Fun on the Fourth

I love the fourth of July!!! It is one of my favorite holidays. This year was a little different because it was our first year that we didn't go to Idaho Falls to celebrate it but we still had so much fun. Mom and Dad came up on Friday to spend it with us and that made it even more special. We got to go to Spokane with our really good friends Mike and Kami Bahnmiller, and their kids Joey and Emma . I'm going to tell you now that Kami's blog of the fourth is way better than mine so if you want to skip to hers and read it instead I totally understand and recommend it. Click http:/mkbahnmiller.blogspot.com/to see hers. On Saturday morning we woke up early to go to breakfast (a tradition in my family). We ate at Denny's and then headed on to Spokane. We took a different way than we normally take and it was such a pretty drive. There is a park in Spokane called River Front park that has fun rides so as soon as we got to Spokane we went to play. Emma really liked riding, but Jaxson wasn't sure if it was scary or fun. After rides we went to the hotel (we stayed in a really nice hotel (Kami has pictures) where the kids took a nap and Mike, Kami, and Josh went to the IMAX to see the new Transformers movie. After two hours in the hotel room I started to get bored, so my mom stayed with the sleeping little ones (thanks mom) while my Dad and I took Joey and my Emma to go on more rides. It was so fun to be with the "big kids" and my dad and not have to worry about where Jaxson was running off to. When they were done we went and met up with Kami, Mike and Josh, and took the kids swimming. It was so fun. We played tag (kind of hard to do while holding a two year old) and worked on jumps and kicks. It was a little chilly though. When we finally got dried off it was time for pizza and fire works. I have never sat so close to watch the fireworks. Jaxson was freaked out. I had to wrap him up in a "special protection" blanket before he would calm down. It was so fun though and the firework show was actually better than I thought it would be. On Sunday we went to sacrament meeting in Spokane and then headed home to spend a little more time with Mom and Dad. Dad told us to go take a nap and he spent some time with Emma watching a Strawberry Shortcake video and drawing with her. She loved the time with him. Thanks dad. My parents have a way of making my children feel so special and they had so much fun spending time with their grandparents. I really do have the best parents in the world and my kids adore them too. We spent the rest of Sunday just hanging out so when they left on Monday morning it was really hard to see them go. Needless to say I was depressed for the rest of the day and I didn't get much done around the house. We're back to normal now but we still miss them. Luckily we have a family reunion in August so we'll see them again soon. Thanks Kami and Mike and Dad and Mom for a great fourth of July weekend.

We had Dad and Mom ride in our car so they wouldn't have to spend more on gas so we shoved all three kids in the back seat. They actually did really well.

My beautiful mother working on hats for the kids.

This picture was so dark that I had to over expose it in order to be able to see it at all. Kami and I had fun but I'm not sure that Jaxson and little Emma did.
Mom took Emma while Mike to Joey on the Spider ride. They ended up stopping the ride in the middle of it so Joey and Emma could get off. I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.
This ride is just like the Scrambler at Lagoon. I love it and Emma did too.

Bumper boats are so much fun. It's just too bad that they weren't big enough for Josh and I to ride in.

Jaxson riding the airplanes.

Radio Flyer Slide: River Front Park has the worlds largest Radio Flyer and it has a slide coming off it. My kids are such wimps so I had to put both of them on my laps before they would go down it. I hate this picture!! I look like a whale because of the way my kids are sitting on me. Oh the things we do for our kids.
Getting a two year old to stand still for a picture is like spitting into the wind and trying not to get hit. The two are almost impossible to avoid.
Emma and Jaxson had so much fun with their dad on thier first ferris wheel ride. It took FOREVER though and they were pretty hot by the end of the ride.

Farmers Market Fun

Every Saturday there is a farmers market in a little square in the middle of town. Last year Josh worked on Saturdays so the kids and I would walk to it together. Every Saturday it was the same. We would walk past all the stalls, buy our veggies and fruit and then we would buy a giant cookie and sit on the benches to listen to whatever musical group was playing that day. This year Josh doesn't work on Saturdays so he decided to join us on our outing. I think he enjoyed it. Isaac tried a cookie for the first time and loved it. As you can see from the pictures Jaxson really enjoyed the cookie too.

