July 4 - 4th of July

 

Cute Grama & Grampa sent us a picture of them celebrating the 4th of July in Cedar City.

10:00 am: Finally wake up.  We got home around 2 last night, so 10:00 was a great time to wake up.  (Though I was kind of sad to miss the parade because...4th of July.)

11:30 am: Play outside with friends and lounge around the house.  Mom brings out Firecracker Popsicles to everyone and blows their minds.  Nora wanders around owning the house with her 4th of July sunglasses on.  She totally nails it and Mom & Dad don't care that she's destroying the house because she looks so cute.

12:30 pm: Mom & Dad get ready.  Kids get ready.  They make sure to remind Mom (one million times) that they want tats on their faces.  Mom puts a matching 4th of July tat on her face.  Dad puts one on his forearm.  Then forces everyone to take pictures in their 4th of July outfits.  (Thanks, Granny, for the outfits!)  Everyone is a good sport.

2:00 pm: Head to Provo to the carnival.  Eat lunch (read: leftover Cheetos & Gatorade from our trip home last night) on the way.

2:30 pm: Arrive at the carnival!  Andlie & Haze each pick 3 rides.  Meet the Engles there!  Andlie & Haze choose a game as one of their "rides" and win a prize!  (Those prizes cost $4 each - ha!)

3:00 pm: It is so effing hot that the carnival is no longer fun and the family is suffering.  Get in the car & drive home.

4:00 pm: Engles arrive at our house.  Kids play outside with poppers, play downstairs, and scream & giggle.  Moms & Dads visit upstairs.

5:30 pm: Chandi & Kenzie go get dinner at Cafe Rio & Chick-Fil-A (for Hazer).  They take a good hour.  Bryan calls & when I answer he gives me our address and then says, "Zac wonders if you went to the Salt Lake Cafe Rio."  The husbands think they are funny.

6:30 pm: Dinner is served!  Then Chand & Kenz make & serve fruit pizza.  The kids get a made up treat: cookie suckers (AKA cookies on skewers).  We all hang out outside.  Nora is the cutest with baby Ava and pats her softly on the arm and smiles at her.

9:00 pm: Drive to the temple to watch fireworks!  Kids play with glow sticks and ask for candy a lot while adults visit.  Glow stick pops on Nora's shirt.  Nora becomes radioactive.

10:00 pm: Fireworks!

10:30: Pack up, say good-bye to Engles, and go home.  Nora plays with her sunglasses some more like a diva.  She's the only one who doesn't fall asleep on the way home.

Happy Fourth of July!

 

July 3 - In Logan

This morning, we woke up & went swimming in our hotel pool.  Then we headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house again.  The kids all had fun playing with Grandma & Grandpa, but Nora especially warmed up to them quickly - especially Grandpa.  Every time she'd see him, she'd smile & say, "Baba!" and then wave to him and visit him for a while.

After we ate lunch, Grama Puppy went to have a nap while Grandma & Grandpa sat & watched TV.  Grampa Puppy came with us to the Willow Park Zoo where we saw lots of different kinds of birds and other animals!  After about an hour, we all got way too hot and we headed back to Grandma & Grandpa's.

Around 4:00, Haze started saying that his ear was bugging him.  Then it turned to crying.  Then we finally headed to our hotel where it turned into screaming and crying.  I finally took Haze to InstaCare around 6:30 where he was diagnosed with a double ear infection and given some antibiotics.  After that, Haze slept at the hotel while I packed our stuff and Daddy & the girls went to a BBQ with the Allen family at Karen's house and then to the city fireworks at the park.

They got back around 11:00 pm.  Andlie had lots of glow sticks in hand and even made me a quick necklace to wear!  Andlie is the sweetest big sister.  The sweetest daughter.  She is so obedient and so kind and so thoughtful all the time.  Sometimes, it's hard when Haze gets sick on trips, but she is always very patient and understanding and loving.  We're sure blessed.

 

We were going to stay at the hotel until tomorrow afternoon, but we decided it was time to get home and get some rest and take care of Hazey.  We left Logan around 11:30 pm and made it home around 2:00 am.  We had so much fun visiting family and we were sad to leave early, but we knew it was what we needed to do.

(Note: By the end of the day, I had sweat from head to toe, InstaCare germs all over me, blood on my shirt from Nora's skinned knee, and I was exhausted.  Nothing to do but laugh & call it a day at that point.)

July 2 - Balloon Festival

We woke up at 5:30 this morning to go to the Balloon Festival!  You read that right: FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING.  It was totally worth it though.  We all had a wonderful time!

