Sneak Peek

In about 10 days my baby brother is getting married! Here is a sneak peek from their bridal shoot last week. Such a handsome couple.

More (RANDOM) Summer Fun

Hot summer days in my childhood always called for making forts indoors. The other day Corbin and Quinton helped me make a big ball fort in Corbin's room and they spent hours playing in it and Corbin even got to take his nap in it!

I love that these two are beginning to play together nicely... finally!

Every Thursday we have a ward playgroup at a local park. Memorial Park is literally around the corner from our house so Corbin rode his bike there.... such a great idea before nap time! He loves playing on the "guns" that daddy used to play on when he was a little boy.

Not sure why 25 cent rides are so fun but everywhere we go Corbin and Quinton climb all over these things. The other night as we strolled through the mall we let them both have at it. Their favorite was their cruise in the old classic convertible... complete with music that Quinton jammed out to the whole ride.

Another summer favorite of ours has been attending the weekly "Canopy Capers" at the Provo City Library. After checking out new books and movies inside the library, we lay out our picnic blanket and eat our lunch as we watch a half hour puppet show and story-telling on the lawn outside the library.

Corbin has taken a liking to Mr. Dallin who has taught him the art of telling jokes. Next time you see Corbin you'll have to ask him to tell you his 2 knock-knock jokes. This kid is enthralled with stories!

Quinton pretty much just liked sitting under the big canopy, eating, and watching the puppets.

Utah summers always bring the celebration of Pioneer Day on the 24th. In commemoration Corbin and I made zucchini bread from a GIANT zucchini a friend gave us from her garden. Corbin LOVED it. He licked the bowl and as he did he kept telling me, "Mom, this is SO GOOD! I want this for my birthday!"

If you know Corbin, you know he hates to get dirty and sticky, so this was momentous for him to just dig right in.

Later that evening we BBQ'd with Jeff's parents and uncle Colton and then headed to Spanish Fork to see if we could catch some fireworks after the rodeo. Jeff found front row parking... best seats in the city for the fireworks.... even if we did have to wait a while for them to start.

Both boys barely stayed awake to see the show and they both loved them.

"OOooooohhh....

.....aaaahhhh!"The look on Quinton's face says it all.... he was zoned.

We drove home in a rainstorm and watched nature's fireworks (lightning) all around us. Made me appreciate the Pioneers who braved so many harsh winters, storms, seasons, and circumstances.

7 Peaks & A Campout

Last week I got brave. Brave enough to take my 2 toddler boys to a water park all by myself with my prego belly! I finally got the chance to use my 7 Peaks season pass (I know... why did I wait so long?) It was a little tricky at first because Corbin was a little unsure of the slides and kids splashing everywhere... so I had a child in each arm trying to keep them off my belly. But it only took about 30 minutes and he was completely warmed up to the fact that this was safe and he was okay. He loved the splash playground with the slides and waist deep water... so that's where we spent most of our time. I only got 1 picture at lunch time because my hands were too full of children and my eye was kept solely on them. So, here they are enjoying their snack/lunch at 7 peaks in the nice warm sun and grass.

If anyone is every in the area and wants to go to 7 Peaks with us... please call! We live just down the street and would love to go anytime!

Later that night Jeff came home from work all geared up to take Corbin camping... in the backyard! So, they set up camp.

The boys were great helpers to climb in and out of the tent and make sure it was sturdy enough... and cleared of rocks.

Quinton had no idea what was going on but climbing in and out of tents and on top of air mattresses and sleeping bags is lots of fun.

Our new neighbors down the street, who have 4 boys conveniently invited us over for a campfire/marshmallow roast in their backyard that night. So, after the tent was ready we went down the street for the fire and smores and a few fun and games....
When we got home Corbin and Jeff (and Yoda) got cozy in the tent and called it a night, and luckily it actually cools off at night here so they didn't roast themselves sleeping under the stars.
Daddy's are so fun!

Living Planet Aquarium

Who would have thought an ocean-themed aquarium would exist along the Wasatch front in Utah? Not I. But low and behold the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. The week we got back from the beach we were going through ocean withdrawals and we got an invite from our friends the States to go play with them.... so we did! It was great fun for all.
The Aquarium has three different regions: Discover Utah, Ocean Explorer, and Journey to South America. Corbin loved seeing all kinds of native Utah trout because he'd caught that kind of fish before!

The Ocean animals were fun to look at too because we'd just seen so many in their native home. This Giant Pacific Octopus was unbelievably huge!

Corbin was very brave in the touch tank were he really enjoyed petting sting rays!

The shark tank was very neat, complete with nurse sharks, groupers, leopard sharks...

... and moray eels.

The South American exhibits were very exotic, Corbin and Makoa loved the canoe ride to get there...