Emma and Josh had a lot of fun dancing.

Updates

So I lied!! I guess I really wasn't back seeing as it has been a month since I have posted anything. Sorry this is another long post. I finally got my house completely spring cleaned and I feel more on top of things than I have for awhile so its finally time for another post. I have been working on this post for the last four days because my computer has been retarded but I think it'll work now. We have been able to do some really fun things as a family and I can't believe how much the kids have grown in the last month. Emma finished preschool and is enjoying playing with the little girls that I babysit. I found a bike for her at a yard sale a few months ago and she is having so much fun learning to ride. She has really been into doing her own hair lately and is dying to get her hands on some makeup. Jaxson now has a motor mouth and it has been so fun to see him learn to talk. I was playing around with him on the floor the other day and he launched himself on me and said "I EAT YOU!!! He is such a funny kid. I love this stage where they can talk and tell you what they want but they are to young to talk back. Well at least not as much. Sunday was a monumental day because it was the first day that Jaxson was actually quiet during sacrament meeting!! I actually got to listen to the talks!! It was amazing. Isaac is growing so fast!!! He will sit up now but he really likes to roll all over the place. He also is at the wonderful stage where he puts anything he can get his hands on into his mouth. He is finally used to a bottle and it has been good for both of us especially since he just cut two teeth. He is such a happy baby and I am so grateful that he's a part of our family. Here are some photos of the fun things we've done over the past few week. Sorry there are so many. Jaxson got to go on his very first father and son camp out. Josh took a few more pictures than this but this one turned out the best. They had fun and I think Jax felt special to be able to spend time alone with Josh.

Jaxson loves his little brother. A lot of times he ends up mostly laying on top of him but Isaac doesn't mind. He just grabs Jaxson's face and laughs at him. I sure hope they will be good friends.

SWIMMING LESSONS: The kids have had swimming lessons for the last few months and we just had our last class. Emma is getting so good and can hold her breath under water now. I have been doing a parent child class with Jax and it has taken some time to get him used to the water. He hates the feel of it in his ears. Our last few classes he finally got up the courage to jump in by himself. He is doing so good, and is feeling more comfortable in the water. I just hope that we can get to the pool enough this summer so they don't loose everything they've learned.



DISCOVERY SCIENCE CENTER: We spent some fun family time at the children's museum a few weeks ago. The kids had a lot of fun playing there and it is a good place to learn. Afterwards we went for a picnic at the park. I hope my kids grow up remembering the fun things we did as a family instead of what a mess their mother always was.

Jaxson, experiencing a red world.

Jax loves to pull things so when he found this dog it was love at first sight. He pulled this thing all over the museum.

There was a bin full of lentil beans where the kids could "dig" for dinosaur bones. Lentils aren't even close to sand but the kids still had fun playing in them.

What a great dad!!

This was Isaac's first time in the swing. He loved it.

SINGING IN THE RAIN: There was a really big rain storm so the kids and I went puddle jumping. Needless to say they had a blast.

SATURDAY AT THE PARK: Last Saturday what started as a simple picnic at the park ended up to be a really fun time for the kids. The Hope Center here was having a "Day at the Park" donation drive. The kids played on a big blow up slide, got their faces painted and got free popcorn. Emma even got to ride her bike for a little while. They had a lot of fun, plus it was free, even better.

The slide was too high for Jaxson to climb up himself so the little girl you see at the top of the slide pushed him up so he could go down by himself.

Jaxson with his popcorn and lemonade.

I had to put these next pictures in because I think they are so funny. Jaxson often falls asleep in front of the door and this night he had poked his hand out and fallen asleep with it there. I snapped the photo and then Josh found that you could see his face under the door. Priceless.