You know it's time to dust when...

The other day we were all hanging out in the bedroom when out of nowhere Kailey starts jumping up and down screaming "Bubbles...Bubbles." Sunbeams were coming in through the windows and all the dust in the air looked like bubbles to her. She ran up and down the sunbeam trying to pop the "bubbles." It was the cutest thing, although somewhat embarrassing! It reminded me of the fish in Finding Nemo that loves the treasure chest in the dentist's fish tank....and don't pretend like you're too cool and you don't know what I'm talking about! Finding Nemo is fantastic!

YAY, all caught up!

Yesterday, Wilma Dan's mom, and her husband Dennis invited us to go out on their boat. We met them at the mouth of the canyon, and as soon as Kailey saw them she said, "I'm Ba-ack." It was really funny! We headed up Provo Canyon and went to Deer Creek. It was a blast! Thanks you guys for the invite and thanks for dinner on the boat too! Owie just chillin', lying on me in his life jacket - that took him a while to get used to. He loved those Costco mangoes - but who doesn't.
Kailey, Grandma, and Dan holding on for dear life!
Me and Owie snuggling!
Dan and Dennis went wakeboarding. It was fun to see Dan out there again...it had been awhile. I reminded him that he wasn't such a young buck and to take it easy. We have two kids ya know?

Owie thought he wanted to get in too, but quickly changed his mind when he realized this wasn't a heated swimming pool!

Grandma Wilma was kind enough to watch the kids for us while we played with Tony and Jocelyn. They had a ton of fun. Thanks Grandma!
Owen liked eating the paint more than he liked painting with is. Kailey really enjoyed herself though, and she's been talking about painting every day since. I think I'll reserve that activity for Grandma's house though - that's one mess I don't really want to deal with:)
Real cute Owie. You got anything on under that?

Independence Day

Jocelyn, my sister in law, invited us to one of her client's private 4th of July party in Tooele. The host has one of the largest collection of WWII memorabilia in the world. It was crazy to see all that he has, and we were just privy to on of his 10 warehouses! It was also humbling and amazing to talk to some WWII vets and hear their stories. How grateful I am to the men and women that are serving our country right now. And although it seems selfish for me to say, how grateful I am that Dan is NOT serving. I wouldn't wish those memories or experiences on anyone. Here are some pictures of the tanks and stuff.

There were posted signs everywhere asking for people not to touch any of the collection. To anyone that cast a wary eye at Tony, he replied, "It's okay, I'm a tank model." Clearly.

It was a fun time. Thanks Jocelyn!

Should've posted these cute pics in June too

At the end of May I watched my brother's kids for a few days. It was pretty crazy having to worry about 4 kids' schedules, but all in all, it was actually enjoyable. They were really good playing with eachother. And it didn't hurt that they all liked Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. As this picture shows, I really didn't watch them...Playhouse Disney did:)Ah, my favorite time of day. Bed time! Look how cute they are in their jammys!
A fun day at Kangaroo Zoo. I'm sure it's easy to flip this, but I didn't have the patience to figure it out. This is Kailey at Owie's party modeling off her new sweatshirt. I can't get enough of that cute girl!
Couldn't resist putting this one up either. I just love that guy!

Should've posted June 3

Now if that's not a face of a boy who loves his birthday present, I don't know what is.
Yeah, I guess I'll smile for you, I mean you did just buy my this AWESOME toy!
Wait, Shhh...don't bug me. Let me just enjoy this bite. Ah, Heaven!

Owie's Birthday! We had a really good day! Lots of family, yummy food, and fun new toys! His favorite was the ball bopper! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Lame Returning Post

I know, I'm sure you're thinking, "what, that's all she could come up with after weeks of not posting...a stupid typing test?!" I promise, better posts and pictures soon. I've been busy doing nothing, I'm sure you know how that is:)

Fun Challenge

111 words

I guess all those papers in college still manifest themselves...just in different ways!

Sister's Graduation

I know, it's weird, I don't ever call my sister by her name. She's just "sister" to me. I meant to post these pictures a while ago, it just never happened, so here you go! It was kind of difficult keeping Owen entertained during the ceremony...I think this picture represents the only time I was successful.

Congratulations Sister, I'm so proud of you! It was so fun being with you on that special day. I feel like for that last couple of years, you've been the one there for me at all the important times in my life, and it was really nice for a little role reversal. I can't wait to support you on other important days of your life.

