Kanosh (Independence Day and Family Reunion)

The 5th of July marked the George Family Reunion in Kanosh, Utah.  We decided to go up a day early and enjoy the 4th of July festivities in Fillmore.  I'm so glad we did.  It was a lot of fun.  The day started off with a parade.  The kids have never really been to a parade of this kind.  Candy?  Being thrown?  Everywhere?  WHAT?

 I even let Oliver have a sucker (and I'm completely opposed to suckers.  I HATE them).  He was happy.

 After the parade, we went to the park to enjoy the remaining festivities.  They had booths with games, and food and fun.  It was definitely a good time.  Noelle and Oliver found this giant beach ball and LOVED it.

 Then someone hooked it up to a hose... and they loved it even more.

 Around 2, they had free games for the children.  Everyone was put into their age groups for maximum fun.

 And all the kids participating got their faces painted.  You can't complain about that.

 Being in Utah was really refreshing.  We could play at the park and NOT burn our flesh off.  The kids LOVED that.

 Later that night, we prepared to see the fireworks.  My kids, until this time, had never seen large fireworks before.  We have never taken them on the 4th in the valley because they start so late and it's so incredibly hot out.  In Fillmore, they still started late, but not AS late... and it was definitely NOT hot.

 The next day was the Family Reunion!  It didn't have the best outcome, but it was still fun.

 Melanie got to meet some very distant cousins that were approximately her age.  She had so many friends.

 This little girl is Myakota.  She is exactly 2 days older than Melanie and so much fun.  This is my cousin, Lori's, oldest daughter.  Can you tell they had fun together?  Definitely!

 I didn't get any pictures at the dinner that night.  A storm came in, which made the reunion end shorter than I think it would have.  But it was still so much fun.

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Salt Lake.  We went to the Children's Museum and had a lot of fun exploring.

 Oliver made me smile.  He found this baby, and wouldn't let it go.  He just wanted to love on it.

 The water table in this museum is just amazing.  It's huge and so much fun.

 After the museum, we ventured to Temple Square.  There we really enjoyed the temple and other buildings around it.  If you asked my kids their favorite part in Salt Lake... they don't say the museum, they say going to the Temple.  I like hearing that.

 On Sunday, before saying our goodbyes, we took a trip with Uncle Brant.  He told us a lot of stories about my ancestors.  He also took us to see his fish pond.  It was really nice to hear him tell us about my family.  I appreciated the little trip.

 This next picture is of my great grandmother's house.  My great grandfather's dad built it, and he added on to it.  It's just beautiful.  I currently have cousin's living there.

 Before we left, Uncle Brant had to give the kids a ride around his house with the quad.  Fun Times!

Thank you Uncle Brant, for planning a wonderful reunion and hosting our family.  We truly had a good time.

Let's Read a Book

After a lot of reading and even more fun... the kids finally got their free books from the library (well, they got them over a week ago... mom is a little behind on the times).  They were really excited to get their packages in the mail.

 Oliver got to open his box first.  As you can tell by this signature facial expression, he was thrilled.

 Noelle was in 7th Heaven.

 Melanie had to open her box by her self...  the anticipation was killing her.

 But in the end, she was ecstatic. 

 3 Happy Kids, 3 Fun Books!

 And of course, we share.

This year, I let the girls pick out their own books.  Noelle's selection surprised me (because it wasn't pink or princess), but she loves her new book.  

Thank you Maricopa County Libraries for the books!

Stuffed Animals' Birthday Party

Tuesday morning we went to the grocery store for a few items.  I had Noelle and Oliver, as Melanie was at school.  As we past the bakery, Noelle informed me that she wanted a birthday cake.  She proceeded to tell me exactly how she wanted her next birthday but that it was SO FAR away!  (I believe it was exactly 6 months away on Tuesday, but I didn't tell her).   She was so excited about birthday cakes and parties, I could resist a little fun at the house.

