Splish Splash!

A friend invited us to go up to the Rexburg Spray/Splash Park yesterday. It turned out to be a great day for it, and the girls had a blast--plus I ran into an old roommate of mine--Cathilee--it was fun to see her new baby (#5!) and how her other kids have grown. It was also nice to just sit and visit with my friend and play with our babies while the "big" kids played in the water.


I forgot to take any pics of Dawson by the water, so I snapped this one at the last minute just to prove he was there, too. :)

Aubrey wasn't too big on the whole playing in the water thing. I had to really coax her to stand in the water for this picture. She liked it for a while, but it didn't last long.

Olivia, on the other hand, wouldn't stand still so I could take a picture. She was up and down and all around the slides, the fountains, etc. Here I finally caught her "steering the ship."

The park also has a carousel ride, which of course the girls had to go on.

Olivia was so funny--she wouldn't let me take her picture on the horse she actually rode on--she had to run and get on the pink and purple horse for pictures, which she now informs me she wishes she had ridden instead. Silly girl.

The girls sharing a lemonade.

It was a fun day with each other and friends!

Overall I'm Pretty Cute

It's amazing how this little boy can look so cute in so many different pairs of overalls;)

There were actually even more, but I can't get them to download off our camera right now, so I finally just gave up and posted this the way it was. Notice Dawson standing up in that last one--he looooves to stand up and coo and smile these days. And of course we all love it too!

Happy Birthday Dear Aubrey

Aubrey turned the big 3 YEARS OLD last Sunday, the 31st of July. It is hard to believe it has already been 3 years since she came along, but then at the same time it seems like she has always been part of our family. We had a family party with David's family for July birthdays the Sunday before, but I forgot our camera, so we don't have pictures of the adorable Belle cake and Cars cake that Aunt Karen bought for Aaron and Aubrey, whose birthdays are 1 day apart. We had fun celebrating with them! On her actual birthday, we had my family over for dinner and presents, cake and ice cream. After dinner was over and we were visiting at the table, I looked over and saw Aubrey plop herself down on the couch and say, "Time for presents!" She was ready to open those babies!
Princess jammies from Grandma Lori (along with money for her savings account)

The cutest little cake toy from Uncle Tyson, Aunt KaDee, and Tucker--it is in pieces that velcro together and also has little circle decorations that velcro on/off. The girls have already had a ball with it! It was funny that she got a "cake" present, because for the two days before her birthday all she could talk about was her birthday cake--she was obsessed.

Catering to another obsession: princess dress-up from Mommy and Daddy

Aubrey asked for a pink and purple heart cake--perfect, because my mom just happened to have heart cakes pans.

Mommy with the birthday girl

Aubrey and her cake

Aubrey is such a fun, sweet little girl. She has her naughty moments, of course, but it is hard to get mad at her when she bats those eyelashes and flashes her cheesy grin. She knows it, too. But she has been a lot happier the last year, as she has been able to talk and communicate so much better. She still goes by "Peanut" much of the time, but she has grown at least a little! She does, however, play up her smallness--like the memorable day she told me that cleaning up her toys was "a big job for a little peanut!" Lately she has been trying to convince me that "wittle girls don't go on the potty." She looooves to copy her sister and follows her everywhere. Yet she is also really good about playing by herself, especially with barbies and ponies. I love to listen to the conversations her toys have with one another. I can't wait to see what changes the next year will bring to our Aubrey--we love you!

Dawson's Big Day

The weekend of July 10th was a very busy but fun time for our family. I was so grateful that my brother Josh, his wife Helen, and my sister Miranda got to come up for Dawson's blessing. The Friday before we went up with my Grandma and Grandpa Harmon to our favorite spot in Kelly Canyon for a picnic dinner and visiting.
I couldn't catch it, but Dawson smiles and laughs more for my mom than anyone else. It is so cute that he already loves his Grandma Lori so much.

Miranda was loving on Dawson, too. I wasn't expecting her to be able to come, so when she walked out it was a great surprise.

Just about the cutest little boy ever!

David being goofy waiting for my mom to notice that he was wearing her sunglasses.

I couldn't resist getting a shot of Josh stoking the fire, as he always had a reputation in our family as a pirot.

Uncle Josh said he'd show the girls how to roast a marshmallow--I thought it was really cute.

They couldn't get enough of their Aunt Helen. I love this picture of them together! She is such a sweetheart and we all love her to death!

The little man on his big day! I couldn't decide which pictures were the cutest, so I included them all. You can see his dimple a little bit in this one. By the way, Gram Picanco made this adorable outfit and a matching one for his little cousin, Levi, who was also blessed the same day in our ward. It was special to get to do that together and to have so many loved ones there to support us!

