Daddy Daughter Date

Last Thursday Mike took Maddie on their first official date to see Toy Story 3. Maddie was all about the popcorn and seats that tipped back, and Mike said the movie was really good, except that Maddie doesn't know how to whisper when she is excited!

I have really fond memories of daddy daughter dates with my dad when I was little. We usually went to Pizza Hut for a personal pan pizza, but it didn't really matter. I just loved having the one-on-one attention and affection.

More on our trip to Idaho coming when the laundry is under control! :)

Family Galore

This is what our driveway looked like all week. Mike's sister Alison, her husband Ron, and their kids Talia and Malachi came out from Connecticut to visit the family and spurred on gatherings almost every day. They stayed at a time share in Park City most of the week but the other 4 nights they stayed with us, so we have been the hot spot.

I loved getting to know Alison better. She taught me so much in the short time she was here!

Top 3 things:
1. How to roast brussel sprouts. YUM.
2. How to express and keep my boundaries (she is a psychologist and did lots of "therapizing", as Rebecca would say).
3. How to use coconut oil in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. (She prefers to use all natural organic ingredients for cooking, cleaning, and eating. She knows so much about herbs, oils, etc. I need her to write me a book cuz I can't keep it all in my head!)

Here are some of us at the first family BBQ last Saturday.

Talia and Malachi loved attacking the uncles (Paul)

Good thing we have a million miles of grass. It provided plenty of wiggle room for 39 people!

We had FHE at a park in Provo Canyon. It was very cool to sing songs and have a spiritual thought together.

Gotta love the s'mores! Sticky, gooey goodness.

Daddy taught the girls how to throw rocks into Provo River.

Mike inducted Talia and Malachi into our nightly dance club to his 80's music. It was hilarious to see them all getting boogie with it.


This was the family gathering before the fireworks... and also for Malachi's 8th birthday. Alison made the most to-die-for chocolate cake known to man. Who cares that it fell into a million pieces... all the better for dividing, actually.

Another example of the kids attacking the Uncles...

And another. Talia and Malachi really love their Uncle Mikey. He is crazy with them, which probably reminds them of their mom, because Alison is known and loved for her quirkiness. In fact, they have quite similar personalities... which makes them really fun to hang out with.

Not pictured are:
Family gathering #1 (swimming in Park City hotel pool)
Family gathering #4 (Sister's Night in Park City, where we talked girl talk, ate ourselves silly, painted our toe nails, gave foot massages, did clay masks, made chocolate chip cookies, and played games till 2 in the morning!)
Family gathering #5 (picnic at Thanksgiving Point)
Family gathering #7 (Sunday evening farewell to the travelers)
Family gathering #8 & 9 (parade and picnic--last post)

Now the question is, what do we do with all our free time? I suppose we could do some deep cleaning, catch up on sleep, and maybe Skype with everyone because we're still not sick of them?

Happy Birthday America!

We have been partying hard around here. We are all sleep deprived and feeling a little sun-sapped, but it's been FUN!

In preparation for the partying, we did firework painting with pipe cleaners.

Ella went to town with the blue. It caused me to feel for the Blue Man Group... cleaning dried blue paint off skin is not easy.

Another day we broke out our USA floor puzzle. It was the closest we got to studying any kind of US history since our library was closed for the week.

Maddie is getting good at recognizing where each family member was born and other odd facts about some states.


When there is a birthday, there must be a birthday cake!

I have always wanted to go to the Stadium of Fire, and this year I got my wish! Mike's sister Alison and family came out to visit from Connecticut (more on that later) and provided the impetus for getting there.

We saw Carrie Underwood!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! She is so talented, and it doesn't hurt that she is gorgeous. I got some great video footage but it takes forever to upload so maybe I'll add it later. The entertainment was fabulous.

I just love fireworks. There is something about the smell in the air and the patriotic music... they do a great job of making you proud to be an American.

Maddie got to watch the fireworks with her Aunt Rebecca and family and apparently had a great time. Ella missed out but got a good night's sleep at home with Grandma Andrews.

This morning we went to our favorite part of the Freedom Festival--the grand parade!



Later in the afternoon we met some family at a park for about the 9th family activity in a week.

The cousins rolled down the hill while the adults played Bocce ball.


I found this fitting floral display... there is just something about red, white, and blue that stirs me. We have definitely enjoyed our patriotic week! Hope you all did too.

Princess Week

This week was 'fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants' style. We still managed to have a lot of fun with our princess theme.

Tuesday morning my parents were visiting and Maddie requested Grandma's signature crown. Perfect!

