Some randomness of Summer 2009

Over the past few months a few things have taken place that I haven't posted about. So here is a collaberation of them. This year was our first year planting a garden. Because we didn't really have a warm June nothing was growing, so we were a little worried. However, everything has really taken off and we have veggies coming out our ears! It is so fun! Speaking of not having a warm June, there is some picts of Ky playing in a hail storm in June. Gotta love Idaho! Another big event was Mudge got her first haircut! I had just a tiny bit cut off the back to even it out and Dollar cuts charged me like $12! Am I a cheapo or does that sound expensive for 5 seconds of cutting?! Anyway, Mudge was very dramatic about it and acted as if she was getting her hair ripped out by the roots. Which is funny because at home she loves to have me do her hair. She even asks me for a bow everytime! There's a few picts of when we went down to Utah for Annie's 6th bday (a cousing of Ky and Mudge). Her bday theme was butterflies and so all the girls got to dress up. It was very cute and the girls had a blast. Thanks for inviting us Annie! The rest of the picts are just of the girls and some of Ky and I goofing off. I really hate that summer is coming to an end and I hate even more that in 5 days my baby will be going to Kindergarten! I am literally pooling up with tears as I type. I will just say that Thursday will be a hard day for me.

The Big Win!

At our local UPS store they hold a monthly coloring contest. At the end of the month, they draw out a name and kid gets a prize. My girls have never entered before so when we took the picts home to color I explained to Ky that there was a very good chance she or Mudge might not win or that one of them might win and not the other. You get the picture. Well....this month both my girls won a prize! I thought it was very nice of the store to allow both of them to win. It really was the cutest thing going over there so they could get their prizes. It was almost better than Christmas morning! The girls were sooooo excited! Ky chose some play makeup (of course) and Mudge chose a box of Mickey Mouse playing cards just because he was on the box. She kept saying "Mouse-Mouse."

Swim Lessons

This year for swim lessons, my friend Debbie's daughter was teaching private lessons in her grandparent's pool. I signed Ky up for a couple of weeks and I'll tell ya what...the girl can swim! I can't believe how far she has come since last year. I think it helps that Brianne was a fantastic teacher and that Ky has absolutely no fear. I have to brag and tell you Brianne said she listned better than any other student and picked up the quickest. She can now do the backstroke, the normal swim stroke (whatever you call it) jump off the diving board with no life jacket and swim all the way to the shallow end completely by herself! I was so insanely proud of her! Really the best part of all is that she is very proud of herself and loves to show you what she has learned. However, she still is very humble and cute about it like always. Like an idiot I didn't video her even one day, but I did get some picts!

Lagoon

A few weeks ago Paul, Ky and I went down to meet Paul's family at Lagoon. I asked my mom if she would keep Mudge because at this age, there's only like 3 rides she can go on and the rest of the day I would spend consoling her while all the other kiddos went on rides. Anywho...Lagoon was blast. It wasn't too hot suprisingly and we ended up spending almost 9 hours there! Phew! On the way back to Paul's parents house Ky fell asleep in mid-sentence (literally) and I was as happy as I could be eating a carmel apple. A trip to Lagoon wouldn't be complete without the apple, a huge corndog and cotton candy. And yup, I ate all 3! Thanks so much to Paul's parents to treating us to such a fun day!

4th of July 2009

4th of July was so fun this year! We made a quick trip down to Utah to spend the weekend with Paul's family. Paul's oldest brother was blessing his baby girl so we got to celebrate two exciting events! The 4th was a relaxing day spent outside with the family. It was perfect! When it was time to do the sparklers, both my girls ended up getting burned by the sparks. Ky on her chest and Mudge on her foot. The girls were tough though and still wanted to do some more! I love resilient kids!

Life is like a circus

A few weeks ago a little circus came to Rexburg, so Paul, the girls, my mom, Ali, my niece Kristin, and I all decided to go. The last time we went to a circus was when Ky was Mudge's age so it was fun to be able to go again. The biggest hits of the circus were the pony rides, face painting and of course sno-cones and cotton candy. All the other things like the elephants, tigers, clowns and performers were really just gravy:)

New Orleans

Paul and I had the oppurtunity to visit New Orleans because a drycleaning tradeshow was being held there. It was a quick trip but a fun one. In our short time there, we spent nearly a whole day at the tradeshow and fit in a whole lot of sight seeing. Let me just say, this place is beyond hot. I have never felt heat and humidity like this before. As Paul said, "even Satan would be uncomfortable here"! Now besides the fact that there is one street, Bourbon street, that is the most disgusting place on earth, the city is beautiful with a ton of history and tons of art! We stayed at a hotel called the Renaissance Arts hotel that had amazing modern art! All over the city were art galleries and random sculptures everywhere you walked. We visited the famous French Quarter and had the most amazing food ever and also went on a steamboat tour of the mighty Missippi.