But watch out, there are creepy creatures in the jungle... like Anacondas, Piranhas, and this Dwarf Caiman.

There were also Snapping Turtles. (By the look on Corbin's face you can tell he was a little unsure about that animal.)

Quinton kept saying, "oooohhhhhh!" Like he knew it was scary!

Did I mention there were Piranhas? Crazy.

After seeing most of the animals the kids had a great time back in the touch tanks and in the coral playground. They steered ships and climbed all over.

Pretending to be fish hiding in coral caves.

It was a fun afternoon! Thanks Alicia (and boys) for the invite and the fun!

Corbin was completely worn out on the drive home.... that's when you know it was a good time.

We'll have to do it again when the Penguin exhibit debuts!

SWEET Summer!

The night we drove home from California is the night we moved into our new home in Provo. Yeah.... we finally have our own place again! We are so grateful to Jeff's parents for allowing us to invade their home for a few months. We know we are both enjoying our own spaces again for the first time since April. Anyway, I was amazed that Jeff had done so much moving and unpacking all on his own (with much help from his family). What a good daddy and husband.

But that is all for another post another time. The point is that having a home again means new and different adventures, such as raspberry harvesting! The first week in our house we took a break from unpacking to pick all the fresh, ripe raspberries in our backyard. Can't take the credit for them, but we sure have enjoyed them. Corbin helped me pick loads of red berries.

But, they have stickers on them so he could only handle so much picking before he was done.

So, I picked the rest and we had the entire blue bowl full on our first pick!

Quinton couldn't hold back...

...and dug right in! MMmmmm.... sweetness.

I filled almost a whole freezer bag on the first harvest and got another bag just as full a few days later.

After the berries were tucked safely away the boys were ready for some sprinkler fun. What else says summer than running in the sprinklers on a warm (93*) day? Besides, I enjoyed the view of the Wasatch mountains from the lawn chair in my backyard as I watched my boys play... (Right behind that tree is the 'Y', it's hard to see through the branches, but it's there.)

After running in the water for a while Corbin was disappointed that Quinton didn't want a part in in it so he improvised by filling bucket after bucket of water for Q to splash in.

Such a good big brother.

Once we'd had enough sun we came inside and made raspberry freezer jam.... YUM!

Sun, water, and fresh raspberries = 1 sweet summer!

Summer Vacation: OB 4th of July

Our last day in San Diego we spent ENTIRELY on the beach. It was also the 4th of July and OB has a great firework show from the pier so we set up "camp" for front row seats and stayed ALL DAY. As soon as Corbin hit the beach he headed for the water. Uncle Jesse helped him chase waves this time... with Kimball and Dusty right beside them. Don't think this ever got old for either boy.

Once the rest of us were tired taking turns in the water with them we set them up with buckets and shovels and they went to work building a sand... hole?

Who cares what you do on the beach as long as your best buddy (cousin) is with you, right?

A 2 year old can only take so much fun before they crash... with much coaxing from their moms of course. Two buddies napping under an umbrella on the beach.

Quinton enjoyed a morning of eating and playing in the sand, but had his nap before he even got to the beach.

Who can say they've sen their grandparents (or even their parents) boogie board together in the ocean? Hang loose!

But... it does catch up with you at that age and even grandpa had to nap after too much fun... with a little help from Alyssa's (his 6-year-old granddaughter's) pink sunglasses.

Once the sunset we enjoyed hot dogs and cantaloupe, got all showered and cleaned up, and broke out all our patriotism (i.e.- flags, matching shirts, fires on the beach, etc.)

Not to be outdone, my mom brought a pinata for all the children to beat on while we waited for the 9pm firework show off the pier. Quinton loved hitting that thing.

And so did Corbin, of course.

Macy finally broke it open and the loot was enjoyed by all!

With candy and glow sticks in hand we were all sufficiently prepared for a great fireworks show off the pier. OB's 30th year anniversary fireworks actually. It was a great show... like always but there is something extra neat about watching fireworks launched over the ocean and reflecting in the waves.... seems so Patriotic.

As soon as the last boom blasted we gathered up as many children and as much beach stuff as we could and ran for it. We had a small warning beforehand that there would be a marshmallow fight after the show.... but we were not prepared to walk through HOARDS of people throwing marshmallows. IT WAS INSANE! So glad Jesse carried my sleeping Quinton back to the hotel in those big arms of his. This picture doesn't even do it justice... the place looked like Ghostbusters and mobs of people were in the streets and on the beach just chucking white gobs everywhere and anywhere... it was a sight to behold. Kind of funny actually. Crazy Americans. Just glad I wasn't assigned clean up on that job...

And in the morning... we all drove (and flew) away. Until next time. Thanks mom and dad and the gang for such a fun family vacation. We have such fun memories that will last us a lifetime!