Timmy's Walking!

July 4th

Independence Day is always fun, yet exhausting at the same time.  We started the day with the parade in Oakley, which Brian just loved this year.  Even tonight he asked when we were going to go to the parade again.  Why did he love it so much?

Of course it was because of the huge bag of candy he collected.

 I loved seeing all of the cousins together.

I also loved the weather this year. No hot beating sun.  Just a nice cool drizzle of rain for a bit.

 After the parade we headed back to the Ranch for the annual Cannon Family Reunion.  It was so nice to catch up with my Cannon aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives.

 This was our attempt at getting a picture of everyone in the Evans family for my parents.  We missed Ruben just as he drove away to go golfing and Timmy was taking a nap.  Sorry Mom and Dad, but this is the best picture we got while Emily was in town.

 The kids spent the afternoon playing with their cousins.

 They had fun making up random games with the Bocce balls. . .

 . . .going for rides on the six wheeler. . .

. . .and just being silly.

Notice how there was no viewing of fireworks this year?  Well, I personally love fireworks, but our Brian has his own very strong opinions about them.  The new relaxed firework laws in Utah sure made for some rough nights on and around July 4th.  People were doing super loud fireworks late into the night for the whole week, and Brian was woken up by them and completely terrified.  He refused to look at them if I tried to calm him by showing them to him and his little body wouldn't stop shaking until they had all stopped and there was no more booms.  For hours each night I would sit with him is his room with his white noise up full blast, calming music playing, and earplugs and earmuffs on to drown out the noise.  After buying him his own child sized sound protection ear muffs he has felt more in control and not as scared.  He keeps the ear muffs by his bed in case the fireworks come again.  All the waking up and having Mommy come in his room at night has once again messed up his sleeping.  He wakes up all night and calls for me all throughout the night even when there are no fireworks now.  We are working on getting back to sleeping through by himself.  I never thought I would be sad about more fireworks at the 4th of July.

Evans Family Party

One of my favorite times of year is when Emily comes to town!  I love seeing her and her family.  We got the whole family together (we missed you Mom and Dad) for a fun BBQ and some water play since it was so hot.  The evening included: delicious Mexican BBQ with sides, cake for Vivien's Ninth Birthday, a zip-line, great conversations, kiddie pools with water slides, a long slip n slide, and over 200 water balloons.  We had a blast.  Thank you everyone!

Some June Happenings

I loved June this year.  The weather was nice and the kids and I were healthy and happy.

The month started off with most of our living room furniture shoved in our dining room, and our entire house covered in sheet rock dust.  After cleaning and cleaning and cleaning and then painting, the house is back in order and more functional than I ever thought it could be.  I LOVE our new additions.  I want to post pictures of it all, but we're just not quite done.  Soon I hope.

 Brian currently enjoys wearing different hats for his make believe play.  He wears his conductor hat, and his pirate hat, and his frog hat, and his fireman hat.

 Timmy likes doing whatever Brian is doing, but once in awhile he will decide to play on his own.

During June we went up to The Ranch a few times for Mark to open up the house for the summer.  The first trip Mark and Dave had time to fix seven leaks and Mark had to make two more trips up there to get the pump fixed and everything working. Thank you Mark!  We are all so grateful for your work!

 While Mark and Dave worked on the house, Alli and I watched the kids and let the Ranch entertain them.  Brian loves throwing rocks in the ditch.

 Mark caught a snake for the kids to see.  Brian was a little tentative and wouldn't hold it, but Jordie just loved that snake.  He even had it play with them in the sandbox. 

 At home, Brian has been helping his dad fix things.  

 One evening I left Brian in Mark's care while I put Timmy to sleep.  I came out of Timmy's room to find them gone.  After searching the house I went outside to discover Brian under Mark's car working on the engine and Mark fixing the air conditioning.  Brian was very serious about it and has since begged to fix the car often.

 We had the Hsiao family over for a Father's Day BBQ dinner.  I love family.

 Brian has been in swimming lessons for a few weeks now.  It started rough with him getting so cold I thought he had hypothermia.  After purchasing him a wet suit and a pair of goggles, which he wants to wear all day long, it has been smooth swimming ever since.  Everyday he is more and more comfortable in the water and I hope he continues to improve as the summer goes on. 

The Outdoor Life

The boys and I are so happy with spending most of our awake time outdoors.  I am so grateful for this beautiful earth and nice weather so we can enjoy God's creations, and for the perfect backyard!  We spend hours in the backyard and I am so spoiled when it comes to entertaining toys and things to do outdoors.  Many of the toys we have, like the sandbox and the bike trailer, were given to us by generous family members and neighbors.  Here's just a few things we do around the yard.

 Wagon rides down the hill.

 Daily snacks outside are a must.  Once in awhile Brian will get really into the sidewalk chalk.  His favorite thing is to draw lots of lines and then connect them.  The only picture I have of this is the one above.

 Timmy in particular loves snack time on the picnic table.  I think he likes being a big boy.

 Swings. What can I say more?

 Both kids love the playset.

 My favorite is the garden.  Brian loves to find and eat the red strawberries and I just love that something is actually growing!  That lettuce behind him still hasn't gone to seed and we've been making salads from it for months.  More on the garden in a later post.

 Oh the sandbox.  I never in a million years imagined I would love a little green plastic turtle filled with sand so much.  Thank you turtle for the hours of entertainment you have provided for my one-year-old.  The three-year-old likes it too, but you make Timmy so so happy.

 And thank you zip-line for how easy you are to pull up the hill and for the countless squeals and bursts of laughter you have provided.

 Timmy has finally grown to love the bike trailer and it has provided the most exercise for me yet. 

Bubbles - the best way to get Timmy to stand on his own for more that 1 second.