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Birthday Fun!!!
So, I am so lucky to have married someone who also thinks that birthdays should be "month long sales events" as we call them...I partied every weekend in August, not just on my birthday! Yeehaw! So, the first event was a rockin date night with my man! We lovingly call it our "white trash date night!" We went to Training Table, and I ate cheese fries (b/c I'm allowed to eat fries during my birth month...that's my own rule!), and then we hit up the drive in, for 2 movies! Yeah, the babysitter cost as much as dinner and the movies b/c she was there til 1:30am! It was soooo stinkin fun, and I wanna do it again before summer is officially over!
Then, on my actual birthday, I got to chill with these 2 fine people and all of our kiddos at the Bitner cabin. What a great place! And Kaylie took the below pic, nice photographer huh!
We did lots of four wheeling! Kaylie could not get enough!!!
After staying up til 2am talking and playing games, Josh decided that the best birthday present for his mommy would be waking up at 5:45am. He was just too excited to sleep I guess...so don't mind me looking a wee bit tired in these pics! This is my birthday breakfast...YUMMY! Andrew and Laur wouldn't let me lift a finger!
We hurried home after the cabin b/c greatest of all weekends, my sister was moving! So we dropped off our stuff and headed over to help! Then, best idea I've ever had, I took her kiddos swimming, and the 3 girls are little fish, so I laid out, got in and let them jump to me when I needed to cool off, and just vegged. So service with a tan line...does it get any better? Nope. Perfect way to spend August 21st!
We just figured out that taking the kids with us to dinner or getting a babysitter is about equal. But we like our kids, so they got to come for one last birthday celebration! If you know me at all, you know I love ice cream, and if you know me a little better, you know how much I love Spumoni ice cream, so what better place to blow out a candle than Spag Fag? (Spaghetti Factory). I love that place. Sure, the iceberg salad is miniature and contains no nutritional value, and the loaf of bread is now the size of my pinky, but you can't beat memories, and that place is full of nothing but good ones for me...late night leftovers from my siblings who worked there, etc... Anyway, I love it, and I love James for taking me there and making sure I got a candle to blow out in my spumoni. Good times!
All in all, it's been a great August, as it always is, and I think I get a little depressed when it's officially over. I love birthdays, I just wish I didn't have to get a year older anymore...-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Couple of random Josh pics:
Before his 1st haircut: Total fro!
After. Sorry, this is a funny pic for after, but I forgot to take an official one that night!This pic also serves the purpose of showing how much he loves his dino's!
This little guy is always helping! He loves to help daddy water!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ward Campout:
Addy and Joshy in the cute tiny chairs. The little kids in our ward are like superstars, all the older kids are constantly playing with them and loving them...it's so great!
Kaylie using her well versed big sis skillz!
So Kaylie and I went with all the young men to do a hike after dinner. Look at Kaylie keeping up with all those big boys!
Of course, her favorite big boy that she made walk with her, Uncle Bryan!
Don't you worry, Kaylie can even rock climb at her ripe old age of 4. Must be from all that playing on the rock wall after swim lessons!!!
So all of the sudden it got dark. And then Bryan looks to the left and says "Um guys...what is that?" Oh, it was a huge rain storm...coming right towards us! I have never seen anything like it, it was like a wall of water...so this is the after pic...after we ran as fast as we could down the entire mountain, tossing Kaylie from person to person so we could hurry as fast as we could! Then it stopped raining of course, right at the end of the trail! Ha! So at least we could get a picture, right..."these are memories frozen in time people!"
The campout wasn't much fun after the rain, we got back from the hike and everyone had scattered, home or to their tents. So we hung by the fire for a little while, and then packed up early the next morning...but it was some good memories!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the Rage:
At Raging Waters. So reminiscent right! I so remember going there trying to pick up on guys in the wave pool---back in the day! So fun! The kids had a blast! Every slide we went on Kaylie kept saying the whole way down "I want to go on this again!" She did great going down the slide, and even went under water a couple times!!! And we ran into the Walkers there too, so the kiddos had fun playing with their cousins!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Pirate Pool:
For anyone that knows my kids, these pics are insane!!! They did sooooooooo stinkin great in the water, which is unheard of! James says these pics incriminate me being so far away from them, but I would have been closer if needed! They did so well on their own and I was lovin it!!! Hoorah for swim lessons having an effect on Kaylie, and peer pressure workin for Josh!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Zoo with Jess and MacKenzie:
The tiger was so funny, trying to get a toy out of the water without getting wet...but he had to finally get in, and then he decided he liked it! My kids loved watching the tiger being so funny!
Joshy loves kitties, and this one loved him back! It hung out right by the glass and Josh was going crazy pointing and grunting of course!!!
Seriously. This is what they rode on the carousel. You gotta be kiddin me!
