coupleena

Week 51-Decor & Celebration

2015-05-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Watching our sweet little Em get excited about decorating the Christmas tree tugs at my heart-strings! Especially since this year we only used ornaments from mine and Coup's childhood--brought back lots of great memories!

Tradition: Help dad finish of the tree with the star topper! Pure essence of the Christmas Spirit! We loved sharing the Nativity story with out two-year old and having her get so excited about Christ's birth.

We also enjoyed sharing other Christmas traditions like 'Rudolf', 'Frosty the Snowman,' and 'The Grinch.' Em was excited to have the light-up candy cane re-appear to decorate her room. The candy cane and the Rudolf were both Couper's favorite Christmas decorations as a kid...and I think it's safe to say they are now hers as well! (side note: she now calls 'eye crusties' "Crusty the snowmans"... there was a little confusion on words at some point, haha!!)

We enjoyed other Christmas traditions with extended family throughout the month as well. Making and decorating sugar cookies with Gramma Nec was a hit!

Gramma Nec and Papa Gregg also treated us to a Utah Symphony family Christmas performance that included Santa helping conduct. Favorite conversation of the night: "Who's that?" -It's Santa, he's a nice guy that comes around at Christmas time. Want to sit on his lap and talk to him? (Wide eyed, serious response:) "NO! No lap. He a nice guy. Noo lap, no lap."

Most large, Kartchner holiday family gatherings include loud, all inclusive rounds of rock-band. Em is hooked. Clearly her favorites are singing and the drums.

We definitely filled our month with happy memories! Glad Em is so comfortable around family so she could fully enjoy it all!

Week 50-Yobs

2015-04-16T19:36:00.001-07:00

Our little family of three had a sneaking suspicion what the gender of baby #2 would be.

I had a dream clear back in spring before I was even pregnant,

Couper had a strong feeling,

and Em just follows her heart.

Although it was no surprise to us,

we were elated to have our thoughts confirmed and

be able to share with confidence that Em is going to have a

BABY BROTHER!

Doesn't HE look adorable already!? HE definitely wasn't shy about letting us know he's all BOY!

We celebrated the fun news with lunch and treats at Gourmandise.

These are our attempts to snap a hurried photo to spread the news quickly to family...

hence "yob" instead of "boy". Most people got the idea.

20 weeks

Em was so much fun to pick out outfits with! She's in love with her baseball outfit choice, with matching red shoes. She's seriously going to make an amazing big sister!

Week 49- Birthday Weekend

2015-04-12T21:08:00.002-07:00

The hectic, yet looked forward to, tradition filled days of the Christmas season seemed to fill our calendar quite rapidly this year. Although we had many fun ideas and potential party plans for Miss Em's second birthday, this is what we decided on for this year:

A family retreat to Salt Lake City!

Complete with a visit to SLC LDS Temple Square Christmas Lights,

The great quality of pics you get from asking some random passerby to snap your photo with the temple and lights in the background...

a walk around City Creek; window shopping and enjoying holiday decor and fountains,

The fountains were a hit! And the adorable candy penguin ornament was our favorite.

out to eat, and swimming at our hotel,

a family movie night when we got home, and just lots and lots of attention and lovin' on our sweet Emelia. We can tell how much she loves family time when she smiles up at each of us and says, "Mommy, daddy, Emi!" Usually followed by hugs. I don't think she (or we) could have asked for a better birthday weekend celebration! Even if it was a couple of weeks early.

When we got home, we surprised her with her birthday gift all set up in her room. Dad made sure many of her 'friends' were there to greet her and join in on the surprise ;).

She's pretty in love with her rock-a-bye!

Happy Birthday our Emelia Noelle. How we love you!

Week 48- We are Thankful!

2015-04-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Of course we have so much to be thankful for this year!

Hopefully this 52 week challenge has captured just that.

For an FHE activity this month we made this poster of some of the things we are thankful for.

I'm thankful for Em's silliness. Although she was being a stinker while trying to capture a "good" picture with our thankful-turkey-poster, when I looked back at them, I realized I love every single one because it shows how much fun we had making it and shows many angles of Emelia's personality.

We got to spend Thanksgiving with the Thompson/Steadman clan this year. The highlights were home-made popcorn with Papa Gregg and the pie-making efforts by everyone who was willing to help. Thankfully Gramma Nec is a patient teacher!

