Feeling Autumn-ish

We were lucky enough to get some cooler weather this week!  Some storms rolled in and we got some major puddle jumping in!

The first part of the week we had Sophia over and we made peanut butter playdough... which was just peanut butter and powdered sugar... fun to play in and sweet enough to eat!

We also had a playdate with Kennedy and Acadia on Wednesday.  Sometimes we just can't get enough of our friends!  

On Saturday it was Sophia's birthday party.  We went to Sonic for lunch and then went glow-in-the-dark mini golfing and arcade gaming.  The kids all had so much fun together!

Sunday I decided to be brave and go to sacrament with the kids again.  Since our last disaster over 3 weeks ago I have been avoiding going the first hour.  Thankfully the kids were awesome!  Thanks to sticker books!  Later that evening Brandon surprised us all by taking the kids camping for the night.  The kids were super excited to see him, since they hadn't seen him all week thanks to his work.  I was apprehensive about them going camping overnight, but they came back Monday morning all smiles!  That makes me so happy!

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa Knudsen!

All week long we did a countdown to when Grandma and Grandpa Knudsen would come.  When there were only two days left Hayden couldn't handle it anymore and threw huge fits because he wanted Grandma now!!  Also, he no longer says 'Peepaw' anymore... everyone is 'Grandpa'.  Kylie's name has also changed, from 'Ky Ky' to 'Ky Yay'.  It's so cute!

On Friday afternoon they finally came and the kids were so excited and all over them!  They loved the sticker books and their new outfits as well!

Grandpa Gary wanted to get out and about (which these kids are always up for!), so we went over to Snow Canyon and played in the sand dunes.  The weather was perfect and the setting sun gave us some shade... eventually!

We came home covered in sand and worn out!

On Saturday we drove up to Pine Valley to spend some time in the mountains.  Brandon came with us for this excursion and the kids were happy to have their daddy come along.  Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Knudsen had brought their motor home, so the long drive wasn't so boring!

Once we reached Pine Valley we gathered wood for our fire and then did a little exploring.  Right down from our picnic site was a small brook and across that were some cool houses made from huge sticks.  The kids loved playing in them!  Kylie even had her bedroom all picked out!

Then we took a small walk over to the the pond.  It was so small that we decided to walk all the way around it!  It was a lot of fun finding acorns and pinecones to take home.  Half way across we had to pass over the stream again and it took some fine footwork to make it across!

Once back to our picnic site we started the fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows!  We were all very hungry!

After the long ride home me and the kids had some quiet time (which they desperately needed), and then we met up with Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary for dinner, as well as Great Grandma Fae and Great Grandpa Clyde who had just gotten into town.  For once Kylie and Hayden actually ate at a restaurant and weren't too obnoxious.  Afterwards we went to the great grandparent's hotel and did some swimming - always a favorite of my kids!

Sunday we got to see Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary briefly on their way out of town.  Hayden was so upset and didn't want to let his grandma go!  We had a ton of fun on their visit and just want to thank them so much for all the fun adventures we went on!  Also thanks to Grandma Shari for sharing all her pictures!

Here is a bonus video of our new pet dinosaur:

It's all Fun and Games

Kylie and Hayden are little balls of energy!  They are each up at 6.30 every morning and don't stop running around until 8 at night.  Hayden has stopped taking his naps in the afternoon - but that doesn't stop me from trying to get him to have at least an hour of 'quiet time' in his room.  We like to go on walks in the morning and in the afternoons after school we sometimes go swimming.

They spend time with their dad on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, usually going to a park to play (because their energy is boundless!).  Brandon also comes over for a few hours each Saturday and Sunday to play with them.  Last Sunday he took them on a trip by the river for a little campfire and s'mores.  They had tons of fun!  Kylie said she really liked lighting all her marshmallows on fire.

Kylie has been loving school.  They usually get one or two Skittles or M&M's throughout the day and Kylie always saves hers to share with Hayden which is nice.  I haven't heard of any new friends, though she has mentioned a boy names Cambry once.  We always stay after class and play on the playground, too.  Hayden just loves it.

Kylie has also been obsessed with the Snapchat filters and loves to play with it all the time.  She was in hysterics on Friday when we played with Sophia and Riley and she did the filters on them.  She didn't stop laughing for a whole hour!  I did manage to get a picture of Kylie and Sophia in a fun filter!

Yes Sophia is wearing Kylie's dress.  The first words out of her mouth every time she comes over is "Let's go play dress up!" and she always chooses this dress or the blue dress Kylie has on. It's so funny and predictable!

I also made the mistake of letting the kids borrow a Bubble Guppy DVD from the library.  That is ALL they have been watching and they keep talking about when we go back to the library the other Bubble Guppy movies they are going to get.  Ugh... I didn't realize how annoying of a show Bubble Guppies was...

Hayden Gets a Haircut!

Kylie has been enjoying school this week and Hayden has been enjoying not taking naps.  Which makes him into a demon monster at 4 PM.

We have been getting cooler weather this week (mid-90's anyone?) so we have done a few walks and every day after school I let the kids play on the playground because Hayden loves it so much.

This weekend I figured it was finally time to give Hayden a haircut.  He looked really cute with his long hair, but the poor kid would sweat like crazy every time we went outside.  His new haircut looks great on him, though he did keep moving, so behind his ears is kinda bad!

