New Years Resolution...in August

Is it too late for a New Years Resolution?? Should my resolution be to update my blog more often? I can see all of you nodding your heads in agreement. To be honest, that was my Resolution back in January...but you can see how good I am at keeping commitments to myself. Well, now I am going to try to update more frequently, with my motivation being Jake. As most of you know, he has been working in California for the last month and we believe that he could be out there until Christmas. When he left, I told myself that I would keep a journal while he was gone so he wouldn't miss his babies growing up and learning new stuff. I put my journal on my dresser, right next to the bed, ON TOP of the TV remote (that way there would be NO way I would forget, since I have to watch TV). That worked well for about a week. I hate writing. My hand hurts and my handwriting is just terrible. So, I got the bright idea that I would blog. Its a good idea right? Being able to post pictures AND tell about our daily experiences. And its easy for Jake to look at while he is in California.

So, there is no better place to start than today:

The 3 of us went to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden. It really is so much fun. There are so many little "stations" of things to do. We met our friends Jessie, Emma (4 yrs old), & Lane (2 yrs old).
**Sidenote: Jessie is the wife of Josh. Josh is the guy Jake is living with in California. So, Jessie and I have been playing "Single Parent" while our husbands work in CA. She has been taking her kids to the Treehouse Museum once a week and we have been joining her.**
**Another note: Some of the following pictures are "grainy". I have been using our camcorder to take still photos, but the resolution on the photos is low and I don't know how to fix it. However, it does take fabulous videos!

Here is Ridge, hanging out as the "big kids" play. He is usually strapped in a pack that I carry around with him in it, so he's happy to be free of that for a little while in this picture.

The Museum has a little "farm" station. Here Kanyon is feeding her pig a bottle. This was one of her favorite "stations".

Here is Kanyon & Lane milking a cow. Yes folks, when the kids pull on the utters, "milk" comes out. Its a FAKE cow, just in case you were confused, and its really only WATER that squirts out, but Kanyon and Lane have so much fun getting each other wet.

And at the "Farm Station", they have little farm toys so you can create your own farm. She had fun putting a fence up around her animals.

There is a "Rodeo Station" where you can dress up with hats and overalls and get on a horse or a bull and pretend to be at a Rodeo. They have a crowd of people painted on the wall- its so much fun! Kanyon didn't go for the dress-up part of it, but I snapped a quick picture before she could throw the hat on the ground.

The "China Station"...has stuffed pandas, Chinese art, and even a table full of sushi.

This is a huge book that is placed in one of the sections. She was amazed at how big it was!

Lane & Kanyon playing dress-up in the Safari

They have the cutest little kitchen area. It has a stove, fridge, sink, and all sorts of food. I think Kanyon plays at this station every time we go to the museum. She loves to make hot cookies and give them to everyone! Here she is cooking some sushi she found at the China Station.

Lane is at the sink doing dishes after Kanyon made cookies. Way to go Lane!

Ridge- 3 months

I just LOVE these pics that were taken by Gingerbread Photo.

Let the dirt blow through your hair....

We took a fun ride up Sego Canyon on the 4-wheelers this past weekend. The weather was great and the view was amazing. We went through a deserted coal mining town. There was an old cemetery there from the early 1900's. You could see where each body was buried under the heaps of dirt. Some stones had inscriptions. One guy had come from Italy and died at age 35, probably working in the mine, in 1918. Wish I had taken a picture of that place.

I love to see these old Indian writings. Its one of my favorite things about Utah.

The day before the beginning of summer.....

Tomorrow is the official start of summer. I am excited to see what the summer has in store for us. Life has been so much fun with Kanyon & Ridge. Hopefully there are many new experiences to share & memories to make.
Kanyon just LOVES to blow bubbles. Every time she steps out the door she wants to play with them. One day I came outside and Jake & Kanyon were sitting on the tailgate of the truck blowing bubbles and I took this picture of them. Its one of my favorites so far.
Ridge...being very alert.

Kanyon & her bubbles...again.

Mommy & Kanyon

Mommy & Ridge

A friend of mine invited Kanyon to do a little craft with her son Bryant for a Father's Day gift. Bryant & Kanyon made little garden stones.

Here is Kanyon mixing her cement....

and her and Bryant carefully placing all their pretty rocks...

and Kanyon showing off her finished product.

After we had our little craft done we went and played at a real fun park that is set up like a castle and even has this fun dragon to play on.

Last weekend, Utah had a "free fishing" day. They stocked this little pond full of fish and you could take your kids down and catch one. Here is Daddy & Kanyon with their catch of the day. (She's trying to reel it in)

One of Kanyons favorite things to eat right now is biscuits with jelly (real healthy, I know) However, she will only eat the darkest color jelly they make....and make a mess out of it.

Jake set up a little pool that Kanyon got for her birthday. She has been having fun playing in it and even Ridge has had a good time watching her. Enjoy the pics.

The Lovely Month of May...

May brought us some sweet & somber moments....

We all traveled back to NY to say goodbye to my Grandpa. The burial ceremony was very nice. There were bagpipes, taps, and soldiers all there to help us remember. Seeing "Pop-Pop's" white car in front of his grave site, empty, hit me the hardest. I have many, many memories of Grandpa in his car. (I even blew out all the fuses in it once..oops)

After the burial ceremony, we all headed back to Aunt Sue's where we had an 'Upstate New York' style BBQ. It was great to talk with family that I haven't seen in years. It was also Kanyon's Birthday. Aunt Sue was thoughtful enough to remember, and got her a cake to help celebrate.

The "princess wand" made a great fork. :)

We had all the NY fixings... Half-Moon Cookies, White Hots (white spicy hot dogs), Tomato Pie (no, it isn't dessert), and clams cooked on the grill! Yumm!!!! I miss NY on days like these!

Kate & I spent 2 weeks in NY with all the kids. Our options were limited on activities to do with them since everything in the area didn't open until Memorial Day weekend. We were one week too early.

However, we did go to the Utica ZOO....and found 4 really cute tigers.

And we went to a place called Fort Rickey Game Farm. Kanyon loved feeding the animals and chasing the peacocks.

We spent alot of time outside, just playing.

We went to one of the first car shows of the season and ate fabulous diner food!

We came home from NY the week before Memorial Day weekend. These next few pictures were loaded in the wrong order, but you'll get the idea. If you remember, last year we gave Kanyon a nice sunburn. Well....we did it again. Poor little girl. The worst part of it is, is that we remembered to bring sunscreen with us, its just we never remembered to put it on. Sorry Kanyon!! After that she had to wear a hat...oh well, she's still cute.

We spent part of Memorial Day weekend up at the Cabin at Scofield with family. We had our first S'mores of the season. DELICIOUS! Kanyon even got to roast her own marshmallow. However, if you look close at the marshmallow she's roasting in the picture, you'll notice that it wasn't really edible after she was done. But she sure had fun!

And lets not forget about Baby Ridge. He is growing like crazy. He had his 8 week doctor appointment this week. He's 14 lbs! He's starting to smile and recognize things. He's so cute and fun to watch. Now if only he would start sleeping through the night.....