Smooth Talker!

So today I told the girls that before they could play with friends they needed to get the weeds pulled in the play area. I'm sure you can guess what their response was! I went to the shed and grabbed a garbage bag and gloves while the girls put their shoes and socks on. Makell was the first one outside. He eyes scanned the play ground and our conversation began like this:

Makell: (whiny voice) I really don't want to do this mom.

Me: Makell, It needs to be done. If we all work together it will go really fast and we will be done before we know it!

Makell: But I don't want to do it!

Me: Makell everyone needs to help. Lets start with everyone picking 20 weeds and putting them in the bag. Guess what... If we hurry and get it done I will let everyone stay up late and have a movie party with popcorn! Doesn't that sound like fun?!!!

I turn my back to pull weeds and a few seconds later hear:

Makell: Mom?

Me: What? (I turn around to answer her and see Makell siting on the swings)

Makell: I have a really good idea mom! How about I count the weeds for you when you pull them and then put them in the bag! Mom, if you pull ALL the weeds then that means me, Kourtney, and Kaitlyn can have a movie party tonight! :)



Are you serious?! What did she just say?! I wonder how many time she had tried this before with her sisters, or I wonder how many times she has fallen for this because of her sisters? What ever it was, she caught on quick!
I'm going to have to watch this girl!

Ready, Set, PLAY!

After Saturday, life doesn't get any better according to Kourtney, Kaitlyn & Makell! We had such a fun Saturday with Bianca! We met Bianca in downtown SLC and decided we would just walk around and see what we could find to do. As we were walking around, we found the farmer's market and craft display at the park. They had some really neat and interesting things. It was a new adventure for the girls. Our little town's farmer's market was nothing like this one! Since it was extremely hot outside we decided we would walk over to the gateway and watch the movie 'Despicable Me' at the IMAX theatre. The girls LOVED it and it is now on the "to buy" list! Makell was in heaven with her popcorn! After the movie we walked around the corner and decided to check out the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. We walked in and immediately knew it was going to be a challenge getting the girls to eventually leave! Whoever came up with the idea was brilliant! It was like stepping into a new world for them. They had everything imaginable for the kids to experiment with. Makell loved shopping at the market and making sandwiches at the deli. She was soooo excited that they had tuna! The girls even made dad's lunch for the following day. :) Kourtney loved pretending to be a news anchor! She relayed the story of "the woman who swallowed a fly". Kaitlyn took a turn on the green screen as a meteorologist! We just might have daughters chose to enter the television/news field in the future! ;) I think another favorite for all of us was the life sized Life Flight Helicopter. We all took turns performing different jobs and relaying info to the control tower. We had many laughs! They also had fun rock climbing, performing sound effects, water mazes, gardening, construction, and many more hands on activities! After the museum, we ate at the Red Iguana, a Mexican restaurant that had been featured on the food network series Guys Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. Very good! It was a fun filled day! It wasn't more than five minutes after we left and Makell was fast asleep. The very next morning she asked if we would take her back to that "fun place."

Scrub-a-dub dub primary children in the tub!

The girls participated in the primary parade again this year. This is something they look forward to each year! The presidency had such a cute idea. Each child wore a shower cap while riding on the float decorated with balloons(bubbles), rubber ducks, bars of soap, and bath brushes. All having some"Good Clean Fun!"

It was so cute watching the kiddos blow bubbles as they drove along the parade route!



I just love these three little girls! After wearing the shower caps in the hot sun, their hair was wet from the condensation.

CATS

While we were in Southern Utah, Shawn took us to see CATS. I have always wondered what CATS was like, since it is one of the most popular performances on Broadway. Tauchan is a beautiful outdoor theatre. We have been to Taucahn once before but it was canceled shortly after it started due to lightening, so we were excited for the chance to go again. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but I have to say it was very interesting! I wished I would have read the story behind it before the performance began. I didn't realize the story was in the back of the program until it was practically over. It was a little hard to follow , but I loved the music! They have some amazing singers! It was quite comical at times, and I loved watching Adam and Grandpa Heaton! Their reactions and faces made me laugh! Everyone was asked to put all cell phones and cameras away during the performance due to copyright laws. During intermission some of the CATS came up the isles and they let us take pictures. The girls thought it was pretty neat. It was a little odd at times since the CATS wouldn't speak when asked a question. Makell over heard me talking to Adam about it and had to remind me that cats don't talk! I think we all agreed that the second half was by far the best! We all had a great time and it was fun to spend time together and laugh afterwards!

Fun Times At Grandpa & Grandma's House!

Our kids consider Great Grandpa and Grandma's house as one of the "Happiest Places on Earth!" Their is always endless amounts of fun to be had. This time they experienced a wide variety of fun and adventurous activities!