I'm grateful for small group settings and these fun highlights and traditions that are able to make holidays and events happy ones in Em's memory. Our large Thanksgiving Feast with Steadman extended family consisted of Em curled up in a ball on my lap, face half concealed, cautiously watching everyone out of one eye. Don't worry, she warmed up (somewhat) when it was time to go. :) I'll take the cuddles! Our baby is going to be two in a month!

Week 47- Leaves

2015-04-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

A childhood pastime.

Em laughs SO hard, non-stop, while playing in the fall leaves.

Also, if we're on a walk she has to put forth her best effort to crunch every leaf in (and out) of her path. Yelling, "Crunch, crunch!" with each meaningful step.

We love every second of it.

Emelia has been very interested in numbers lately. She will try to count during random activities and always when about to run. Running up and down the hills while playing in the leaves is no exception. "One, two, free!" "Ready, gooooo!"

Silly selfies.

Week 46-Splash

2015-03-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

Two of Em's favorites right now:

The classic story: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Disney movie: The Lion King

She is kind of obsessed with the stinky troll and is sure to help read the part where he SPLASHes into the river. She was thrilled the few times I let her practice some real life splashing!

Sigh,

"Hakuna Matata!"

A few cute common phrases you can hear coming from those sweet lips:

"Crazy Emi! Crazy Emi!" (running around like a hooligan, or shaking her head rock-star style)

"Oh, sigh, I forgot."

"I DID IT!"

"Hakuna matata." (a good theme around this house)

"Uh-oh!....I fix it."

"No like it."

"One more time?"

"High-fi sticker!"

"Thanks though." (to ...just about everything)

"Okay mom? Okay dad?" (if she thinks we're hurt or something is wrong, precious)

Week 45-First baby pictures

2015-03-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yay! Baby's heartbeat and first ultrasound!

I was so impatient to have to wait until I was 15 weeks along to hear this little one's heart and have some reassurance and reality really kick in. I had some insecurities about starting fresh at a new doctor's office and meeting my new doctor. Happy to announce all is well and we're in good hands. ;) We weren't sure how Em would handle the doctors appointment, but she was ADORABLE! Couper held her during the ultra sound and the minute an image popped up on the screen she shouted, "There it is! I see it!" Already a proud big sister.

Hurray for cute "baby" baby bumps in those early months.

15 weeks

Week 44-Halloween

2015-01-28T14:34:00.001-08:00

Halloween was so, SO much fun with Em this year! We tried to incorporate traditions from our childhood and create some of our own. She was a little leery of dressing up at first. But once she got a glimpse in the mirror she was game! She has really liked the original "Winnie the Pooh" movie this fall, and we have watched it countless times! (It is not uncommon for her to be found carefully holding a pencil, intently drawing a little squiggle, with her nose 1/2 an inch from the paper, then pulling away quickly exclaiming with satisfaction, "LOOK! IT'S PIGLET!" "LOOK! TIGGER!" quite the artist we have here ;) )

For whatever reason, Piglet has most consistently been her go-to favorite character.

We had access two different pig costumes from family/friends and had a VERY difficult time choosing which one Em would be found trick-or-treating in Halloween night.

You can see why! Oh my cute little piggy!!!

I made sure the day was full of fun, yummy, and mostly healthy food :). When I was a kid, chili and dirt cups were a staple after a cold trick-or-treating night (along with candy sorting/barter & trade of course)!

The Bush's joined us in all of the fun, and these two little buddies were so excited to spend all night together.

Em cracked us up with her sweet innocence as a novice trick-or-treater. We did a little "practicing" 5 minutes before heading out the door. We left one piece of candy in her bucket, hoping she would get the idea and not be scared (still our sweet shy girl). We knocked at the first door and she mumble/whispered "Trick-or-treat". The nice lady who answered complimented our little Piglet and placed a candy in her pumpkin. Em then politely said a quiet, "Thank you!" Reached into her pumpkin to pull out the candy we had given her at home and tried handing it to the lady at the door! HaHa (Guess some of our lessons on sharing and trading are starting to catch on!) Sure love this little cutie!

Stockton insisted on being in the family picture haha. Sad we don't have a pic of Cody & Kim!

Week 43-A Bump

2015-01-28T12:50:00.003-08:00

I made this sign for Couper back in August.

Many changes have been underway for us!

