalo train tour and got to hand feed them!

These are those big creatures they tell you to stay 200 feet away from at Yellowstone.

And Heidi was trying to jump out the side of the train to get closer.

It was just about impossible to get a good picture of the kids and the beasts.

But the girl next to us stuck her hand into 2000 lbs. Buffalo's mouth!

So if you are ever up near Cheyenne, you MUST hit the Terry Buffalo Ranch!

After the train ride we went to see the ponies and baby ponies.  Alex loves horses and I've never wanted to buy her a pony more than I did at this moment.

If you can imagine a newborn baby pony is about the size of a stuffed animal.  I didn't get a picture of the brand new one, but if Heidi had been allowed to sit on it, I don't think it could have held her weight.

So of course this is where we would have spent the rest of the day if the kids hadn't been on the verge of collapse from so much fun!

Grandma was the perfect companion and made the day a blast.  She had the patience of a saint and was willing to run around with us all over town, making it the best and fullest day ever!

After the ranch we did dinner and them put the kids to bed and stayed up talking.

It was so sad to leave because we had just gotten there and had been having SO much fun!  The girls absolutely LOVE their Great Grandma.  I don't think any of us have ever been spoiled so rotten and she was just so fun to be with.

We couldn't leave the Ranch without riding the Jackalope.

And this is Alex's "conquering the Buffalo" face.

She also conquered the Jackalope.

If Tyler hadn't been dying to see us we would have stayed a week.  I found that I loved Cheyenne as much as I hated Casper.  And I decided that we absolutely had to make it back again soon.  So, while we may never take our kids to Disney Land- they will be touring Wyoming every summer until they move out.