fire station

Our little preschool group went on a field trip to our city's fire station.  The kids were a little shy, but I think they still had fun.

The first thing they did, after introductions and some talking, was dress up in fire suits.

It was cute to see all the kids as little firemen.  Graham, of course, had no interest.

Then the kids got to climb up into one of the fire trucks and make the lights flash and honk the loud horn.  They thought that was great fun.

All except for Graham, who had no interest in doing that either.

Another thing they did was spray out an imaginary fire using a brush rig hose.

Finally, Graham found something that he wasn't too shy to do.

At the end, each kid (even Avery) got a bright yellow cup.

They also got little fireman hats.

We had the kids line up for a picture, but as you can see in the foreground, Graham didn't feel like it.

Before we left, the kids were shown the outside of a few more fire trucks.

When we got home, we used their new cups for lunch, and when we put cold milk in them, they turned green.

I think the kids had a fun time, despite their shyness.

medieval faire

Every year our local library has a medieval faire.  This year they served fried chicken and other goods for dinner.  Then we wandered around for a little while just looking at the different displays.

Drake was fascinated by the chain mail and spent a while just looking and asking questions.

And Graham and Avery were interested in the necklaces, to the point where I couldn't get them interested in anything else.

They also had an area where you could dress up in medieval clothing and get your picture taken in a big chair, but my kids weren't interested in that at all.

saturday fun

We started off the morning by working outside a little bit.

By working, I mean that Shad worked and I picked tomatoes.  These are orange blossom tomatoes and green zebra tomatoes.

The kids picked mulberries, as is evidenced on their faces.

Graham had a soccer game.  He actually gets out and plays now.

He refuses to wear his soccer cleats or shin guards, but at least he's out on the field.

Drake likes to play on the playground during Graham's games, and usually finds a friend.

As aggressive as Graham can be, he's not at all aggressive out on the field.

This video shows him actually kicking the ball once.

After Graham's game we went over to campus to attend the Sagebrush Arts Festival.  It's basically local artists, of all different mediums, selling their work, with live music and a Children's Art Yard.

After wandering and admiring all the art and crafts, we enjoyed the Children's Art Yard.  I helped Avery make a little bracelet which she wears all the time, and the boys loved making their own jewelry too.

The rest of the day we just relaxed (and worked a little) at home.  'Twas a good day.

drake and his bike

Because Graham (who is 3 years old and Drake's younger brother) learned to ride his bike without training wheels, Drake decided he'd better learn too.  He is definitely our most cautious child, so he was very unsure and worried the entire time he was trying.

But even Drake figured out how to ride without the training wheels.

Here's some video, too.

He hasn't been back on his bike since this one time, but at least he did it once!

randomness

Here are just a bunch of random pictures.

This is Avery sitting in her booster seat during preschool when I taught.  She thought she was just one of the students.

This is me, trying to get a shot of me pregnant.

If you can't see my face, I'm okay with pregnant pictures of myself.

This is a pile of blankets...

...full of kids.

Graham with a Q-tip taped to his nose.  I think he called it his mustache.

The end... for now.

dr. appt.

So I had the appointment where the doctor checks you, if you know what I mean. If you're interested in details, keep reading. As far as the picture below, I had changed a bad diaper and hadn't put pants on her yet when she found Drake's socks and Graham's shoes, and decided to put them on.

The doctor told me that the baby's head was down (which I could have guessed by all the kicking going on up high).

He said that I was almost 3 cm. dilated.

And he said that I was 50% effaced.

And then he said, "Well, we'll see you in a week, unless you have a baby sooner!" I'll be 37 weeks on Friday.

In other news, Graham went out and rode his bike again the very next morning after his success without training wheels.

Here's a little video. He loves it.

Graham's first day of preschool

Well, Graham has officially started preschool, and I got to teach first (something about me having a baby soon....).

It's nice to be back on a good schedule again. And I'm glad Graham has some friends that he'll see on a regular basis. They're a fun group of kids.

labor day weekend

I know I usually post a lot of pictures, but this one really has a lot. You've been warned. In my defense though, this is my way of sharing the pictures I take with family members.

For Labor Day weekend, we went to Provo, Utah to be there for the baby blessing of my nephew Cannon. Friday night we stayed in North Salt Lake with Shad's sister and spent a little time with their family, which was fun. Saturday morning we continued down to Provo and met up with my family.

The kids (and several adults) had a good time feeding some ducks.

Shad and Cannon, the star of the weekend.

Everyone else arrives.

These two were fun to watch the entire weekend. Avery just wanted to be like Jayden.

Watching funny videos.

Heading to the park with Grandpa and Grammie.

Trent.

Drake loved this dog. She belongs to Amy's family, and Drake was more than happy to walk her around.

Blowing bubbles.

Talking to the dog (sorry, I can't remember her name now).

Sarah was good to entertain my kids from time to time.

My mom's oldest brother and his wife, and several of my cousins, stopped by the park to say "hi" and visit for a little bit before heading to the BYU game. It was fun to see them.

Taking advantage of the hotel's pool before dinner.

Back at Trent's and Amy's place.

Waiting for homemade ice cream.

The little man and his dad.

Sweet facial hair and a proud mom.

By the time we made it back to the hotel, the boys had already fallen asleep, so we just stuck them in bed.

Avery, on the other hand, had a hard time falling asleep.

But even she eventually gave in to slumber.

Sunday morning, Trent blessed handsome little Cannon in their ward.

It was very nice, and Cannon did great.

After we got back to Trent's place, it was picture-taking time. This is both sides of the family who could make it.

These are the kids.

This is just our side of the family.

And this is just our family. I didn't realize I was hiding behind a branch.

Brother Nathan and family.

The brothers in attendance and Cannon.

I like this picture.

Don't ask.

My mom and I.

My mom surveying the inevitable.

Micah and cute kids.

That afternoon, we headed back to the park for some games that Amy's family had planned. Drake found a new friend and got to drive his remote control car around.

Graham and Avery decided to sleep instead of participate. We just left them like this in the car, with the doors open, until they woke up.

If you're familiar with the show "Minute to Win It", that's essentially what we did. Instead of individual competition, we split up into teams.

I didn't get a picture of all the activities (I don't think), but here are several. In this one you had to try to move the cookie from your forehead to your mouth using only your facial muscles.

Here's some video for your enjoyment.

For this one, you had to land the slinky on your forehead so it was coiled closed.

This was a contest to see who could drop a Mentos into a 2-liter coke bottle first.

It was fun to try the different things they had set up.

Back at Trent's and Amy's, the kids had a good time playing ball.

As did some adults.

Amy's family had to leave because of a long drive ahead of them, but we did a few more "Minute to Win It" type games.

Drake enjoyed trying to bounce a ping pong ball into the cookie jar full of water.

Matt enjoyed stuffing as many ping pong balls into his mouth as he could.

Cannon slept.

Trent tried to compete...

...but Matt definitely has a bigger mouth.

We also played tic tac toe by bouncing ping pong balls into cups of water.

This time I brought my kids' pajamas so if they fell asleep on the way to the hotel, we could just stick them into bed. (Avery, who still sucks her thumb a lot, is sharing her other thumb with Grammie.)

Drake was getting creative with styrofoam bowls and plastic forks and other things.

The next morning, it looked like a contest to see how many different people we could rotate through the beds.

We also took advantage of the pool again before checking out.

And the kids enjoyed watching cartoons one last time before heading back home.

Before leaving Provo I bought peaches to can and jam and Shad got a couple new suits (first time he's bought any suits since we were married).

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we were able to go down. My body is definitely tired from being on my feet so much, but it was worth it to hang out with family.