Bounce U

Today I took the girls to Bounce U to get a little energy out of them. We went with my sisters and their kids. My mom also came along to watch her grand kids have fun. We had a great time and the kids definitely got a lot of energy out of them.
Peyton enjoyed putting on the boxing equipment but said it was way too hot.

Hailey decided to just hold it instead of putting it on.

Alexis loved every minute of it. Luckily her cousin Summer took great care of her and helped her go down the slides.

It was another great summer day.

Sisters Sharing

The girls were driving me crazy tonight so I decided we needed to get out of the house and get a treat. We headed over to Water & Ice for some ice cream for me and shaved ice for the girls. When we got home with our treats the girls decided to share their treat with Alexis. She would take a bite from Hailey's (grape) and then go to Peyton (pink lemonade) for her next bite.

She loved every minute of it. She rarely gets treats since they usually contain dairy or eggs so she was in heaven. It was nice to see the girls sharing so nicely and for them to actually decide to do it on their own was even better.

The End of Swim Lessons

We have finally reached the end of Hailey's swim lessons. At the beginning of the summer (June 1st for us) I told Hailey that she had to be in swim lessons until she could swim across the pool by herself without any help. Hailey is a stubborn child and when she doesn't want to do something you can't bribe or threaten her to do it. So I tried to be patient every time she started crying in the car on our way to swim lessons or when she would cry when we got to her teacher's house. I knew she could physically do it but mentally she just wasn't going to do it. Luckily she had a super patient teacher who knew how to handle her much better than I do. After a month and a half of swim lessons she finally decided to let her worries of drowning go and just swam. She is now a total fish in the water and is loving every minute. So today was her last day and her teacher let Hailey do whatever she wanted to do.

She really enjoyed going down the water slides just like she does on a roller coaster, hands up in the air.

She also loved jumping off the diving board.

She wanted me to take a picture of her doing everything including a back float.

Here is her wonderful teacher Brenda. I don't think any other person could have done a better job especially with Hailey's personality.

Brenda invited Peyton to join in the fun and Peyton was so excited.

Alexis and I stayed inside the house and worked on a skill that I would really like her to perfect.... WALKING!

Too bad Brenda can't help me with this one. What a wonderful day! We are so proud of you Hailey. We love you.

What A Sweetheart

After I put Alexis to bed tonight I came upstairs and this is what I found waiting on the kitchen table for me.
Peyton had made me some ice water with a lime on top, cut up some strawberries, and made me a cute little card. It was so sweet of her and it made me feel like I was actually an okay mom. Peyton is such a great daughter and has been so helpful ever since I had Alexis. I am so proud to call her my daughter. I love you Peyton.

Almost Perfect Day

Today didn't start out perfect. My father-in-law came down to our room and woke me up out of a deep sleep at 4:55 AM to tell Ryan he needed to get up and go to the airport (they went to China today). I couldn't fall back asleep so I just watched TV until Peyton woke up. Peyton went to swim team, then we went to my Primary presidency meeting, and then it was off to Hailey's swim lessons. On the way home from swim lessons we picked up a pizza from Little Ceasers and came home to eat it for lunch. That is when the fun began. Peyton's friend Rachel came over and we played Monopoly and wii. Then we made chex muddy buddies (puppy chow) and dipped strawberries and raspberries in chocolate. My sister Christin called a little later and invited us to go to Mesquite pool so we put on our suits and jumped in the car to go swimming. Hailey decided to be so brave and went down both big water slides numerous times and even jumped off the diving board into the very deep water. We all had such a great time. My niece Kate decided to come home with us so we had a great little party with Rachel and Kate. The girls ate leftover pizza from lunch and of course more chocolate covered strawberries and puppy chow. Once Rachel and Kate left I was thinking that these are the days of summer that you really need to enjoy. It was close to perfect and I am so grateful for days like these. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as great.

Fun Filled Weekend

This weekend we had a great time hanging out with my family. We were able to go swimming at my sisters house a couple of times. The kids had a great time jumping in the pool together.
Hailey finally decided to start swimming across the pool on her own. I was so excited.