Love starting to see that bump! Although there have been many insecurities along the way these first three months, we are extremely excited to be welcoming another addition to our family next spring! Been dealing with nausea most of the day and EXTREME fatigue/lack of motivation. All seems well so far, but counting down the days until insurance kicks in so we can here little one's heart beat!

12 weeks

One of our random adventures to soak up any sun left this year. (Also helps to ignore feeling yuck!)

We ended up at a trout farm and were the only ones there! Em thought she was so grown up feeding those fish and ducks, and walked around like she owned the place. We also landed ourselves at a fun Castle Park for lunch where the swings overlook a field of grazing horses! Pretty sure we covered many of Em's favorite things all in one morning!

Week 42- Pumpkin Patch

2015-01-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Emelia has truly embraced Fall and loves it as much as her parents.

With all of her discoveries and amazements of the changing seasons I was beyond excited to introduce her to a pumpkin patch! Pumpkins have of course been a fall obsession of hers, and orange has become one of her favorite colors (ie. she will only eat breakfast with an orange spoon...)

So, on a beautiful October evening we had a family outing to

Pack's Pumpkin Patch:

(Love that she has insisted on wearing her "Cars" shoes EVERYday since they day she got them..in August!)

Wow. We love this girl.

Week 41-Fall & Fountains

2015-01-27T20:30:00.002-08:00

Fall is such a beautiful time of year. I have always loved and appreciated it.

We were lucky to have many weeks of warmer temperatures to explore our new area via long walks.

It was fun to have many Logan day and sleepover visitors ready to check out our new area as well.

We always had to show off the Lagoon walking trail and some of the cool historical buildings in Farmington.

Em especially loved pointing out the buffalo and elk!

Another of our favorite outings is to Farmington station to get some fresh air. Em is intrigued with the fountains and things always end in a public dance party :).

Fall wouldn't be the same in this house (thanks to Coup) without an array of sports flashing in and out of the tube. Em can now be found chanting "Base-ball, Base-ball! SocCER, SocCER!"

Week 40-Establishing Home

2015-01-27T14:55:00.004-08:00

Upon searching every source we have, we discovered there wasn't a single picture taken of moving weekend. I'm okay with that. Couper and I were both out of our minds with fatigue, it was dreary, and pouring rain, there was much to do. Pictures were not at the fore-front of our minds.

Em was lucky and excited to have a sleepover at Grammie and Papa Whitney's Saturday night so Coup and I (along with awesome family and friends!!! Gratitude can't be expressed enough!) could get the truck unloaded and furniture situated. Our biggest goal that weekend was to get Em's room set up so she would have a comfortable and safe place to be until the rest of the house followed suit.

Em has already collected a plethora of stuffed animals at her young age and Coup found the perfect solution to displaying them in her new space. (Along with my plethora of books, heehee.)

Grateful to say Em loves her new room and transitioned like a champ. She hardly even seemed to notice we had switched locations. Aside from asking on a daily basis to see her grandparents and aunts and uncles that lived so close in Logan! That was heartbreaking, grateful for pictures, skype, phone, and still not being that far away :).

Em slept extremely well those first few weeks and obviously made herself right at home with exploration and creativity. (And I just can't stand the cuteness of a toddler bum in skinny jeans ;) )

We all love our new area so far and are excited to become more familiar with people and places! But first, off to the post office where our new P.O. box is a little piece of heaven for this little one.

Hmm..sometimes we do hair and get dressed around here I promise.

Week 39- A bottled up good-bye

2015-01-27T14:29:00.001-08:00

When I get stressed,

I often find myself reaching a breaking point....

when I decide to stress myself out even more by trying to add "enjoyable" activities to my "stressful" to-do's.

I think deep down I know that it will blow-up in my face in the end, creating an "ultimate" breaking point....

yet it happens far too often.

One day I'll learn.

Hence, our "bottled-up good-bye."

My first attempt at "clean" strawberry jam. A future must in this fall kitchen!!

Packing, de-junking, apartment searching, moving arrangements, being nauseous & ridiculously tired, along with the day-to-day of taking care of a toddler just weren't enough for me those last few weeks in Logan, I needed something more.

When reaching that initial breaking point, in a moment of spontaneity and effort to de-stress, Emelia and I found ourselves on a lovely, hot, afternoon walk. A walk that possibly turned into 4 miles round trip. And that very randomly (no sarcasm here) passed by a fruit stand...foolish me.