At first, we were all pretty tired.  Notice Haze in the back of the stroller with a blanket on his head.  Must take after his Mother.

But then when the balloons started filling up, we perked up a bit!

Once the balloons were all full....

....they took off and we watched them float around in the beautiful morning sky!  (The poor Piggy Bank got a hole poked in him by the cowboy balloon and had to make a crash landing in a construction site.  The kids had a rough time with this, but we managed to get through the morning.)

Nora could not get enough!  She was pointing and squealing left & right!

Me & Bryan were there too.

After a while, we got tired again and did some snuggling.

We had to get a picture of "Dark Vader and Yoga" (as Haze calls them) before we left.

And get a felfie, of course!  (Felfie = Family Selfie)  We talked about the balloons for the rest of the day!  We were so glad that we woke up to go see them!

When we came home, Hazey & Mommy spent some time waking up on Mommy's bed while Daddy got ready for work.

 

After Daddy left for work, Andlie & Haze went to work.  They came upstairs & said, "Mom!  We made ear plugs for fireworks and we're gonna sell them!"

"2 dollrs and 4 ses eer plugs for fiawrx - Happy foth fo jliy!  Fram Andlie."  (2 dollars and 4 cents - ear plugs for fireworks.  Happy fourth of July!  From, Andlie)

We left for Logan around 5:00 this evening.  The waking up before the sky woke up this morning made for a pretty quiet trip up.  (Even though it took us 45 minutes to get 15 miles.)

 

When we got to Logan, we visited at Grandma & Grandpa Allen's house and then Grampa Puppy took us all out to eat at Golden Corral!  Then to our hotel to bed for us.  (Nora wouldn't go to sleep until 1:00 am because she could see us.  Andlie woke up at 3:00 am saying that Haze was kicking her.  She ended up sleeping on the couch cushions on the floor.  Nora woke up at 5:00 and ended up in our bed.  It was a rough night.)

July 1 - Giggling at Farts

Haze found a new show that he L.O.V.E.S.  It's called "Larva" and it's a whole bunch of animated shorts starring to slugs.  There is no talking - only noises and facial expressions.  And it's very boy-ish humor.  The one that he could not stop laughing at today was the one where the yellow slug won't stop farting.  We watched it at least ten times.  At least.  And he was belly laughing every single time.  And then tonight in the car, he started giggling to himself and I asked what was funny & he said, "I'm just thinking about that yellow snail that fluffs."  I think it's pretty hilarious that he thinks it's so hilarious.

This afternoon we built some bird feeders!

And Nora played with one of her favorite toys.  She loves it so much, but sometimes it gets on her nerves when the pegs won't push all the way through.

Starting to shove a little bit...

"Mom, fix this peg RIGHT NOW!!!"  (As she screams & waves her hand in the air.)

Tonight we went to the mall & Nora got a small workout in!

June 30 - 18 Months

Nora has really been enjoying the lounge chairs at swimming lessons this week.

Also, she does the cutest thing now.  She points to everyone when we ask,  "Where's [insert name]?"  And recently, she learned who Nora was.  So when you ask, "Where's Nora?"  She'll stick her fat little finger somewhere on her face & grin.

Andlie read some books to Nora this afternoon.  Sisters.

And Haze did some cutting practice this afternoon!  He's getting so big!  He knows his ABCs, days of the week, months of the year, can cut, can write & spell his name, and knows his phone number!  He is getting ready for preschool!

Nora turned 18 months yesterday!  She is the cutest little stinker!  She is ALWAYS busy.  Always finding something new to play with.  Always discovering something.  She doesn't like to sit still.  She thinks she is six.  She loves her babies and doggies.  She is a great communicator and knows so many words!  She said her first sentence last month: "Cook-key, Daddy!"  She does not put up with too much crap.  She's like a cat - just waiting to pounce & squeal if something isn't going her way.  She adores her Daddy & screams with excitement and yells his name and runs to him when he gets home.  Every day.  She has 8 teeth and is working on 8 more (4 of them are molars).  She can go up & down stairs easily.  She loves to go to "the bath" (AKA swimming).  She loves her brother & sister unconditionally.  Their names are the first words she says in the morning.  She sleeps 12-13 hours a night plus takes a 2-3 hour nap.  It is very clear when she doesn't like something - she can give a mean scowl.  She is the happiest, most energetic, joyful little girl and we are so, so blessed to have her in our family!