Family, Swimming, and Zion's!

What a fun and crazy week it has been!!

First, on Monday, we went to the Splash Pad in St. George and had a picnic dinner there with Brandon, who had to work late that night.  My kids love water and and had a super fun time.  They played so hard that they actually ate a good size dinner (which almost never happens!) and crashed as soon as we got home!

Tuesday we went up to Coral Canyon and played at the park up there.  We haven't been there in a while and Kylie and Hayden both had fun running around until it got way too hot.

Wednesday Kylie had a birthday party to go to for a friend, and it was a princess party!  So she got all dressed up as Anna from Frozen and when we went to the party all these little girls ran up to Kylie shouting "Princess Anna! Princess Anna! You are so cute!"  It was so funny.  But it was a bitter sweet moment for me because Kylie's friend was turning five, so all the girls are just a bit older than Kylie, and Kristelle (the birthday girls mom) said we could just drop Kylie off and pick her up afterwards.  So this was Kylie's first "Mommies Not Needed" party!!  It was exciting and made me sad at the same time.  Kylie is growing up!

Later Wednesday evening Grandma Shari came!! Along with Uncle Jordan!  Uncle Jordan was moving down here for the summer to work with Brandon, so they had some errands to go do that we tagged along with.  Kylie was so excited to see Grandma Shari again and it only took Hayden a few minutes to warm up to her.

Thursday morning came and Kylie didn't even let me know that she had woken up - she just went straight downstairs to Grandma Shari and wanted to play.  We had a fun-filled day - or rather they had a fun-filled day as I got to spend the morning at the dentist having my tooth fixed.  The rest of the day was kinda lazy and just playing around.

Friday we had some errands to run in the morning and then did some walks and lots of bubble blowing in the afternoon.  Kylie got tons of bubbles from her Un-Birthday Party and the kids have been obsessed ever since.  Also, when Grandma Shari had been taking the kids on walks she had been holding Hayden's hand almost the entire time.  I thought that was the funniest thing because usually on walks I let them run around and explore, and Hayden usually fights me when I need to hold his hand.  But he would willingly hold Grandma Shari's hand whenever!

Friday night Grandpa Gary got into town!  Everyone was happy to see him and after dinner we all went swimming.

After everyone was getting ready for bed later that night, about 9.30, I realized that the cat was missing.  Panic!!  The only time he could have gotten out was early that morning when we were bringing groceries inside.  Brandon and I scoured the neighborhood for him until 11 with no luck, and then I went to bed while Brandon and Grandpa Gary stayed up until 1 broadening their search and printing out "Lost Cat" signs.  We were so sad that our little kitty was out and about (probably on a huge adventure) and were worried that we would never see him again.  I woke up at 5.30 that night to change Hayden's diaper, and then I just felt the prompting to go check the door.  I opened the front door and there was our cat!  He ran inside and everywhere he went he left huge piles of dirt.  So at 5.30 in the morning Brandon and I washed the cat.  For five minutes he had red dirt washing off of him!  He was crazy dirty!  But we were so glad we had our little kitty back!  Also he is never going outside again :)

Saturday was a big day - we were going to Zion's!  We all loaded up in the motor home and started the drive!  Hayden got a chance to try out a bigger carseat (he just barely meets the qualifications to sit in one), and Kylie enjoyed the freedom of a seat belt!

Up in Zion's we rode the shuttle to the Weeping Rock trail and hiked it.  It is a very short trail (only about 1/2 mile round-trip) and easy for the kids to do.  Their attention span wasn't very good though - especially Hayden's - so this was the only hike we did.  It was kinda steep on the way down, so Hayden held Grandma Shari's and Brandon's hands, but when he holds two people's hands he thinks he doesn't have to walk anymore.  So he was literally dragging his feet and enjoying it!

There was a small stream at the bottom of the trail that we let the kids play in for a while.  I think that was their favorite part!

Afterwards we rode the shuttle clear to the top of the canyon and back down!  Lots of sitting for being in a national park ;)  Just the kids age!

Then we went and had a picnic lunch (the kids didn't eat much) before going home.  That afternoon we all crashed and took a long nap.  Well, all except Kylie.  She just had quiet time.  Grandma Shari and Grandpa Gary left at that time as well, to start their new adventures as empty nesters!  We loved having them visit and I want to thank them for everything they do for us, every time they visit!!  Can't wait for Snowbird in July when we will be able to see family again!

