Special Surprise Visitors

The Manners family stopped by tonight on their way home from Minnesota.  O&O were sooo excited!

Some Group Shots

Olivia helping Mickey figure out the airplane

Olivia wanted to hold Baby Elle

And Owen wanted to hug her, but he may have overwhelmed poor Elle

JoCo Kidscape

We've been working hard to find indoor activities for these super hot days.  And on Saturday's, when Justin is at work, my parents and I usually plan a little adventure.  Today, we visited Kidscape at the JoCo Museum.   I can't believe we've never been there before.  It was fantastic and free!  We will definitely be back again.

Olivia loved the stage and musical instruments.  Owen loved the cars and trains.  And they both loved the tractor and grocery store.

Sorry for some fuzzy pictures.  It is so hard to get pictures when O&O are constantly moving!  

Baby Elle

We also went down for a quick overnight in Parsons for Elle's baptism. 

How adorable is she?  

She wore the same dress that Olivia wore at Erica and Luke's wedding 2 years ago.  

Elle was perfect.  Not as true for the other 3 toddlers, Owen, Olivia and Mickey, who all had to be held through the baptism.  Thank goodness we had one set of hands (Luke's!) to actually old little Elle through the whole thing!

I loved this moment.  Elle wanted to be held over father's shoulder, but everyone wanted her face in the pictures.  So, Father turned around and said he'd stand backwards in all of the pictures.  Ha!

And I love Great Grandpa sticking his face around in this one...

The closest we can get to a family picture. 

Another Visit to the Trains

We love Union Station.  We love that it's free and air conditioned!  We went Saturday morning with my whole family (minus the Justins).  Plus we love the historical significance.  My Dad grew up riding trains and loves every inch of Union Station. 

 

Owen was angry that I made him turn his back to Thomas....

The subway

I actually think Lola was really excited about snacks

Watching the real trains go under the Freight House Bridge

And of course, reading the Amtrak catalog

We will be back again and again!

A Wedding and an Obstacle Course

Obviously, two completely unrelated topics in this post.

First, congratulations Tom and Samantha!  We had such a good time at this wedding!

This was the first wedding we've attended where the kids were old enough to get down on the dance floor.

This afternoon, O&O played independently for almost 45 minutes while I made dinner. I use the word "Independently" loosely, as they checked on me and I checked on them as they watched "Mighty Machines" - our new favorite netflix show. It was still AH-mazing!  That motivated me to put on my super-Mom hat.  We made an obstacle course.

We finished up the night with some bathtub painting.   A very entertaining evening!

The yard for now

We've decided to wait a bit to get our sod in, as I'm sure everyone around here understands our lack of rain!  So, we're making do with what we have. Justin put some mulch down so we at least have a little room for our chairs and the playhouse. 

The kids thought the dirt was awesome. 

And they walked the little path back and forth....

Can't wait to get new sod and a new deck and back to normal!

Reunion: Last Day

We spent the last day mostly riding light rail.  Or at least that's probably how Owen and Olivia remember it. 

We also went to a Salt Lake Bee's Baseball Game.  The kids were not very cooperative at the game, but here we are before it started. 

At first, they were very excited to meet the Bee mascot.  But they got scared as they got closer.  These pictures are in order...Mason standing with the bee the entire time, waiting for O&O to get closer! But instead, O&O kept inching further away!

The return flight wasn't horrible, and Olivia even took a little nap. 

And to top off an amazing reunion, it was determined that KC will be hosting Reunion 2015!  Which puts us on the planning committee.  So, please give us any suggestions for activities (indoor and outdoor) in July, 2015!

Vacation Habits Die Hard

This week has been so much fun. It has been great to spend time as a family and be on the go from activity to activity.  I'm sure every parent would agree, we give in a lot more while on vacation, and I'm hoping we settle back into our routine at home.  Hoping they'll forget all of the new trends going on around here:

Naps in the big bed.  Owen always starts in the pack n play, but ends up here: 

Olivia napping on the move.  Seems like a good idea, but usually ruins her real nap. 

Binkies and Woobies all day long.  Thank goodness for laundry at our first hotel.  I had to wash those woobies that get carried everywhere!  And binkies have been with us constantly.  I'd much rather break my "rules" than have people listen to them throw a tantrum!

Wearing crocs.  I don't care at home - they are perfect for playing outside.  But, I usually leave them there.  Owen takes them off everywhere we go.  I'll be amazed if we make it home with all of his shoes. 

And a few more picture free notes:

Bedtime at 9:00, Wakeup at 6am! What?!

Lollipops.  Purchased for the plane ride, but they seem to find my hiding spot wherever I put the bag. 

Eating constantly.  While I love the snack table at the reunion, O&O think they need cheese puffs every time they walk in the room. 

Shows on the iPad.  We have even let Olivia watch shows while in her pack n play.  Our lack of sleep doesn't encourage good judgement!

Even with all of these changes, I am so sad to see vacay come to an end!

Reunion - Day 2

A short night's sleep led into a fun filled day.  We started at the aquarium with Justin's cousins and their children. 

Then we visited the Lutheran High School for lunch.  Olivia spilled water all over, so she ran around in her diaper - totally appropriate, right?  While Owen was off with Uncle Chet, Olivia had so much fun with Mason, who is also 2 years old. 

We finished the night at a Rec Center, which was rented out for the reunion.  It had an amazing pool!  In true Olivia fashion, she got a minor cut on her toe right before we got there and proceeded to limp around and refused to swim for the first hour.  When people walked by her, she would point to her toe.  Drama Queen. 

Olivia actually came around and had a blast at the end.  And of course, she cried when it was time to go.  I know someone took a picture so hopefully we'll get it and post it eventually!

When we got home, Olivia needed a new bandaid.  Which made Owen want a bandaid.  Which meant Justin and I needed bandaids.  Thank goodness we bought a new box.

 Stay tuned for day 3.....