So, we went home and made cupcakes.

 (yummm... smells good)

 And then, after Melanie came home, we made party hats!

 Then we got our guests of honor.  Melanie and Shelly

 Noelle and Princess

 A cranky Oliver and Nemo

 Mom and Brown Bear

 Here are the birthday animals.  Don't they look super cute with their party hats on?

 We sang them "Happy Birthday" and then chowed down on our birthday cupcakes.

 After that, we had to have party games!

 This picture ALMOST shows how excited Oliver was at playing Twister.

We had a great time celebrating the birthday of our favorite stuffed animals.  And it was nice to do have a little party for no reason.

My favorite quote during the party came from Melanie: "Mom, we will eat real cupcakes, but we need to give our animals fake ones because I don't want Shelly to get all dirty."  Silly girl!

The Things They Say...

So, it dawned on me this morning that I post on Facebook some of the things my kids say, however, it's been a long time since I have posted those things on my blog... which should be backwards, since my blog actually gets printed and kept, and facebook can be more of a black hole (though it does reach my grandparents and other distant relatives).  So, here are some of the silly things my kids have been saying.

Oliver!

 A few days ago, Oliver picked up a bag of pretzels by the wrong end.  After the pretzels dumped all over the ground he said "oh no!" And then got on the floor and while cleaning them up, started singing "Clean up, Clean up".  I felt like I must be teaching him something right.

A few days ago, Oliver picked up one of Melanie's Disney dolls, and then started dancing and singing "I Know You!" over and over (think Aurora's "I Know You").  It was really cute.

Melanie!

Noelle was whining .  Melanie looks over at her and says "That's murmuring!  You don't want to be like Laman and Lemuel!"

Me: "Melanie, if you don't listen to me, you don't be able to do anything but sleep"
Melanie: "Butt sleep?  (giggle giggle) What's Butt Sleep?"

Melanie: "What I grow up, I want to be a princess"
Me: "When I grow up, I want to be a princess too!"
Melanie: "But mom, you already did grow up and married a handsome prince named Brandon"

Melanie: "It's rough being a human... I wish we could turn into mermaids!"

Since we aren't moving, I have decided that we need to make Oliver's room... well, his.  It's peach and girly since it was Noelle's room prior.  I tell Brandon "I think we should go from peach to orange.  It should be an easy change".  Melanie yells (from a totally different room): "No, Peach to Pear!"

Me: "Melanie, there is a little girl that is 6, almost like you, that had her house burnt down last night.  All her toys are now all gone, and her clothes and all her fun stuff.  Do you think you can find some things in your room that you can give to you so that she can have fun things too?"
Melanie: "Yes mom.  I'm sure I can find some stuff... or many she just wants to sleep in our room and play with all our toys.  That would work too, mom!"

Melanie: "Oliver is small, Noelle is medium, I am big, and mom... you are humungous"

Melanie: "June and July are going to be so much fun, mom.  Do you know why?"
Me: "Why"
Melanie: "Because I get to real ALL the books in the library!  That's a lot, mom!"

Melanie (after watching Peter Pan): "Before he had the hook, did they call him Captain Hand?"

Melanie: "Mom, I'm getting too old to be a kid!"

Noelle!

Santa put tooth brushes in the kids stockings (the kind that they can decorate themselves).  Noelle was decorating her toothbrush.

Brandon: "Should we put your name on your toothbrush?" 

Noelle: "I did!  Right here!" (then she points to a sticker that says "Princess")

Noelle is a crack up.  We were making something that has honey in it.

Me: "Who likes Honey?"

Noelle: "Bugs!"

Me: "Okay, yes, bugs like Honey.  Who makes Honey?"

Noelle: "Bugs!"

Me: "What kind of bugs?"

Noelle: "2 of them"

Me: "What are they called"

Noelle: "I don't know their names.  We can call them Cinderella because they do all the work"

Me: "Noelle, when is the last time you sat on the potty?"

