Splash Park

Today we found a new splash park in Alpine. After quite the search we were so glad that we did not give up. What a cute park! The kids loved it! They have a splash park with lots of fun water sprayers. They also have two really nice playgrounds and I am sure the kids would have stayed all night. We went around 4pm so it was not very crowded. It was perfect! Riley and Erika came with us too. It is so great to have a best friend for Luke who also has one of my closest friends as a mom! What a fun end to the day!

Love these kids!

Almost daily I am reminded of just how blessed I am. I am so grateful for all of the little things that add up to this beautiful, blessed life I am living! I am so grateful for my family. Joey is the most loving husband and father. My four little ones I could not love more! They keep me on my toes and I am exhausted by the end of the day. But the truth is, I feel so lucky. I really would not have it any other way. I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father. I KNOW He loves me because he has surrounded me with all this love.

What a great brother!

Almost every night this summer the kids have asked to sleep downstairs. They have their nightly ritual of throwing down their blankets from upstairs and then making their beds on the couch. Last night Nash fell asleep first because he did not have a nap (he is usually the last one to fall asleep!). Luke and Harlee got their blankets together and they fell asleep also. After Joey and I had gotten into bed I asked him if he covered up Nash who was on the floor. He said he did not, so I went to check on him. He was laying on a pillow and covered up with his football blanket and blue blanket at his side. If Joey did not do that, and I did not cover him up, who did? I asked Luke today and it was him! What a great brother! He said that Nash looked cold so he covered him up. I love that he is looking out for his little brother. This is the kind of stuff that I just pray continues throughout their lives together. Harlee, Nash and Gray are so lucky to have such a caring big brother who will always look out for them. So proud of you Luke!

Monkey Island- a Mom's Dream

Yesterday Erika and I took the kids to Monkey Island. It is a large room full of bounce houses and the kids loved it! I loved the fact that there were probably only 7other kids there. It was so clean and not crowded. Besides the fact that Nash and Gray both had dirty diapers within 5 minutes of our arrival, it was a blast. We stayed for a couple of hours and the babies came home ready for a long nap. I can guarantee we will be making a few more trips to Monkey Island this summer.

Big Boy Seat

I am not sure if I have mentioned it once or twice, but Gray is super opinionated. He is pretty quick to let you know how he is feeling about something. He has always disliked being in his highchair. Unfortunately we lost the buckle for the chair so keeping him in there is sort of a nightmare. The poor guy has fallen out a time or two. So for $3 at a garage sale I found a little booster seat complete with a buckle. Once we convinced Nash it was not for him, even though it had Toy Story on it, Gray was allowed to try it. It is the best $3 I ever spent. It has changed meal time for all of us. Gray is loving it and so are we! He feels like one of the big kids! Thanks lady by Thanksgiving Point for the bargain chair that is worth a million bucks! Well maybe not a million but close!

Father's Day 2011

Yesterday was Father's Day and I am hoping that Joey was pleased with the outcome. I got up early with the kids and we let him sleep in until almost 9am. We woke him up with cinnamon rolls and presents. The kids were so excited to give them to him. Harlee picked out the card that sings a song about baby poo! It is so up the kids alley! They all loved in and are still loving it- Joey and I not so much! Then we made him a book that talks about the kiddos favorite things about their dad. They also drew him a picture that we put in there. Then we gave him some treats and some money. What a perfect father Joey is. He was made for this job! He loves his kids so much and I know they never doubt that. Thanks Joey for being such a terrific dad! We all love you so much and hope you had a great Dad's Day!

Date Night

Awhile back I purchased tickets for Joey and I to go to the Ray Lamontange and Brandy Carlisle concert. After a week of the Childs getting the stomach flu, I wondered if we would actually make it- but luckily we did! We left at 4:30pm and went to Chilis for dinner. Then we went to the concert. Both of the artists were so good. They sound even better live than on their Cd's. But even better than the amazing music was the company. We sat amongst some crazy people who seem to be so lost in life and here I was with my best friend. I am truly grateful for him. He helps keep me on the right path and there is no one I would rather be with. I love that we share a love for music and we are able to enjoy these times together. I am now planning our next concert- Lori McKenna at Sundance. Can't wait!
*Joey was feeling a little under the weather and I am hoping that is why he was reluctant to smile for our picture!!

Still Smiling

The other day Nash was laying on the couch and was looking so cute. I ran to get the camera to take his sweet picture- hoping to catch him without me noticing. As soon as he saw the camera, out came the "smile". Nash loves to do this very forced, somewhat unnatural smile every time I bring out the camera. Don't get me wrong, we think it is funny and cute but just once in a while I would like a picture with his real smile. Here's hoping that this smile gets less frequent and we can get a few real Nash smiles!

Best Buds

Today Luke C, Riley, and Luke H. played together at our house. Luke H. is moving to California in a few days and they are really going to miss him. The spent the day playing outside. When they were tired of being outside, they came in and told each other funny stories. They just cracked themselves up. I am so thankful that Luke has such great friends. We are going to miss Luke H.!!

