Sometimes the baby is right

Norah started crying in the middle of her nap the other day and, like any good mom, I completely ignored her and she fell back to sleep.  I went in later and found this special sleeping arrangement. woops.  This girl is a trooper.  I'm sorry to say that she had some good red marks on her legs for a couple hours after she woke up.

We are leaving to go camping in one hour.  I really should finish packing.

Temple Square

I have lived in Utah almost my whole life and I don't think I have ever been on a tour of temple square until our primary went a couple weeks ago.  It was pretty awesome.  And a great primary activity. 

I recognize that I am completely biased, but seriously, aren't these two the cutest?  They are like a little married couple.

 

Here's the whole primary and parents listening to the sister missionaries. 

 Norah was underwhelemed by the whole experience.

 Why is this picture here?  Because it is art.  Check out the reflection in his sunglasses.  Now do you get it?  How could I not have included it?

 Here is a picture of our bishop trying to talk to Aiden.  I think he has made it a goal to get Aiden to answer back.  I'm not sure if he has succeeded yet.

Two things that made my day

I'm a little grumpy today for no reason.  Just one of those days. But, these made me happy:

- A vase of twisty daisies from my yard.  They are leftover from a baby shower I hosted last night.

 -This picture that Aiden took while we were at the park.  Norah just lounged on my behind while she ate her cookie.  Have I mentioned that I love this girl?

Monterey

I didn't change a single diaper in five days.  Not one.  Nor did I buckle a car seat, clean up, or spend 20 minutes loading kids into the car every time I left the house.  Nope.  Instead I held hands with Landon whenever I wanted to.  I woke up with the sun, and then decided to fall back asleep, ate dinner after 8:00, and had ice cream cones whenever fancy struck.

My parents watched my kids for five (!) days and Landon and I went to Monterey Bay, CA for some R&R.  And it was wonderful. We walked and talked the entire time.  I can't think of anyone else I would love spending so much time with.

A few of the highlights:
-The delightful cottage we stayed in. Just large enough for two people.  I loved having a kitchen so we could cook at night.

-An afternoon strolling the art galleries and expensive shops in Carmel.
-A couples massage.  Decadent.
-A trip to the farmer's market for the night's dinner. A word to the wise: duck eggs are not good, no matter what the nice boys from "the ranch" tell you.  

-A bike ride along the coast to Pebble Beach. (The picture is at Lover's Point, awww...)

- Reading.  We packed our books in our backpack and pulled them out whenever we felt like stopping.  At the beach, on the wharf, at the park, etc.,

 

An afternoon stroll around Point Lobos.  A gorgeous place.

-Multiple short trips to Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Google Leafy Sea Dragon.  You'll be glad you did.
-One sunset.  Every other night it was misty and grey.  But we caught a great one the night before we left.

Thank you Mom and Dad for letting us have a fantastic weekend.

We love the Buchanans!

Pardon all the cell-phone pictures on this post.  I'm very lazy these days. 

It is so fun having Landon's sister Alicia in town.  She is the only sibling on either side that lives in Utah and we love hanging out with them.  Sunday dinners, birthday parties, summer outings.  It is wonderful being with family.

The trip to the zoo a while back.  

Last week we hiked up Ferguson Canyon while Krista was in town.  It was heaven.  A gorgeous hike into a gorgeous small canyon full of rocks, a shallow river, and fallen logs. It was wonderful to be in the mountains with muddy feet. It's what life should be.

Aunt Krista and gorgeous Norah.  

 The kids drumming on a rock that they climbed to. Their adventure names on the hike were (in order) Sparrow, Gazelle, Alicia (Annie chose that for herself), and Doody.

 Me and the kids.

 Wild Annie and Krista.

 Aren't the granite wall stunning?  I love this canyon.  It turns out that Aiden is quite the climber.  I found him a few times higher than my head.  I'm going to have to get the kid a rope and a harness.

 Aiden climbed to the top of this rock.  He told me he would "just jump off".  Bad idea. 

 The hike out of the canyon.  It was nice and shady.  Perfect.

 A little farewell from Annie. She began the hike in her Converse and was slipping and sliding all over the place.  She took them off and did the entire hike out barefoot. That's my girl.

 The conquerors!  Actually, this is the view from the trail head.  A hike that starts this beautiful is bound to be great.

Thank you Alicia, Brielle, Ava and Zach!  We are SO glad we live next to you!

July Fourth or Why We Live in the Best Neighborhood Ever

I have figured out why I love the fourth of July.  It has the best part of every holiday: food, family, celebrations, fun.  And none of the stress: gift-giving, which in-laws to go to, travel, church guilt (not that that is bad, but there is always that stress of finding the balance between santa and the birth of christ, etc.,).  You celebrate where you are and with whomever is nearby.  It's great. 

This year it was 85 degrees with cloud cover this year, which was perfect.  To make it even more perfect, we never had to get in our car and battle crowds or deal with parking.  Everything was within walking distance.  Again, I love my neighborhood.  Oh so much.

The schedule:
Wake up and decorate bikes for the neighborhood bike parade (we really did decorate bikes, I just didn't take pictures of it):

 

Next up, neighborhood pancake breakfast, writing letters to soldiers, hangin with dad

"Dear Hero, I'm in a parade. Thank you."

Finally, the main event.  Bike parade.  

At the end of the exhausting 20 minute parade: cotton candy, snow cones, and the fire truck

Annie had no pockets, so she stored her candy in her boots.  Naturally.

Turns out boot storage is not a great idea.

After the morning fun there were a lot of naps, trips to the gym and yard work.  To cap off the day we had a front-yard barbecue with my parents, Landon's sister Alicia's family and my adopted brothers Doug and Brady. 

And for dessert: fireworks at Sugarhouse park