Anniversary Train Ride

This year was our tenth wedding anniversary. On the actual day, we took the boys on the FrontRunner, the new commuter rail system, to Salt Lake City. It was somewhat of a disaster. Carson wanted to get down and scoot all around the train. Then he was grumpy because he was hungry, so we finally got to the restaurant and fed him. Then he decided to throw everything on the floor. It was a rushed and stressful dinner. We hurried out of there, only to discover that we had just missed the train going home, so we had an hour to waste before the next one. We went to the planetarium to browse, but by then Spencer was tired and had a meltdown. Luckily, we knew we would get a second chance in a few weeks....

Here I am at the second attempt for a relaxing anniversary party. We went up to Park City for some shopping, an outdoor concert by the Utah Symphony, and a night at a posh hotel. Much better!! (There are pictures of me shopping, but I didn't think anyone wanted to see my behind sticking out while I looked through racks of clothing.)

Sprinklers and Sand

We had a sprinkler party in the backyard a few nights ago. Spencer thought it was delightful. He got braver as the evening wore on.
Carson thought it was kind of fun, but a little too cold on his bare baby skin.

So he decided to sit in his swing and watch instead.

He will be 15 months old on Saturday, and already he has a bad habit!! He is constantly picking at his lips. I do my best to keep them moisturized (slathered with Vaseline), but I can't stop him!

He LOVES the slide!! He giggles and giggles and gets very upset if I'm not fast enough getting him back to the top for more. It's quite a workout!

Then we played in the sandbox. This was Carson's first time. He wasn't crazy about having sand on the bottom of his feet. You can see how disturbed he was.

But it didn't take long before he was having too much fun to care anymore!

Most of our sand toys are looking "well-loved" like this one. Time for a trip to the dollar store!

What a team! They were both having a good time making some kind of concoction. Spencer kept saying, "Good job, Baby!!" in his high-pitched baby voice. Shortly after this picture was taken, Spencer was standing near me when suddenly he yelled, "Oh no! I'm going potty in it!!" Sure enough, he was leaking out his swim shorts. I guess he was so busy, he didn't want to take a bathroom break. He stood there, frozen, while I tried to convince him he would have to walk across the yard and rinse himself off in the sprinkler. At that very moment, I looked over to see Carson stuffing a small handful of sand into his mouth. That's when I knew this party was over! Never fear, Carson suffered no ill effects and Spencer did not stand, dripping, in the sandbox all night.

Horse Pictures

This Thursday is a Utah state holiday, Pioneer Day. In celebration, the city of Ogden (where my mom lives) had 25 horse statues painted by local artists. We all went to see them one night and Spencer wanted Grandpa to take his picture with all 25 of them! The following are the top ten in my book. He really enjoyed trying different poses, as you can tell.


The "eyebrow thing" lives on....

We did this one just for Daddy.

A dreadful knee injury occurred just before this picture, therefore he is sitting and trying to be brave.

This was Spencer's favorite. He liked all the bright colors.

This was just a cute sidenote.

This was one of my favorites. I guess the sun was in his eyes!

Here's another of my favorites. Aren't these amazing??

He's ready to ride!

Andy's Pictures

Here are some photos Andy has taken with his new phone.
Spencer just loves knowing he is being photographed. He really puts on a show!

Spencer

Spencer just caught me coming downstairs. He's supposed to be in bed, but he has to know my every move. He said, "You shouldn't leave all of your children upstairs while you go down there!" Better call Social Services--I'm neglecting "all of my children!"

Our Fourth of July was pretty uneventful. It was way too hot to do much outside, so we stayed in and cleaned the house. Whoopee!! After dinner, the weather was a little nicer, so we went to the park and watched all the interesting people and the ducks and ate cotton candy. Spencer had a sticky mess all over his face and hands. Andy must have told him 4-5 times on the way home, "Don't touch ANYTHING!" So I started running some bath water when we got home. Spencer was going to the bathroom when suddenly he began yelling, "Oh no! Help! HELP!!" There was urine spraying all over the bathroom floor. I told him to "hold it down," but he said, "Daddy said not to touch anything!" Poor little guy. He was just trying to be obedient.

Kids Say It How It Is

The other day we had one of those classic experiences I think all parents have. We were in the grocery store parking lot when a man with earrings in both ears walked by. In his loudest voice, Spencer said, "Hey Mom! That guy has TWO earrings! WEIRD, huh??!" It's hard to explain to children that people have different standards and while we don't condone their choices, we also don't draw attention to them as "mistakes." Hopefully during the time he's learning these things, he'll just keep his voice down!

Later That Night

Grandpa was in charge of keeping Carson out of the card game--not an easy task!

Small baby--big chair! Are you comfy yet?

A couple of pals hanging out together.

A soft spot on Grandma's lap

Now who is holding me??

Spencer always knows how to relax in style....

Tired as they were, the boys were both pretty wound up on the way home.

This was our chauffeur! Yikes!!