Cool elephant watching with Cohen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So, my boss is the backup dentist for the Jazz. So when the real Jazz dentist is out of town, we get to see some of the players! Fun huh! This is the first one I had the guts to ask for a pic with, I like Harpring, and he really is a super nice guy...(some aren't in person...)! How funny that he is almost 2 of me!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------24th of July:
Tradition. 24th of July 10k! Linds, Laur and I have done it so many times! It started at 6am!!! I got up, ran the race, and got home before anyone in my house even woke up. I totally love this race, but my ankle didn't... And not pictured is Laura, our other old roomie, she ran it even though she has a 3 month old newborn! Go Laur!
Normally we have everyone at our house for a BBQ and fireworks, but this year Bren had tickets to the Real game, so we opted for that plan, and it was sooo fun! There's nothing like being at a pro athletic event, and soccer is crazy...so loud, constant music, chanting, and smoke bombs! Ha!
Watching the fireworks was amazing! I've never seen them that up close, and I loved it! That's Kaylie with Sam...Bryan's girlfriend and her fave babysitter!
The whole crew
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Steadman wedding. Ashton's reception was a blast! We stayed all night, and James even partied after while I took the kiddos home to bed (so I could get up early for a race...or I would've stayed out and partied too...)
Kaylie and Priest.
She was hesitant at first, but then in the 2nd pic you can see a little smirk! So funny!
She was hesitant at first, but then in the 2nd pic you can see a little smirk! So funny!
Kaylie is a major dancer. Like her mommy!
I've wanted to get a good "in the air" pic forever, and this is by far my fave!!!
The whole gang. Elliot/Kolbie, Nephi/Frankie, and us. It always means trouble!
***This is actually where I hurt my ankle, which resulted in a month of no running. I somehow hurt it while dancing in huge heels, and holding a 2 year old. Hmmm...wonder why!Echo Triathlon. I beat my time surprisingly, even though I had a panic attack at the beginning of the swim! I don't know why I do that in open water, but I have got to get over it, I always think I'm going to die! I seriously did the back stroke til the first buoy! But after that I actually kinda liked the swim! The bike was perfect rolling hills, and the run was hot, but that's always my strongest part...so all in all, in was great! I love tri's! With me is my neighbor Charlotte and her friend who actually wrote an article on training for a tri with a 7 month old baby! Go her!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kercher cousins. We've had a fun summer having Christian around more to play!
Splash pad in Herriman. Long drive, but super fun destination!
Playing at the park. I was surprised how they kinda flocked together. They're getting so great at playing all together!
The bucket fascination! Ha!
I love this pic! I think they all look so alike! Cute little tan faces, yeah, that's from the Kercher side for sure!!! :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zoo with the Evans:
This monkey got right next to the window to play with our kiddos! It was so cute!
There was a little hen with 4 little baby chicks walking around, the kids wanted to watch and didn't want to see anything else. Baby things are so stinking fun to look at huh!
Kaylie and Jaxon being silly hitting their heads!
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gymboree art class for Josh:
So the class was supposed to be just for Joshy, but Kaylie got to come a couple times, and she loved it equally as much, if not more so. I guess 2 year olds really don't need their own art class.
They also have a gym part for play and learn classes. We just went for the open gym part, and my kiddos have loved it...it's super hard to get them to leave. I have to promise stamps, (that they want on both hands, both feet, and their tummies! Ha! One of the teachers did that for them once, now every time they have to have all stamp locations accounted for!) to get them out the door...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kangaroo Zoo for Christian's birthday:
Josh was so much more independent this time, he was all over the place!
I know this is blurry...but you can still see how much fun they had!!!
Kaylie and Christian...yeehaw!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cabin in July:
We got to go twice in July b/c we switched a week in June...so there are TONS of pics!
The cabin is always such a blast for the kiddos, filled with horse rides, playing in the river, or the stream, playing with cousins, bonfires, trampolines, swings, hiking, and this year for Josh; throwing rocks in water...bliss for a 2 year old boy! Needless to say, we had some fun!
My niece was taking random pics with my camera, and actually got a great shot of the cabin:
The bonfires get HUGE! Look at the heat waves on James' face, and the sparks flying! Yeah, it was a hot one!
Um, can we say blissful?
Josh and John. The twins.
Stephen and Kaylie...he's a pro, he got Poco to gallop, and Kaylie couldn't get enough!
Josh and Gma Evans
How fun is it to ride in a car without your seatbelt when you're a kid!?! They loved piling in the back of Maur's van for a trip to the river!
Kaylie and Samuel. They have a special bond, and he is so sweet with her!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4th of July:
Our tradition is now official! We go to the parade by the Clark's house, then enjoy the fun festivities afterwards (snow cones, temp tattoos, and cotton candy), then head up to Park City for swimming at the condo. Of course the end of the day contains our own fireworks and luckily Sugarhouse fireworks again this year! Yay!
Our kiddos with the one Clark kiddo not in the parade, little Georgie...Kaylie LOVES babies, can you tell???
This year again we chilled with the Bybees before, during, and after the fireworks. The kiddos are so cute to watch get all excited!
At family dinner, on Sunday, the official holiday, we lit more fireworks with all the Kercher cousins!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kaylie and Emily, bed buddies, allowed Josh to play with them...some of the time!