I should have known this was a ridiculous idea from the look on the fruit-stand man's face...but, I proceeded anyway, and embraced my ridiculousness. Disclaimer: No child, stroller, or fruit was harmed on this 3/4 mile journey home, but it did result in a wicked arm workout for yours truly.

The fruits of my labor. Thanks mom for helping peel when you could!

And...the "ultimate" breaking point. This picture is the only one I got of my lovely tomatoes...taken in a moment of trying to find humor in it all while choking back tears. Happy to say that ALL of my jars sealed and everything tastes fabulous.

Yes, somehow boxes did get packed amidst it all.

Thank you amazing friends and family. I couldn't have done it without you!

There is a little too much mischief to be found among the mess of packing a home. So grateful Grammie was eager to squeeze in as much Em time as possible before we made the move. Em did a good job of being mischievous at her house instead.

Good-bye Logan home. The friends and memories made here will be in our hearts forever!

Week 38 - Wedding

2015-01-04T21:17:00.003-08:00

The Thomas and Baylee Tate Wedding.

September, 17th, 2014

A most beautiful and ELEGANT occasion surrounded by those we love.

Bay, we are so lucky to call you sister, and TC we couldn't be happier to have you as part of the fam!

Weddings have a way of making you smile "for no reason" and help you remember your own special day, why and how you fell in love, and a reminder that through the thick and thin of it, there is beauty and love growing between you and your special someone everyday. What a fun reminder this day was!

Siblings.

Sisters.

Precious. Special. Beautiful.

Gregg & Grandma.

The photographer couldn't handle the cuteness of all of these cute little girls. (Can't blame her!)

Bubbles cured a lot of stranger anxiety.

So did walks away from the crowd with mom, leafy, and 'B'.

Heart-warming candids.

Most of the Thompson/Sorenson clan.

Congrats you two!

Week 37- Hogle Zoo

2014-11-13T20:27:00.001-08:00

We're so lucky that all Maddi wanted to do for her birthday was go to the zoo, and invited us to come along.

We had our adventure on a weekday, so Couper couldn't join us, and we had some...set-backs on our way down (haha mom), but we made it! I was so glad it turned into a warm (borderline hot) September day!

Em hadn't taken a nap...and didn't trust the bronze gorilla, but you can tell there was never a dull moment with Amber, Levi, and Maddi in tow.

I think lion's (and tigers!) are incredibly beautiful animals!

Em wasn't about to get so close to such a big cat, but the kids (and I) were in awe to have just a pane of glass between us and the beautiful beasts.

By the time we reached the leopard, Em understood why we wanted to be so close. At one point she pointed to a spot on the ground two inches from the glass, declared, "Right here!?" Sat down, and didn't want to leave.

Her original fear of the large, live animals did not stop her from wanting to enjoy a merry-go-round ride with "Simba"!

The bears were so cute and fun to watch. You can see why we cuddle with teddy bears at night.

The ADORABLE baby elephant played in the water with a giant log for a long time and everyone was mesmerized.

We weren't impressed with the train ride..well, I wasn't, Em thought riding in a locomotive was the coolest. We loved watching the giraffes but somehow didn't snag a picture. There were a few exhibits closed that we were really hoping to enjoy (ie. the sea lions) but we were very impressed with the new construction and the kids were in love with the new splash pad; even Em got brave for a little while.

Upon our return home, Emelia would constantly ask to see the "elephant" and "bear" pictures for weeks afterward. And I'm pretty sure amateur photographer Amber got more, and better, pictures than I did..too bad I don't have them.

Week 36-Chalk Art Festival

2014-11-04T13:00:00.003-08:00

One of the best ideas I've ever had.

...

Well, maybe not.

But the Kartchner Chalk Art Festival turned into a big hit!

I was proud that everyone took it so seriously!

The precursor to this festival started with a few rough sketches on our front walk:

I watched some of the neighbor kids and they brought over their awesome and varied chalk art set so I got a little more ambitious (black makes all the difference). Couper saw how much fun I we were having so one day I came down to the kitchen to find this:

(super cute, I know)

So my ambitions grew:

What else could follow except for a Chalk Art Festival to end the summer's dusty art with a bang!

Results of the Disney themed Festival:

Toy Story

Giant Chalk House (pretty sure there was some Disney mixed in there...)

