Summertime. And the Livin' is Easy.

Oh, Summer. I love you. It is so much fun to bask in the sunshine, and spend hours sitting on the grass. I love you so much, that blogging has taken a backseat. A major backseat. So, what does one do when there's lots of pictures and only so much time inside to blog? I know! A big, fat, throw everything into one blog post, kind of post. So here you go, peeps. Our summer. At least the last few weeks of it.

We made our grand reentrance to Salina for the 4th of July. It has been years since I have been back for the 4th, and we had a fabulous time. The carnival was great. We left with pocketfuls of prized possessions. Lunch at El Mexicano was super tasty, and visits with my grandparents were long overdue.

We headed back to SLC in the afternoon to enjoy a BBQ with Sam's family and one of the greatest fireworks shows I have ever seen. My father-in-law is like a 12-year-old when it comes to blowing things up.

We have been using my parent's Thanksgiving Point pass a lot. My kids love that place. And, when we are there, we are happy.

Of course, until we aren't....

And the sun is shining...

And the water is splashing...

And the horses are perfectly kid-friendly....

And, the toys are tasty....

And, pretty much that sums up our summer. Or, at least a few days of it. The rest of the time we are outside. But, I mentioned that already. I, don't, however, have any pictures of that. Feel free to imagine for yourselves...

Happy Weekend, All! Enjoy some sunshine!

Grab Bag

Life is gloriously simple at our house these days. We pretty much spend all day outside basking in every minute of sunshine available. Chase is completely hilarious. He wakes up every morning and grabs his Crocs so he can go outside. Sometimes we wonder if we should just pitch a tent for him in the backyard, so he doesn't even have to come in at night.

In the middle of our simplicity, we do have completely memorable moments. For one, Chase is obsessed with lambs. Like totally obsessed. He goes around saying, "baa baa" all the time. So, when Sam found out about the sheep festival at Thanksgiving Point, he knew it was a perfect activity for them. Sam said that Chase had his perfect day. I keep telling Sam that I want to get Chase a pet lamb with a little bell that Chase can walk around like a dog. And, as a bonus, it would help out on Sam's mowing responsibilities. Not a bad idea, right?

In "Lizzie Land," life has had a few exciting changes. For one, she finally gets to add to her diet! Rice cereal, baby! She eats like a champion, and most recently slept through the night. It's about time! She's adorable, and we just love her.

Halle finished kindergarten! She has loved school this year, and we have loved watching her learn. She never forgets about homework or reading time. She is looking forward to first grade, because in her words, "eating lunch at school is going to be awesome."

She also had her spring dance recital. She is such a showy performer. We love watching her dance.

The older girls in Halle's dance company did a Toy Story production number. It was amazing. Check out these costumes... spot on.

Even though life is relatively simple, we still play hard, and sometimes get completely tuckered out...

Life is good!

It's a Beautiful Life

I have to admit, I spend a lot of my time in "if only" land. "If only" we made more money. "If only" we had a walk-in closet. "If only" I had washboard abs. But, at the end of the day we are incredibly blessed. Why? Because we have been given the sweetest, cutest, best 3 children around. They make our life beautiful.

Photos from here.

FOUR Real?

Our sweet Lizzie just turned four months. Where did the time go? Sam mentioned that she doesn't look like an infant anymore. She has entered full baby mode.

Lizzie has the cutest chubby legs and cheeks. Totally kissable. She coos all the time. And, most recently, she has started rolling over.

Her nap schedule is non-existent, because our house is so loud. We certainly need to work on that. She HATES the bottle. In two weeks, Sam and I have Les Mis tickets, so we have two weeks to acclimate her to drinking from the bottle. (Any special tricks out there?)

Lizzie is certainly an angel, and we love watching her grow.

A Little Getaway

We spent the weekend in St. George. Ummm... fabulous! I've decided I want to live there. Like I really want to live there. I told Sam to update his resume and move me there. Stat.

Here's a few highlights from our weekend...

Throwing rocks down a window well... totally fun!

Hiking at Zions...

Chillin' at Sam's grandmother's condo...

Searching for Easter eggs in our jammies...

Playing at the golf course...

Checking out potato bugs...

And, proof that Sam and I were part of the weekend...

Other highlights included watching The Ten Commandments for the first time (super long, but good!), and introducing the kids to Dairy Queen (and then having to go there nearly every meal). A fabulous time was had by all!

Returning home to rain and cold... not so fabulous.

Life in the Slow Lane

When Chase was born, we had no idea how appropriate his name would become. We have been "chasing" him since he learned to move. He's always on the go, so experiencing the last few days with him have been different, to say the least.

On Wednesday, we took Chase to Primary Children's Hospital to have his ear tubes replaced and his tonsils and adenoids removed. On the surgery scale, it is a pretty routine procedure, but it was still difficult watching my little 2-year-old head off to the operation room with the doctors.

Chase's surgery went like clockwork. His old tubes were completely blocked, so it's nice to know he can hear better now. His enlarged tonsils and adenoids are now gone, making sleeping (and hopefully talking) easier. Since then, we have spent many hours cuddling our little man. He doesn't open his mouth much, and he looks sad most of the time, but every once in a while we see the real Chase, and we can't wait until he feels good again.

During this process, Halle and Lizzie have been amazing girls. Halle has been so thoughtful and considerate of Chase, and Lizzie has been spending a lot of extra time in her bouncy chair and bassinet without too much protest. Thanks for your help, girlies!

SIX & So Spectacular!

We celebrated Halle all weekend. On Friday 10 of her friends came over for a very loud, very high-pitched birthday party. (I've discovered that next year, I'm either buying her off, or going somewhere else for her party.) Even though Sam and I were exhausted through the entire party, Halle was as happy as I've ever seen her. And, for that, we were happy.

On Saturday, her actual birthday, my family came over and we went to Halle's favorite joint Panda Express. Afterwards, we had cupcakes back at our house.

On Sunday, we went to Sam's parents house, where we ate (at Halle's request) "beef and potatoes." We watched Tangled and had a great time.

At 6, Halle:

• is a whiz! She excels at school and loves to read. We are beyond proud.
• has a testimony. She really knows her Heavenly Father, and we get to know Him better through her.
• loves sugar.
• is a good friend. At her most recent parent/teacher conference Mrs. Holt told us that she is kind and considerate of everyone.
• loves dance, gymnastics, and soccer. She's a busy gal!
• is an amazing big sister.
• loves watching The Amazing Race with us.
• is beautiful!

We love you, Halle! Happy Birthday!