Gardening -
This is our first year with a garden and it has been lots of fun- We started out with sweetpeas, which was a big hit with all of us, especially Owen despite the video below:
We also grew corn, tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, cantalope, carrots and watermelon.
Apparently you're supposed to pick the zucchini before it becomes this massive, but I did get a lot of zucchini bread out of it!
We also have two peach trees and one nectarine tree as well-
Of course with this many peaches, we had to do SOMETHING...
And so for the first time, I tried my hand at bottling. Not a fun process, but very satisfying to see them on my shelf-
4th of July
One of the only benefits of living here so far has been legal fireworks. We thought we would get Owen and Madi used to them before we went down to Blanding for the big fireworks-
Madi loved the sparklers -
Owen, not so much...although in his defense, a little spark had been caught between his underwear and skin and was burning his poor little leg. -Some mother I am, letting him play with fireworks in his underwear- :(
4th of July Parade in Blanding - It was so hot!
Loving the cousins
Parade candy; there's nothing like it
Andy and Owen
Mr. O
Watching the fireworks that night from the house with family, friends, and a dog-
Reunion
We were able to make it to the Dillon Reunion, and it was fun to hang out and see old faces:
Bug catching (they actually caught a couple of butterflies)
Madi and Grandma
Madi and Addi - 1st cousins, 1 day apart in age
Loving being outdoors
Tyrell and Coy playing "John and Marsha". Hilarious.
Andy grew a beard for 6 weeks
...and shaved it off.
Zoo
Another big thing that happened this summer is that Rachel came to live with us for a little bit. It was so much fun to have her, and it made it possible for me to take the kids to do some fun things, namely, taking them to the zoo.
Hiking the Y
Much harder than I remember it being back in college, but then again I didn't have 36 extra pounds to carry back then. And I'm talking about Owen, thank you very much! :) It's just over a mile to the Y, but you gain 1000 ft in elevation over that mile, so it's steep.
Just starting the hike, thinking we would be back down to the car in 30 minutes. Ha!
When I couldn't carry Owen anymore, Andy took over. What a guy!
Finally made it after an hour of hiking -
But the view was worth it
The only part of the hike that Owen did on his own, but he had fun walking around on the big Y.
Madi walks!
About the end of July, Madi started walking. However, she still does not like to walk, and prefers crawling. I have been waiting for her to walk since she turned 1, so that she would go on the grass and play outside with Owen (she doesn't like how the grass feels on her hands, so she won't crawl on it.) At this rate, it will be winter before she starts walking full-time and by that time playing outside won't be an option. What a girl. :)
Anniversary
For our anniversary this year, we went down to Nevada to celebrate my college friend, Joni, getting married the same day. I hadn't seen Joni since we left college, so it was so fun to get to see her and what better way to spend your anniversary than to be able to celebrate a new marriage? Joni was beautiful, the reception was beautiful and we're happy we made the trip.
Going to dinner the next night - 6 years have seemed to go by so fast, but we're still having fun and we still love each other, so we must be doing something right! Thanks to Dad and Mom Adams for watching the kids while we were away!
Owen's Birthday
My parents were bringing Rachel back up to go to Ogden for school, and it just so happened that they were here for Owen's birthday! So we decided to call all of the family in the area and have them come not only to celebrate Owen's birthday, but it was just a good excuse to hang out! It was so good to see you: Mom and Dad, Rachel and Shaelyn, Callie and Mark, Uncle Blaine and Aunt January, Justin and Michelle, Gavin, Grayson, Brooke, Alyssa, Victoria, Christen, John-Evan.
We had just sung Happy Birthday and Owen had blown out the candles when I turned to take the cake back in the house, and it slipped from it's platter, fell on Madi's head and tipped right side up on the ground. Madi was crying (ended up she had a lump on her eye) and Owen's face was just one of shock and horror. He had been talking about his Thomas the Train cake for weeks, and it was now on the ground.
And then he proved that he was my child, by bending down and munching on the cake. No tears, just the realization that he was going to have his cake, ground or not!
He even wanted to blow out his candles again on the the portion of the cake that we didn't scrape up.
We also had to get the Stratton "Happy Birthday" song on video -though I'm not sure who was holding the camera sideways- Probably Rachel...:)
When everyone left, we had our little birthday and Owen seemed ecstatic about his whole day. Thanks for everyone who contributed!
Camping
We had a ward campout and decided to pull the tent out beforehand to make sure everything was still there. The kids loved it, and we had a couple of nights with movies outside in the tent.
Owen had the idea of putting bands on their heads
Madi wasn't pleased
Hiking Waterfall Canyon
Again, a very hard hike! I had even looked it up before we left and a girl had said that she made it to the waterfall in 15 minutes. Ha. Ha. Try more like 45 minutes, and that was pushing it because the sun was going down. If anyone is in Ogden, this really is a beautiful waterfall, however it's very rocky and we had to watch out for snakes (a couple coming down said that a rattlesnake had just crossed their path). And yet again, Owen was tired after the first 10 minutes, so Rachel, Andy and I rotated carrying him.
Random Cuteness
Whew....