Something big that happened at the end of this week: Kylie has decided that she doesn't want to wear diapers to bed anymore!!  I have been meaning to make this move with her earlier, but I have just been waiting to buy a plastic sheet for her bed before we did.  But now Kylie has made the decision herself and the past few nights she has been great!  I did finally manage to get the sheet, which we will be putting on the bed because we all know that accidents do happen.  But I am so excited for her!!  Kylie is completely potty trained!!!

Happy Un-Birthday!!

What a busy week we have had!  On Monday we made banana bread and as you know, Kylie loves to help me bake.  Well this week Hayden demanded to help too and as soon as I put him on his chair he started peeling bananas like he knew exactly what to do!  It was cute.  And messy.  Very messy.

Then he fell asleep at lunch like he has been doing more and more.  Kylie got super excited and ran and grabbed the phone to take a picture of him sleeping.

The rest of the week is kind of a blur.  We did lots of crafts and some swimming and playing with Sophia.  Hayden likes to hold out his arms and ask "Go?" now, meaning "where did it go?"  I seriously love him talking but now I have two littles continually squawking "Mom! Mom! MOM!" and it sometimes gets on my nerves.

Saturday was our big day!  It was the day of Kylie's birthday party!!  It was her first friends party and yes, I know it is a month early, but it was the best time to have it because of family vacations and holidays.  Another reason was that my friend, Angela (Sophia's mom), had her baby due at the end of June.  And wouldn't you know it!  She went into labor Saturday morning and Sophia got a new baby brother that afternoon!  Haha so she wasn't able to come after all!  But oh well.

We had a super fun time!  It was a swim party so I didn't have to think of any activities and after swimming we had some snacks, playing with balloons, decorate your own cupcake, and presents!  I wish I took pictures of the decorations I did, because I spent all week making them, but I forgot!

Overall Kylie's Un-Birthday party was a big success and she enjoyed spending the time with her friends.  Now in a month she will have her family party and more fun!

Memorial Day Excitement

We got lucky this past weekend and got a visit from Aunt Chantel and Uncle McKay!  They came over Saturday night and stayed until Monday.  On Sunday they went and played pickle ball with Kylie and Brandon while Hayden napped, and then afterwards we all went on a walk along the Virgin River and then fed the ducks.  There were some people fishing there and they caught a couple fish while we were next to them and Kylie was just fascinated!

On Monday we went to Gunlock Reservoir and played on the lake.  Aunt Chantel and Uncle McKay had brought their kayaks and we all had sooo much fun!  One of the kayaks needed a massive patch job, so Brandon and Uncle McKay took care of that and Aunt Chantel took me and the kids out on the water.  They were both so excited and Hayden always wanted to be hunched over the edge with his hands in the water.  Kylie liked helping Aunt Chantel use the oars.  Then after about ten minutes Hayden got into a screaming fit, so we rowed back to shore and Aunt Chantel and Kylie went out alone while I fed Hayden some lunch.

 
After Hayden had some lunch and the other Kayak got fixed we all went across the lake to a little island of rocks to play around on.  There were also a ton of minnows that made Hayden very excited.  After a few hours everyone had enough sun and both kids fell asleep on the way home.  They were tuckered out!  Aunt Chantel and Uncle McKay had to leave shortly after that.  We loved having them over for the weekend and had so much fun!!  So glad they came.

As Monday was Memorial Day we went out that evening to my grandparents graves and visited.  Kylie helped put the sunflowers in their spots and afterwards all she and Hayden wanted to do was play with all the pinwheels at the other graves.

The rest of the week was kinda lame.  After all the sun on Monday we didn't go out much beyond our morning walk.  On Friday we did go swimming with Sophia  and Kylie and Hayden had a blast.  They really love the water!

Hayden is still talking up a storm, and as of yesterday is officially 18 months old!!  I have been going to nursery with him the past month to get him used to it, and the timing was perfect because I just got a calling to teach the 8 year olds in Primary, so I can't really sit in there with him anymore!  His first day alone was today, and I think it really helped because Brandon was the one who dropped him off so he already knew from the beginning that I wasn't there!

Kylie is a a smarty pants and still loves to do her flashcards.  We have also been learning how to use scissors!  When she is looking for something to do I pull out a piece of paper and draw some lines on it for her to cut.  She loves it so much that randomly she will ask for some paper and draw the lines herself just to cut!

Visiting the Gardens and Bike Rides!

