Ode to the Carmel Apple

Okay, so this is the BEST carmel apple in the world. This particular one is called "Apple Pie" and it is to die for. You can get these at South Towne Mall at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. If you ever need a yummy treat this is it, just be careful. They are evily good and deadly addicting!

Summer Nights at the Baseball Field

And so our many adventures continue...Friday night our good friends Jason and Dalphna invited us to the Bee's Game. It was a great night. We had a picnic dinner in the park, rode the train, played on the jungle jim, jumped in the bounce houses...and oh yeah, I think there was a baseball game going on too! :)
Bee's games are the best. They have so many family activities to make it a great night. We didn't even ever go to our actual seats. We just relaxed on blankets behind outfield.
After the game they had autograph signing and they let the kids run the bases. This was Sam's first time and he did pretty well. As you can see from the video that Seth had to "bring him home". It was cute to watch him run (one of his favorite activities) and get lapped by the bigger kids.

James loved the combination of being outside, staying up late, and eatting snacks.







Sam dying to get to the playground while we took so long to eat.



Sam loved the slides. It didn't matter if a kid was already one it, he just went.








And of course, our night was not complete (or peaceful) until Sam got to ride the train.

Here is Sam running the bases.

Water Park

There is this great city park close by that has a great water park with the traditional slide/jungle-jim and field altogether. We love going there. Sam loves to run back and forth between the two. His favorite is to run get wet and then go slide. the wetness sends him twisting and flying off the end of the slide. It always looks like he has totally hurt himself, but he just gets up laughing and runs back for more. It's so cute to watch.
This was James' first time and he wasn't too into it. Sweet cousin Megan tried to help him get into it but he was not up for it. Joy and her kids met us there (obviously) and we had a good time. Her kids got a little bored and for the first time I really realized how old her kids really are getting.
Megan was a cutie who just ran after Sam the whole time so I could sit in the shade and relax.
Haley loved the time playing with Sam. The day before she had called and asked,"Sam play me?" It crushed me that we couldn't play that day, but I was glad that they were able to get together to play at the water park.



Here is sweet Megan showing Sam the ropes.

And of course here she is again trying to help James get involved.

Here's a shot of the water area. It's kind of hard to make out but they have fountains that shot up, buckets that fill and dump, a rainbow, a palm tree, and squirters.

Here are the little partners in crime climbing up the rock wall to go down the slide.

Sam trying the slide out on his belly.

Megan and Sam racing down the slides.

Dinosaurs and Grandpa M's Birthday

And "NO," the dinosaur title does not refer to Grandpa M! :) We got to go the the fun dinosaur museum we have close by. Sam and James loved it. It is claimed to be the largest dinosaur museum in the world. And I bet it is beacuase I was so tired when we left, and so were the boys.


Here's Sam admiring some of the fossils.


James and his fun cousin Madi.


James and Tori. Sam and Dani. Cute little cousins playing. They have so much for kids to do. They have hands on exibits, play areas, digging stations, coloring, toys, and scavenger hunts. We loved it.





We then ended the day with a fun little night for Grandpa M. This was my attempt at a fun golf cake for him. My mom always makes cute cakes for everyone's birthdays, so I thought I'd take a stab at it.


Of course Sam helped, or snitched, I'm still kind of fuzzy on that one! :)



Happy Birthday Grandpa. We love you!

Rio Tinto Stadium

Seth's Company had it's summer party on Monday night. It was a blast. It was held at "Rio Tinto Stadium" (anyone who has been there knows how funny they say that during a game...it's contagious and you just can't help saying it over and over again).
The whole stadium was open to us. We were able to get whatever and however much we wanted of any thing they offered. We ate WAY too much and loved every minute of it. We tried all the places, the ice cream, cookies, etc. We got an awesome autographed soccer ball for the boys, played with the mascot, played soccer on the field, and then finished the night off with a movie on the jumbo-tran. It was a great family night and we hope his company makes this a tradition.

The Fourth, Fevers, Family, Fun, and Flowers

What a week! We had a fun filled week of sicknesses, family, holidays, entertainment, and special surprises. It was one of those weeks that you don't think you will ever survive, you feel like it will never end, and then you do and you look back and think what a great time you had.
James was sadly not feeling well. He suffered from high fevers which led to Rosiola. I am finally over my infection and lack of sleep, and thankfully Sam and Seth were up for all that this week had to offer.
Monday we got to go play at Joy's (which we always love doing). Sam and Haley of course had a blast together playing, pulling, and yelling at each other.