Aubrey wouldn't cooperate and get in this next picture, but it is a cute one of Olivia with Dawson. They really do love each other already. I'm thankful that so far our kids love each other and get along pretty well. I'm sure it won't be long until she thinks he's a pest, but right now Dawson is Olivia's favorite person.

Daddy gave a beautiful blessing to Dawson from our Heavenly Father. I'm grateful that David upholds his priesthood so he can do these things for our family.

One more happy face picture:

Dawson is a wonderful blessing in our family. He is the most content baby, already smiling like crazy, and he has a way of making us all rally around him just to love on him. I seriously pinch myself every day to make sure he is for real, because sometimes I just can't believe I got such a good baby! It probably won't last forever, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

4th of July Fun

Our 4th of July fun began on the 3rd when we ate red, white and blue pancakes for dinner. That was easier than waking up and making them for breakfast before the parade.

David ran into our friend Mary that I used to teach with and who is married to a friend of David's from college. She lives on the parade route, so we just sat in front of her house--convenient!

David's friend Troy from work and his family passed by us--here is Olivia posing with their daughter Cambree (sp?)--they had played once or twice before.

Aubrey in her red, white and blue waiting for the parade to start.

After the parade, we went down to the greenbelt for a little while and hung out with Sam and Sara and their two boys. Then the girls tried out this inflatable slide.Olivia loved it, but Aubrey was a bit nervous and used her feet to slowly make her way down.

She enjoyed herself more a little later when we went to the mall to get out of the heat and to look for some sandals for me. The girls got to play in the little play center in the mall while I fed Dawson.

I don't have any pics of the fireworks, but the rest of the day was fun as well. We picked up a few things and went over to my mom's house for a BBQ (with just us) and then we met up with David's friend Troy's family at a hotel on the other side of the freeway overpass where they had connections to be able to park and watch the fireworks. It was an awesome spot! My allergies (and David's too--but his are always terrible) were ridiculous and made me miserable, but other than that it was a fun time. We visited for a couple hours while awaiting the big show, and then it came, and boy was it big! I really am impressed with the fireworks here. They are definitely worth going out for. The day was a fun one--we are blessed to live here in the land of the free!

A Smattering

We have been enjoying the lazy days of summer--although last week did not seem very lazy with getting the house and yard ready for the luncheon after Dawson's blessing, visiting with famliy, preparing my relief society lesson, planning pack meeting, and soforth. But we have been having a lot of fun, too. One of the girls' favorite things to do in the heat is to get out the slip 'n' slide. It is so funny to watch Olivia doing "cool tricks" and then Aubrey timidly trying to mimick her reckless sister.
Here they were showing me that they could make a "rainbow" of water if they stepped on the hose thing at the side of the slip 'n' slide.

The three amigos:

Can you see the "makeovers" that the girls gave each other? Their cheeks both had orange circles on them. :)

The Princess Peanut--this is first thing in the morning wearing jammies and her crown--Olivia actually stole the camera and took this one.

The Princess Peanut on her throne (pun intended) :)

She looks so happy to be going potty. Don't let that fool you. She's only hamming it up for the camera. In reality the whole process is not going very well, and it usually takes some fighting, I mean persuading, to get her to try--after which she has had very little success. Surprisingly, even princess underwear have not been enough of an incentive to get things going (no pun intended).

David, aka the King of Free-Ninety-Nine, scored a free playhouse for the girls from someone whose lawn he mows.

We put it in the border of the yard where all our fruit trees are planted--I think it is so cute.

It is a great skill David has, this getting things for free. I have decided that the biggest part if having lots of connections, which he does because he is so outgoing. The other part of the equation is not minding re-using other people's unwanted old stuff. We are all pretty good at that--clothes, furniture, backyard play things, other toys, electronics, motorized vehicles, you name it we have gotten it--for free. One man's junk is another's treasure, right?

The girls sure love it!

Aubrey after a breakfast of toast and freezer jam--who could resist this "sweet" face?

Dawson's first bath at home--Olivia is right there for everything that goes on with her baby brother--he is almost always the first one she greets in the morning when she wakes up.

To be honest, I hate this picture of me, but I love that it is with my cute little man!

David had so much fun putting Aubrey in this pot when she was a baby that he had to recreate it with Dawson. He has already grown so much that he wouldn't fit in it now!

Olivia was supposed to keep an eye on Dawson for a minute while I ran downstairs to help Aubrey on the potty, and this is what I found when I came back up--crazy big sister!

The poor kid on another similar occasion. The girls think he is their little doll, so it was only natural for Olivia to put him in their doll's pack 'n' play. I think his facial expression is saying, "Seriously, Mom? You really want to leave me alone with this chick?"

Speaking of playing baby doll...Aubrey was the baby and Olivia was the mommy this morning--apparently they found one of Aubrey's old binkies--too bad she never took them when she was a baby and now she thinks it's cool...

Just a little taste of our daily life!