St. George

A few weeks ago my Mom bought some tickets to the Tuachan outdoor theater in St. George. She, Ali, my niece Kristin, Ky and I all went down to see two different shows. On our way down, we stopped in SLC to visit Paul's family and to drop off Mudge to Papa and Grandma who were watching her while we were in St. George. We stayed one night in a hotel while we were there and all of Paul's brothers came over with their kiddos and we had a fun night of swimming in the hotel pool. It's always so fun to see everyone and for the girls to be able to spend time with their cousins. The next day we headed down to St. George, and that first night we went to see Footloose. The following night was Annie. These shows were awesome! The cast was so talented and the theater set in the beautiful red rocks were amazing. While we were waiting for a show to start one night, there was one of those mechanical bulls. Ky saw all the people riding it and decided she needed a chance herself. Who was I to stand in her way? She climbed up there like she's done it a billion times before and rode the heck out of it! Everybody was standing around cheering her on! She absolutely loved it and was laughing the entire time! I wish I would have had my video camera! The camera I had unfortunately wasn't made for fast movement so I didn't get great picts, but I will remember it forever! We also went to a really fun restaraunt called Pirate Island thanks to my friend's suggestion. (Thanks Mel!) It was the coolest place perfect for kids. The place was all decked out like you were walking into a pirate's world. The kids got fun pirates hats and tokens to play in the pirate arcade/playground. With the tickets Ky won from the games she bought 2 pirate tattoos. With her tatoos and hat she looked just like a pirate! ARRRRR! Thanks so much Mom for the fun weekend and thank you to Papa and Grandma Nigbur for watching Mudge while we were gone!

Rain, Rain Go Away

A few days ago, when we miraculously had a minute without rain, Paul hurried outside to mow the lawn. Ky loves helping her Dad in any way possible, so while she was being the fantastic helper she is, Mudge and I left to run some errands. When we left, it was a picture perfect(hence, the picture) daddy/daughter moment.....However, due to the fact we are obviously re-living the times of Noah and due to the fact are yard has been in a constant state of destruction/construction, there are mud pits galore! So upon arriving home, this is what I see...Of course the minute Mudge sees the fun she has to be part of it too. So, within seconds she was in the mud! As if the rain hadn't caused a good enough mud pit, soon the hose was out adding to the mess! Good times! It's dirty work being a kid and you can always count on my kids being right smack in the middle of all that dirt!

We're going to the Fair...

No, it's not quite the fair, in fact it's a far cry from that! However, here in our quaint little town of Idaho Falls it's all we got and right now my kids think it's the coolest thing ever! What am I talking about you ask? Well, it's the cutest little amusement park ever-Tautphus Park! With a grand total of 5 rides ran by 4 high-school kids, this place is a living legend! I have fond memories of coming here as a kid, so as crappy and run down as this place is, it gives me warm fuzzies and a sense of nostalgia to bring my little kiddos here. P.S-Mudge loooooved the rides and Ky was such a great big sister taking care to put her arm around Mudge while riding -it was the cutest thing!

Here comes the sun...

As the weather has FINALLY started to warm up here, we have tried to take advantage of it as much as possible (we've even planted our first garden)! The last few weeks the girls have been spending their days in the backyard in their pool and on the slip n' slide. Mudge obviously doesn't do it, but she has fun playing in the water. Ky on the other hand goes at lightning speed and poor Mudge has been like a bowling pin more than once. We also took a trip to our local zoo. The kids love going there and this time we went with one of Ky's favorite friends, Taylor. They are so cute together! Taylor told Ky that she was his favorite girlfriend! How stinkin' cute is that?! Mudge couldn't get over the goats. We got some food for them so the kids could feed them and every time a goat would eat one out of her hand, Mudge would just giggle and giggle! It was so fun to watch!
Over Memorial weekend, Paul, the girls, me, my mom and Ali took off to Island Park for a quick getaway. I always love going there and everytime I'm there I have a hard time coming home. It's just so relaxing up there! The first day we were there it rained like crazy. We took a quick minute when the rain let up to try and get some fishing in on a kid's pond, but no fish were biting and it started raining again. Then some guy got his truck stuck, so poor Paul stood out in the rain for the next hour and a half helping him get unstuck. We, at one point, had to go track down a tow rope to get the truck out. It really turned out to be quite the project. The next day the weather was better, so while Paul was fishing, the girls, my mom, Ali and I all took a walk and enjoyed the sunshine. Later we took the girls 4 wheeling. Mudge couldn't get enough of it. I took turns taking each girl around the cabin and Paul said when Ky and I would take off, Mudge would come running as fast as her little legs could carry her trying to catch up. Anyways, here's to the beginning of summer and hopefully lots more sunshine to come!