Oh man, such cute little chicas! I hope they are this tight their whole lives!
Fun little story: I had just finished painting the bathroom. I used every last drop of paint. As I walked upstairs, I said "Girls, don't touch the bathroom, it's all wet." Dumb. I know better. I also know better than to leave the door open. And yet, that's what I did. We were going to the cabin, so I was upstairs packing...and I heard these 2 having a little too much fun...and of course, this is what I found the two little Picaso's doing... The white ceiling paint that was still out was not smeared across the middle of the whole room, and themselves, and their clothes. But hey, they had fun right!?! Poor Emily is not as used to me freaking out as Kaylie, look how scared Em is, and how Kaylie is smiling...LOVE it! Anyway, I realized shortly after freaking out that it soooo could have been sooo much worse, they at least kept it all in the bathroom, and nowhere else downstairs! I should have thanked them-cause in all reality, it was completely my fault!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Playing in the pool with the other Evanzzz:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Evans family trip=Boise, ID. I already don't love the drive to Boise...nothingness, and a whole lot of nothingness to look at for oh, say, 5 1/2 to 6 hours. So I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the drive beforehand. But to make it even better, our transmission decided to act up the entire way, and eventually give out with about 15 minutes to go. Luckily. It was a nightmare, yes, but it could've been soooo much worse, I can't believe we got almost there!
Miracles do happen. And I swear the trip was a testimony builder for me. We had to get off the freeway, and as a cop was directing us to get off we were so frustrated, b/c it was going to take longer on the frontage road, and our tranny was already not doing so hot... Anyway, blessing in disguise BIG time, turns out there was a huge accident, and people were stopped for miles. If we hadn't gotten off the freeway, we would have had stop and go traffic, followed by a parking lot...and who knows if our car would've made it through, or started again. And I swear, once we talked to James' family and told them the situation, the tranny started doing a little better, kinda staying steady. James even asked me "Do you ever feel people's prayers working for you?" UM yes! Right then we did, among other times.
Anyway, so we made it almost there, close enough that we didn't have to even wait long on the side of the road for family to come pick us up. And the guy in Idaho hooked us up with a great transmission, and stayed late to make sure we could go home on time. We are soooo blessed. I will never understand how or why so much...
So it ended up being a fun trip, with lots more to do in Boise than I could have imagined. We went to a couple huge parks, played in fountains, went to a community pool with a rockin slide, and biked along the "Green Belt" by Boise State University, and chillin at Maureen's house was no small thing either. She lived in a huge cul de sac with a big park in the middle, biking trails and ponds all around. Not to mention her hot tub and rockin house. We were never bored!
Here's Josh on the drive up:
James drove the whole way, to make sure nothing went wrong with the tranny while I was driving, what a true gentleman I tell ya!
James drove the whole way, to make sure nothing went wrong with the tranny while I was driving, what a true gentleman I tell ya!
The kiddos did surprisingly well, which helped a ton, since we were both soooo stressed and worried about the car the whole way. I'm thinking the dvd player for the car was the best investment ever.
Kaylie did a whole lot of this. Whenever I wondered where she was, this is usually where I found her...with Sarah, and/or Sophie, in Sophie's room, playing with Polly Pockets!
The cousins play soooo well together, it was like free babysitting 24/7!
At the fountain at the big park:
The big waterslide...couldn't get enough!
Yeah, Kaylie counted each time she went down the slide... and by the end, she even went all by herself!!!
Getting milkshakes at the local ice cream shop!
The entire crew!
Splash pad fun at another park!
Josh and John had a million races down the driveway!
Maureen, James, and I on our ride, pretty darn cool scenery!
We stopped at Shoshone Falls on the way home from Boise. Pretty gorgeous huh!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Joshy's 2nd Birthday! I can't believe my baby is already 2!!!
Trains! Yay, finally some more toys for a boy around here! He plays with them non-stop!!!
Josh at age 2: Such a fun little boy. Really happy and hyper. Extremely loving, quick to give hugs and kisses, even at random moments. Still very cuddly. Great sleeper, but wakes up early, Kaylie and I are late risers... Climber. Big time. Loves trucks, trains, kitchen play, swinging very high, helping daddy water plants and trees, helping mommy sweep and mop. Could play in the sandbox 24/7. Makes loud noises, likes to tickle and chase, and be tickled and chased. Loves to paint and draw. Loves balls. Loves water, swimming, baths, sprinklers, slides. If I can't find him, he's usually in his room looking at books. Talks to an invisible audience that is somewhere behind him before he jumps from the coffee table to the couch. Every time. Likes his new dinosaurs, and automatically knew how to make them fight and try to each other. Dances every time he hears any music! Still loves a million blankies and playing the hiding game after baths. Is amazing with his fine motor skills, turning and twisting everything he can, including opening doors, drawers, etc. Super stubborn. Refuses to talk, just points and grunts at what he wants, smiles if you get it right. :)Oh, my little Josh man, Squashy, Squashua Squames, I love you, and I still remember all the time how lucky I am to even have you here with me. xoxoxoxoxo!
