Utah Trip - 4th of July

We were in Utah over the 4th of July this year and it was a blast. We normally go to Flagstaff with my family, but this year didn't work out, so we took our family vacation to Utah.

We started off our fun day by letting the kids swim. We told them we'd go all week, and of course, the day that worked out to let them swim was pretty overcast and got stormier as the day went on. To keep them from freezing (yes, we are spoiled from our super warm swimming pool water in AZ) Dan & Todd dumped in about 20 buckets of hot water to keep the water from being too cold for the kids. While the kids were swimming, it started to sprinkle. Luckily the pool had a tropical tree covering to keep them out of the rain.


After naps, we drove up to Park City with the Wrights & Cahoons. My aunt Dee Dee had a fantastic picnic dinner packed and lots of super fun activities. We set up our picnic in a field right in front of Skiers Lodge. We ate and played a little wiffle ball. Before the sun went down, we drove up to the Alpine Slides to ride the roller coaster and Alpine Slides before they closed. Dan had never been on either one, and had a blast on both. Allie was tall enough to ride the roller coaster ride with Tori (cousin). Drew and I waited in line at the Rocky Mtn Chocolate Factory to get yummy carmel apples and treats for everyone.


It got a little chilly as the sun set, so we settled into our blankets and chairs with our treats and waited for the fireworks to begin. This was the 1st year the kids got to watch a fireworks show. We are normally in Flagstaff, and they've cancelled their big fireworks show the last 3 years due to fire restrictions.

Allie & Drew LOVED the fireworks. Drew sat on my lap for the entire show mesmerized by the show, eating his enormous sucker. Allie kept saying "this is the best 4th of July ever!" She loved every minute of it.

We had a blast with the Wrights & Cahoons and can't thank them enough for making it such a fun holiday!

Dan is talking to Owen...

Allie is enjoying some celery.

Allie & Lily in their matching 4th of July dresses.

Utah Trip - Aquarium & Zoo

We went to the Hogle Zoo in SLC, Utah with my cousin Aubree and her twins, Lily & Enzo. It was a cute little zoo and all the animals were close up and the exhibits were easy to walk to. It was one of the warmest days on our trip - 95 degrees, but it was still doable. The kids really enjoyed seeing the animals close up, but Allie did NOT like the way they smelled.


When we looked at the giraffe exhibit, we had to go inside a building. You could go up the stairs to be a the same level as the giraffe's faces. When we got inside, Drew said "Oh look, blueberries!" Allie was thoroughly disgusted and quickly corrected Drew. She let him know they were NOT blueberries but that they were giraffe potty. She covered her nose from the smell and wanted to get out of there fast! We rode the merry go round with the twins - it was their first time riding one.

We also went to an aquarium in Sandy, Utah. It was cool to check out the different sea creatures they had. In the middle of the aquarium, there was a large pool with sting rays and fish in it. You could reach over the side and touch the sting rays. Allie wanted to touch one, but as soon as they'd come close, she'd reach her hand out with a little squeal.

Swim Lessons

This summer the kids took swim lessons with Mrs. Stacie throughout the months of June and July. We had an unusually mild June, so the first few lessons the kids had to endure some chilly water and overcast days. Not cool when mom had to get in the water with them...


Allie learned so much this summer. By the end of the summer, she was swimming by herself across the pool, diving down to the bottom of the pool to get the pool toys, diving in the pool from the side and swimming back to the edge, and practicing her freestyle stroke. It was impressive how much she progressed. She LOVED to swim, and loved to do it all by herself.


Drew HATED swim lessons at first. He'd cry each time I put his swim suit on him, and say "no swim mom, no swim". I felt so bad handing him over crying to Mrs. Stacie but she would give him a big hug after every couple swims. I wasn't sure I wanted to torture him for the second session, but went ahead and did it anyways. I was SOOO glad I did. He did a complete 180 - I'm not sure if it was the warm weather and warm water that made the difference, but he did great and now he's a fish. He liked to spend more time under the water than above it and he LOVED to practice his bubbles with me. By the end of the summer, he could jump in from the side and swim to the edge. He could almost climb out of the pool by himself too. He would swim across the pool with help from mom or Mrs. Stacie reminding him to come up for a breath.


It was a lot of fun to see both kids learn and see their confidence grow.

Pictures of our unborn fetus...

First Ultrasound - 4/8/09
Here is the first ultrasound we had done around 13 weeks. Everything looked good, and he was already measuring a little big for his due date. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of what the gender was, but no such luck. With Drew, the ultrasound tech gave us a 70% confidence that it was a boy, and it was confirmed at the 19 week appt that it was a boy. But the lady that did our ultrasound was strictly business, and wouldn't even humor us - Dan called her "Cruella DeVille" and even hummed the song as she performed the ultrasound.

2nd Ultrasound at 20 1/2 weeks (6/1/09 & 6/11/09)

We had 2 ultrasounds done around 20 weeks. One was just to get basic measurements in the Doctors office, and then we did a detailed one at a place that specializes in ultrasounds. The babies kidney's were slightly enlarged and they just wanted to check them out. Luckily, everything turned out good, and this enlargement of the kidneys is more common in boys than girls.

The following 2 pictures are in 3-D. It was pretty cool to see his face and profile, but the baby looks a little bit like Gumby.

AND ITS ANOTHER BOY!!!!

His foot

A profile of his face, with his arm and hand above his head.

3-D picture of his two little legs. They look very long and skinny...

Mother's Day Pics

May 5, 2009: So this year Sarah and I attempted to get a grandkids picture for Grammy Scarbrough for Mother's Day, because we had a new addition to the clan (little Emery Smith) and it had been a couple years since a grandkids picture. But, it turned out to be a little more difficult than we thought... It was a SUPER hot day, and the kids were melting as soon as we got there. Their cheeks were flushed and they all were a bit cranky and didn't want to be photographed...


Here are a couple of our attemps... (Thanks Gavin for being our photographer).

One Year Down, Only 14 to Go...

May 19, 2009:

Allie completed her first year at preschool. It was a wonderful year, she learned and grew so much over the past school year. She truly loved every minute of it and loved her teacher, Mrs. Kerri Robinson. By the end of the year, Allie's penmenship had drastically improved. She was doing basic math, and could count to 39 all by herself. She could count to 100, if we helped her with each of the tens. She would count 37, 38, 39, 30-10 (instead of 40).


Allie loves to color and draw pictures, and write down our orders in a notebook. She has also drastically improved her coloring skills and stays in the lines pretty darn well. At the beginning of the year, she didn't really care, and would basically quickly scribble. But now, she takes her time and choses each color carefully to make each picture an masterpiece.


The graduation was super cute and sweet. The kids did a couple of songs and showed the things they had learned all year.

Like Father Like Son

What else can I say - I love these two boys to pieces!!! At first Dan just thought it would be funny but they both got such a kick out of it they went to my parents house for dinner in these stunning outfits. They both make me laugh and smile... Luv U!