Fireworks

Monday night we also did a few fireworks with our neighbor, Kenzie. I am glad we invited her because she made things more fun. This is how Noel was feeling:







but I don't really think she was scared, just feeling sad. She liked the part where she did this though.



We did a few while it was still light outside. Kenzie and I weren't too impressed with the black snakes. They looked like something I am ALL too familiar with in this stage of my life.

We did a few more after it got darker. I didn't get too many pictures of the fireworks.
Amy was very brave as we did a few flowers and chickens and some others. She was obedient too, didn't go near the fireworks at all - love that cautious girl. But the sparklers scared her. She was ok with them for everyone else, but she did not want one. She stayed on my lap the whole time for that part.

It was a fun day!

4th of July

For our Independence Day Celebration we...

watched


a parade


with great friends.


This is how Amy felt about it.


But it wasn't all fun and games. It was serious business, and Amy took seriously her part.




We saw a few of these,




lots of these,


and even a few of these.






Amy liked the hot air balloons we saw on the way over (not pictured - I was driving) as well as these balloons.




These guys




were troopers on our LONG walk to and from the parade - over a mile each way I think.

And Maria's my hero. She did all that AFTER running a 10k that morning. Did I mention she's 21 weeks pregnant? She can do hard things.

We had a great time!

Yard Sales!!!

I love yard sales. Amy does too. We drove around Saturday looking for sales and for signs pointing to sales. We got a lot of good loot. Including a present that came the night before from Grandma and Grandpa in New Zealand, here are all the things we got Saturday for under $42:



That includes the couches! Wahoo!

So we obviously don't have room for couches in our living room, but... there they are. $20, who could pass them up. And they are comfy too. I actually haven't minded having them even though they take up a lot of living room. I like the extra space to sit and comfort in our living room. The longer we have them, the more I like them. The idea is that it won't be THAT much longer before we move. (We are looking right now for those who didn't know.) And in a bigger house we will certainly need more than a love seat and chair. I'm really happy with that find. And all the others. It was a good yard sale day!

And here are the people who were here while we moved the couches in and rearranged the living room:


It was a little squishy and complicated, but the kids were great. They helped bring in the cushions and got rides on the chairs as I moved things around. And we all tried to stay out of each other's way. That didn't work so much.

Those are a big finds!

Noel's Favorite New Pastime

Climbing in the (clean) potty. Lovely. Actually, Noel will climb on anything right now. She loves climbing and gets herself in precarious predicaments. And sometimes she hurts herself. Do you think that stops her?






I love that face:


Noel has also been doing a lot of "talking." My nephew, Finn, used to say "Do-pe-dah" a lot, and Noel has a jiberring sound very similar to that. She likes to say Mom - sometimes with a mad voice when I don't know what she really wants - and Da and hi. Those have been her three words for a long time. But she certainly is exploring new sounds all the time. Today I heard her say the n sound when I asked her if she wanted to nurse.

Something to Blog About

I still have more blogging I'd like to do, but I'm too sleepy. More later. And also, MY PARENTS ARE COMING TOMORROW! I'm so excited! They are on a plane somewhere between Beijing and Salt Lake right now. We can't wait to see them.

Hair

I don't know how many of you care about the way I do my girls' hair. And it's nothing too fancy, but it's something I'm proud of anyway. Not all the time. But sometimes. So I take pictures. Here are some fun hair shots lately:

Noel HATED me doing this. I did it anyway.


I didn't know the pigtails were going to stick out! I loved them! (But I put clips in before church so they didn't remain sticking out.


These are just normal french braids, I know. But they are the first normal french braids I've ever done that look presentable. I was really proud. I never french braided hair before Amy's. I'm glad to know how.


No caption needed.

Swimming With Friends

Baseball

Photogenic

Probably more pictures of Noel than you wanted to see, but I love them all! I think she is so cute, and I've been having fun taking lots of close ups of her lately. I am not professional at photography or photo-shop (meaning I don't know the first thing about either one) so these pictures are a little dark - we were in the shade. Doesn't stop me. I love that face!

Mani/ Pedi

A couple of weeks ago I had a few rough days in a row. Matt felt sad and wanted to help, so he took a half day off of work to watch the kids and arranged for my friend, Maria and me to go get manicures and pedicures. Of course he didn't tell me that; I thought he was just coming home for lunch. :)

He just told me to hurry to get to the appointment in time. I had no idea what he was talking about - which is just how he likes it.

It was relaxing and rejuvenating and fun to just chat with Maria and the other people there and not worry about when I had to be home.

Thanks, Matt, for arranging that wonderful time and for being sympathetic and generous. I love you!

Maria has a more comprehensive post about the experience. It just took me this long to get the pictures uploaded. Which is why I'm blog binging again.

Can You Do This?

Yeah, me neither.

While Pointing her Finger at All the Parts of Dinner...

Heavenly Father, We're thankful for that and this and this and this and that. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

LOL!

Family Flop

Amy's asleep in our closet - has been for over 3 hours. Noel's asleep in her bed - finally. Poor girl had a hard time falling asleep because she was so tired. Matt's asleep on the floor between the girls' beds. He was helping Noel. Sweet of him. I've been in bed myself for quite a while - chatting with family and reading blogs. It's 9:00. We were all SO TIRED today. Happy 4th of July! :)

Two Things I'm Very Happy With Amy About Today

Last night Amy went to bed after Noel and was SILENT. We've had a big problem with her waking up/ keeping up Noel and the two of the giggling for quite a while when they are supposed to be sleeping. It's adorable, but it's rough on them after a while. When she wakes Noel up or gets in her bed she doesn't get to watch a movie the next day. So as a result of her obedience last night, we went to the library this morning and let her pick a movie. Then I watched it with her. (An hour of Winnie the Pooh is more than I normally commit to, but I enjoyed the snuggle time.)

Our family went swimming tonight. It was really fun. Amy has been getting braver and braver in the pool (and in the bath and shower for that matter.) We've been so impressed. It seems like each time we go Amy does some new brave thing. Today she was jumping off the side to Matt and even once jumped in when he wasn't ready to catch her. (She wore her inner tube NONSTOP tonight so she didn't sink or anything.) Then Matt took her on the big awesome slide. She climbed all the stairs without a bit of reluctance, climbed in at the top and had a wonderful time all the way down. We are both thrilled. Well, all three of us. Amy loved it too!

Amy's Funnies from Today

"I'm cute, isn't I?"

"Mom, are you a sweetie?"

Bonnie wouldn't add this, but I will! Amy yelled from the toilet out to Bonnie: "Mommy! My bum is owie.  ...Will you kiss it?"  I don't know why Bonnie was so unwilling, but she said no. Then Amy decided to ask me. Turns out I was pretty unwilling as well! :-)