Play Group Fun!

My friend Meliss invited us to join their weekly play group awhile back and we were so happy to join them! My kids have a blast every week and I love seeing my friends and their adorable kids!  We were able to do so many fun things this summer and I still have all the fun fall things too!!!! Wow, am I behind!  Anyway, Heather invited us over to her house to have fun in their little pools and slip and slide.  My kids were in heaven - water is their favorite thing in the world so they loved every minute of it! 

Austin, Rio, Jax and cute Jack eating their Popsicles - my kids first Popsicle so they LOVED it!

Rio and Austin trying to figure out what to do with the slip and slide

All 3 kidlets playing in the sand (of course they found that) - sorry Heather for the added mess

We also all went to Wheeler Farm one day - I picked seriously almost THE HOTTEST day to go - it was so warm that day but all the kids were so good - we treated them all to an otter pop or drink.  Such cuties: Crew, Cash, Rio, Jax, Austin, Josh & Jack

Chillin' at the Farm

Melissa & Heather - cute mamas!

We love "neigh, neighs" around here - our neighbors have horses so the kids go out daily to feed the horses corn and to pet them so seeing them at Wheeler Farm was like seeing a little friend.  My kids love animals and love to touch them - and yes, they've been nipped a few times by the chickens and the goats :)  They don't seem to mind however!  Thanks for all the fun ladies!  Love you all!

Summer Trips

Okay, so I know it's October and I'll still behind blogging about this summer but I guess that just means that we had a great time right?

Well, we did actually get a chance to do a few fun "getaways" with and without the kids this summer. Spence has school so he only had about 3 weeks of total "off time" so we took advantage of it and went to Cedar and to St. George - okay, so it's not our usual cruise or Africa trips but it was still lots of fun.

Spence and I went with my sister Sky and hubby Matt and my parents to Cedar to see some plays at the Shakespearean Festival. We "used" to go there every summer and spend a few days seeing as many plays as we could all together and then too many things changed and it just wouldn't work very well. So... this summer my dad was "craving the good old days" so we took him up on it and went all together without all the kids. (Thanks to Spence's parents - the kids had a great time with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Marc while we were gone.) Here we all are with the man himself :) - Shakespeare...We got to see "Noises Off" which is a hilarious comedy and also the musical, "Music Man." I know... no real Shakespeare this time but it was a great trip! However... we ended up staying at Matt's parents house in St. George for the night and were so excited to be able to play tons of games together and well... let's just say it was a little too hot to do just that. The air conditioning in the house had stopped working and we were ROASTING!!!! We all ended up sleeping outside except for Sky and Spence. Sky just crashed and Spence went back to his "Honduras days" and made it through :) Ha-ha - I thought he was crazy! We pulled out the couch cushions and a few sheets and well, it was quite nice outside under the stars. Thanks you guys - so fun and we had some good gaming time and laughs to last a lifetime!

Our next fun trip was with the kiddos down to St. George again. We just went for a few days but we went swimming a ton and introduced the kids to their first movie, "Toy Story." It was an attempt to say the least but they thought it was fun for about 15 minutes and then they were off and running as usual.

Cute Austin ready for the pool with his "fotey" (floaty) as he called it!

We also introduced them to one of daddy's favorite snacks, OREO's! Jax thought they were the best!

SWIMMING - cutest little kid pool there - perfect height for the kids! Rio and Jax learned to "float" and to this day have to "float" in the bathtub every time :)

I couldn't resist taking a pic of our first family trip in our bedroom - 3 pack and plays!!!! Maybe this is why we don't travel much - ha-ha :)

Red Butte & Aviary w/ the Morris Cousins

There are seriously so many fun summer things to do with these kids! (Please tell me it's the same in the winter...) I can't get enough of it! Grandma Bonnie has gotten a few "Groupons" and she is so sweet to share them with all of us! We've been able to go to the Aviary and Red Butte with our sweet grandma, our Morris cousins, Aunt Kristin & Uncle Andrew. The kids had a blast!!! Red Butte has honestly got to be one of the most beautiful places to visit - just covered in gardens of every kind and the children's garden is adorable and so "kid-friendly" - we just loved it!

Inside the "snake" plant

Me & the kids and cousin Tyler - he's such a doll! My kids love their cousin "Ty-Ty"

Loving the sand pit with Tyler, Brinnie & Hayden and hangin' on the lizards.

Andrew & Ethan, Grandma & Hayden, Kristin with sad Brinlee who just fell :(, Tyler, me & the kids

We also went to the Tracy Aviary with our cute cousins this summer. What a fun place! There are so many awesome birds there and the kids thought it was the coolest thing to walk around with the peacocks, literally! Here they are with Tyler, Brinlee & Hayden.

I don't remember the Aviary being so nice and pretty but we had such a great time together. Picnic with the eagles and pelicans - doesn't get much better.

Grandma with the kids sneakily feeding the peacocks at lunch!Aunt Kristin with all the kids watching the ducks - there were honestly probably 10 different kids of ducks - so fun!

