Farmington Festival Days

I LOVE Farmington Festival Days. I'm one that can "take it or leave it" when it comes to parades, but it's always a sad year when I have to miss the Farmington parade. But not this year! I even remembered to go set out some blankets the day before so we had a prime spot. And had it not been overcast, we would've even been in the shade, it was that good :) Farmington is a special place to me. Having lived here for about 22 of my almost 26 years of life, it will always be home!

We made it out with a diaper bag FULL of candy, which is a shocker all on it's own because it takes Lily about 10 seconds longer than the average kid to react to a piece of candy on the street. Sweet little cousin Alyssa shared lots of her candy with Lily, and she is a pro at that candy grabbing let me tell ya! So even with the weeks worth of candy, the usually stroll in the park meeting up with people we haven't seen in years, and being perfect weather, it was a little sad not having my Mom and Dad there. I haven't wished they didn't move to St. George too many times, but this was one of the times it made me kinda sad :( They were missed, but I will be glad they moved next time I get to go visit!

Being 3 years old can make even fun things like a parade with free otterpops, sad at times. Overall we had a great day!

July 4th Celebrations

The Forth Of July is PERFECT on a Wednesday! It is ends up being a whole week of celebrations!! We started off by going to the Huntsville park for some play and a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for the Heslop boys. Lily however, was not in love with the blow-up toys like I thought she would be...

 

 

Sweet Stew sat in his stroller and watched his big sister "play". I am so excited for him to be big enough to help Lily be brave with adventurous days like this.

Michael, Danny, and Paul were scoutin' out the competition trying to look as intimidating as possible (not sure how well it worked). But they played their little hearts out during their two games in the double-elimination tournament. Paul actually had some awesome plays, especially considering the size of the guy he was up against!

 Cheering daddy on with my little "gremlin"! Couldn't love this little guy anymore than I already do.

Then we packed it up and went back home to get some work done; some of which included playing in the sprinklers and eating otter-pops!

 

 

Headed back to the cabin for an over-nighter (thank goodness it is soo close, otherwise I don't think I would make it up so easily)! Playing cards with Grandma Heslop is becoming the highlight to any of Lily's vacations. And Stewart always love some new scenery with endless exploring possibilities.

 

 

The next morning we went out on the boat. Stew and Lily did so awesome, they loved it. The big kids also got to play with some wakeboarding and wakesurfing. So fun, but definitely reminding me that I am getting OLD! I used to be able to cruz behind the boat forever, but now every single muscle is feeling it and not really lovin' it. I shouldn't be this old yet?!

 

 

 

Poolin' it up with daddy at the cabin. My brave little fish is always timid at first but then she remembers just how awesome the water can be.

 

 

Over the week of celebrations we also had dinner with our good friends, Matt & Abbey and Andy & Jenny and then went to a park and watched Eaglewood fireworks,  watched the Real Salt Lake soccer game, enjoyed some after-game fireworks, and visited Jenny in the hospital after she had her sweet baby Liam on July 4th!

It was such a fun week to spend with friends and family. I am so blessed to live in a country with all the freedoms I get to enjoy.  It is a blessing to have a day dedicated to our Independence to help me reflect on all of those who made "the American dream" a reality.

Bryce Canyon

My Grandma Anderson and all that family went camping at the Ruby's Inn Campground at the beautiful Bryce Canyon this last week. Paul had to finish out a business trip in L.A. so it was just me and the kids on this camping adventure. Not going to lie, I was super un-excited about tentin' it up with the kids for multiple nights. Especially since Stewart had never camped a day in his life! My kids turned  out to be troopers though. They both slept all the way through the first night, even with poor little Carter screaming every few hours just feet from us. The next night little Stew had kicked his blankets off and it was a chilly night. He was rattin' around and when I tried to put the blanket back on him, he popped up in his pack n' play. I put him in my sleeping bag with me which was super fun for about four minutes until he fell back asleep but not before he staked out his territory which was about 85% of the bag. I was mega uncomfortable the rest of the night but it was worth having my littles sleep so well.

It was fun to play cousins and let Lily and Stew run around and be dirty little kids for once.  Babies in arms, we all went on a gorgeous hike overlooking the Queen Victoria Trail. It is amazing to see the creations that God has put on this Earth. I know I have never been one for enjoying the beauties of nature but I really was stunned by how gorgeous everything was (my mom would be proud that I even noticed!).

 

Livin' and Lovin' L.A.

Escaping to L.A. for a couple days with Paul is always a blast... even if it is for work :) Click here for the full post of Live Love Spa L.A.
(Two birds with one stone is always better for a busy momma!)

Smartie Pants

Paul and I decided not to put Lily in a preschool this year. Well actually, it was decided for us because the list that I had her on from a lady in our ward is moving. She is so smart and I really doubt that she would learn too much to make the monthly payment worth it. So we didn't try to find any other preschool she could go to. But, wanting to be a good mother and not let my child get even a smidgen behind, I bought her an activity book that throughout the summer I would have her work on for about 10 minutes every day. I thought it could be kind of a daunting task because I don't think I have a "home-schooling" bone in my body. I started to realize that every day she was asking for it! Saying, "Mom, I want to do activity book!" I would tell her what each page said and away she went. She was FLYING through the pages.

Within about 3 weeks she was done with whole activity book! I thought it would for sure last all summer. So the next time I went to St. George, (where I bought the book) I visited the cute little toy shop and bought her the next level (ages 5-6). So proud of my little smartie pants.

Lily is starting to draw a lot and I love seeing things actually take shape. Pictured above among a duck and other scribblings is "Angel Moroni"!

Where Piggies Come From

(at least according to Lily). I love those moments in life that are so genuinely hilarious that even though you may be trying to hold back, all you can do is laugh out loud. But, I am not referring to those horrid times I can't stop laughing when I see someone get hurt. That is a whole other story which I am trying to work on because I have been told it is a horrible trait I apparently inherited. Someday maybe I'll expound but for now, back to where pigs come from...

So I'm driving in the car and Lily and Stew are in the back playing with their usual car toys. Out of nowhere in particular, Lily says, "Cows have piggies in their bums!" I of course thought I heard her wrong and said, "What!?" She said again, like she had discovered this great mystery, "Cows have piggies in their bums!!" Thinking she had been given some incorrect information by some little cousins she had recently played with, I asked, "Who told you that?" She quickly held up her toy cow and said, "See Mom, there's a piggie in it's bum!"

Trying to correct my sweet daughter and not wanting her to be confused in this world was very difficult in that moment. She doesn't seem to take me very seriously when I'm laughing through every word I spit out. So I just enjoyed the moment of my innocent little child trying to learn things on her own. She is very observant and I can't blame her for her own theories on where pigs come from.

Lagoon..it's what fun is!

It's that time of year again... parking in a sea of cars out in a giant field, standing in long lines, avoiding germ-infested handle-bars, the blazing sun beating down, and a whole lot of "interesting" people from who knows where. It's Lagoon Day!

I tell myself I can do it once a year. But now that I have someone who thinks it is a blast (other than Paul), it actually is fun. I was so proud of my brave little Lily. She even did the Tidal Wave which made her a little nervous but she was a champ. Once on that ride was enough for me! Apparently I am getting old because isn't the sign of age feeling queasy on the simplest of rides?! Ugh, it made me sick. 

Stewart had a blast too, even being stuck in the stroller for most of the time. He loved watching his big sister go round and round. His favorite was when he got to ride the merry-go-round. He even sat on a horse all by himself (with slight assistant from me of course). We went around twice and at the end I had to pry his little hands off which was followed by some shrill cries. So the fun will just have to wait till next year...