Our Last Few Weeks of Summer

We've had lots of fun during these last few weeks of summer before school starts back up and cooler weather hits. Here's a little bit of what we've been up to.

A few weeks ago Chad took Laura while he got a few routine maintenance things done on the car. While they were waiting they walked around and stumbled on a car show. Laura was totally spoiled with yummy food and treats. She loves running errands with dad now. :)

So excited by her sno cone that she couldn't look at the camera.

Sno cone and balloon animal (which very shortly afterwards popped).

Grace has gotten really good at hearing the bath water running wherever she is in the house. When she hears it, she goes running (or crawling...). Forget the fact that she had just gotten out of her own bath, she had to investigate Cayden's in hopes that she'd be able to get in.

Chad was quite proud that Gracie was so interested in watching the RC cars. All I can say is, poor baby. Poor, poor baby.

 Cayden spends several hours each day building with Legos. I love that it keeps him busy and entertained (and let's be honest, out of my hair!). He gets pretty creative in what he builds. I really like what he build here, our family; mom, dad, Cayden, Laura, and baby Grace in a stroller.

Between the pool at our complex and the one on Grandma's and Grandpa's deck the kids have done tons of swimming. They love it and literally would go every day if I'd let them!

Cayden only took two, one week long sessions of swimming lessons, but has already shown a huge improvement in his confidence in the water. 

Really, really cold water. Love everyone's face in this picture. Especially mom's.

 Grandma bought a special little baby pool just for Grace. Put an inch or two of water in it with some toys and this girl is in heaven. Love the giggles and look of pure enjoyment on her face.

Loving the baby pool even though it was getting a little bit cold.

Don't forget the ice cream. I think my kids have eaten their body weight in ice cream several times over this summer. This was Gracie's first time having her own ice cream cone. She ate nearly all of it except for the last bite or two.

Ogden Temple Open House

We took the kids and went to the Ogden Temple Open House yesterday. We met my sister and her family so the cousins had fun seeing each other. Cayden was probably the most excited of the kids. He talks all the time about temples and was excited to get to see where Mom and Dad got married. (We got married in the Denver Temple, but sealing rooms look pretty similar so he was able to see a room similar to the one we got sealed in.) It was neat to be able to take the kids and show them what temples look like on the inside.

Laura's favorite part by far was the Celestial Room. She kept pointing out all the 'sparkles' on the chandeliers and was so excited about how pretty it was. Some of the ushers were quietly chuckling at her enthusiasm over the 'sparkles.' :)

We tried to get a picture of the kids three separate times at the temple. Each time was a complete failure. We never got a decent one. Still, these pictures crack me up. Grace's face in the three on the left and all the kids on the bottom right. Love these little goof balls.

The best picture of the kids we got. The big kids have silly looks on their faces and Grace is trying to escape again.

Best family shot. If only Laura's hand wasn't in front of her face and Cayden's tie wasn't crooked. Still, not too shabby.

And a cute one of Chad playing with Grace while we waited to go inside the temple.

Reupholstered Piano Bench

When I got lucky enough to be given a piano a few months ago I was never too fond of the bench cover. It looked a little worn and had a bum dent in it. And I really wasn't digging the black leather with the brown piano. So I got the genius idea to reupholster it! I've never done anything like this before so I was sort of winging it, but I did get lots of input from family. I finally finished it this last week and absolutely love it! No more bum dent and no more black leather!

Before:

After (and so much better!):

(We didn't sand and stain the bench a different color, the lighting is just weird.)

I love how much brighter and fun the fabric makes the bench. It even matches some of the colors I have going throughout the house. I liked the fabric so much that I decided to make a pillow for my couch out of the leftover fabric.

I love how the fabric brightens up the room as opposed to the dark red we had going on.

Colorado Fun!

We recently got back from a week in Colorado. Chad had a few weeks off between Summer and Fall semesters so we decided to go visit my family. We had a good mix of fun activities and being lazy bums and Chad got to sleep in nearly every day - I think we came back pretty rested and relaxed and ready to get back to real life. The kids did surprisingly well on the long car ride; the older two were champs and Grace got super cranky only once each way. Not too shabby. Also, I discovered that Cayden needs to be drugged up with Claritin before we even get to Grandma and Grandpa Bird's. We're talking taking it right before we leave our house in Utah. I'm not kidding when I say that within 30 minutes of being at Grandma and Grandpa's house Cayden's eye was swelling shut thanks to the darn cats.

Laura fell asleep while eating chips on the way out. Her face and hands were covered in orange gunk. It was pretty funny.

We went though CO and I-70 on the way out and stayed the night at my Grandparent's. Cayden and Laura shared a bed and I found them this way the next morning. Silly kids. I was a little worried about them waking each other up, but they were knocked out all night. 

More driving the next day on our way to Grandma and Grandpa Bird's! I put together fun bags for the kids that had activities and treats in them. Here they are eating their cotton candy. :)

The kids went swimming several times during the week. They even convinced Chad and Uncle Connor to fill up water balloons for them a few times. One day in particular was overcast and the water was pretty chilly, but the kids still wanted to get in the water.

Laura jumping into the water. I think her face shows just how cold the water was.

We finally convinced Cayden to jump into the water. I love his face in each picture. Apparently the water was really, really cold!

The kids had much more fun when it was warm out.

My little fish.

Gracie even got in the water and was enjoying it until her siblings decided to jump in the pool and splash water all over her. She was done after that. We couldn't convince her to stay in any longer.

We went to Chuck E Cheese one afternoon. This was Grace's favorite ride. She smiled and giggled every time she rode it.

Laura also enjoyed the ride, but seemed to have more fun just wandering around and looking at all the games.

Cayden was big enough to actually enjoy playing the games. I can't say he ever won many tickets, but he sure had fun.

The kids spent a lot of time playing outside. Gracie loved the baby swing.

Chad and Uncle Connor took the kids to the Lowe's Build and Grow clinic on Saturday morning. I love how goofy Laura looks with the goggles on.

 

The boys went a few times and checked out the local RC track. Connor even ended up buying his own RC car and they all had fun driving it around. Chad can't wait to finish building his so he can use it.

Laura wearing Auntie Rachelle's glasses.

Reading a narwhal book. Auntie Rachelle was proud.

Licking her dinner off of the table. Thank you Rachelle for the suggestion.

Gracie's two favorite toys while we were gone were a squishy orange ball and the cats. I've never seen that baby crawl so fast in her life as when she was chasing after one of the cats.

We ate a ton of ice cream while in CO. We ate it at least once a day and sometimes more! Chad was eating one of these ice cream cones and Gracie decided she wanted it. She swiped it from him and ate every last bite.

We had BBQ chicken wings for dinner one night. Yes they are somewhat messy, but everyone was able to eat them reasonably neatly. Except Chad. He was coated in BBQ sauce. It was quite the accomplishment. Way to eat it like a caveman, Chad!