The Children's Museum

Once there were two busy little girls who decided to go for a drive, they had to get gas first first- of course. They drove and drove and drove, it took them a while becasue they just moved the steering wheel from side to side.
Finally they got to the grocery store, Kennedy worked the registers while Taylor bought the neccesities.
After shopping they were off to the farm, Ken rode horse to the hen house.
Looks like the hens laid a lot of eggs today. Farmer Voorhies gathered them up to take to the house.
She also gathered up some vegetables.
Then the two busy housewives made a lovely meal.

Then they were off to work, again. First it was off to deliver the mail, then report the news.Then to the radio station.

And then to the theater to perform an interesting play, The Billy Goat Gruff and the Big Bad Wolf.These girls had to stick together because the boys just gave them strange looks and other girls could hardly stand to be with them. Busy, busy, busy. In fact they ran themselves down so much that they performed the most outrageous fits on the way home. So much so that all their mothers could do was laugh hysterically! Thanks for a great day at the Museum, Kris and Lily, Melissa, Zack and Taylor and of course Kennedy.

A hiking we will go

We hiked in Solitude yesterday with Micah and Emmett while Andy and Mike did some mountain biking. It smelled so amazing and the weather was just right. Kennedy led us most of the time and pretended we were in the Labyrinth looking for Toby her little brother (have you seen the movie?).
Kennedy cannot take a picture these days without posing, here were a few choice poses. We ran into Mike and Andy along the trail, Mike was breathing pretty heavy but he had a great time!
Micah and Emmett!
After our second leg of hiking we saw Mike at the end of the trail fixing his bike.
We ran into Greg and Angie at the bottom (who we know from a river trip) so they took us back to their condo. It was really nice, Ken loved the deck and was singing some longing love song off of it. I would love to have a place up there.

Sundays

I love Sundays at my house. Around four or five in the evening family starts to gather and we always have a good time together. We usually have dinner and then sit around in the living room and do the Isaac Asimov quizzes for the week. Then the kids play charades or entertain us by standing on the fireplace bricks and doing dances or jumping off. We have enjoyed dance offs, building towers with blocks and going in the backyard for a fire and marshmallows. The kids are always the main entertainment and are full of personality. We love to sit around and chat with each other, share funny stories or things that have happened throughout the week. It's fun to be a part of it again even if it is for the short few weeks we are in town.

Stein Erickson

Mike has a great connection at Stein Erickson resort in Deer Valley so for the past two years my two best friends and I have gone there for a little girls weekend and a getaway from hubbies and kids. Last year we did three days two nights and this year we did four days three nights. It was bliss! We went to bed late, slept in, stayed in our pj's and talked all morning and when we finally decided to get out of our room we shopped and ate at some really fun restaurants. It was pretty much the perfect weekend. We reminisced about some great college stories (both were my college roommates) and laughed about kids, marriage and ourselves. The view from our room was beautiful and it smelled amazing! We watched Pride and Prejudice, played a hilarious game called Loaded Questions and went on a walk down a dirt path in the mountains. We know each other so well after living together at college and talking about anything and everything that when we get together it is so much fun. I have always been lucky in my life to have great friends. I had the same group of friends from middle school up through high school and in college was lucky to meet some new incredible people as well. I know my friends have kept me out of trouble, helped me through hard times and supported me when I needed them.

Above is the view from our deck and below are my friends Melissa and Kristin and the gorgeous view behind them. They are such incredible friends, wonderful moms and the sisters I never had.

Hogle Zoo

Since coming to Utah we have been having a great time and have been so busy! It is so fun to have both families so close. Kennedy is in heaven with all of the attention she is getting and her fun aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents that are willing to watch and play with her all day. We miss Mike but know he is having a great time with Shane, Rob, Nate, Justin and James. They are heading to Grand Junction to moutain bike for a few days. They unpacked all our stuff in Denver and are now ready for the "fun part" of their trip. I can't wait for him to be back, this single parenting thing is not for me.
Here is little Miss Sophie at Hogle Zoo, it is so easy to make her smile she often looks goofy and possibly drunk because she smiles at nothing. We're not complaining though- she's great!

Kennedy and Peter, Kelly and Hannah. The kids had a great time at the Zoo and although the adults were dying in the heat we had a pretty great time too.

Dippin Dots- a Zoo must! Bobbi, Syd, Mckay and Kennedy.

Sydney and Kennedy on the Rhino.

