Getting to Be an Aunt

One of the things I have missed being so far from home, is having cousins near by and getting to be a fun Aunt. So that is just what we did.  The cousins got to spend the night and we had a grand ole time!  Crafts with the girls, plenty of playing tag, drawing on the sidewalk, playing the wii--ya, it was great!


Juliette loved Lydia!  She was quite content and loved being with her!  Lydia was such a great help.  She is quite the little mommy!

Drawing our city and body outlines

Resting after a mean game of tag.  Chloe was my little pal.  She helped me tag the others.

Girl crafts with Lydia and Chloe.   Lydia made pencil toppers for her school pencils and Chloe made a bracelet.

 

Jenga

Chloe modeling her bracelet

We had a ton of fun and both Dex and JJ loved their time with cousins.

Year Old Girlies

We did a combined birthday party for Juliette and Hadley.  They are 2 days apart, so we thought it would be   fun to celebrate together.  Here are the cute girlies:

I made them matching circle skirts.  Juliette only had a white onsie to match since I last minute (the day before the fiesta) decided to make these.   I made her a necklace to match to make it look complete.  Plus, she loves necklaces!  After the party I detached the flower and turned it into a hair flower.  

I love the big ric rac on the bottom!

Here are her cupcakes.  Ashton made his yummy chocolate raspberry filled cupcakes topped with a chocolate ganache--mmmm!  I made the toppers.  Crystal made another cake too.

Crystal and Hads

Crystal decorated the pavilion.  She did a great job.

We did a sloppy joe dinner and then had cake.  It was too hot to do ice cream and Hads is allergic anyway so we skipped that part.

Grandpa Jenks and Uncle Crayson with the birthday girl

After we sang Juliette devoured her cupcake (such a fun, yummy mess caught only on video), we opened presents. 

The pavilion was next to some toys so the rest of the kiddos were there most of the time.  We enjoyed ourselves.  We had a lot of family there and almost all the Great Grands there too.  We just missed Grandma B.  

Happy birthday girlies!  We sure love you!!!

Cousins and Birthday Kinda Day

The Monday after we arrived, we had a cousins day.  My grandmother was even able to come down.  It was so good to see her.  She has had shoulder surgery and been really ill since last March so it was wonderful to see her in much better health.  

We set up a fun water day for the kiddos in my mom's back yard.  

 Crystal, Grandma B., McKenzie, and Me

Today was Grandma B.'s 85th birthday.  What a fun treat it was for her to watch some of her great-grands playing.

Chloe enjoyed the little splash pool and the rainbow cove.

Dexter saying cheese and posing for a picture with Great Grandma B.

Hadley is so cute.  She thinks she is one of the big kids even though she is 2 days younger than JJ.  I put these star rings on their heads and she kept knocking JJ's off.  This was their first interaction with each other.

Grandma and her "twins"

After our fun time outside we crashed and watched Finding Nemo.

This was also Grandma B.'s 85th Birthday.  Later that evening, Uncle John and fam. came over and we ate dinner and had cake and ice cream.  

My mom's gang and my gorgeous grandma.  She sure looks pretty at 85!

To Idaho

Ashton has had  Pharmacy Rotation here in Idaho.  It's the first time we've been back since Devon and Kayla's wedding, about 18 months.  We've had a grand ole' time.  We surprised everyone by coming a day early.  It was a good thing that we did come early because we had to get a new fuel pump modulator in Laramie.  The car died about 15 miles outside of Laramie.  We were able to stop and restart the car and leap frog a blue truck who was also having issues.  We had a sweet tender mercy on this trip.  I booked the Hampton due to bed bug paranoia even though it was pricier.  Enter tender mercy:  The hotel was right across the street from the dealer who was able to fix our car the same day, and within walking distance of eateries, a dollar store, and pharmacy, all of which we walked to.

At the hotel, we swam in the pool.  Dex was a bit nervous at first, so he and I walked to the dollar store and bought him some floater wings.  That did the trick and he had a fun time when Dad and Jules joined us after dinner.  Juliette on the other hand didn't like it when Ash or I swam or especially went underwater.

