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!

Oh my!

I have laughed so many times over some of these pictures! One of the rules Adam set was that they have to clean up poop. Not to long after we arrived home, Harley decided he needed to relieve himself. Adam told the girls to get a shovel and bag and get to it. Kaitlyn went for the bag and Kourtney for the shovel. Kaitlyn seemed to find a clothes pin somewhere and thought it would help, and Kourtney's face cracks me up! I wished I would have waited a second longer to snap the picture as Kourtney opened her mouth and gaged! I will agree with them on this one! It was disgusting, as you can imaging what happens to someone after traveling. Can you say diarrhea! I have to give them kudos as they have not complained once and they haven't had to be told to pick up poop! Potty training in progress. Any advice would be great! Harley seems to like anywhere and anything with shade! Where he is all black he loves a blanket with shade and three little girls giving him endless attention! He loves playing fetch and I can't tell who enjoys it more, Harley or the girls! Adam came in the other night and said, "do you know how hard it is to find a dog that won't answer to his name yet, who is solid black, and likes to hide when it's pitch black out?" His comment was, "what have we done!" lol!

The Newest Addition!

After several months of the girls asking for a puppy, dad finally caved! Friday night we told the girls that we were going for a ride because I hadn't been out of the house in almost two weeks with my ankle, and I needed to get out of the house. We drove to Draper and pulled up in front of a house. The girls all asked what we were doing? Adam turned around and told them that since they had been really good, he knew that they were responsible and ready to take care of a puppy! He said, "We are here to pick out a puppy." I snapped this picture as Adam was telling them, and they were ecstatic!

This is right after they decided which puppy to take home. There were a few different puppies that the girls could choose from. They chose the puppy with the more mellow disposition. When the girls would reach down to pet him, he would fall at their feet and roll over so he could get a good belly scratch.

I think the girls had to pinch themselves many times on the way home to make sure the situation was real, and that their dad was not playing some kind of mean joke on them! They couldn't stop smiling! While we were driving home, everyone was trying to decide what to name him. I began to shout out names of road signs as we passed by. I heard many responses like, "no way!", "I don't like that!", and "he doesn't look like one of those." So, as we passed the Harley Davidson building I shouted out the name Harley. Everyone loved it! We were thinking it was going to be much more difficult for them to all agree on a name than that!

Kourtney and Kaitlyn ran into the store with Adam on the way home to get some dog food. Makell was on cloud nine as it was her turn to "babysit" Harley while they ran into the store. She checked the basket several times to make sure he hadn't had an accident.

Swimming Lessons

I took a few pictures of the girls swimming lessons. Kourtney and Kaitlyn were in the same class this year. I felt like Kaitlyn was in a more advanced class than she probably should had been but she handled it pretty well. She had a lot of support from her older sister. I loved watching them throughout the two weeks and seeing their progress. They seem to be very comfortable in the water. Kourtney's favorite thing was not getting her pony tail pulled (long story)! This was Makell's first time taking swimming lessons. She was a bit timid at first, but became more daring and adventurous the second week. I loved watching her do "up downs." She would go completely under the water and come back up pulling the funniest face! She was even more excited that her buddy Jackson was in her class. I think as Jackson would try new things, Makell would watch and then "try" them herself. This was a new experience for them, and it was obvious that they really enjoyed being in the water!

Happy Birthday Dad!

We decided to surprise Adam/dad with a card and balloons at work today for his birthday! The girls decorated a huge card and wrote down 38 things they love about their dad! Some of the things they wrote down were so funny and others extremely sweet. One of my favorite reasons Makell chose was, "I love my dad because he smells good!" I agree Makell! After watching and hearing them list the things they loved about Adam, it made me even more grateful for the dad Adam is. Some of the things they listed why they loved him was: because he protects us, he gives us blessings, and reads scriptures with us. They were grateful for the priesthood he holds. I was surprised that these were some of the first things they wrote down. It made me realize that these things are extremely important to them, even at such a young age. Adam loves teasing the girls with a big hairy hug after he gets out of the shower. He thought they absolutely hated it! Interesting that they listed that as one of the things they loved about him! Adam had no idea we were coming. After swimming lessons, we ran by home to get the card and balloons and headed for the office. We surprised him and took him to lunch. With a little enticing, we ended up at one of the girls favorite places!