Maybe a Little Weird, but Bear With Me

So, I was looking through some pictures on my computer of what to post, and I had a bunch of Kailey and her best friend Caden. As I uploaded them to my blog, I couldn't help but notice something. See if you can guess.....

What do you think? When else do you possibly take a carriage ride, eat cake (maybe get it all over your face), and then top it all off with a hot bath? I don't know, Heidi and Curtis, this may be a foreshadow of what we're in for in twenty years! I hear wedding bells....

And of course, they live happily ever after!

Summer Fun Snapshots

The kids really like playing on the mock 4-wheeler. We gave this to Kailey as a present the same day we brought Owie home from the hospital - we were trying to "soften the blow."
The kids both love jumping on the tramp! We really need to get one in our backyard. This is at their Nana's house.

It''s No Wonder He Won't Eat His Green Beans

I was in my bedroom folding clothes and the kids were being too quiet. I walked out and found this! Kailey had so beautifully shared her treat with Owie.

This was Owie at Kailey's birthday party. It looks like I'm going to need two birthday cakes for him to satisfy his sweet tooth!

I'm Two!

Kailey's birthday was last Tuesday, and we had a blast! She really enjoyed turning two and having all the birthday attention on her. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!Her Daddy got her some balloons, and the Tinkerbell one was her favorite - she's really into Peter Pan right now.
I had to put this picture in, because I'm really proud of that quilt I gave her. I made it - impressive huh:)...atleast for me it is! That cute rocker is from her Grandma and Dennis and she's opening a kite her daddy got her. They flew it the next day, and the string broke, and the kite flew away...so sad!
Her Nana got her that butterfly puzzle. She loves doing it, well she makes me do it, but she tears all the pieces out.
That's her butterfly birthday cake. It turned out pretty cute, despite the fiasco we had baking it the night before. (see previous entry if you don't know the story)

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

So, we're having a birthday party for Kailey tomorrow, as she's turning 2 on Tuesday, and I needed to bake her cake. I thought it would be fun if she helped me push the buttons on the mixer. WRONG! Actually, it worked just fine until she got a little button happy. I was pouring the water into the bowl, and the mixer was in the up position, and she thought it would be a good idea to turn it on. I can't say a whole lot more about it other than, I almost peed my pants! Here are some pictures...ENJOY!

Sunshine is Finally Here

Well sort of...atleast for one day. Monday was so beautiful! The kids spent most of the day outside, especially Kailey, and unfortunately, the olive skin gene didn't quite make it to our kids. I didn't even realize Kailey was getting burnt until later that evening. She was a good sport, and she thought that the aloe vera medicine was really cool! Isn't she a doll though:)

I'm a Big Kid Now!

Typically, most moms would sing this title when their kids potty train, but as you know, we conquered that weeks ago. So what could it be? I'm sure you're a little thrown off by the picture. Kailey threw out her binky yesterday! She hasn't had it for almost a year now, except for when she's in her crib, but Dan and I felt like it was time to get rid of it all together. So, yesterday at nap, I asked her if she still needed it. I explained that big girls, don't need binkys, only little babies like Owie. Well she wouldn't have any of that, and said she still wanted it, so I put it in her mouth, and told her that not today, but soon, we would throw it in the garbage. We left it at that. When she woke up from her nap she said "binky in garbage." So, we went downstairs and she tossed it in. I was so proud of her! When Dan came home, I told him that Kailey was a big girl and she chimed in that she had thrown her binky in the garbage - I didn't even prompt her, she just knew that, that was why she was a big girl. Well night time came, and I don't think she wanted to be a big girl anymore. As soon as bed time was mention, she headed for the garbage to find her binky. I purposefully put yucky garbage on top (that I had to push aside for your viewing pleasure) so I wouldn't be tempted to get it out. Well, bedtime took about an hour longer than usual. She never makes a fuss to go down, but without that binky was a different story. I would occasionally go in her room, try to calm her down (she was sobbing pretty good) and remind her of what a big girl she was, and how proud I was. It was heartbreaking, but I'm glad we've taken this first step. Wish me luck today at nap and bed time.

Guess what I did!