Frozen

Cars 2

Peter Pan

Little Mermaid

Ichabod Crane & Timon

Winnie the Pooh & Friends

(I didn't get a "during" photo)

Lego Ninja

Genie

We even got some participation from Down Under! However, I can't find the email with pictures so I'll have to add those later.

Happy Chalking everyone! You never know what you'll be able to create!

Week 35-Ducks

2014-11-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

I really didn't feel like posting pictures of our de-junking process at the moment.

Although, that's what is consuming our day-to-day.

Six+ years. Same location.

You get the idea.

Instead, I will share some adorable pictures from one of Em's favorite past-times this summer.

Feeding the ducks.

I understand that most children love this activity, but it's fun and cute all the same.

We had our first duck feeding outing at the very beginning of the summer and have been sure to speckle more periodically throughout the summer months. Because we started the summer off right, Em can ALWAYS make an association back to the desired activity:

-I hand her a rubber ducky in the bath she excitedly takes it and says/signs, "Mom! Quack, Quack, Duck eat bread! Where? " (meaning, where are they now and why am I not feeding them?)

-Hand Em a slice of bread (same response).

-Ask Em if she wants to go to the park or on a walk (same response).

-Em sees the little duckies on her cushy-tushy toilet seat (same response).

LOVE IT.

If we are out on a walk and she suddenly remembers there could be ducks, she asks/signs for bread with a concerned look on her face. She's worried about her ducks getting enough carbs. Sometimes I'm so inconsiderate.

PS This little lady is 20 months old! Looks and acts more and more like a little girl (instead of our BABY!) everyday.

-LOVES Pooh Bear, which I think is pretty great. She'll often be caught tapping her forehead saying, "Think, Think, Think" or holding something over her head saying, "Tut, Tut. Tut, Tut." Both quotes followed by a pleasureful giggle.

Week 34-Job Offer

2014-11-04T12:10:00.001-08:00

The true New Beginnings for the Sorenson's start NOW.

After weeks of intense interviews with the SAME company:

Couper was offered and accepted a job with Sidewalk Inc./Campusbookrentals.com

toward the end of August.

Starting date, after Labor Day.

CHEERS TO THE FUTURE!

What a handsome man. Well done Coup. We sure love you!

Week 33-Stars

2014-11-04T12:02:00.001-08:00

We were sad to have to turn down a camping trip with cousin Annie and her family.

So the next best thing was a spontaneous trip up the canyon Friday night to take our minds away from the stressors of real life.

Couper made a stellar fire as usual. And Jen, Jake, and friend were able to join us for tin foil dinners. (Ours were a bit untraditional but were made on a dime and turned out quite delicious.)

We realized we haven't spent nearly enough time this summer building campfires and staying up late talking about non-sense waiting for the last embers to fade away. Nature truly does have a way of centering you and helping you put life's choices and events into perspective. So grateful for God's creations.

Our nature girl loved searching for/chasing bugs, playing in the dirt, and gathering rocks with Aunt "Yenni" to throw in the river. One of my favorite things of the evening was watching Uncle Jake cuddle with her by the fire and talk about the stars. She's still talking about Yenni and Jake and the fun she had. So grateful for Em's aunties and uncles that love her so much.

Week 32- A Camping Reunion Birthday

2014-08-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Long Reunion fell the same weekend as my birthday this year.

I've been wanting to give camping a shot with Em all summer, so this became the perfect opportunity.

Happy camping birthday morning. Em was a rockstar and was completely in her element, but of course we woke up early :).

My mom and her sisters filled the day with activities of course. It was fun to catch up with cousins and watch Em explore new terrain.

Some of the photo booth results. You can tell my mom and her sisters spend a little bit of time together.

Can you didgeridoo? (I can't.)

A nice, cool (albeit ghetto) place for an afternoon nap.

Enjoyable, overcast hike to Bridal Veil Falls:

The kids all loved feeding the fish at the foot of the falls. Have I mentioned recently that Emelia is OBSESSED with Aunt KiKi? Well, this trip sealed the deal.

A typical group shot...we couldn't find our whole group and we still don't all fit, not everyone is smiling/looking/etc.

Thank you mom and dad for snagging a birthday cake for me :). I tried to teach Em how to help me blow out the candles...although she is an excellent "blower" she wasn't so sure about blowing out fire.

