Thanksgiving Gardens with Grandma and Grandpa Keetch

Thanksgiving Point Gardens is running a $2 Tuesday special through August. Grandma and Grandpa Keetch took advantage and invited us to come along.

It was beautiful and I found so many great spots to take pictures. I was really wishing I had my big camera with me but in all reality I was following a 1 year old and still managed to get a few good shots with my little digital.

Afton melted into her stroller for a bit (it was 90+ degrees) but after a while she perked up and wanted out! She loved running around the flowers and through the bushes and trees.

Halfway through our walk we came upon the children's area which Afton couldn't resist. There was a sandbox, a little stream, a million other kids, a maze, and plenty of other stuff to keep her occupied. She and Brett spent some time in the stream and when we finally continued on our way Afton was very unhappy!

During our walk Afton found a cute little bunny! We spent some quiet time watching and wondering.

Grandma and Grandpa Keetch found a nice little bench where they were able to cozy up for a while!

A lot of fun! Thanks for the invite Grandma and Grandpa!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (regular milk with 2 tbsp. vinegar)
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups grated zucchini

Mix first 5 ingredients well. Add remaining ingredients. Before baking, sprinkle top of cake with 1/2 cup each: chocolate chips. brown sugar, and or nuts.
Bake in 9x13 inch greased pan at 325 for 45 minutes!

Thanks for sharing Tiff!

Bear Lake

Bear Lake was a little strange this year. Everyone was scattered and we all seemed to be doing different things at different times. It was as windy as always and having Afton around changed the trip entirely for me.

Brett and I rented a condo this year. It was great. I packed Afton's blankets and bunnies and of course we had to have her Kipper DVD. When we were at the condo I didn't feel as stressed because Afton watched cartoons and was able to take care of herself a little bit. Once we got outside she was a hazard. I know I hovered the entire trip but everything seemed dangerous. The water, the fire pit, the sharp edges jutting out from the trailers, the cousins zooming by on their bikes, the hot grills, and a handful (at least) of other dangers lurked around every corner.

Halfway through the trip Afton fell off the monkey bars and landed flat on her back. As she hit the ground she somehow bit a hole in the middle of her tongue and was bleeding enough to really scare me. I scooped her up and carried her to camp. She was crying, breathing funny, and holding very still. We ended up giving her a blessing and taking her to a nice doctor who saw us after hours in his clinic. Afton had a bruised back and the doctor couldn't emphasize enough how lucky we were she didn't land in any other position. We finally got back to the room and she slept until about 5:30. I gave her more medicine and put her in bed with me. Even though I didn't really sleep much after that I was happy to have some snuggle time with my baby girl.

Afton took two naps on the boat and loved honking the horn and holding the steering wheel. She is a little fish just like her dad and didn't seem to mind the cold Bear Lake water. I didn't even get in above my knees! Oh well.

Right outside our condo there was a fun little bridge. Afton was drawn to it so I used it as a chance to work on my photography. I love taking pictures and am hoping to continue to improve my skills and get a new lens soon!
Hint Hint Brett! :)

The last day a few of us decided to go to a cave I have always wanted to visit. We drove through a beautiful canyon and once we arrived we learned the next tour wasn't until two and it was only 12:30. Brett and I didn't think Afton would last through the wait and then the tour so we wandered around, ate some lunch and left for home.
The girls had fun watching the chipmunks while drinking their blue sugar water (somehow Afton had a half full drink in her hand most of the trip - hmmmm)!

I made cookies!

I don't bake anything and my friends know this. Loni finally couldn't stand it anymore so she came over with her sister Jen's yummy recipe. We let the girls play while we made tons of these yummy chocolate chip cookies!
Thanks Loni and Jen!



1 lb butter (room temperature)
2 cups brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
5-6 cups of flour
1 1/2 - 2 bags chocolate chips
2 cups nuts (optional)

Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes!

Pole dancing? What?

I know I shouldn't even SUGGEST anything but these pictures just cracked me up. Afton is such a funny kid.
I also love her hair in these pictures. It was one of those rare days she actually let me do it!

New Panda PJ's

Afton picked these out last time we were at Costco. She LOVES them!

She REALLY loves that she now has Panda feet!

Lehi pool

Sisters

You can kid the world. But not your sister. ~Charlotte Gray

The Swing

The Sandbox

There is something so wonderful about a sandbox.

Afton and her dad spent one evening putting this together and
it hasn't gone unused! Afton loves digging, sifting, soaking, moving, tossing, and covering herself in sand. A bath always follows!

Afton has plenty of room to move around and Brett even made
two little cubbies to hold all of the toys!

Scrapbook pages

When Afton was born I started a HUGE 12 by 12 scrapbook. I did a calendar page at the beginning of each month and tried to do at least two layouts per month. Not fun! Well, the I love the calendar pages but found the layouts to be too time consuming.

During that time I started working on some digital pages and decided that was more my style. I started making smaller books (mostly 6x6) and realized I LOVED that size so much more. It's small, easy to hold, and something Afton can actually carry around.

So, I need to finish Afton's first year book but took some time out to back track and work on digital pages.

I have now printed everything on 6x6 sheets and put it in a photo album.

I love it! 

Here are a few pages from Afton's book!

Grandma's blog

My mom is AMAZING! Check out her new blog!  I LOVE it!

www.allthingsgrandma.com

Birthday!

I actually enjoyed my birthday this year! I am still a little shocked that I am 36 and feel myself doing the confused 'I'm thinking' head tilt whenever someone actually asks.

The day of my birthday I took Afton to meet Brett at Ikea during lunch time so we could exchange something and Brett showed up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers! :) Yeah            (Stories about Ikea another day)

After Afton's nap we drove to Grandma Keetch's house and Brett was waiting to take me out.

We started by going to Italian Village! We both had salad and pizza benders and they were delicious! I don't EVER find myself in that area so the food seemed extra yummy!

After that we headed over to Jordan Commons to watch Eclipse. We had extra time so we played air hockey (I won), Ms. Pac Man (I won) and we both tried to catch a prize with those big claws (I got one)! Did I mention Brett has a broken rib? The fact that we were out doing anything was huge and pretty much tells you why I won everything! :)

When we were done we headed to the theater for the movie! I liked the movie but liked the book so much more. Brett is nice enough to suffer through it for me and I appreciate it (although he did think Victoria was hot)! He is very thoughtful and I had a great night!

We hadn't been out in a long time so it was fun to hang out together. I did start thinking about Afton (kind of obsessively) during the movie and knew I'd hit my limit.
I was happy to see her once we got back to Grandma's house and was even happier as I watched her take her daddy's cheeks in her little tiny hands and kiss him on the lips. Ahhhh.
A few minutes later I told her I loved her and she looked at me and said, 'I love you mommy'! Ahhhh

So...great birthday, great husband, great kiddo, great life!

July hike with Dad

Dad and I spent the morning hiking. Our original destination was crowded so we ended up on a different trail. This trail didn't have as much shade but there was plenty of room for us to walk side by side (most of the way) and talk.
As always, Dad is one step ahead of me. He was built for hiking and I was huffing and puffing. I am so out of shape.

Notice the red face - I didn't think it was that bad until I saw the photo! Yikes!

The close up!

And - Dad's new jeep!
This is the first time I can remember Dad not having a Trooper!
I'm sure he didn't get another one because they stopped making them!
Sorry Dad!

Tutu

The fourth of July was fun for Afton running around in this cute little outfit. Grandma W. made this adorable tutu and bought these fun red, white and blue flip flops. 

I am amazed Afton will wear either one. She is such a little girl!