So, we've been pretty busy the last couple of days working on our house. I decided that it needed a little color in the kitchen. So, I surprised Dan while he was at the Jazz game and started painting! I brought the color from our living room, into the dining room. It's a real warm, tan. But I also wanted a bright color in the kitchen - maybe a blue. So, the next night I worked on that. I did it while Dan was at work. Do you notice a pattern here....yeah, Dan doesn't like to paint, plus I don't really think he trusts my judgement quite yet, so I'd rather have a project finished before he sees any part of it, or says anything for that matter:) But, luckily, he loves it. Atleast now he does. I ended up re-painting the kitchen. The first blue looked too much like it belonged in Owie's room. The second color is much better. I have to give credit to my sister, because she was the only one who I think was completely honest with their opinion. My good friends said it was "fine," which it was, but I didn't want "fine." Anyway, Megan came over and said it was awful and that I need to paint again. Well at that point I was so sick of painting, even though I knew she was right. She agreed to help me, so we headed off to the paint store and got it done before - you guessed it - Dan got home from work. He thinks I'm crazy by the way:) I've attached a picture so you can see the two colors. (not the baby blue, but the new blue, and the biege.

Nice Huh?

We also completed another project to liven up our kitchen. We did...drumroll please...our backsplash! All by ourselves! Well that's not entirely true. Curtis helped us quite a bit, and our good "handy" friends, Jay R and Larra came over for a little backsplash 101. It wasn't too bad, and I think it made Dan feel really good to do something with his hands, and it looks SO GOOD! We love our kitchen now! Again, I surprised Dan while he was at mutual (dan's the Young Men's president) and grouted it. He was pretty impressed, and I'm not going to lie, so was I! It wasn't too bad, but I was stressed the whole time thinking it was going to turn our crappy, b/c I had no idea what I was doing. The grout bag, didn't even have instructions on it - just some picture messages, that I had a hard time making heads or tails of. I had to call Larra a couple of times just so she could "hold me hand" over the phone. It turned out awesome though, and Dan said it was a really great surprise. Check us out!

Daddy Daughter Date

Last week Dan's Uncle called and offered him one of his Jazz tickets for the game that night. It was pretty close to game time and Dan wasn't sure if he wanted to drive up and watch the game by himself. So, he had a brilliant idea and decided that he wanted Kailey's company! It was so cute to watch them get ready and leave together. Kailey was so excited to be spending some alone time with her Daddy. She has had such a love affair with him lately! She wants to do everything with him, and when he has to leave for work in the morning, she pouts and says, "no, Daddy home." Needless to say they had a fabulous time. Kailey fell asleep on the way home, but woke up just as they pulled in the driveway. So, through sleepy eyes, she told me as soon as she walked in the door, "Mommy, I find monkey!" Dan had to translate, explaining that she really liked the Jazz bear. She then corrected herself, "Mommy, I find bear!" The next morning, the first thing she said to Owie was, "Owie, I find bear!" It was so cute. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is an excellent and loving father.

Easter Fun

What a wonderful time we had with family this Easter. We had the chance to spend some time with both my family and Dan's. And believe it or not, that wasn't stressful. We started our day going to Church with my family. We actually attended my Grammy's ward because she was speaking. Bryce and his family were in town so we got to hang out with them too. Taylor, Bryce's

boy, loved dragging Kailey around the church grounds. It was pretty funny, but of course, all is fun and games until someone gets hurt. Oh well. We headed back to my parents house after that and had a fun Easter egg hunt. Kailey had a great time finding the eggs and putting them in her basket. I'm glad she didn't realize there was candy inside until after the hunt, otherwise she would have spent her time opening each egg instead of hunting for them! Even Owie joined in the

fun! After that, we headed to Grandma and Dennis' house where the whole Parkinson clan was there. We pulled up right as Tony, Lisa, and Jason were hiding the eggs, and of course Kailey wanted to start right away, especially now b/c she realized what was hidden in the eggs. I managed to hold her back until all the other kids arrived. Wilma has of course prepared a schmorgesboard of wonderfulness, so dinner was FANTASTIC. And Owie absolutely loved the humongous strawberries! It was a wonderful day with family and a beautiful reminder of our Savior and His love for all of us.

Best Friends

Now I know we typically don't advocate boys and girls sleeping together, but I think at this age, we're safe:) These two just love eachother. They play so well together and Kailey gets excited every time I mention his name. Caden, or "Ah" as they affectionatley call eachother is Kailey's best friend. I took this picture as they were watching Finding Nemo. Cute huh?