Happy Birthday!!

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Happy Birthday Maya and Kaitlyn! Maya turned 6 yesterday and Kaitlyn turns 4 tomorrow. I am a mean mom and made them have a birthday party together yesterday. They each got to invite some friends and I rented a waterslide for the party. The kids had a blast climbing up and going down the slide over and over



Luckily, the weather was decent. They had been threatening all week that saturday would be cold and super stormy. It was a little cold, but the sun was out! The kids were freezing after playing in the water for a long time so they all huddled up in their towels!

They both got some cool presents. Kaitlyn was overly dramatic with each gift!
She got a big girl bike from us, which she really liked. Gavin was also a fan! Kaitlyn got out of her swimsuit to go out and ride it!

I decided to make the girls' cakes for them this year. I told myself, "I can make two Barbie cakes, no problem!" Good going Steph!!! I won't tell you how long it took me to make these cakes, but I can tell you that I was in labor with these girls less time than it took me to make these cakes!!!!

They turned out ok and the girls were super excited about their Barbie cakes, so that is what is important. Next year, we will probably buy cakes again! :)

Berry Picking

I had this brilliant idea to go pick raspberries as a family for family night. Since our raspberries are new we didn't get enough to make lots of jam. So, I found a place that will let you come and pick your own berries. Sounds like fun, right?! NOT!!!! We put buckets on our belts and had the kids help us get berries. After awhile my pants are practically falling off because my buckets are full, and Brian's, well let's just say he wasn't even close to filling his! He was pretty much a spectator.
It took a really long time and it got dark before we were finished. The kids had a great time, but I was really worn out. They tried to help dad out by only putting their berries in his buckets for awhile!
We came away with only one tragedy. Gavin tipped himself over in the stroller so he has a lovely bruise on his forehead.
We did get over ten pounds of raspberries and we have been enjoying them a lot.

Boise

We went up to Boise last weekend for a family reunion with Brian's immediate family. It was quite the drive! Gavin is not a good travelling child. He screamed most of the way there and back. Needless to say, we will not be going that far again for awhile! Brian and I about went insane. The kids got to play with their cousin Riley at a splash park. They loved getting wet and having buckets of water drop on them! Their facial expressions say it all! Gavin had an awesome time with Daddy in the water. They bonded. He got to go over to the water with Grandma too. They had lots of fun getting wet. He apparently loves tomatoes. I threw in this pic of him eating some tomato. What a cute kid! It was fun to see everyone and have a nice break.

LAST SWIM MEET!!!!

We finally had Maya's last swim meet. It was the Utah County Swim Meet. It was in Springville, (and let me just say that they really need to get a new pool!) and at night. It was really hot, and they did not start on time. Maya unfortunately did not qualify in the breastroke or the butterfly, but she is excited to try again next year.
She did really well at the meet even though there were lots of kids. She was the heat winner in backstroke!

She was really excited to get a ribbon. She won't know for a couple of weeks if she placed high in either of the races. She is actually really sad to be done with swimming, but Brian and I are relieved to have it done! It was a lot of work, but fun too! Congratulations Maya!

Happy 24th of July!

I love Utah in July. We get to celebrate the 4th and the 24th. There is fireworks, BBQ's and many other fun summer activities all during July. The best part, of course, is getting both days as paid holidays! We get 3 day weekends twice. Our 24th was really fun. We got up early so that I could run in the Pioneer Day Classic 5K. The night before Maya prayed that I would run well and get a medal. So I ran as fast as I could so she wouldn't be disappointed. That's me getting a medal for first place in my age group.
Not too bad for a mom that's had 4 children. I actually did really well. At least now I can tell Maya that if she works hard and tries her best, good things happen.
The girls got their faces painted,
they got a french toast breakfast, and they played on the bounce houses at the park.
We went to Thanksgiving point and played in the water at the gardens.

Gavin had a good time until the girls knocked him over and he went under the water! Luckily Brian was already in the water so he could grab him out.

Later that night my parents came over for dinner and we had fireworks again! Some of our neighbors brought their fireworks over too, so we had a big show!
I am so happy we live where we can still do fireworks! We were all exhausted by the night, and I had to get up at 4:30 the next morning so we could all be at Maya's swim meet at 8:00! Needless to say, we are completely exhausted from our weekend!

You're like Harry Potter!

There we are sitting at dinner and Kaitlyn informs us that she wants a bed. Brian tells her that she already has a bed. She emphatically says, "No!, I don't have a bed I sleep in a drawer!" I can't even keep my food in at this point. Of course she doesn't really sleep in a drawer, it is a trundle bed, but in her little mind, it is a drawer. It looks like one and it pulls out just like a drawer. So Maya tries to make her feel better by telling her that Harry Potter sleeps in a closet. It's a no go! She still thinks she sleeps in a drawer! We are hoping to finish the basement next summer and finally get her out of the drawer. Poor kid! We definitely get the mean parents award!

Life is too busy!

We have been crazy busy the last few weeks. With the 4th of July, running lots of miles, attending many swim meets, and practice after practice after practice! I have had to sacrifice a lot of my sleep for the swim team. I usually have to do my Saturday runs at 5:00 AM so that I can make it to the swim meet and not have to run in the middle of the afternoon when it is 100 outside. You'd think that I was the only one out running at the hour, but you'd be WRONG! Even though it is pitch black, the crazys are out there running! I have completed my first 20 miler, so I am pretty excited about that. Maya is doing really well in her swimming. She took 4th place in the 25 yd freestyle.
She cut almost 15 seconds off of her time! She has yet to qualify in either the fly or the breastroke. This next saturday will be her last chance! We have our fingers crossed!