Fireworks, Food, and Fun!!!

We had a fabulous 4th of July this year.  We packed about as much as possible into the short time that Russ had off work.  We headed up to Stein Eriksen on the 3rd around lunch time.  

First thing, we hit the pool with our little fish :)  

That day was the unfortunate fire in Alpine and as we were swimming it started raining (pouring) ashes down on us.  The sky went dark and the sun was red, it was crazy.  We finished swimming and they had to clean out the pool.  And thankfully, they got that fire under control.

For dinner we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Baja Cantina down in Park City.  We attempted a 4 person self-portrait... 

Back at the lodge, Lex kept scooting under furniture LOL

Every time we turned around, she was under something else, silly girl.

 The next day, we hit the pool with the rest of the Olsen clan.  

Lexi girl is quite the little beach babe, and she loved soaking up the sun

Baylor has mastered the fine art of relaxation himself :)

Alexis kept laying back in her little floatie and kicking her legs, it was so funny

And Baylor became a world class diver...  

I got the best laughs over some of his jumps.  

Future Olympian?!

 After swimming we got our patriotic selves ready and headed to the BBQ. 

Phenomenal as always.  There is always so much yummy food I never know what to eat. 

(A problem I quite like having)

This is the dessert table- DE-LISH

 We attempted to take a pic of all 4 grandkids.  Little cuties.

My sweet Baylor boy

And my little Lexi girl

The Olsen Fam

We finished the day by rushing down to Provo for the Stadium of Fire.  The Beach Boys were there this year and they were AWESOME!  We had the best time.  Baylor did surprisingly better than I thought.  He hid under his blanket for a while and then finally sat and just plugged his ears.  He did jam out pretty good to some of the last songs and it just made me happy to watch him.  I look forward to the day that things like that don't bother him anymore and noise doesn't bug him.  Until then, I'm happy when we make little strides.  

 Lex even watched the fireworks.  

And then we rushed home so Russ could go to work the next morning.  It was a whirlwind day and a half, but it was fun and full of memories.  

God Bless America, Land that I Love...

Happy Independence Day!

These two...

These two make my heart happy...

 They bring so much love and laughter into our home.

 These two had an instant bond and I know they will be best friends forever...

 Baylor is the best big brother.  

He absolutely LOVES Alexis and takes such good care of her.  

I love watching them interact and especially hearing their giggles...

B always says "hi cutie pie"

Baylor just asked what I am doing so I asked him what he thinks about Lexi...

He said, "I just love her"

 Baylor can do about anything and it makes Alexis laugh.  

And if she's not giggling, she's smiling.

 Before she was mobile, I would always find a little toy placed by/on her.  

He's always looking out for her.

 These two are my sunshine

There are not enough words in the world to express the love I have for them.

There is not a minute that goes by that my heart is not full of gratitude.

These two make my world go round.  

Baylor the duck whisperer

 Since the weather turned warm, we've tried to take full advantage of the outside fun.  Two of the fun places we've gone were farms.  Baylor LOVES animals so I thought it would be fun to go during baby animal season to see all the babies!  Our first stop was Wheeler Farm.

 He acquired this AWESOME coonskin cap along the way :)  Thanks Grandma JuJu!

Feeding the ducks was a highlight.  We were even swarmed by some hungry geese, I thought it was funny, Baylor- not so much.

About a month later we went to This is the Place Heritage Park.  

They have an AMAZING petting zoo.  It was pretty much HEAVEN.

        

We named the little pig Wilbur.  Some kids accidentally let him escape the play yard and watching the workers try to catch him was some serious entertainment.  He was so funny.

 My Mom, sister Leanne, and her little girl Allie were able to come with us.  It was so much fun having them come along.  B loves Allie!

 

Baylor wanted nothing to do with riding the pony, but Alexis sure did ;)

 And the definite highlight to our trip were THE DUCKS and GEESE.  Baylor LOVED them.  At first he just loved petting them and quacking at them.  Then he discovered what they do when you CHASE them.  

 I'm sure people other than my family thought I was a horrible mom as my child was chasing the whole flock but it was priceless.  He was laughing harder than I've ever seen.  They were all just running in circles.  It was one of those moments I will never forget.  And really, anyone who wasn't entertained must be really boring :)

Thanks for the memories Baylor.  I love you.

Spring Fun

We have had so much fun this past month!  As you know, we just happen to LOVE holidays at our house, so here are a few of the highlights from St. Patrick's Day and Easter!

We woke up to find that the leprechauns had left us some breakfast.  

Baylor saw it and said...

"Those pesky leprechauns made our milk green!"  

(Thank you Jake and the Neverland Pirates for teaching my child the word pesky, LOL)

 That afternoon we headed to my parents for their annual St. Patty's day dinner of corned beef and cabbage, everything green imaginable, and a treasure hunt.  It's no mystery where I learned my love for holidays- my Mom makes them sooo fun!  She delivered clothes for the kids the week before with an invitation to the party.  They looked so cute.

This year there were 3 hunts...

one for the little boys and Alexis, one for the big girls, and another for the big boys :)  

Baylor's clues were by color.  He had a ball running to find the next shamrock.

They found lots of fun treasure!

Alexis had this in her bag and the picture perfectly sums up what I'm sure she was thinking :)

Before we knew it, it was already EASTER!

The day before, we went up to Grandma Debi and Grandpa Russ' for the egg hunt in their neighborhood.  Every year Baylor has got the egg hunt thing even more and it was so much fun to watch him this year.

Baylor and Brooklyn were too cute together.  They were running around holding hands and just GIGGLING.  It was priceless.

Baylor really loved the easter bunny this year... NOT!!!

He is NOT a fan of anything "stuffed" so he steered clear of any area that bunny could have been.  We snapped a picture with Alexis because if she's anything like her brother, it might be the only one until she's 10...

After, we headed to the Olsen's to paint/dye eggs.  

Baylor had so much fun, he dyed his clothes and ended up finishing without them :)  At one point we looked over and he had stuck all the covers that you boil onto eggs- onto his body.  love him.

Easter morning came and we happily found what had been left for us.

The kids loved their surprises.  Baylor especially loved his new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

Later that day we headed to my parents' for another egg hunt, which seemed like Christmas :)  The kids were definitely well taken care of.

Happy 1st Easter Miss Alexis!