34!

It's my honey's big day! Happy birthday Chad! We love you so much and are so happy to have you in our lives. You are a wonderful husband, father, and friend. We could never ask for anyone better to share our lives with. Hope your day is wonderful! Xoxo!

Baby Steps

Since I reported on boating last, we have been to Rockport and back up to Hyrum. Rockport was filled with great company, Luke, the Platts, Hodlmairs, and Butlers. The water, however, was not great. The waves were ridiculous. We did have a wonderful time. Here is my friend Carrie wakeboarding like a champ:


And here's uncle Luke on the tube with the kids:


Hyrum was a blast, again. We were one of maybe 2 boats on the lake all morning. The water was like glass, perfect. We had Luke, my dad, and Debbie with us. It was such a great day!






As you can see, my kids LOVE the water. They have no trouble jumping right in and enjoying themselves...




...Something that you may not know about me is that I have a great fear of the water. Weird, I know. I am a boat owner and I am terrified of the water. I don't know how to swim. I am very comfortable wearing my life jacket and sitting in the middle of the boat. I thoroughly enjoy watching everyone else playing in the water. I would like to overcome this fear of mine though. And even though Luke and Chad think that I am stupid/annoying for being so afraid, I think that I made huge progress this trip. The purpose of this post is to give myself a little pat on the back. Baby steps! I got in the water eventually, and only for a minute, but I did it and I am proud of myself. Way to go me!

Proof

Here is proof that my baby is trouble. It starts off with this cute little face:


Then he reaches for the plug, the same one that he unplugs 37 times a day:


I let out a stern "NO!" and I break his little heart:


I can only stand that sad little face for a second before I just must give him a little love. Then he puts on his cute little face and the cycle begins all over again.

Chicken and Fruit Salad

I came up with THE BEST salad! We ate it one night and then a couple of days later we just had to have it again, and as I am preparing my grocery list for the week, I am making sure that I buy the ingredients to make it yet again. It really is that good! I hope that you love it too.


Candy 1/2 c. slivered almonds by browning them in a pan with butter and brown sugar. Be careful not to burn them. They may seem soft, but will harden as the sugar cools.

1 pound chicken breast, cooked, shredded, and cooled
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1 bag "7 Lettuce Blend" or salad mix of your choice

Combine the following in a blender to make the dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar or raspberry vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Toss the candied almonds, chicken, salad, and fruit together with desired amount of dressing.

Swimming Lessions

My boys just finished up another round of swimming lessons at the Guys Swim Gym! They both did great, had a lot of fun, and made awesome progress. It was also a fun place for me to take a few pictures.

Fun

Sprinkler time!



Here's Cohen with his "Co-hawk". It's our favorite way to do his hair.

Tooth #3

Tooth # 3 for Jack is out! He grabbed a tissue and yanked it out in the front yard. Just like that!

The 4th

What a weekend! First we had Chad's family reunion in Bountiful on Saturday. After the reunion, we met up with our friends, the Butlers and the Martinez's, for our favorite firework show in Riverton. Sunday, the 4th, Ken and Becky drove out with reunion left-overs and fed us dinner. Then the neighborhood gathered, as we usually do, for a firework show. It was my favorite kind of weekend! We enjoyed quality time as a family, with family and friends, and kept really busy with all sorts of fun stuff.

My baby is adorable! Have you ever seen anything so cute?


Here are Ken and Becky with their grandson's and Hallie, our neighbor... Not to confuse future generations, although I would take her if her mom would let me. She'd fit right in!



Our super fun neighbors, the Richharts



Grandpa Ken and Cohen



Chad the Firework Master



Neighbor Girls



I'll probably get in trouble for posting this picture, but I don't care. These people are the reason that we love our neighborhood so much. The world should know that they are the BEST NEIGHBORS EVER!



Love him :)



Brownie face!



Sparklers!



Nixin loved them.



And so did Grandpa Ken and I!



Chad's cool pic #1



Chad's cool pic #2



We hope your 4th was a great one. Ours sure was!