Dino Mountain = Not For Toddlers

Okay, so we didn't know. We took (PAID for!!!!) the kids to see the Dino Mountain exhibit at the Wild Animal Park. Um, I'll let the pictures mainly speak for themselves, but I will just say they did not particularly enjoy it, and that Parker was crying actual tears begging to leave by the end. I will say the Wild Animal Park did a great job making the dinosaurs seem authentic with their movements and noises, prompting Kenley to sob accusingly, "Mommy, you SAID they were going to be like STATUES!" before freezing, mid-cry, to demonstrate the menacing jazz-hands she had expected the dinos to have.

Big Changes

Parenting is so funny. There are things you think are no big deal that end up being HUGE drama, and then things you think will be so difficult that just end up being easy. Luckily, lately, we have been experiencing the latter.

The last big thing before having this new baby has been to get Kenley and Parker into the same bedroom. I was going to just keep Parker in the crib because he's such a good sleeper, but we decided to just give the toddler bed a try. Our plan was to first get him used to sleeping in the toddler bed, then to move it into Kenley's room and have the kids get used to sleeping in the same room. I thought it would be a little bit tricky to convince Parker to stay in bed because he's such an active little guy, but it was a total breeze. I literally only had to go in there twice at naptime over the course of the whole transition. He was so excited about his bed and so content just to be in there. Sometimes he would wake up with different cars than he went to bed with, so I knew he had been up and rummaging in his toybox at some point, but it was not nearly the difficult production I had been anticipating. Here are some cute pics of the kids helping James to set up the bed, and cute little Parker sleeping in it. My only regret is that he has pink flowery sheets on his mattress in all these pics. :)







Funny story. One night right after he'd started sleeping in his toddler bed, I heard his doorknob rattle and then nothing after that. I went in to check on him after a few minutes and found him sleeping in a chair by the door. I guess he had tried to open it, couldn't, and just gave up and slept there. Being the loving mom that I am, I went for my camera, took some pictures, and then left him there for James to see. By the time James came home, he had slumped half onto the ground. Still awesome, so I took more pictures!



So about a week ago we moved the kids into the same room. The first night we put Parker to bed first, and Kenley was all devastated because she envisioned them lying in bed saying good-night to each other. So the next night I put them to bed at the same time, and it went just fine, and has every night after that. They are so happy to be together, and so very precious. Here's a picture I just took of them all snuggled in and sleeping.

4th of July

I love 4th of July. Well, all holidays really. But we had an awesome 4th this year. We started out at Old Poway Park, riding the train, doing some crafts, and climbing trees.





Then we went to a BBQ over to the Bayne's, where they had a bounce house with a slide that the kids loved, an Escalade for them to drive, and a putting green for them to practice on. It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon!





Then after naps and a block party, it was off to see fireworks. Parker was scared at first, but Kenley loved them all! It was a busy day and night for James at work, so the only lame part of the day is that we didn't get to spend it with him, but maybe next year!

Grandpa and Grandma's trip

So the Hamptons came to visit at the end of June. We kept them very busy!

We went to the beach:



We played at the Fair:



We swam at their hotel:


And just generally enjoyed each other's company. We always love it when we have family come to visit!

We Love Summer! June, Part 1!

I've been a pretty negligent blogger, although it seems like everyone else has too. I get so sad when my Google Reader just sits empty. :(

But anyway, here are some pictures to show what we were up to in June!

Went blueberry picking with our playgroup:




Went fake camping at Poway Lake with the fam:







Dressed up like Taylor Swift:


And read books about trains (okay, not that exciting, I know, but I love this picture):

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

So a few weeks ago we took the kids to the pediatrician and got some entertaining news. Our little Kenley is in the 3rd percentile for height, while Parker is in the 68th percentile. The doctor said if he were to keep growing at the same rate, he would end up being about 5'11", which is nothing but hilarious to me given that the tallest person in my family is 5'6".

These pictures of our new sunflowers just reminded me of that for some reason.





Yes, we have one sunflower on steroids.

Exciting news!

My night was pretty boring. I went on a walk with my kids and ate Goldfish crackers for dinner after they went to bed. But for one of these guys:



They had the Best! Night! Ever! Because it involved something along the lines of this.....


Still guessing? I'll narrow it down for you. It also involves the person NOT wearing the BYU beanie (What? You didn't know about my school spirit?).


Congratulations Scott and Brianne!

Soccer Star!

I had grand intentions of doing a big post tonight with lots of pictures from the Hampton grandparents' visit this last week. But my computer is being super lame and slow, so I'm just going to start with the pictures we took of Kenley's soccer class.

She takes a soccer class once a week with her friend Parker who lives down the street from us. She really enjoys soccer, and starts off with good intentions, but she and Parker are the youngest ones in the class and always get a little distracted after the class is about halfway through.

Here is Kenley within the first few minutes of class, still participating:


Then things started to deteriorate. The whole class is listening to the teacher, while Kenley and Parker face the complete opposite direction:


They decide to abandon class for a while and go sit inside the goal:


Must make time for folk-dancing...


The class does a drill while Kenley and Parker sit off to the side and chit-chat. Kenley informs me that she is tying his shoes in this picture. I'm sure that was wildly successful.


Aaaaand, finally she decides to rejoin the class just in time to score this fantastic goal. A sports star in the making, for sure.