Girls Night Out

Joey and I decided that it would be fun to start "date nights" with Luke and Harlee. We are going to switch off taking them so they each get one night a month with either Mom or Dad. Tonight it was Harlee's turn. We were both so excited. We went to Del Taco and grabbed some dinner. Then we were off to the movies to see Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. We got some popcorn and drinks then settled in for the show. Harlee danced to all the music in the previews and made sure that I did not eat any popcorn until the movie started. After the movie we went to Target and she picked out treats for her brothers. We had so much fun! I just love her so much! I seriously lucked out to have a such a beautiful little girl and I cannot wait until our next date.

Gray's Sick Bed

Poor Graby is sick again! I cannot believe it. Can this kid please just be healthy for more than a week? So this morning he has just been crying and wanting to be held. Joey took him downstairs and made him his own special sick bed on the ottoman. He turned on Wiggles, gave him the remote, and stocked him up with some cookies. He just looks so old laying there. I sure hope he rests a bit today and can get back to feeling better. Love you Gray!

Story time

Last night Gray was struggling to go to sleep. While I was upstairs rocking him, Joey had the other kids outside enjoying our garage sale find- four tiki torches. They were all sitting on the couch and I could hear Joey talking. I thought that one of the neighbors must be over. After laying Gray down I peeked outside to see Joey telling the kids scary stories. They were having the best time. I love that Joey takes the time to make fun memories with the kids. They are so lucky to have him and he is so lucky to have them!


I love this picture but I wish Joey's eyes were open!

Movie Night

Joey has been out of town since Monday and I feel like I have been survival mode. It is so hard to not have the help and peace that comes from having him here. Yesterday while I was getting ready for the day I had a thought.. What have you done to give your kiddos good memories today? I started thinking about the chores we had done together and the work I had gotten done around the house. Fun for them? I think not! So I decided that we would have a movie night. I rented Gnomeo and Juliet. After I got Gray to sleep we all got blankets and made popcorn. Then we settled in my room to watch the show. Luke asked me "Are you going to watch it with us?" He was so excited! One by one they fell asleep but we really enjoyed the quality time together. I need to take more time to do things like that. They matter far more than a clean house! Thanks Heavenly Father for the reminder!
*My best attempt at getting all of us in a picture. I need Joey's long arms!

**LAGOON**

The day had finally arrived! We had been talking about this for months. We were originally going to go on Friday after school got out but Lagoon was not opened yet. So we decided to go on Saturday which ended up to be the best day. The weather was perfect and we got to go earlier. We went with the Jones's and had the best time. The kids were so excited and the drive could not have taken longer. We spent the day going on just about everything. Harlee was a little to short for the big rides so we took her on a lot of the kiddie rides. Luke and Riley were so scared to ride Wicked. We finally convinced them to try it and they ended up riding that ride 5 times. They loved it! At around 6:30pm right before we were going to have dinner, the kids decided they were ready to go home. We were happily shocked! Four tired old folks quickly left the park before minds were changed. We grabbed In and Out and took it to Carls for the kids to play. We made it home by 8pm. What a fun day! Thanks so much to Hailee and Don/Charity for watching Gray and Nash. It was so comforting to know they were in good hand.

Consensus on Favorite Rides:
Luke- Wicked
Harlee-Puff the Magic Fire Dragon
Joey- Wicked
Jamie- Blast off

Here are some fun pics from the day:

Luke's 7th Birthday

Saturday was Luke's 7Th birthday. I cannot believe it! When did he get so grown up? Since we were going to Lagoon on Saturday, the birthday festivities started on Friday. Joey had taken the day off so I was able to go and help with Luke's pancake breakfast for the last day of school. He is no longer a first grader! Then Luke chose Chili's to go for a little lunch celebration. Right before we left for lunch, Joey decided we should give Luke one of his presents. Joey's excitement to give gifts dates back to November 2002 when he gave me all my birthday presents the day before my birthday!

Here is Luke (and Nash)closing their eyes as we bring in Luke's present.

We gave Luke his big present- a new bike!

He was so excited and has already mastered riding it! Then we went to Chili's for lunch before going to Mimi and GP's to get his present. They got him the Jaws movie and some candy. He was so excited! We enjoyed the rest of the day together as a family. Saturday morning I woke up early to run to the Lehi Bakery. Luke requested square doughnuts instead of a cake and I did not want to disappoint. When he woke up we opened the rest of his gifts. He got a couple of new shirts, some flip flops, a shark book, and the much anticipated shark jaws!

Then we lit 7 candles on his birthday doughnut!

After the breakfast of champions we all got ready to go spend the day at Lagoon! Happy Birthday my Sweet Luke! We love you!

A Fun First Night of Summer

On Friday night, Luke's birthday eve, we decided to spend a little time outside after dinner. The weather was beautiful and the Luke wanted to ride his new bike. It was so nice to enjoy the night together.
Luke rode his bike

Harlee drove her princess car

Nash rode his Buzz bike (Love his messy face-the usual for Nash!)

and Gray chilled in the stroller watching them all.

Between Luke braving it down the hill and Harlee flipping her hair in her diva mobile, we were all entertained. What a great night and I look forward to many more this summer.
Does Harlee look COOL??? She sure thinks she does!