Tuesday I got to go help Grandma Miller out and Sam got to play with his cousin Emily. We then met up later to a fun family night at Chuck E. Cheese's. Sam got the idea about tickets. He sat on top of one of the machines and just dropped tokens in. He did really well as you can see and we got some great prizes for once!











Wednesday Seth and Sam went to Lagoon with some of Seth'sfamily while James and I stayed home to try to get some rest to feel better. We were sad we missed out, but were happy to see the fun picture Seth took.

Thursday brought my mom and Joy with her kids. I called early that morning for reinforcements after a long night and no reserves. I love my mom and sister so much. They saved me from a long, terrible, onry day...which turned out to be a great day at our park. We played hard and rushed home as the lightning and rain followed shortly after.

Friday Seth's family went back to Lagoon so I got my fun in too. James and I were feeling better and enjoyed a day out in the fun and the sun. We had a great time. It was especially fun for me to be a kid and enjoy all the rides. It was hard to get me off of them. It's great to see Sam "get it". He still doesn't wait in lines well, but he loves the hard core rides (as hard core as they let a mini 2 year old ride) and I can't wait to have my little buddy ride more and more with me.

Saturday we had a great 4th of July. As per tradition we headed down to my sister Joy's to spend the day with my side of the family. We went to her new community pool and had a blast. They had everything you could ever imagine. 2 kiddie pools, a hot tub, a deep lap pool, a pool that makes waves for surfing, a slide, and best of all a lazy river. We would have loved to just float the river all day.
The rest of the day brought movies, games, LOTS of yummy food (it was like a summer Thanksgiving), and fireworks. One of the greatest parts was that my brother Matt was able to be there. He and his new wife are moving up here to Utah and we are so excited about it.

On our way home we had to stop at the store to pick a few things up. Sweet Seth picked me up some beautiful flowers and ended a wonderful day for me.

James is On the Go!

I can't believe that James is already getting up and going. Well, I guess I can since he tries to do everything Sam does, and Sam was walking at about this time when he was James' age. It just seems to go by so fast. I thought it was so cute when I looked at the picture I took of James and then went back and looked at Sam's picture with the walker. Are these kids brothers, or what?
That's Sam at 8 1/2 months on the left and James at 9 1/2 months on the right.

Things I DON'T do well: (especially when I'm sick)

10. Talk on the phone
9. Feed Sam vegetables
8. Remember things (anything really)
7. Admit when I don't know how to do something
6. Express my feelings
5. Keep in contact with people
4. Wait for things I want now
3. Keep my buget
2. Handle being sick
1. Ask for help when I know I really need it

This weekend was a test of a few of those things. I got really sick (my own fault, I never do to the doctor when I should and then things get way worse). Needless to say I did not handle it well. I was up all Saturday night with chills and hot sweats, I was so sore I couldn't hold the kids....oh...I guess it's time to go to the doctor. Poor Seth felt bad that he didn't know what was going on because his crazy wife never tells him because she has this dumb complex that being sick is a weakness and she should still be able to do everything herself! (what's up with that, right?!)
Well, after spending all Sunday morning at the insta-care I got the goods and am hopefully on the mend from my infection. It was a hard day, but full of love and support.
If I ever doubted that people around me care, it was all erased yesterday. I called the Primary President yesterday, last minute, and she took care of music for me. (Thanks Amanda, Margaret, and Anaika). They even dropped by these cute "Get well soon" cards the kids made for me. I started to cry. How sweet.


Then our sweet neighbor heard and after her husband helped Seth give me a blessing, brought over the most incredible dinner over for us. (Thanks Jenny and Shane)


Not to mention my dear Seth who picked up the house about 10 times, did the dishes about 7 times, changed about 30 diapers, and got up with the kids through out the night. Wow! I am so blessed to have such a sweet man in my life. (Thanks Sweetie)
One of the most terrible days became one of the sweetest days I've had in a long time. Maybe I will have to admit when I can't do it all and let people help more often...we'll see! :)

Summer Skills

I got this idea from my sister-in-law. She read a book that taught skills your kids can acquire at certain ages and how important it is to teach them skills that can make them feel successful and self-sufficient. I haven't read her book yet, but am excited to do so. Her name is Merrilee Boyack and the book is called "The Parenting Breakthrough." (She also gave a talk at BYU called "Teaching Kids to Fly)


This is as far as I got without reading the book yet. I obviously put my own interpretation on it, but I am going to use this as a Family Night Lesson this next week to introduce it. I hope it goes over well and helps us get excited about learning new things and helps us realize our progression.