Noelle: "I already did!"

Me: "How long ago.  Maybe you should go again"

Noelle: "When I was a Baby!" (so is that like 3 years ago then?)

Noelle: "I love my freckles with this kind of hair.  I look like a beautiful girl.

Noelle (talking to Melanie): "Melanie, I love you.  I love you when you are sad, I love you when you are cranky.  You are my best friend."

Noelle: "Mom!  I want to play a puzzle with super small pieces"

Me: "Well, your brother is awake"

Noelle: "Can't you just put him to sleep?"

And last night Melanie was crying in her bed.  Apparently Noelle told her "Melanie, you are being cranky, so you can't be a princess anymore."  Oh golly!

Science Center Saturday

Noelle loves the Science Center.  So pretty much begs daily to visit.  So, on Saturday, Brandon and I decided to surprise her (and Melanie and Oliver) with a trip to the Science Center.  We got there the moment the open, and had a BLAST!  It turned out to be Member Appreciation Day, and we got to see a show in the planetarium for a fraction of the price.  It was the first time that we have ever been in the Planetarium (and it may be my last... wow did I get motion sick).  They had a few other activities going on for the members, like a scavenger hunt and a bug thing.  It was fun.  Here are some mandatory pictures of us having fun.

 I love watching these two play together.  They really do enjoy each other.

 This isn't the first time Oliver has laid on a be of nails... but it's the first time he did it long enough for me to take his picture.

We had such a wonderful time at the Science Center.  Of course, Noelle already wants to know when we can go back.  I love that she loves science.

Oliver

I love being a mom.  More importantly, I love being Oliver's mom.  There is a LOT of personality stuck in this little body.  At 19 months, he is constantly surprising me with his charm, humor, and abilities.  Here are a few things unique to Oliver.

We have had this closet in our house since the beginning (shocking, I know), but Oliver is the first of our children to realize it's there, open the door, and more importantly, discover it's true potential.  This is Oliver's new hang out place.  If I can't find him, he's there.  He doesn't care that there isn't a light... he is okay with the dark.  He likes to say "peek a boo, mommy" and poke his little head out and giggle.  He also like to grab things he shouldn't have and run into that closet to hide.  Yep, this is Oliver's "Man Cave", and he knows it.

Speaking of climbing into places...  I caught him under the bathroom sink.  He is my first kid that I have had to constantly remove from the bathroom (yes, child locks are going on soon...  sometime...), and this particular day, he saw me coming and decided to climb in to hide rather than get in trouble.  Well, I still caught him.  By time I got the camera out, he was leaving the scene of the crime.

 Oliver may not be the first child to figure out that if she/he has a step, she/he can reach things up high (that was Noelle), but he is the first to move a chair around and get that extra height.  A few days ago, he brought the chair into the kitchen and put it up to the stove while I was cooking.  He said "hot" while reaching for a burner that was bright red.  I stopped him just in time.  I think he will be my first ER visit.  It's just a matter of time.

 There are a few things he does that takes after his sisters.  He is a great dancer.  In fact, this little man has moves you have never seen.  He can boogie!  He is also interested in coloring and painting.  Sometimes you just have to let him go at it and worry about the clean up later.  Of course, this particular day, I had already cleaned the bathroom... it wasn't until I was cleaning the Incredible Hulk that I remembered this.  Bummer.  O-well, he had fun.

 Oliver is SO Dramatic!  No really, seriously, dramatic.  I think he was born that way because he has always been good at throwing a fit.

 Did I mention he likes to get into things?  

 Sometimes his sisters decide to get a little revenge on him...  this is one of those times.  You can't tell because of the white shirt... but he was covered in powder, thanks to Melanie.  It was also all over the floor. They got a good laugh.  

 Oliver is also a man of many words.  He does a really good job of telling you want he wants, most of the time.  I'm constantly impressed with his vocabulary.  He is one smart cookie and I love him to pieces.