After an amazing week visiting with grandparents, Kylie and Hayden are back home  and getting used to our same old, same old.  We are still having a tough time getting back on our sleep schedules, though.  They both seem to think that 6 AM is a perfect time for getting up (which it is definitely NOT), and the early wake up call in turn messes up Hayden's nap time.  He regularly falls asleep before or during lunch now...  The good thing is that they are dead tired by bed time!

We played with our friends a lot the first few days of the week and then it got kinda cold so we didn't go out much.  Thursday it did get nice enough that I decided to take the kids out to a new park that opened up.  It is more of a garden park, meant for wandering down paths and admiring views, and of course Kylie and Hayden weren't too interested in that.  They ran down all the paths and Hayden kept trying to walk in all the gardens (which wasn't too bad because it was a desert garden, so it was mostly rocks).  They also had lots of little places to cross the stream by hopping on rocks, and Kylie really loved that!

Last weekend one of Brandon's friends gave him his old bike, so on Thursday evening we got a little bike carrier for the kids and now every night Brandon takes them on a bike ride.  They absolutely love it!   Brandon just mentions the word "bike" and Hayden goes crazy.  He grabs his shoes and goes out in the garage and sits in the carrier.  It is so cute!!

Hayden is talking a lot now!  I love it!!  His list of words that he can say is now up to six.  Dog, mom, dad, bird, done, and cat!  And Kylie's new favorite phrase "Oh my gosh".  I love having my kids back and all the fun we have!!

A Week With Grandparents!

This week was a new adventure for the kids!  Brandon had a work conference in Vegas, and invited me along!  So Grandma and Grandpa Knudsen offered to take Kylie and Hayden for the week!  I drove them up to Beaver and met Grandma Shari there at a park, and before the kids knew what was happening they were in Grandma's van with Aunt Kendra and I was on my way home a free woman!  Haha actually I wasn't too free... being away from your babies just makes you worry 24/7!

While Brandon and I partied it up in Vegas the kids partied it up at Grandma's!  They just loved playing outside in the green grass and sunshine!

They fed the ducks (and themselves):

Visited the Museum of Natural Curiosity:

Played at the park:

They even got to visit with Grandma Tess and Grandpa Pete, who took them to the Bean Museum in Provo!

After a week of being spoiled by grandparents we met in Beaver again to take them home.  It seems they didn't even miss us until they saw us!  Hayden gave us the biggest hugs and didn't let go, he was so happy to see his mom and dad!

While the break from the kids was nice, it is even nicer to have them back!  We want to thank Grandma Shari, Grandpa Gary, Grandma Tess, and Grandpa Pete for their help with the kids, and for all the pictures they took!  Turns out, if my kids aren't around, I don't take any pictures!

A Rainy Week

When the time came to write the blog this week I realized that I didn't take any pictures this week!!  Oops!

We did have lots of fun, as always!  We played with LOTS of friends this week.  Sophia, Peyton, Brighton, Spencer and Allie!  We love playing with friends.

We didn't get to go swimming at all this week because it was cold and rainy almost every day.  And Kylie didn't get a chance to play in the rain with her umbrella because she broke it while pretending it was a boat.  (That was inevitable, right?)

There were trips to the library, the park (on a rare good day), and grocery trips.

Hayden has discovered that he can climb onto the table and likes to play Godzilla up there now.  Welp, at least my table is cleaned off everyday!

Kylie is talking up a storm and loves to play flashcards and draw in her notebook.

The cat loves to sleep.  (Thought you might like to know what our first kid was up to!)

Kylie did manage to take one picture for me this week!  It's of Hayden watching Big Hero 6 for the thousandth time.

Swim Season has Begun!

Things are starting to get hot around here!!  We've had to start taking our walks in the mornings, and even then it gets pretty hot.  Afternoons have been spent trying to entertain mostly Kylie... I have successfully moved Hayden's only nap to 1 PM and now he is sleeping for two hours instead of just an hour and a half!  Yay!!

We did lots of random things this week...

Drinking like kitties...

Blowing up balloons and playing with the light switch...

Playing dress-up in Daddy's clothes...

Eating yummy snacks together...

Playing with stickers...

And Swimming!!  Lots and lots of swimming!

We went swimming Wednesday afternoon, Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning!  We are going to be spending most of the summer over at the pool!

Hayden liked the stroller so much (because he hadn't been in it for several months) that he spent the entire evening in it, eating snacks and watching a movie.  Silly boy!