July in Utah--part I

July in Utah:

We took Josh and Carter to the trampoline park again.   Josh still wasn't a fan of the trampolines!

But he loved being tossed into and playing in the foam pits (as did I)!   So fun!

We spotted this hawk flying right above my parent's home. 

Mom got these three Fourth of July tees from Old Navy.   We made a valiant effort to get a perfect picture of them all smiling and looking at the camera!  Here's a few more pictures of this cute patriotic bunch:

We watched the Kaysville 4th of July Parade.  It was a pretty hot morning so Josh and Carter cooled off with some Popsicles while they watched.  Josh loved waving his little American flag throughout the parade!

The parade was cute.  Josh loved getting candy that was tossed by the people on the floats.  We didn't last through the whole parade owing to the heat!

I LOVE this beautiful victorian home in Kaysville!  The bunting looks so beautiful.

We had classic grilled hamburgers a la Jay for dinner that night.  Delicious!  That evening we watched the Davis High School fireworks and then called it a night!  

June In Utah--Part II

Our June in Utah continued as follows:

Emily and I took our boys on a wagon ride to Kaysville Pond to feed the ducks there.

Carter was completely comfortable letting these guys eat right out of his hand!

Josh depended on his Aunt Emily to protect him as his mom was busy taking pictures!  ;)

Farmington Station debuted a new dancing fountain choreographed to music.  We went to check it out, Josh loved watching the water!

I made these red, white, and blue popsicles with this recipe.  Everybody thought they were delicious!

David frequented golf courses with my Dad and his golf buddies throughout the summer.  David and Dad got a couple practice swings in in the frontyard. 

We took Josh to visit the Church History Museum in SLC.  They have a nice interactive children's exhibit that we all enjoyed for a little bit.  Josh pretended to give a talk at this replica of the Conference Center pulpit.

Josh and I trying our hand at some traditional Mexican dancing!  Fun times!

June In Utah--Part I

Our June in Utah was so idyllic.  The weather was beautiful and the mountain was so green--I don't remember it being so green growing up!  Our days of fun continued as such: 

More fun spent out on the front lawn with the bubble machine.

Being with Grandma makes it even better!

David, Josh, and I went down to check out the swanky new City Creek Center in SLC.  It is a really nice outdoor mall.  Josh loved the fountain and was soaking wet in no time.  We hadn't prepared for him to get so wet so we had to buy him a little outfit that was on clearance at the babygap to change him into afterward.  :)

We celebrated my 30th birthday!  I had been wanting to try this yummy lemon cake recipe and really had a nice time and enjoyed making my own birthday cake, which my mom protested heavily.  

My mom put some trick candles on my birthday cake, but I eventually blew all thirty of 'em out!  I have to say, it felt great turning 30.  I'm really happy with who I am and where life has taken me.

That evening we played a little basketball with Josh and Carter on my parent's neighbor's hoop.

It was a beautiful night with a full moon.  It was fun watching Josh and Carter enjoy the evening outside.

Josh thought the neighbor's inclined driveway was a slide and he kept going to the top and scooting himself down saying, "whee!"

My mom treated Josh and Carter to a session at the Kaysville Sportsplex Trampoline Park.  Carter was completely in his element and had no hesitation jumping from these heights.

Josh wasn't so sure about actually jumping on the trampolines, but he loved being tossed into the foam pits and playing with all of the balls.

When it was hot out we took the boys to the neighborhood pool.  These two loved lounging poolside after a good swim, snacking on goldfish crackers, and drinking flavored water.

One fun afternoon we had a picnic in the front yard.

My dad came home from work and joined us out front.  I love this picture of him with his grandsons.

We were worried Josh's popsicle might spill on my dad's work clothes, so my mom took it from him temporarily.  You can see how bad he wanted it back! 

Another fun afternoon swinging in the backyard.

We were able to spend a sweet visit with Grandpa Choules and Grandma Marilyn.  We are so lucky to have the wonderful examples of these amazing grandparents to look to.

One Sunday we took Josh to Music and the Spoken Word.  They only allow older children to view the broadcast from the main conference center meeting area, but we were able to watch it live from another auditorium inside the conference center.

Afterward, we took a tour of the conference center.  The view of Temple Square from the roof was fabulous!  Josh was asleep in our stroller.

❤Salt Lake City❤

We went to Barnes Park in Kaysville for Family Night, had some pizza, and then played at the park.  Josh loved standing with Carter's balance bike but wasn't quite tall enough to actually sit on the seat and walk with it.  :)

I love this picture of David and Josh at the park.

Another beautiful day Mom, Emily, and I took the boys to feed the horses near Emily's neighborhood.  Carter seemed pretty comfortable with the horses.

Josh liked them but was grateful that his Grandma was there to hold him just in case.

The boys in their sweet ride after feeding the horses.

I knit this little vest for Emily's sweet baby Tyler.  He is a handsome and happy baby.  It was a good thing I knit the vest in a size 6 months, Tyler fully fit it at just 3 months!

This picture of the three cousins is so sweet.  Carter was going through a phase where he often was in the buff while at his home.  :)

Josh loved playing in Carter's kiddie pool.  He didn't want to get out even when his lips were purple-tinged and his teeth were chattering from the cold!

David, Josh, and I went down to SLC another weekend to go to the Farmer's Market.  There were several pianos set out on the street with the invitation "Play Me, I'm Yours" written on the piano bench.  Josh, Mickey, and I couldn't resist serenading the afternoon for a few moments on one of these pianos.

My boys with the Salt Lake Temple.

...June in Utah--part II coming soon...

May In Utah

The fun times began as soon as we got settled for a bit at my parent's home in Utah.

We took Josh to feed the ducks and play at the playground at Layton Park.

Josh and Carter hit it off right away.  These two cousins had a blast being together.

Just as soon as we started to get a taste of routine in Utah and at my parent's home, Josh started to resist eating and was complaining that all food was "hot."  The Saturday after we arrived Josh was crying that even his yogurt was hot.  We took him to Instacare and found out he had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and that he had sores in his little mouth that were hurting him when we tried to feed him.  Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease is a virus, so all we could do for Josh was give him an analgesic mouthwash and Tylenol to help with his discomfort. :(

The next day was my 30th birthday!  Given Josh's sickness, we postponed a celebration and had a low-key evening at my parent's home.  Mom bought some delicious red velvet cupcakes at the Sweet Tooth Fairy for me.  

It was so nice to be home for Memorial Day and visit and decorate my grandparent's graves with my family.  It really is such a nice holiday.   My paternal grandparents are buried at Ogden Cemetery, pictured above.  We also decorated my maternal grandpa's and his family's graves at the Kaysville Cemetery.

The day after Memorial Day, we still had to keep Josh away from his cousins but he was definitely on the mend.  We took him back to the Kaysville Cemetery to take a walk.  It ended up being such a fun place for him to run around.  He loved seeing all of the flowers, flags, and pinwheels that had been placed the day before.

I think the pinwheels were his favorite decoration.

Reading a marker from my Mom's side of the family.

Beautiful Kaysville Cemetery.

Josh enjoyed chasing bubbles in the front yard from Mom's bubble machine.  It was great to see him feeling more himself after such a rough weekend with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.

Josh LOVED my parent's Marble Works set that my siblings and I grew up playing with as well.  It was played with on a daily basis while we were in Utah.

David spent the weeks down in Provo and spent many nights at my Aunt and Uncle's home in American Fork while he externed at BYU's International Center for Law and Religion.  We looked forward to the weekend when he would come back to Layton and get to be with us!