My friend had a cute idea to think of 27 things she wanted to accomplish while she was 27..so I'm stealing it. Haven't thought of them all, but I'm excited to get to work.

Week 31- River

2014-08-26T20:14:00.001-07:00

Hip-hip for another baby in the family!

Sweet little River John was born on July 21. Chalk up a +1 for nephews in 2014 as well!

So glad that River was born safe and sound and that mom and family are doing well. This ADORABLE little bundle of joy is in Queensland, Australia...much, MUCH too far from my arms if you ask me! I desperately await the day I get to smother him in hugs and kisses!

Thanks for letting me steal your pics sis! ;)

Week 30- Pioneer

2014-08-22T14:01:00.001-07:00

In honor of Pioneer Day we decided to go for a family hike.

The Wind Caves in Logan Canyon.

We enjoyed talking about what it would have been like to be pioneers on our hike. How we are very impressed with them and grateful they endured the hardships they do so that we could live in the beautiful area we do. We were going to dutch oven to end the evening but instead made some of our delicious, gourmet BBQ pizzas.

Week 29- Wicked

2014-08-22T12:57:00.001-07:00

Wicked

Denise and Gregg gave us an unforgettable graduation gift! We were thrilled to attend Wicked at Captiol Theater in Salt Lake as well as stay at Little America. The free babysitting was much appreciated as well.

Couper's phone-photo-documenting:

A "quick" stop to the tantalizing downtown bakery "Gourmandise" left us with a sugar rush and smiles on our faces. We enjoyed being able to walk to dinner and the theater from our hotel. Marshalls did not disappoint.

Wicked was even more than I had anticipated. The show was OUTSTANDING. And the voices flawless.

We were lucky enough to make it to Music and the Spoken Word at the LDS Conference Center Sunday morning. Between the music and a stroll around temple square it was a great way to start the week, turning our hearts and minds to our pioneer ancestors with Pioneer Day approaching.

Week 28-Wah-yee

2014-08-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

aka "Water"

North Beach (July 3rd)
Great idea Baylee and TC! What a fun relaxed day at the beach. I was kind of surprised/nervous when our timid, cautious Em was fearless at the beach! She waltzed right over to wade in the water and was all about digging in the sand.

The puffy cheetos were a pretty big hit too. She got pretty sneaky.

Providence Splash Pad
Em has been loving "wah-yee" in all varieties.
Splash pads are genius.

(signing "wah-yee" in pic on left..so exicted!)

Oh, and swings at the park bring on the absolute cutest giggles from this girl. She had some of the other mommas laughing out loud, it was quite contagious.

Week 27- Red, White, and Blue

2014-08-04T14:47:00.001-07:00

Getting back into the running game after having Em wasn't an easy task for me.

Was it the "zombie" affect of a new parent?

Was it nursing until she was 15 months?

Was I just being lazy?

Or was it the mental block that keeps us all from doing things we know are good for us, we enjoy, and feel better once we are doing them?

...who knows...

Here's to my first real race since the Ragnar I ran when I was 12 weeks prego with little Em.
So fun I was able to run with my dad and oldest brother!

Common questions/phrases in a runners world:

(These are real. The funny thing is, I think the majority of the time people are being genuine. It's humorous.)

*How many miles are on your shoes? These have at least 500. (Oh, do they?)

*You know you're not a real runner unless you've pooped your pants? (Interesting. So..are you a real runner? ...I wouldn't share that with too many people.)

*I just PRed!

*How many kills do you have? (I keep the commandments.)

*How many shoes have you burned through? (Running shoes are expensive, I can't speak for you but I don't burn my shoes.)

*I pronate, do you? (Is that an ice-breaker?)
*What do you wear on your nipples? (Thankfully I have not been asked this question.)
*What would you recommend for chafing?

Oh to be a runner...or at least a wannabe.

*Hyrum Parade Fun*

Despite the heat, we had a great time. The kids always make the parade more entertaining. And it was adorable watching Em soak it all in for the first time. Safe to say she's a fan of parades! The horses and motorcycles were her highlights...oh and the candy ;).

*BBQ*

Grammie always comes up with the best activities! She made dinosaur ice eggs with an actual baby dino waiting on the inside. Here are the kids trying to "hatch" (melt) their eggs on the hot tramp. The ice and water balloons made for a good resource for an impromptu game of curling on the slip 'n slide as well.