Splash Pad

It seams like the longer we live here the more I love it.  I love that there are half a dozen parks within walking distance from our house.  I love that there are two splash pads both five minutes away.  We visited one of them this week, while we count down to the end of summer and the start of school.  Yikes! I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. Owen LOVES the water.  I know I've mentioned that before, but it amazes me how fearless or water he is, which is kind of scary sometimes.  When we got there I set him down on the ground and he booked it strait for the water.    

Hyrum's new love is goggles and he loves wearing them!

A Date with Noah

Brett and I try and make one on one time with each of the boys a priority.  Usually its just a run to the store, but two weekends ago I took Noah to Lehi's Foam Day.  I had never been before and heard about it from a neighbor, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was just as advertised:  a LOT of foam!  Noah can actually be pretty shy in unfamiliar surroundings, especially when Hyrum isn't there with him.  It took about 10 minutes for him to unstick from my leg, but once he let go we had some fun getting dirty and foamy:)

We got there 30 minutes after the foam started getting blown.  The foam was still white and pretty.  By the time we left the foam was brown and shoes were getting sucked into the mud.  Kinda gross, but still really cool!

He ran up to the foam blower and didn't realize that it wasn't a good idea until after he got sprayed.  He has the cutest sad face though.  He loved our date and kept saying, "This is a Mommy and Noah date, and it's not for anyone else!"  After the foam, and showering off with the fireman's hoses, we got to go on a few kiddie train rides and play on an outdoor play area.  I love my little snuggle buggle. 

This is not related to this date, but I thought it would be a good place to add:  

When Noah is happy he will be SO affectionate and loving and say, "You are my special snuggle buggle and I love you SO much!"  When he gets mad at me sometimes he reverses the same phrase: "You are NOT my special snuggle buggle and I don't love you FOREVER!"  Yes, it's kind of sad to hear, but I can't help from wanting to laugh at his cute little voice and big lower lip saying those words.  I just love his little mind and how cute he is!

Yesterday Noah picked up his scriptures, pointed to the front, and asked, "What does this say?"
My response, "The Book of Mormon; Another Testament of Jesus Christ"
Noah excitedly exclaimed, "Hey!  I love that guy!"

Jimkeepers

The tale of the Jimkeepers goes back many years to when a bunch of rowdy teenage boys became friends.  Well, somehow those crazy boys became men.  I love it when we can all get together.  We were extra lucky to have Lee and Jaclyn in town from Georgia.  It would be so nice to have them closer (hint, hint:)).  

We met at a beautiful park in southern Orem.  We fed ducks

we picnic'd and the kids played 

and the big boy's played 

Oh, and Owen has a fierce love of dogs.  He is always chasing after them. . which I have to watch out for sometimes.  He gives kisses over and over again to dogs and Ollie was his new love:).   

Arizona Summer

Months ago Brett suggested that we go to Arizona for a week after our Disneyland adventure.  All I could think was July + Arizona = NO!!!  Well, after a lot of talk I finally gave in and I was glad I did.   The 110+ degree temperatures really weren’t as bad as I was dreading.  Swimming makes everything more bearable, along with all the fun with family.  We spent a lot of time in the pool and the boys even took some swim lessons with their cousins.  I really feel like both of the boys have improved leaps and bounds this summer.  Hyrum likes it when I call him little fish when we’re in the pool and Noah then usually insists that I call him scary shark.  Our boys are so cute!

Disneyland 2

Hyrum and Noah both got to fight the dark side as Jedi’s in training, along with most of their cousins.  That was a great experience!  Hyrum also got to have his birthday at the happiest place on earth.  He is FIVE!!! I can’t believe that we have a five year old and he is such a joy to have in our family.  He is curious and always asking questions about everything.  We tried to make the day special by taping streamers up in the hotel while he was asleep so he could wake up to something special.  We also let him pick out a big ice cream cone.  He ate about half of it before he decided that he was full (yes, this boy has a lot of self control) and was ready to open presents.  He gave the rest to Noah who demolished it.  I’m just glad we put down a towel on the floor:)

Noah is now tall enough to go on the Tower of Terror, which of course means that Brett insisted he tried it once.  I won’t even go on it!  Anyway, he did try it, he didn’t cry, and all he said was “I don’t like that fast elevator”.  He’s such a brave boy.  The kids also got to dance away at the Phineas and Ferb show.  (I love the top picture with Hyrum in the air as he was jumping)

We got to see their Aladdin show which is just the coolest, funniest, Broadway-esque show to see.  With all the fun  the kids would get pretty zonked out which means I got in some extra snuggle time. 

There was a lot of waiting in lines, but the lines overall were great.  It was fun seeing the sea of like colors with our matching shirts.

Disneyland

Ok, so these are not in order, but I’ve spent the last week looking at these pictures and trying to figure out how to post about 100 pictures onto the blog.  It was really hard to condense them, but these were some that I wanted to remember.  Carsland was AWESOME! 

There were some other awesome rides and people to meet.

There were some great treats to cool us down.

We did some fun Disneyland trivia that brought in the Partridge competitive gene and kept our minds searching.  The boys really loved all the rides and spending time with cousins.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

As I rapidly approach the big 3-0 there are some things that must get done.  Donating my hair is on my list:).   I always thought it would be really neat to donate my hair .  I've cut a handful of peoples hair when I was working in a salon as they donated it.  I  thought it was a neat thing, but at the time, thought it wasn't something I could ever do.  As I get older I know that I'm not the type of person to have hair down to my bum when I'm 40, 50, or ever again.  So, three years ago I committed to grow my hair out until I was 30 and donate it, because my grey hairs aren't decreasing in number and the desire to dye it will only increase.  I didn't quite make it to 30, but I did get it long enough to donate, and that's what matters.  As I've been preparing for the donation I learned a few facts.  It takes 20-30 hair donations just to make one wig!  A single real-hair wig costs over $1000.  My hair is a small contribution, but I hope it will make someone happy and feel beautiful.  

  

Before:

My hair went to the middle of my back, and when I looked up at the ceiling it would touch my pants.  I, for the most part, found my long hair to be incredibly annoying. It was always in my way, hot on my neck, collecting baby spit-up, getting pulled easily, etc.  For my boys though, my hair was a play-place and they loved it.  One of Noah's favorite things to do was to hide under my hair and play peek-a-boo.  Hyrum liked to twist it and tie it into knots. Owen liked it when I would tickle his neck with the ends.  The boys loved it when I would be the tickle monster and let my hair down so it would tickle their faces and necks when I would pin them down. (I took the picture below so they could remember what it looked like).  I've had long hair for the majority of their lives, even thought I feel like it was such a small portion of mine.  Cutting it off wasn't hard for me, but I can completely understand why some people have such a hard time getting rid of their long locks.  I can now empathize with the situation.  As for me though, we had a little hair party with the   remains:

What to do with 10+ inches of hair before it goes in the mail?. . . 

 After: 

 I know I look kind of creepy in this picture, but I forgot to have Brett take a picture before he went to work, so I was trying to take it myself:). . I love my new haircut! 

Farewell hair!  Hello freedom!