Sydney is Ken's idol. She starts the 5th grade tomorrow and is so excited. She is such a smart and sweet girl. She has really helped out with Sophie and is so patient and cute with Kennedy. We couldn't pick a better person for Kennedy to look up to.

Home Sweet Home

Kennedy, Sophie and I are now in Utah. We flew in on Monday and have been busy busy ever since we got here. The flight went amazingly well. Sophie slept and Kennedy watched t.v. and slept also. My good friend Lacey was also on our flights which was nice, traveling with kids is a handful especially when you are bringing all your stuff with you (carseats, base, strollers etc.) I have lived in Utah almost my whole life and I don't think I have ever fully appreciated the mountains until now. They really are amazing! Everytime I am outside now I just stare at them, they don't look real. They are beautiful and I can't wait to get up there and hike and picnic with the kids, friends and Mike. The weather here has been warm but without the Texas humidity it is really great! Since being here we have mostly spent time with family and Kennedy has been in heaven with all of her cousins, she even got to have a sleepover with Sydney (her idol) last night. It is so amazing to see how much the kids have changed in the short time we've been gone. Sophie has been great although I must say that I am not cut out to be a single mom, the nights are killing me. Mike and I usually trade off and doing it by myself is so tiring...miss you Mikey! This weekend I am going with my two best friends for a girls weekend to Stein Erickson, from Thursday to Sunday we will be without kids and it will be FABULOUS! We are so excited to lounge around and talk, read, hot tub and shop...oh ya and most importantly SHOP! My parents come home from a their Mediterranean Cruise on Friday, unfortunately they had their wallets stolen but I hope that it didn't ruin their trip. Since Kelly wired them some money we haven't heard from them so I am sure they are having a great time. Kennedy and Sophie can't wait to hang out and play at Sydneys while mom is gone. Mike will be heading to Colorado tomorrow with all our stuff and our movers that are flying in...thanks Shane, Rob, Nate and James! They are moving our cars and leftover stuff that wasn't loaded into the moving truck but not before they make a pit stop at six flags of course. They are also going on a little mountain biking trip on their way back to Utah. I miss Mikey and I can't wait to see him again. As much as I do love Utah and enjoy being around friends and family I can't help but think about all our great friends we have left behind in Texas. Kennedy said in the car that she missed Daddy and Jill, she is the mom of one of her little friends. I feel the same way Kennedy. I don't think we will ever have such an incredible ward or such wonderful people all in one place. We love you all and will miss you terribly!

Jealousy, Poop and Packing.

Ever since little Sophie came we have had two issues. Issue #1 is a little jealousy on the part of Kennedy involving Sophies' clothes. If Sophie has on plaid, Kennedy has to wear plaid, if Sophie has on stripes then Kennedy wants stripes. So I guess from now on I will have to buy them the same or similar clothes because Kennedy wants to wear "cute" and "special" clothes just like her little sister. Issue #2 is potty training regression. Before Sophie came Kennedy was perfectly potty trained, since Sophie came into the world Kennedy has accidents all the time. In the past week she has gone #2 in her swimming suit in the pool. Needless to say I am running out of ideas and patience so any help on this front is welcome. Kennedy is catching on to my annoyance, whenever she has to tell me she had an accident she comes up close and pushes my face into a smile before she tells me and says, "Mom, I know you are going to be mad but just smile and be only a little mad."
Isn't she just the picture of innocence (above). Her cranium looks a little large and freakish but in reality she is darn cute!
Sophie loves to coo. When she is awake she is watching and following anyone with her eyes and jibber jabbing. I have really been lacking in playing with the kids lately because I have been trying to get us all packed up (argh!) but the kids have been troopers and I can't wait to be done with the move.
Things that currently make me happy and that I love:
1. Kennedy's wackadoodle hair in the humidity, her "lions mane" we like to call it.
2. Long warm baths when the kids are asleep.
3. Spinning class at the YMCA.
4. The book I am reading The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.
5. Air conditioning- Texas is freakin hot and everytime I get into the car or walk outside from a cool building it makes me want to say bad words.

Hannah Montana

Kennedy hasn't ever actually watched Hannah Montana or listened to her music, but she knows what she looks like. Kennedy's cousin Sydney loves Hannah Montana so that means that it must be cool. Ken wanted me to dress her up like a rock star and then she performed for me and Mike.



The Dawson's in our ward had a pool party/bbq this weekend. It was a lot of fun. Of course the guys had to engage in some sort of competition so they dove into the middle of tubes and tried to jump on and waterski on body boards. It was pretty entertaining for all of us.

