Misc June/July moments

I know I use this kind of title a lot. I just don't have the creativity to think of anything else in these late night blog purges.

D eats breakfast in Justin's lap every morning. It's the only way he eats eggs. And oatmeal. I love that Justin lets him do it.

Justin will love that I added this picture. See those flowers in the background? They are "just because" flowers. I married Prince Charming.

We tried to go to Boulder Falls and were disappointed that they were closed due to falling boulders. But the drive and the creek were really pretty.

These were from a while ago, but I don't think I added them. We put a garden in our backyard. This was the prep work.

I got lots of help from my boys.

While we were getting some new furniture, we had only this chair functioning in our living room. The boys were fine with sharing it. Isn't it miraculous how far we've come in two years?!

This was on Father's Day (I know, out of order. Whatever.) I love their matching outfits.

I was in charge of a stake Young Men/Young Women's activity. We played water balloon volleyball, watermelon eating contests, and watermelon seed spitting contests. Justin had food poisoning, so I brought the boys along. They loved it. Mostly.

Another breakfast picture.

Cleaning the van with Dad.

Playing in the rocks on the side of our house.

We have a neighborhood pool, and the boys have the most fun when Daddy comes along.

Mason asked me to make a pancake that looked like this "super airplane." My attempt looked more like the stay-puffed marshmallow man.

I love that Mason wants to be like his Daddy. See our garden in the background?

I have a video that goes with this picture.

Playing nicely together at IKEA while we purchased our new couches.

My creation! I'm glad it actually looks and works the way I planned it to. I just hope it doesn't fall out of the wall one day.

Modelling the new couches. Now I need to find an area rug.

I had to make a record of Justin's oatmeal he eats every day. It's really delicious and filling. It looks a little less appealing.

We went to the zoo and the penguins were the first on the list to see, even though they were on the opposite side of the park. We bought a membership, so we will be going back often.

Both boys loved using the map. We kept having to stop and plan our approach to the next exhibit.

D kept shooting all the animals. Not sure how long this phase will last, but I'm okay if it's short.

D was also into the map. It was adorable.

I took this one this afternoon. The kids still love this game.

And here is one last video. I wish you could hear the music. I was being sneaky so that he wouldn't be camera shy. I love love love watching my kids dance. They inherited their parents' rhythm, but they love to dance and we encourage it. We bought a dance game that features the Nickelodeon characters and songs. Both kids love it.

4th of July Trip to South Dakota 2013

Here is our annual trip to South Dakota. We've actually already been there this year since we stopped by en route to Colorado from Alabama, but we try to go there in the summer each year. It's the best time to go (in my warm-blooded opinion).

I have never seen Mount Rushmore, so Justin agreed to taking a detour up to see it. The boys loved it. Mason won't call it anything but "Mountain Rushmore." It's a very impressive thing to behold. I'm glad I checked it off my list of things to see in this world. 

We stayed at the Presidential View Resort the night we went to Keystone, and the boys shared a bed for the first time. I had sleeping issues, so I could capture the cuteness in the middle of the night. They did very well.

And we let them jump on hotel beds as much as they want. We also let them splash in the tub as much as they want. It's a perk to traveling.

Just a cute pic at the park.

There was a cave on the trail. (It was very very small, but cool for little ones) Donovan was worried about bears and bats living inside. Even when he didn't see them inside, he said they were sleeping.

And we got to right under their noses!

These are indeed some pretty incredible men.

And another family pic. Why not? I love how D is lined up with the Presidents. Although, I would be fine if he never aspires to join them up there.

As we continued our drive, we came across about four hundred signs for a place called Wall Drug. We had to stop. It was fun, I'm glad we took the time to do it. I should have cropped this pic, can you see the kids faces? Love it. I'll add the video that goes with this picture.

They had this splash park there as well, and since we were in the middle of a road trip, we were hesitant to let Mason get wet. I'm glad we gave him the goahead. This kid was squealing with delight the entire time. I'll add this video for fun as well.

We finally made it to Yankton. One of the things we had to do was walk the bridge going across the Missouri River over to Nebraska. It's what you do. Here is a nice profile of the baby bump, as well.

There was some patriotism on the Nebraska side of the bridge.

My tough kids.

Walking that bridge is not for the faint of heart.

And family photo time.

We hiked Smuddy Bear Trail again. It was beautiful again.

We tried to feed the ducks, they were not interested. I guess they are pretty pampered at this park.

Justin found a swing that could make him fly, so he blasted off.

Mary demonstrated how to use a digger. We had so much fun.

Some fun at the mall before we watched Despicable Me 2. (Really funny. The bad guys are a little intense for the kids, but they handled it really well.)

Waiting for the fireworks by the bridge. They did not disappoint. Donovan liked it for a little while, and then he cuddled up to me and fell asleep. I can't say I minded a bit.

We went to the family reunion at Broomtree Resort, and we swam for pretty much the whole time. Mason went out on a canoe for a while with Justin, Nick, and Josh.

D found these goggles, asked me to put them on, and didn't take them off for at least an hour. He didn't even mind that they were all fogged up.

D doesn't look like he's having fun or anything, does he?

The boys were angels on this trip. When we finally returned home, Mason said that the trip wasn't THAT long, and Donovan refused to get out of his carseat, asking to go back and drive again. Here he is sleeping in the most studly way.

 

 

It was a great vacation! I can't believe we didn't get pictures of all the family together. I'll have to dig some more to see if someone else got pics of the boys with Justin's family. Can't wait till next year!