That afternoon we had a princess tea party and talked about being polite and having good manners. When Mike came home that night Maddie was sure to tell him we "learned about being polite!" Hopefully she caught on to what that entails.

Wednesday we picked peas from our garden and played Princess and the Pea. I had tried to get a copy of a book at the library to no avail, so I just told the story from memory.

Ella loved jumping on the pillows but she was really confused about why we weren't eating the peas.

I guess it technically should have been just one pea and not the pod, but they got the idea.

The kids love opening the pods to find the little balls inside. They are so cute and sweet, who wouldn't be enthralled by them?


You remember the 'throne' Mike got for Father's Day? It came in an awesome box that I saved because I knew we needed to do something cool with it.

I didn't really have a plan but it worked out great! I cut the bottoms off and folded them up to turn them into turrets (spires says Maddie). We talked about how princesses really used to live in castles and looked up pictures of real old castles in Europe online. Then we talked about something we have today that sort of look like castles... temples.We looked at pictures of lots of temples and talked whose house they are, where Mommy and Daddy got married, and how she can go there too someday.

When Mike got home he cut windows into the turrets so the girls could put their heads in and look out (and Pooh Bear). Ella likes to climb in and out of the windows (on the other side). It has been a hit.

Friday I shared with Maddie a sweet poem I remember from Young Women called "A Child of Royal Birth." It was a good opportunity to talk about where we came from, why we're here, and where we are going. My sense of who I am as a daughter of God has been one of my greatest sources of strength in life, and I hope to pass that on to my daughters.

Saturday ended Princess week with the Lehi Grand parade and lots of local royalty wearing their crowns. In truth, Maddie didn't care much for the real-life princesses... she was more interested in spotting Cosmo and stuffing her mouth with candy!

There were a few things I would have included in my dreams. I heard about this Princess Festival in Lindon and excitedly looked it up... but the girls had to be 4 to participate. The King's Grand Daddy-Daughter Ball would have been so sweet! I also wanted to attend a Medieval themed story-time at a nearby library, but the time was listed wrong so we missed it. I tried to find some real old princess story books but only ended up with Disney's versions, which are a little overdone if you ask me. If you ask Maddie on the other hand, she'll have you talking about Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather all day!

Wild Wednesday!

A good old friend of mine from the early married days invited us to join their Wild Wednesday activity at the Highland Fountains.

Ella is fearless of water. Maddie acted a bit like a princess, dipping her toes in and then running to the towels to snack and sunbathe.


I just have to say that I love living here in Utah! In one week, I have managed to see Mike's parents, two of my sisters, my parents, one of Mike's sisters, and two college friends! To top it off, Mike's sister Alison and her family are staying at our house a few nights this week and we have multiple full family shin-digs planned. Gotta love it!

P.S. Anyone local want a cherry tomato plant? I have zillions. Photo here. Let me know.

King of the Day

Hope all the fathers got treated like royalty today!

Our king got gourmet breakfast in bed (Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a straw bowl) as the royal princesses looked on.

We really enjoyed having Mike's dad and his wife over for dinner.

More family joined us, in person and via Skype, to honor Grandpa Andrews.

The King and his royal princesses love their new throne! Sure beats the ghetto camp chairs.

We love our Daddy, and I sure am thankful for my own pops. I have been blessed with great men in my life!

A happy, happy birthday.

Dana and I were able to spend our birthday together this year. Maybe when I was little it was not so fun to share, but now that we're older I feel bad for everyone else who doesn't have a twiner to make it double the fun.

We were treated out a bunch of times! Grandma Jean (Mom's mom) took us to Johnny Carino's last weekend, and Thursday we met my parents at the Gateway for lunch at CPK before they flew out to Texas to visit my other sister. MMmmmmm, it was yummy.

I also got a girl's night out with two of my favorite people and old friends, Erin and Joanna, whose birthdays are also in June. We went to an adorable little sweet shop called Dippidee and spent three hours gabbing away with no children to interrupt us! It was fabulous.

The morning of my birthday I woke up to these pretty flowers from Mike. I didn't mind making my own cake this year because this was exactly what I had been craving--double decker chocolate.

We met Dana and Landon at Texas Roadhouse for dinner (yes, we both rode the birthday saddle and no, I am not posting the picture), then went back to our place for cake and presents.

We got pretty spoiled. Everyone was so thoughtful. I also had two friends from the ward bring me treats, and tons of phone calls, emails, and messages wishing me a happy day. Seriously, I don't think I've ever felt so loved on my birthday.

Lastly we went to Seven Peaks on Saturday. Ella is fearless of the water and both kids are little fishies. It was a great way to end our week of celebrations!