Happy UN-birthday Hallie

So Hallie's "real" birthday is in September. But Aug 25th was the day that worked the best for the party. Kimber is due to have her baby in about 5 weeks and we did her shower on Friday my parents wanted to be here for as much as they could so we decided we could do Hallie's party early she doesn't care. Since attending a friends birthday party in May she has been saying all she wants for her birthday is a bounce house and that is exactly what she got. We decided since it was going to be so hot it would be fun to have a water bounce house. It took a lot of help to get it up and down. Matt and the boys(Ez, Nate, Ky My dad) went to get it and set it up Sat morning while the girls(Kim, Mom, and Nic) started on the cake and the remaining food. Maddi is content to be with the boys and usually more interested in what they're doing. The bounce house obstacle coarse was 2  pieces one 400 lbs piece and one 200 lb piece....yeah it was big. 60 feet long and 16 feet tall at the highest to be exact. 

 Assessing the situation

 It didn't take long once it was up to make sure it was safe for the kids...or that's what they were saying. 

 The boys + Maddi went down to flowrider to try their hand at surfing they had a ton of fun next time we will have to go when we don't have so much to do. They got back just in time to help decorate and set everything back up before our friends and family arrived. The kids played on the swings, jumped on the tramp, and of coarse the bounce house. The guy had told me that it was a smaller one great for kids 2 and up but it was a little hard to climb up so it was a good thing the guys wanted in on the fun.

 My mom brought this hat for Hallie to wear for her special day I think we all wore it before we convinced her to wear it

 But in the end it did work and we even got a smile.

This is most/handful of the friends that attended. Ethan, Kolson, Hallie, Kaylee, Addy, Carter, and Issac who belong to Melissa/Ryan, Nick/Brit, Jim/Tam, Erin/Brett

 And here is the cake I have been so excited to make this cake(probably more excited than Hallie) and I couldn't be more pleased with how well it turned out. I hate fondant and I refuse to put it on any cake I think that a cake should be edible and I don't consider fondant edible so I am always looking for cute ideas without it. We did have a few problems in that the donuts settled and began to squish each other so we took it all apart froze them and added a few more donuts when we put it back together. Other than that with a solid structure to build it on it was actually really easy.

 Nate although he acts tough really is a softy especially when it comes to the nieces and nephew. What a great young man he has become. Right before they came to Utah he was made the seminary president...couldn't be more proud of him.

 Probably my favorite picture of the entire day. My sweet baby girl who now thinks she is 3 growing so fast

 Blowing out her candles...I still remember when we sang to her on her 1st birthday and she cried. She has come a long way and loved the singing.

 Hallie and her buddy Ethan he is so good with her.

 Hallie with her piece of cake..the top of the tower. We also did ice cream sandwiches from Caspers a super good idea we will totally do again.

 My dad and Nic..love this picture of both of them

 Hallie got caught eating the frosting off the cake...I would act surprised but Im not. This girls LOVES frosting.

 I really liked the order we did things in although it made for a long party. We ate after about an hour then let everyone play for another hour then we did cake and sang then played some more then finally we did presents since people needed to leave. So present opening is always interesting it seems like all the kids want to help open the presents which makes it really hard to see what she got and keep it together so it doesn't get lost and thrown away so this year we sat Hallie on the table...did it help? Who knows.

 Hallie is very much into sparkly things and got lots of stuff that sparkles even the present wrappings.

 Notice the Dora chair she is sitting in Kimber got it for her...she loves it and has spent a lot of time sitting in her reading corner reading in it. 

 She got some fun and super cute stuff we were very spoiled to have so many friends and family attend. We had a great day. We got Hallie a few more things we will save for her real birthday but for now she thinks she is 3 and Im not going to try and change her mind of that knowing that she will be 3 in just a few weeks. That night when we tucked her in bed she said he wish had come true she got a bounce house for her birthday. Im glad she wasn't disappointed. We love our Hallie bug and feel very blessed to have her in our lives.

The missed pictures

As I was going through pictures I realized in the midst of Gracie being sick I did take a few pics and wanted to remember the memories that went with them. A couple Sundays ago we went for a walk Hallie was ready for a rest but we had a house showing and had to stay out a little longer. We walked past a house up the street an saw the swing...it was just what we needed...until we had to leave and then she cried:( the life of a tired girl

 7 Peaks closed after Labor Day so we decided since Kim and Ez had bought pass of all passes that we better sneak in a trip before they closed. Matt hasn't been there for years even though I have been several times the last couple of years with our passes. It was a lot of fun and after about 3 hours we were done. Notice the common theme in this post....Hallie's tiredness. Sometimes I wish it was acceptable for moms to throw fits when they're tired. But luckily Kimber was there to save the day Hallie better watch out look arrives in just 5 weeks!!! So excited

 Then there was poor Gracie this day was in the day we started antibiotics for her "ear infection" she was still so good and slept while we played we just parked her next to the pool where we could see her.