My sister Rachael was in town for the weekend and we all had a great time hanging out with her.

My mom, my brother Scott, and his girlfriend Megan also joined in the fun.

Alexis enjoyed the swimming but really loved playing with her cousin's toys.

I love weekends filled with great family fun.

Ouch!

The day we got back from Utah last week Alexis took a little spill off the couch and this is what she ended up with.
A lovely carpet burn on the tip of her nose and above her lip. She was pretty upset but luckily got over it pretty quickly. Doesn't it look cute!?

Happy 4th Of July

We spent the 4th of July up in Utah. We were able to spend a week enjoying the weather and family and friends. My in laws have a 3 bedroom condo in Provo so we had a very nice place to stay. On Monday I flew in to Salt Lake with Alexis (Ryan drove to Utah with Peyton and Hailey). We went and visited my sister Rachael at work and then went to the church history museum with my brother Andrew. The girls had a great time in the children's area of the museum. We then drove to Provo.
One of our first stops on the trip was of course the Cougar. The girls loved walking to it and climbing on it. This was Alexis' first opportunity to meet the Cougar.
On Tuesday we went to BYU. We walked around the bookstore, got a treat in the cougareat, and of course went bowling. The girls loved every minute of it. We also visited the Bean Museum and the Earth Science Museum. There are so many fun places to visit at BYU.

On Wednesday we spent the day in Salt Lake (I forgot to take pictures). We met up with my sister-in-law Michelle at Temple Square and walked around. Then we went to Liberty Park where the girls enjoyed the splash pad and playground equipment. We then went to Andrew and Michelle's house to have a BBQ with Rachael. It was such a great day.

On Thursday we went back up to BYU to go bowling again but it was closed because the lanes weren't working. So instead we went to the cougareat and enjoyed some food and treats. Later that evening we went to our friends house for a BBQ. It was so great to see Beth, Eric, Matt, and Stacey. We have so many great memories with them during our years at BYU and it is always nice to be able to catch up. They all have 3 kids around the same ages as our girls so the kids had a great time also. They even made up some dances and performed them for us. It was so cute.

On Friday my sister Rachael came to hang out with us in Provo. We were able to go to Seven Peaks and enjoy some time on the water slides. My cousin Laura and her family (visiting from Connecticut) happened to be there on the same day as us so it was great to spend some time with them. The girls loved the water slides and can't wait to go back.

On Saturday Ryan finally got a chance to do some fireworks with the girls. I don't know who was more excited. Here they are with all of their fireworks.

My brother Andrew, his wife Michelle, their son Drew, and Rachael and her boyfriend Steve were all able to come have dinner with us before we went to watch Stadium of Fire. Alexis enjoyed giving Drew lots of hugs.

Here is a picture of the girls watching Ryan do fireworks. My brother Andrew also helped light them.

Our little fireworks.

Rachael and her boyfriend Steve enjoyed watching the fireworks also.

The girls love their Aunt Rachael.

Here we are waiting for Stadium of Fire to start. We ate lots of Popsicles and just relaxed on the grass while waiting.

The girls loved holding sparklers.

Here we are waiting for the big fireworks to begin.

Here they are. The fireworks were fantastic and lasted a long time.

My nephew Drew was mesmerized by them.

On Sunday we started packing up and just enjoyed our last day in Utah. The girls really wanted to wear their new BYU shirts they picked out at the bookstore.

And of course they wanted to take one more walk down to the Cougar. We had such a wonderful time and the girls didn't want to leave. Peyton wants to spend 2 weeks in Utah next summer and I think we will try to. Thanks Mom and Dad Ferrell for allowing us to stay in your condo. Happy 4th of July!

Father's Day

Well this post is better late than never. On Father's Day Hailey was so excited to get up and make Ryan breakfast in bed. She put the toast in and even buttered it all by herself. The girls made Ryan lots of cute presents. He loved all of them.

Here Ryan is with 3 of his 4 favorite girls. We love you Ryan. You are a wonderful father and husband. Thanks for being the best.