1- Played with cousins practically 24/7!
2- Getting to ride in the back of Great Grandpa's truck after cutting down corn stalks to feed to the cows. (Feeding the cows one corn stalk at a time! :)
3- Running out to the chicken coop every morning to check for eggs!
4- Having G. Grandma let you have a lemonade stand and making $4.50 because you gave your dog water and positioned people on the corner with arrows & signs!
5- Having a sleep over and pajamas fashion show with cousins.
6- Playing Rook, Fruit Salad, and Mormon Bridge around the kitchen table.
7- Making signs and hanging them up throughout the yard so others know you can only do certain things in certain corners! You don't even have to come inside to use the bathroom!
6- Playing capture the onion instead of capture the flag.
8- Swimming in one of the coolest pools but unfortunately had to leave early because someone pooped in the water. :( No cryptosporidium for us!

9- Watching fireworks and eating ice cream sundaes.

10- Grandma letting you have endless amounts of treats!

11- Staying up late every night!

What more could a kid ask for?!!

Something New!

I learned how to make apricot jam thanks to grandma Heaton! The process began with all of us! Grandpa took us out to an orchard, handed us a few buckets and told us to pick away. Shawn was the brave one to climb the rickety old ladder first. As we were talking, we decided the ladder was probably as old as the tree. I can't even remember the last time I saw a three legged ladder like this one. Grandpa told Adam and Gene to climb the trees and he would hand them a bucket. They weren't to fond of that idea! With only one ladder, many of us supervised and waited just in case the rickety ladder gave way! Adam could never seem to get to the spot grandpa wanted him to reach:)

It was funny to see the kids walk through the tall grass. They practically disappeared before our eyes. It totally reminded me of the movie Secondhand Lions. You could only see the tops of the grass swaying back and forth.















Grandma totally amazes me! We did three batches of jam. She makes everything look so easy. I admire her talent for teaching. It never fails that I learn something new when I am there!

Hangin' with Grandpa!

It was so good to spend a week with Grandpa Shawn! Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much time with Grandma Kim and uncle Logan. Although, it was great to visit with them the little time we did! The plans are in the works to visit them next year! We had many laughs and fun times! It's always happy times when Shawn's around! Grandpa Shawn taught Kourtney several new card games! Kout caught on extremely quick! We are optimistic that we now have someone in our family that can remember how to play so we can get some much needed practice before we play again with everyone! Adam and Shawn found out that Great Grandpa had been up on the ladder checking shingles on the house so they figured they better take it down and hide it! :) They thought about chaining up the ladder but after thinking about it they knew nothing would stop G. Grandpa.

Balloon Fest!

This was our first year to participate in the balloon fest! We were amazed! We all decided that we want to do this every year! We arrived just before 6:00 a.m. that morning and really had no idea what to expect. The event was scheduled for the two days prior as well, but due to wind conditions the balloons were never able to leave the ground. We were hoping the weather would cooperate and that the event would actually take place. Fortunately it was a great morning! It was so neat to watch the balloons be unrolled, filled with hot air, and then lift off! The girls loved walking around and in between each balloon. They were able to walk right up the the baskets and look inside. Who would have guessed that we would need blankets and coats in July? It was pretty cold so we walked over to a balloon that was being unrolled and positioned ourselves next to a basket so we could feel the warmth of the fire as they began to inflate the balloon. I was amazed at the heat those things put out and it didn't take long for us to warm up! As the first balloon lifted off it was carrying the American flag and everyone placed their hand over their hearts and recited the pledge of allegiance. I had chills as it soared over our heads! After all the balloons had left the ground, they made a big circle outlined with people and the balloons had to travel so far and come back and drop a bean bag on an X that was in the middle of the circle. The balloon that came closest won. They also had a game that they had to pop a balloon on a string within the circle with a jousting stick. And to top it all off...we all witnessed first hand that pigs can fly! lol!

Celebrate x3!

Happy Birthday to Kourtney, Janette, and Grandpa! Since these three have birthday's so close together we decided to celebrate them all together with a BBQ, cake, and homemade ice cream. One thing I thought was interesting, if you combined all of their ages together the end result was 100 years! Pretty amazing! We thought that if we put 100 candles on the cake it would definitely be a fire hazard! As a safety precaution, we were conservative on the candles! lol! We are so fortunate to have each one of them as a part of the family! They are wonderful! Happy Birthday you three!

Happy 4th of July!

This years 4th of July seemed a bit different for me. I suppose with everything that our country has recently faced, and is currently facing, made me even more grateful for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy! I feel honored and proud knowing that there are so many men and women who are willing to sacrifice their time, families, their own enjoyment , and even their own lives to make this land free. This enables my family and I to have the freedom to enjoy the things we love to do together! I am extremely proud to be an American!
We we fortunate to have Adam's cousin Bianca in town for the holiday! The girls absolutely love her and so do we! It was fun spending time with her and getting to know each other better. We are excited that she will be working in SLC for the next twelve weeks! Once again we went to our favorite place to watch fireworks! I don't know who likes it more, the parents or the kiddos. I love that the kids run practically non stop for a few hours and are completely exhausted by the time the evening is over. I was fun to have the Nuttall and Hirst families there to play and chat with!