To the Fair

The fair gets more fun every year because Hallie gets more and more into it each year this year she was so excited to see the horses and dancers. Matt got called out of town and was supposed to be back in time for the parade but his flight got delayed so we met up with him at the fair later. Hallie kept asking if she could ride one or if she could dance in the street with the girls. Gracie was content to bob her head to the beat...I think they both have pretty good rhythm. Here they are waiting for candy. 

 When Hallie saw the flag I didn't have to say a thing she looked for it and put her hand on her heart...well initially it was her 2nd heart on the right side but she has the concept down.

 She loved her little indian hat and of coarse the cereal that malt o meal gives out she couldn't wait any longer she was hungry. It was a long parade 1 1/2 hr to be exact. I was very impressed that she listened very well and stayed out of the road and only took the candy in her space which is more than I can say for a lot of the kids around us.

 After the parade we went and picked up our dad at Grandma Joys and headed out to the fair after some GF greek food we went exploring. After getting a few new shirts for me we met up with Grandma and Nick & Brit. Grandma was nice enough to buy a bunch of tickets so the kids could ride a few rides. Hallie was thrilled to ride the carousel because she was riding a horse(which she had been wanting all day). The one problem with the fair is there is to much to do in just one night and it gets so late so fast. Gracie even got in on the action but I think she felt indifferent. Hallie thought it was so cool Grandma rode with her. After she said mom we got to ride horses just like Mary Poppins huh?...smart girl.

 Gracie enjoying her ride

 Hallie informed me this was her favorite part of her day but when I asked her about her candy she said she had 2 favorites.

 Me and my girls

 Our little family 

 Although it was probably time to go home we had to see the animals...another Hallie favorite. Gracie watched Hallie climb the fence and then proceeded to (what we think) to climb it also. Good thing Hallie is such a good girl or I would be more concerned that Gracie wants to be her shadow.
We had a great time at the fair Im glad Matt made it back in time to be a part. I always thought of the fair as an ending to the summer and this year that makes me really sad but it truly has been a great one full of memories and fun family times.

Life as of Late

 

 The other night Hallie asked if Gracie could swing with her and I couldn't find any reason to tell her no so in the swing she went and after the first push I wondered why I hadn't put her in it much sooner. She loved it to say the least. Hallie and Gracie both giggled and had a great time Hallie pushed Gracie while I changed the sprinkler and sat on the grass soaking in the moment. My 2 sweet girls laughing and enjoying each other what a wonderful blessing...these are the nights I don't want summer to end. Video at bottom of this post

 This year we got serious about a garden and about improving our "green thumb." In the spring we expanded our garden and got to work preparing and later planting various seeds/plants and we are now seeing the results from our work. We planted peas, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, regular cucumbers, spaghetti squash, beets, zuchinni, pumpkins, and corn. We have already bottled our beets and we now have more tomatoes and zuchinni than we know what to do with. It has been nice to realize that I can learn new things while teaching Hallie to. At this point she loves to help with everything(weeding, watering, and of coarse the picking part) I told Matt last night some dat we will have this gardening thing down to a science.

The love Pinterest I really do and I told myself when I really got into it that I had to complete at least 1 project a week because whats the point in pinning something you will never use? I am happy to report we have had so much fun from all the new awesome recipes I have found to the craft projects to preschool activities we have had a lot of fun. These are the girls "Tangled" wigs Hallie is very into Tangled right now and when I saw this I knew I had to make her one and we can't leave sister out so of coarse Gracie needed on too...Im so grateful that Hallie always wants Gracie to be apart of whatever she is doing.
Matt has been traveling a TON and when I say a ton I truly mean it like gone at least 3 days a week it has been hard but we are managing and I think Im getting quite good at it. I should have known this was coming it talks about it in my patriarchal blessing but I just keep telling myself I was raised to be a strong independent women and although I would rather have Matt around I have been raised and given the tools to take care of myself and my girls.
Now on a not so bright note Gracie got sick for the 1st time really this past week. She is such a good baby and Sunday night she cried pretty inconsolably for over an hour in the middle of the night. I was a little panicked but felt in my gut that she was ok. Monday she started a low grade fever and that night she cried for even longer. Having a sick child is the worst feeling in the whole world....your so helpless. Tuesday she spiked a temp of 104(Im not comfortable with that) and we were heading to 7-Peaks with Kim & Ez so before we left I decided to run her up to the dr they found she had a bad cold virus, was teething, and the very beginning of an ear infection(1st and hopefully the last). We made the choice to go ahead and treat her and after another rough night she seemed to be on the mend. She has still be pretty happy but at night it seems like it always gets worse. I didn't realize how much I missed the twinkle in her eye and that genuine smile she gives freely when she is herself. I really enjoy my time with the girls being silly and fun.