They have the funnest bird show too - even Grandma got to be part of the show pretending to be a tree and letting a toucan walk across her arms - what a fun grandma we have! Love you guys! Thanks for all the fun this summer :)

"Chocolatety" & Chalk Days of Summer

So, I couldn't resist just putting some of these pics on here because honestly, they are just so cute! We made cupcakes one Sunday afternoon in early September and the kids were in heaven! However, I knew they would be a huge mess, so outside we went with minimal amt. of clothes on - is there anything cuter than chocolate covered kids?

Jax, my realist - looking at his hand wondering why they are so dirty?

And, then there's Austin.... not a care in the world! Loving the mess.... Full time free spirit :)

One night in September too, Spence was gone so I was putting the kids to bed and said, "come in your room so we can do diapers and jammies okay?" Jax and Austin come pretty quickly but no Rio... usually she's my quickest one to respond and get changed but after I changed both boys, still no Rio.... I called her name and waited and then thought, she is being super quiet..... (the worst and best sound to mommies) I walked into the kitchen and there is my little Rio with a giant King size Milky Way sitting in between the island and their high chairs... Ya.. she had eaten half of it by the time I got to her. Needless to say, it took a little longer to get her to bed that night! Adorable Rio... do you think she knows what she was doing? Look at that face!!!

Oh sidewalk chalk.... I hate it and love it at the same time - our deck and back of the house and tables and chairs and stairs and.....and... is covered in chalk! But it's on days like this, that I just don't care when it ended up - they were SO happy!

Love you guys so much! Little fishies in the fish bowl :) They LOVE being outside - what are we going to do in the snow?!?!?!

Our Fun Fank Cousins

We have some of the best cousins in the world - this post is going to focus on my sister's kids - they are absolutely FABULOUS cousins! We have been able to do some of the funnest things with them over the last few months. We went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens together this month.

Here are just a few pics:

My mom and cousin Ella with Rio. She is seriously the best little girl in the world! So loving and so extremely helpful!

Here's all the boys : Zak, Gabe, Luke and my two: These boys are honestly the best boys in the world - they would do anything for my kids and their younger siblings. I love you guys! They are the sweetest, kindest & most playful boys - even though they are older, they don't ever act "too cool" for anything - they are amazing boys! And Luke is so super funny and entertaining :)

Austin made his way through the tunnel on his knees and was so happy he made it all the way out of the tube - he just sat there so proud of himself!

This pic is of Rio and Halle - she is only about 6 months older than my kiddos and she is so funny! She has such a big personality and always smiling! We went to Jungle Jim's for her birthday in July and they all had a blast on these jeeps.

Oh Anna! What can we say about Anna? She is such a ball of energy and fire! Anna & Zak took Jax and Rio on this ride and they loved it. Below is Ella and Luke with my sad little Austin - he's not the most adventurous kid in the world (unless it involves jumping or water) and was a bit nervous about this ride at first. Seriously? Their little arms around mine - oh.... melts my heart :)Sky and Matt took our family to Discovery Gateway for a Christmas gift (yes, we just got around to going) It was SO MUCH FUN! They had these little farm costumes you could dress up in and of course, my ever "showy" Rio couldn't resist. She's a little donkey on her tractor - love you sweetie!Austin LOVED the grocery store and we couldn't get him out of there. He pushed the carts around and shopped and shopped.

Here's Zak and Gabe again taking my three for a ride! Told ya, sweetest boys in the world!

Rio and Ella shopping it up!

Sky with all the girls :) Thanks Sky! I love you! Best sister anyone could ask for!

Last but certainly not least - Jax was in complete heaven when he saw this car and knew he could turn the wheel and actually drive it! It's a super short clip but I LOVE IT!

5 Seconds of Fame

Here's our 5 seconds to fame - a good friend asked me and the trips to be in a commercial for the Utah State Fair this year. He does commercials for his job and so of course we accepted. How fun for the kids to have this? I love it!

ME and My....

This age is so, so fun! I absolutely love it! They are saying so many funny things and learning new things every day. It amazes me how much they change. They are always into new things that they love at the moment so I thought I'd post about their "cuteness."

My Rio LOVES "being a girl!" She will make a "bag" out of anything with a strap including things I'd rather not post a pic of but nonetheless, she is so funny! She'll carry about 4 buckets around because one is clearly not enough! She loves her purses and her glasses and there are days where she won't take them off even to eat like this one above :) What a cutie girl you are sweetie!

My Austin loves trying on "da-da's shooooes." He tries SO hard to walk around and is determined that he can walk in them. He tries everyday and always with a smile on - you'll get there Austers - keep trying!

And then there is Jax - oh Jaxy! You LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your "kanket!" This pic was one day that he couldn't decide what was more fun and/or important to play with - kanket or his "lawmow." So... as per Jax... he combined it! I heard him saying, "kanket, kanket..." and the next thing I knew he was cruising around the corner with kanket on his "lawmow." Love you buddy! You are so determined and I love that about you :)