How to survive the Texas summer: WATER!

Here is Kennedy at Gravine Lake. We went with our friends and while the boys went mountain biking we played with the kids in the water and tried to keep them entertained.
Here is Mike all geared up for his moutain bike ride. He went to spinning class with me the same morning and although he has a lot of mountain biking experience lets just say it didn't exactly give him an advantage in the class (he he).
London and Kennedy. If ever Kennedy met her match in sassiness it would be London. We sure love her and her brother Tyler. Ken told me once that she was going to marry Tyler.
My friend Jill and the kids. This is the perfect picture of Jill because she is always right in the mix no matter what. We will be at a park and she is all over the place helping everyone's kids. I swear she never sits down. After our swim Jill had to jump start my car, for the second time. Thanks for saving me again Jill.
My sweet little Sophie! She smiles so easily. She could teach her big sister a thing or two about takin it easy.

Colorado here we come!

This week Sophie and I went to Colorado to find us a place to live. This is the home we found to rent and we couldn't be happier with it. Finally Kennedy will have a real backyard instead of calling our 3x5 slab patio her backyard...so sad. I feel so claustrophobic in our apartment I can't wait to have more room and to be in a neighborhood where Ken can ride her bike and play outside. We are really close to trails and some fun parks and our good friends will live minutes from us. I feel like we have been really blessed to have everything work out so well.

Traveling by myself with Sophie was much more challenging than I thought. The flight there she didn't make a peep but on the way home she was awful! I think her ears must have hurt because she is generally a really good baby. People were offering all kinds of advice on the plane and really helped me out getting things through security. I even met Brooke Richie, a local news anchor on Channel 11 news. She was on both of my flights and she is also moving to Colorado. She was really sweet and helpful even though she is in her first months of pregnancy and wasn't feeling well. Her father in law started the restaurant Cheddars and so her husband will be opening some in Denver, the first will actually be close to where we are living.
After we had found a place to live, Sophie and I had a few days to fill so we drove to various places in our rental Mustang (not ideal to have a two door with a kid) and I felt soooo silly driving a Mustang. Above is Sophie after a diaper change in our car. Below is a picture from the top of Lookout Mountain, it was so nice to be in the mountains again and it had just rained so it smelled wonderful!!! I also got to visit with my friend Erin who was at the Children's Hospital with her son while he was getting some tests done, it was so fun to see her and it will be great to live close to an old friend.
Below is the Denver temple. It is so small and can't be seen until you are parked right in front. Sophie and I parked there and ate lunch while I talked to Mike on the phone. Mike was a real trooper with Ken. He said that Kennedy told him she wanted to be a professional skipper when she gets older. I have been complimenting her on her skips because they use to only use one leg and she finally got it down so now she told me she wants to teach classes for skipping, anyone interested? Mike took her to the American Girl store and even played My Little Pony with her while I was gone. I think we were both ready to trade kids when I got home.
Kennedy was so sweet when she saw me at the aiport; she was behind a glass wall and she looked at me to her side while she ran toward the door I would come through. I thought she would run right into someone. She had the biggest grin on her face and I was so glad to see her, oh ya and to see Mike. Ha ha.
Here are our patriotic little girls in their twinner dresses. Kennedy managed to point out the differences between the two dresses and was a bit miffed that Sophies had bows on her straps, she thought that made Sophie more special- sometimes she really kills me. While I was doing Kens hair for church she said "Dad tried piggy tails mom, but it didn't quite work out. He just did a pony tail." Kennedy also wanted to have red, white and blue nail polish.
My trip would not have been possible without my mothers day gift- the GPS. Thanks again Mike it was a HUGE help. And my driving would have been pretty boring without the new Jason Mraz cd...I would highly recommend it (Jason Mraz, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things)! It was a nice trip to have over with, I missed Mike and Kennedy and hope I never have to travel without them again. Ken, Sophie and I can't wait to be in Utah in just two weeks. It will be so fun to see family and friends again, but leaving our little ward family (as cheesey as it sounds that is exactly what they have been) will be incredibly hard.

One last thing. I have been looking for books on cd for Ken for forever and I finally found one at Borders in Denver. This was Kennedy's surprise from my trip and so far she has loved listening to it in the car, we listened to a few stories on the way to church and then followed along with it in her books at home. We love the Kevin Henkes stories, the books on cd also come in the Jamie Lee Curtis series, which we love. Check out on www.HARPERAUDIO.com