Carnival Fun

American Fork had a carnival for their city days. We drove by a few times that week, so the kids were begging to experience the lights and colors for themselves.

Everyone liked the carousel.

I was so surprised Tyler loved the roller coaster! It was fast and jerky, but he thought it was awesome to ride the "dragon choo choo!"

The favorite ride was probably the space discs. Funny little things, but they thought it was so fun to drive and move up and down. Thrilling!

The most entertaining part was the carnival crowd... wow, carnivals bring characters out of the woodwork. ;) A people watcher's paradise.

Swimming Lessons

The girls took private swimming lessons from a cute girl who is also a 1st grade teacher at Meadow. They learned sooooooooo much and progressed so fast! It was so exciting!

Maddie knows all the strokes and can swim from one end to the other! Wahoo!

Ella can swim the short length of the pool and get to her back to float and say "Help, help!" in case of emergency. It is such a big deal that she is even jumping in the water without fear!

 

Proud smiles. :)

Jake at 3 months

This little guy is soooo yummy! He is already leaving the newborn phase, which it bittersweet. I will miss it, but it's really fun to see him do new things and become more social.

We have been working harder on tummy time! I am so busy throughout the day that I often tote him around or sit him in his bouncer. But this week I am making a conscious effort to put him on the floor so he can work out his muscles!

Ty tried to entertain him with a story so I could make dinner.

The next night we tried again, and he went from this...

 ...to THIS! He rolled over! Sure it was an accident because he was arching his back, but we were proud!

He is starting to love toys! I noticed a few weeks ago that he was watching his hands intently, and starting to pull at his burp cloths or blankets, so we put toys in his hands and he loves it. 

Everyone around here loves baby and wants to hold him and kiss him.

We spent some time lying on the grass in the shade (one of my favorite summer pastimes!) and Jake looked like a little Superman.

Since he is officially 3 months old today we took the picture with the bear. We had a wardrobe change in the middle, due to some massive spit-up, but I think we got some cute ones.

We sure love our little Jake.

Swimming with Cousins

My lil' sister Emily came to Utah for an extended visit and we soaked up the time with her and little Jaymison.

We have spent many fun days swimming with cousins this summer!

It was Jakey's first time in the water! What a cutie pie!

Another thing we did to beat the heat was snow cones. Here are the kiddos waiting patiently.

 

We did occasionally get out as sisters! We were able to go to lunch one day and enjoy talking for a few hours.... so refreshing. We missed our Noellie though!

Monday on our way into Seven Peaks, Maddie bit into an apple slice and lost her tooth in the middle of the road! Luckily we found it and we're so excited that stubborn little sucker finally popped out! Her Uncle Ren and Grandpa Randy teased her constantly about pulling it, but she liked it hanging by a thread. At the end she could even turn it sideways, silly girl. That makes five gone!

Red, White, and Blue

I won't narrate this much except to  say we had a wonderful Independence Day with Mike's side of the family. We went to the Provo Freedom Festival parade where our niece spent the night to save us a spot, then a picnic in Provo canyon, and then outside the Stadium of Fire for the show. I enjoyed teaching my kids some patriotic hymns and talking about the origins of people in America. We are so thankful to live in the US of A!!!

Loved this view of the Provo Academy library.

Now that's hero worship! This boy adores his Daddy!

Two of our nephews play in the Timpview marching band. 

My beautiful babes!

We loved our spot at the church across from the stadium... as long as the sprinklers don't come on! Some nearby onlookers got wet.

Baby Jake's Blessing Day

Our little tiny man is already two months old. We blessed him yesterday because it was the day we could gather the most loved ones around us. We so appreciate everyone who came to support us and show love for Baby Jake.

My mom took pictures while I dressed him to document how yummy he is. 

I tried to get a good picture of the dude in his blessing outfit, but his arms were flapping like a bird. Babies all dressed in white are sure sweet.

We snapped a family picture before we headed to church. Mike gave Jacob a beautiful, thoughtful, powerful blessing and I was touched by how he exercises his priesthood worthily to bless our family. It was a moment of great joy in my posterity.

As I mentioned we had so many loved ones around us. Mike's dad and his wife Patti were staying with us because they were moving their storage unit from Provo to Georgia. Nick's brother David and his wife Julie were here to see them, and stayed for the blessing. We also had Mike's siblings who live in Utah, my parents and sisters Dana and Emily, my Grandma Jean, and my cousin Rachel.... and all of their kids! 
                                                                                               

Grandma Patti helped a lot in the kitchen, bless her!

Rebecca loves getting my kids to warm up to her.

Grandma Marcia held the little man.

Tyler took a close-up of me, so I took a close-up of him.

Since we didn't take a big group shot, I thought I would take candid shots to remember who came.

Auntie Em and Uncle Ren are so good at entertaining the little people. Nobody can get them smiling and laughing like they can.

We really enjoyed time with Grandpas. On that note, Happy Birthday to my Dad today!!!!!