The kids did absolutely amazing in the car. I just love that we have no need of electronic devices to keep them entertained while we travel.  We stopped at our favorite breakfast stop (McDonalds) in Gothenburg, NE.  We even did a leg stretch at the big Cabella's.

Dex won the windmill game and enjoyed seeing all the workers on the railroad fixing the rails through the Ogden canyon.

When we got to Idaho, we had Dex knock on each of the grandparents door.  It was a fun little treat to see their reactions.  They were a bit bewildered/surprised/excited all at the same time.


    

The 4th

For the 4th, we found ourselves in Underwood, IA.  A quaint little town about 20 min. from here.  They had a fun little parade and fireworks show that we enjoyed.  We were looking for somewhere small and we found the perfect place.  We parked our seats in the perfect spot.  A little sun at the beginning of the parade, but in full shade the rest of the time.  Karen and her boys even joined us for the fun parade.  

Before the parade, one of their clubs came out handing out water.  It was dang hot!

The parade was filled with big rigs, tractors, and tow trucks.  Dex was in heaven!

A storm trooper was also there.  Whomever was in there had to be drenched in sweat.  It was hot!

Ash and JJ

JJ and I

Me and my kiddlets

Some tractors

Dex made out like a bandit with a bag full of goodies.  Otter pops, candy, lots of beef jerky.  It took a little bit of coaxing and convincing but, he finally got the hang of running for candy.  To the left of us though, we had quite the tough crew of mothers.  It was hard to beat them to it!

After the parade, we headed home and got lunch and let the kiddos nap/play while we made food.  For dinner we headed over to our friends, the Nordbys for a bbq.  It was fun to be at a house with a backyard and a sprinkler.  The kids had fun playing in the water.  

JJ loved the clover flowers and the sprinkler

After the other family left, we hung out a little bit longer.  Dex finally began to enjoy the sprinkler, too.

For the fireworks show, we made our way back to Underwood and sat in the middle school parking lot.  Both kids were sound asleep and I tried to wake Dex, and when I aroused him, he said he didn't want to see them and fell back asleep.

sleeping kids

At the first loud bang, JJ woke up for a few minutes.  She did pretty well with the fireworks.  She stayed up for maybe 10 minutes and then fell back asleep

Ash took pictures of the fireworks with his Dad's camera.  Some turned out really well.  He enjoys doing photography, and hasn't done it for a long time.  I think he really enjoyed himself.

We had  a great 4th, with a minor mishap involving Dexter, my foundation makeup, my makeup brush, JJ's bows and the bathroom wall.  Ya, not a pretty site/combination.

Zoo

The kids and I went to the zoo with Lainey and Serene.  It was pretty fun.  Juliette has only been there a handful of times, so it was great to take her there.  We saw lions and tigers, and made our way to the aquarium and jungle.  It was another hot day so we tried to stay inside.  The zoo has been remodeled some (the entrance and the aquarium) and this was only our 2nd time in the aquarium.

Cheesing it up for the camera

Dex wanted his picture taken with these fish

JJ LOVED these upside down jellyfish

She cried when I pulled her away from them.

She liked these ones as well.

I think it's safe to say they are her favorite animal right now.  When Dex was this age, it was the penguins.

Inside the aquarium, they have this new interactive pad.  It looks like and acts like you running through  a shallow pool, chasing fish.  The fish run and hide, the water ripples, it's kinda cool.  My kids were pretty leary of it though.

Each time I've been to the zoo, I've never seen the octopus they have and always wanted to.  Today was my lucky day.  Look who We saw!

Absolutely amazing isn't it?

We must have hit the zoo at the right time because this anaconda was quite active as well.  Look at how strong he is and how far stretched he is on that glass.  Amazing!

Dex also had to play with the giant globe that they have.  He had fun touching it and trying to get it to move.

It was a fun time had by all.  I can't wait till we go again!