"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 :)

It's all about water around here!

"Wa-wa" is the new word of the summer. My little kids just LOVE the water! They would play in freezing cold water everyday and all day if I let them. And honestly, I better take advantage of it now before the summer starts coming to an end right?

We set up a little, tiny pool in our backyard and let the kids just run wild. They are in and out of it for hours at a time. The other day they even pulled out their strollers to put "in the pool" - silly kids :) Instead, I had them run around with them in the back just next to the water.

Spence is such a great daddy - we love Saturdays this summer because we can get all the "yard stuff" done and then just play outside with these 3. A few weeks ago, we went out front and just turned on the hose and they were in heaven! Just let daddy hold it and they were happy as could be!

Little Rio loves being "cozy" with anything she can find. This time, it was her hoody bath towel - she walked around with this on her head for at least 10 minutes just laughing and running with it trailing behind her. What a cutie you are sweetie!

They even got to enjoy a Popsicle and of course, true to form, they have to take turns with each others Popsicle too - at least they are trying to share right?

Austin loves water probably the most! He just sees water and doesn't stop smiling! He's learned to put his foot on the sprinkler like the "big kids" do - he thinks he is so cool :) What a smile on him right?

Rio is so funny at the splash pads. She will run face first into the water and then quickly turn and dash toward me laughing and smiling and then do it all over again.

Jax is probably the most demure when it comes to water - he LOVES it for sure but is quite tentative about how he plays in it. That was of course until we went swimming at Aunt Sky's place and he learned the word "float." Now, all he wants to do is lay down in the water and "foat" as he calls it. He closes his little eyes and grabs my hand and just lays back. I love this picture of him - he just got blasted by the water at the splash pad and was not happy about it. Love you buddy!

Summer "Splashing"

Oh little girls - is there anything cuter?

Okay so any of you that have both boys and girls (or are around both often) know that oh, are they different! I'm a firm believer that we come with our personalities already formed and that our genders have a HUGE impact on our mood, temperament and ways that we react. Case in point... my sweet Rio is SO funny, loving, silly and sweet and yet SO emotional! Translation... moody and a little tantrum thrower at the drop of a hat! To be honest, it's kind of funny :)

Anyway, this post is for my little loving and silly Rio - we love you so much sweetie and all your emotions - good and not so good!

Lately, Rio has been getting attached to certain objects (including mama's hip, leg and lap - she's my little shadow) that she finds interesting for the day or a few days. Right now, she loves her sunglasses and when she sees them, she insists on wearing them either on her eyes, top of her head or around her neck (which by the way, she will tantrum if they fall of her head/neck - of course). So here is my bathing beauty in her glasses, diaper and nothing else since she got soaking wet a few moments before.

Let's just say that some of us had a hard time deciding whether or not it was summer or winter this day. Seriously? Could she be any cuter? She saw me putting away winter type stuff and she once again insisted on wearing this winter hat - pretty much all day :) along with her sun dress.

Another favorite of Rio's at the moment are these little silver shoes that I believe actually belong to our cute neighbor and friend Eliza. But one morning Rio saw them in her closet and kept saying, "shoe, shoe" and at first I couldn't understand her so she kept getting more and more frustrated until I finally figured out which shoes she wanted - the pretty silver ones of course!

***I just realized that in two of these pics, she isn't wearing clothes - please know she actually does have clothing and she does wear it... it just so happens that the first pic was a product of playing in the water and this one was during the "getting dressed and diapers changed" part of the morning.

I love you sweet Rio - you are a true joy in my day :)