Summer

Sooo, this summer has sure gone by fast. I guess it is, technically, still summer but somehow my calender year still connects itself to the school year. Since students have either already started school or will start this week, I feel like my summer is ending too. And, you may have noticed, I haven't exactly kept up with my blog. This is most of what we've been up to these last few months.

 Lucy had her 3rd birthday!

Her favorite present was probably the huge box of fruit snacks.

That afternoon my mother had a birthday party for the 3 granddaughters who turned 3 this summer. Here they are doing a "Lion Hunt" with Grandpa.

  

 I finally decided that I should probably be a better party-thrower and try hosting a birthday party for Lucy. For my own sanity I thought we should just have a nice relaxing water party outside. It went very well with no tantrums or even fights. There may have been several small scuffles and reminders to share or take turns but with a group of about 12 kids from 0 to 4, I think they all did really well.

 I made some cupcake cones for the dessert - and thank you, thank you, Rachel, for frosting them! I have to point out my ingenuity here: I cut holes in all the bottom bumps of an egg cartoon to put my cones in so they wouldn't fall over when I served them.

I think they were well enjoyed as I had very little of them to clean up after the party.

Here is most of the party group, although some had already left. It was a bit of a challenge to get all the kids to stand together. This is our most successful shot.

 For the evening of her birthday we had a bubble party with just the three of us. Both of her grandma's had given her some bubbles so we tried them out all together. Check out Sammy's mad photography skills with that grass angle.

For Sammy's birthday the 3 of us went to the Little America for dinner and then a few days later we also celebrated at the Cheesecake Factory with his parents and a few siblings. My goodness their cheesecake is to die for! (Sammy's response to me when I told him this, "If you're willing to die for cheesecake I think need to sort your priorities.")

We also had a huge transition for Lucy as we finally let her have a big girl bed. We just took one side of her crib off to make it a daybed. She still hadn't figured out how to climb out of the crib but we thought 3 was a little old to be in a crib. Plus she's getting too heavy to get her in and out so much.

 She has been doing SO well. She loves being more independent and only fell out 2 or 3 times. The best part is that it hasn't interrupted her good sleeping habits. If she needs me in the night she'll just cry or call for me and in the morning she'll just get out and play until I come to get her. Let's all hope it lasts.

This box has to be one of the highlights of this summer. We were able to get 10 lbs. of peaches from a ward member for only $10. Each one of them was absolutely delicious! We ate them all in a little over a week. However, it did happen to infest our home with a million fruit flies. But thanks to Pinterest (ahem, Rachel - really it is so useful) I made a nifty trap with a banana, vinegar, a jar, and a carefully folded and taped paper - and our problem has been solved. Now, how can I get more peaches?!

We also had a wonderful trip to Bear Lake with my family for 5 days but I didn't take a single picture... heh. But I figure those who would actually like to see the pictures were already there and everybody else doesn't really care - so there you go.