Last One--I Promise

Hiking at Red Cliffs. I remember loving this hike in college. This was the perfect distance and difficulty (AKA really difficult) for my little ones, and the water was definitely relieving in the hot sun. Alex keeps asking to go back to "hike on the slide."






Alex has been saying some funny things lately. Remember me talking about him trying to act/talk like a grown-up all the time? Well, it continues. Some of the phrases he's been saying lately:

What time are you going today?
Is you hair getting longer?
Tanner, how's your iPad?
Mom, how's your plants? Are they dying? (Yup!)
Mom, how's your work?

He's also been obsessed with numbers. He always says he wants 5 of everything. One day he was saying he wanted balloons. He started out saying he wanted 1 balloon, then he said he wanted 2 balloons, then 5, then he held up all his fingers and said, "No, I want MANY balloons." Another day I heard him talking on his play cell phone. He said, "This is Stacy Smith. My phone number is...." And he rattled off my whole phone number, area code and all. What the heck? I think I've talked to like 2 people on the phone since he was born!

Tanner was holding Alex one day while he was growing out his sexy 'stache. While Alex was examining Tanner's face, he said, "We need to cut my hair. We need to cut your face."

They're a handful, but it's moments like these that remind me how much I love em!

HAPPY #2 ELLA!

The nice thing about having your birthday around a holiday is that you seem to get more than one party. Such was the case with Ella again this year. We were in Logan on her birthday, so she got to celebrate with cousins and grandparents and then with just us when we got home. Nice excuse for Mom and Dad to eat 2 cakes. We had a hard time finding her a present this year. We walked around several stores and couldn't see one toy we didn't own. Now that's pathetic. We settled on the only thing we didn't have--a play kitchen that is almost as big as our real kitchen. Looks like it's time to move again...

Ella entered the Terrible Twos exactly on her birthday. I kept blaming her attitude on her "not feeling well" because she had a runny nose, but we're more than 2 weeks out and the runny nose has stopped. The tantrums, however, have gotten worse. I guess this is what we're in for for the next 2 years (through the even Terribler Threes). We're hoping on Alex's 4th birthday he exits that stage as quickly as Ella entered it. Despite her sassy attitude, she's absolutely hilarious and super smart. We love all the weird things she says and does. She's a joy to be around, even if she is drawing on my arm with a pen at the moment.

Good Times with B&D

Summerfest and sugar overload via Nana


Riding Papa like a pony during fireworks

What We're Doing This Summer:

*Cross-dressing

*Gardening

*Camping and swimming at Sand Hallow

*Exploring around Dixie Rock

*Splash Padding and having a BLAST!


In the "garden" picture, my mother-in-law and I were filling containers with soil and planting seeds. We turned around and saw a pot sitting there with all these leaves in it. I think we both stared at it for a good minute trying to figure out just how those seeds sprouted so fast before we realized Alex was cutting leaves off the bushes and putting them in there. It was pretty cute. He's definitely got a greener thumb than I do--that's the best my garden has looked all year!

Overdue Congrats

Happy Graduation, Daddy (yeah, in May)! Tanner has 2 graduations down and 1 or 2 more to go. We're very proud of him and all his hard work. He's going to be starting a Master's program in September. We'll miss him for the next 2 years!

He also ran the RAGNAR with his brother and a few other business geeks in June. I wish I had a picture of all their mustaches...then again, maybe not. They were disgusting and I was sure glad to be able to kiss him again after weeks of refusals (from me). Even though he's sworn off ever doing that again, we're still proud of him.