Memorial Day

Memorial Day seemed like a great day for a BBQ so we called the Keetch's and had them come over!
We had the kids brings their bikes, scooters, motorized toys, and whatever else they wanted for the trail and everyone had fun riding around, eating yummy food and spending time together!!

Brett's chopper landed on the roof and he and Afton managed to finally get it down through her bedroom window. Yikes!!

Memorial Day with the Keetch's

Every year we have a Memorial Day BBQ with the Keetch's. And almost every year it rains.
This year we decided to wait and watch the weather and when we felt certain it was going to be nice we invited everyone over. We did give them some heads up but didn't commit until Sunday.

Monday turned out to be beautiful and everyone came, even Great Grandpa Morley!!!

We cooked a ham, had hot dogs for the kids, and everyone brought chips, salads and drinks.

Everyone also brought bikes, scooters, and motorized kiddy cars.

 

Brett's chopper was a big hit! The little kids took turns flying it but Brett was the one who got it stuck on the roof! That gave everyone a good laugh. 

 Brett trying to get his chopper down!

 Cutest baby who has a million pictures of her at every party!

 Lots of time on the trail. Brett's nieces and nephews adore him!

 Cousins!

 

Teri was home sick and we missed her. 

 I can't believe these two are old enough to bring dates to family parties. Wow! They sure are cute though!

Still dancing!

I feel like I keep posting the same dance pictures but I guess that's what happens when you have multiple performances. This might be the last though. Dance is over until September and who knows by then if Afton will want to sign up again or if she will have found something new!

Either way I guess I don't mind. I want her to have fun and she really seems to enjoy dance!

This performance was at the old Lehi Jr. High and Afton was really excited to have both sets of Grandparents there to watch!

Once they were settled in their seats I took Afton into the gym with the other little dancers. It was fun seeing all the cute costumes but a little crazy with few adults to supervise. I of course wouldn't leave Afton in there for that long (she was #14) so I hung around and took some pictures.

At first the girls were sitting around, laying around and eventually running around. Running in circles, over and over and over.

After a little while an older girl came over and was able to get the girls to sit in a circle and play some games. Somehow Afton found a little pink feather (off a costume?) and that kept her more entertained than anything else.

My mom got some great shots of the performance!

Funny how that little pink feather made it on stage. I think it was stuck to her skirt. Hehehe

A couple of weeks ago a professional photographer came to take pictures of the girls. Here are some of the shots he got.

 

Right now

Right now

Afton

* is starting to wonder why kisses don't always help
* takes forever to get the wrapper off her straw and then it comes out in a million pieces
* calls me Mudder
* has a lot of names for people who are her 'friends'
* loves to watch Doc McStuffins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates
* favorite books are Big Chickens and Llama Llama mad at Mama
* imaginary friends Honey and Andra
* has no more bumps
* great imagination - uses hands a lot, grabbing and moving things around, makes me laugh
* wants a sibling or a dog
* will dance if she likes the song
* wants a picnic every day in the backyard
* eats chocolate chip or smores granola bars
* favorite cereal Trix or Lucky Charms
* always wears her pink crocs
* let's me braid her bangs and put her hair in pigtails or a ponytail
* doesn't want me to brush or comb her hair
* won't brush her teeth, I have to do it
* sleeps in her purple Tinkerbell nightgown
* still lugs around her baby horse, piggy, pepper, 4 blanket animals which are a bear, a horse, two bunnies and her blanket
* will sing Tinkle tinkle little pee, I want you to come out of me while on the pot
* always wants her feet on a stool while going to the bathroom
* is easy and fun to take to the store - she'll carefully look at breakables and likes to catch a ride hanging onto the side of the cart
* communicates well
* always hunts for the perfect toy(s) to take to the bathtub
* loves the yard and the garden (she ate her first strawberry yesterday)
* snuggles, hugs and kisses me as much as I want
* blows out air when trying to stop crying or calm down
* cries out momma in the middle of the night and I'll go in and she's asleep
* doesn't want to say prayers and likes to fold her hands instead of her arms
* loves cucumbers, peas, spaghetti with meatballs, granola bars, fruit strips, cereal (could be every meal), instant breakfast, cottage cheese, any cheese, grilled cheese, tortilla's with cheese and turkey, oranges,
* will sleep until 9 or 930
* thinks something is broken when it gets hurt
* always wants to play with cousins
* doesn't accept "I don't know" as an answer. She'll say, tell me mom over and over.

Mother's Day hike

Am I lucky or what to be the Mom of this cute kid?? I'll admit though - Mother's Day was rough for me this year. I am so grateful to have Afton and I love every minute we spend together but there's still that little piece of me that harbors a sadness for kids I feel I'm missing. I had expectations today and that made it all worse. I was grumpy, Brett was inadequate and no one could read my mind. I wanted to drive over the Alpine Loop and go to Cascade Springs but the Loop was closed so we found a fun little hike and took off. Afton insisted on her bringing her horse and at one point we found a fun climbing tree and stopped for photos!

All said and done it was a fun day and I know I'm loved but I realize I need to plan ahead for days like that. No expectations = no hard feelings. 
Feeling sad about not having more kids = okay to feel

Grandpa's Bday AGAIN

Afton was sick when everyone got together to celebrate Grandpa Tom's birthday. She was so sad she missed it and was just positive Grandpa needed another party with chocolate cake and sprinkles. She was so excited to have everyone over and Grandpa didn't mind either.

Right after we missed the party Grandpa came over to visit. Afton gave him her present and he was so excited. Grandpa is an amazing watercolor artist and Afton's book was full of her own artwork. I'll post pictures later.

Another recital

Another fun recital....

Afton was sick for a couple of weeks and missed dance class which means I missed then newsletter and the info. that her recital had changed locations. Saturday morning at 10:00 I called her dance teacher only to find out the recital had been moved to Provo. What if I wouldn't have called???

We took off, dress on, hair curled, blush a little heavy on one side, ballet shoes in hand and made our way to another fun performance. We made it to the Provo Beach Resort and once inside realized there were so many games and activities. There was a wave pool, a carousel, a tightrope, etc. Afton and Brett disappeared immediately for a ride.

I wasn't as worried about this performance (number 3) and didn't feel as stressed to get good pictures and video which turned out to be good because Brett's phone ran out of memory within the first 30 seconds of Afton going onstage and I didn't get any good shots! My favorite pictures were after the performance in her normal clothes!

Once Afton was done we took off, changed her clothes and went to explore this new area. We were right by the Riverwoods in Provo and there were cute little shops and restaurants to explore. We went to lunch, found a fun toy store but mostly Afton enjoyed playing in the fountains, riding on the little Harley, and getting her fortune from the freaky fortune teller.

After the recital we went home for a bit and then over to Thanksgiving Point and met Tim and Keeley who were visiting. We ate again, had some yummy ice cream and spent time running around, hanging out. Afton loves Keeley and was so happy to just walk around holding her hand.

Afton's fish

The other day while Brett and Afton were on a bike ride they came across some girls fishing in the Jordan River. Afton was excited and wanted a turn so they gave her the pole. This was what she pulled in!

 Not sure who's more excited!