Sunday was a struggle.  The kids had absolutely too much energy for church.  Literally we were there for 5 minutes and I already wanted to leave.  We barely made it through the sacrament before we all went outside and played for awhile.

Then, just before classes started we went inside and talked about why we go to church and how we need to act while we are here.  Kylie knew all the answers, but she definitely doesn't act like it!

Hayden didn't want to go to nursery, so I took him to my class where I had to teach - and he was super excited about that because my teaching partner brought cupcakes!  But after he downed his cupcake he was ready to go home so my teaching partner was kind enough to drag him kicking and screaming to nursery, where I found him once church was over passed out next to the door.  Poor guy!  Today was a tough church day for everyone!

Afterwards we did some art therapy and the kids loved it because I finally bought them their own cheap watercolors to paint with (don't ask me why I hadn't done this before.... ).  They painted some beautiful pictures to send to their grandma's and grandpa's, so watch your mail!

Kylie Starts Kindergarten!

The beginning of the week was filled with our last-ditch summer fun: swimming, playing at the park, and playing with friends.  And on Thursday Kylie started school!!  She was super excited and kept insisting that I don't come to class with her.  I am glad the summer break made her excited for school again and hopefully she keeps that excitement for a long time!

Hayden was upset he didn't get to start school again this year, but he is doing something equally momentous: potty training! Kylie has kept inviting him to go potty with her for the past few weeks, and suddenly this week he started getting the concept!  For several days he would go by himself and he even wants to do all the clean up himself (because he is going on a little potty).  If you know Hayden, you know how much water he drinks.  The whole "get a treat for going potty" concept doesn't work for him because he can literally go every ten minutes.  One time he got his potty treat, and as soon as he finished it decided he wanted another so he immediately went potty again.  And he notices when the treats get smaller and smaller (from a chocolate kiss to a few chocolate raisins to several mini M&M's...).  Honestly right now I am not fighting him for it.  If he prefers his diaper right now, then fine.  If he wants to use the potty, great.  Kylie is the one being his drill sergeant and it's awesome!

County Fair Time!

The beginning of the week started off normal enough.  Our regular choice of activities given this heat.  On Tuesday we walked to the swimming pool like we always do, but upon entering the gate I realized at once that something was gravely wrong.  There, struggling in the water, was a little lizard.  The poor little thing! Kylie and I immediately jumped in the water and scooped him up.  We laid him on Kylie's kickboard and placed him in the sun - then proceeded to poke him to see if he was still alive.  (How does one provide resuscitation to a lizard the size of a finger?)

After explaining to Kylie several times that we could NOT take the lizard to an animal doctor, we saw that he was breathing.  Success! We watched him for a few more minutes as he breathed and flinched, and then in the most dramatic of exits he gasped for air, and then flip flopped to his back, legs splayed in the air.

Our little lizard had just given Kylie and Hayden their first glimpse of how fleeting life is.

The agony! The horror!!  The awkwardness of explaining to the kids that the lizard was, in fact, dead and not sleeping.  We then placed him on a rock amidst millions of other rocks and succumbed ourselves to the fact that the lizard is now bug or bird food. With heavy hearts we continued swimming and tried to live our lives as normal, like our little lizard friend would want us to.

Thus ends my dramatic re-telling of our little lizards fight for life.

On Thursday we tried something new: the county fair!  We hadn't gone in years past because the kids were too little to enjoy it, but this year I felt they were ready!

We had to walk through all the food trucks, shopping booths, and barn area before he made it to the amusement park rides.  They were having the goat contest when we went through the barn, and Kylie and Hayden really enjoyed petting all goats.  The next event was the kids turn to show off their goats, and they were getting them all dressed up in fun costumes.

Kylie and Hayden were super excited to ride some rides!  We had lots of fun watching them experience the rides together.  I am glad they are so small that they could sit together on most of the rides.

Afterwards we got something to eat and played on the playground they have there and then dragged our obviously tired but in denial children home.

This weekend we also did something new:  we bought a car!  Brandon's two cars are just costing so much in repairs that we figured it would be better to get rid of them and get a nicer car that we wouldn't have to worry about.  So we found a Honda Pilot that everyone liked and we brought it home Saturday.  Now all Brandon can talk about is going camping.

Sultry Summer Days

It has been a rough couple of weeks, but we persevered.  There was lots of swimming, park playing, and playing with friends.  Just like normal!

We had fun doing all the activities that Grandma Tess had sent home with us, like making popsicles (we do that daily!), making some Finding Dory bracelets, and playing with our lanterns.  In fact, Kylie loves her lantern so much that she falls asleep with it every night so she is "not scared".  It is pretty cute!

The kids also decided one day that they were kitties and to prevent them from eating the cat's food I had to feed them some Cheerio's in a dish like the cat.

On Thursday we got a surprise visit from Uncle James who was on his way back to California.  Usually Kylie is all over any visitors we have, but I think Uncle James' big lumberjack beard scared her because she was keeping her distance!  Sadly Hayden was sleeping so he missed out.

This week we did a lot of unpacking, because it seems like we will be staying here for the next little while.  Kylie and Hayden were very excited to see all the toys that had been hidden away for the past 6 weeks or so!