I got Scout a birdhouse for his birthday last year.
He painted it, and we put it up.
We really never have any birds use it, but just recently, we have all noticed a little bird bring twigs to it.
When we checked, we realized that bird was making a nest.
And today, when we checked….
Three baby birds were chirping away!
We were all freaking out, and were so excited to see them.
They were brand new.
And where was Mama?
We didn’t know until NayNay peeked in for a look, and got bombarded by Mama!
It was hilarious.
We are a lucky family to get out and about each summer.
I love every minute of our vacations, but not much beats a calm summer afternoon with the kids in the pool, while I watch, provide treats and music, and take a photo or two.
Today, these kids got our favorite — The Hive!
After, all of the favorite toys came out.
Today’s favorite was the hose.
And finally, Dash taught Pippi how to scale the wall between our house and the neighbor’s house.
Sketchy, and I put a stop to it.
But props to the Pips for balancing pretty well.
Somebody took a face plant at the beach today.
But it was at the beach — a soft landing, so he was all smiles.
Our Independence Day started off with our annual Patriot Hike.
Patriot Hill was killer!
Although Pippi didn’t think so.
Navy and Scout were so impressive, and got to the flag about 10 minutes before us.
Navy had already signed us in.
And had tagged the mailbox.
When we were all up there, we took one of my favorite annual pictures.
After some water and snacks, we headed back among the wildflowers.
And Navy was the trooper of all troopers, and carried a tired and distraught Pips.
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We then headed to Doheny to hang at the beach with friends who were camping there….and decided to head back for fireworks that night.
And lucky us — NayNay joined us for the show.
My favorite way to drive to and from Utah, is by leaving at 3-4am, and drive at least half of it while the kids sleep. So this morning we left, and I didn’t hear a peep all morning. The sun had already come up, and the kids were still snoozing. I should have stopped in St. George or Mesquite for gas, but I pushed along to keep those kids sleeping. I am pretty sure I could have made it to Vega, but the last words my mom said to me were, “I’m not pushing this car, so don’t run out of gas”! (She knows my “push the limit” ways all too well.) So about 20 minutes before Vegas, I pulled off to get gas — and still no peep.
When I pulled off, there was some sort of frenzy going on at 7:00 am, so I started pumping and checked it out.
Little did I know that we had stopped off at the greatest selection of firework store ever!
So I got in line!
I filled up my basket, and to my dismay, the kids were all up and playing when I got back.
Oh yeah, and my mom was ready to call the police because she didn’t know where I had gone for 30 minutes.
But my purchase paid off.
As soon as we got home, Micah taught the kids how to light off smoke bombs, and they were having a blast!
And then they started jumping through the smoke, which was hilarious to see the difference between Navy and Scout’s jumps!
Scout is always so cautious.
Whereas, Navy likes to throw caution to the wind.
This morning, we woke up to realize that Dash only had one shoe. I knew what had happened — or so I thought. As the Temple Square craziness unfolded all the way to the car as we left, I figured that one of the shoes must have gotten lost. So after an entire day of playing at the museum, I drove us back to our parking spot. I got out, leaned over, and picked it up. When I got back in the car with it, my mom was freaking out that it was there.
Thank goodness it was there, because it was just last year that Navy’s shoe went missing in the exact same manner — but at the mall.
But that time, we weren’t so lucky.
The Museum of Curiosity is always fun.
Despite the freezing cold water, Pippi got in and played for an hour with the water toys.
And Navy was in this “floating head” display for an hour also.
When Dash finally got a turn, he didn’t really nail it.
Then we went outside and spent more hours on the zip line.
And then after threats and a bribe for the best diner, we headed to one of my mom and my favorite restaurants.
I am sooooo pleased to report that the kids were literally perfect.
Other diners commented, and the waitress sang their praises.
I’m always a believer in bribes.
But this bribe may have had the best outcome ever!
I made the cardinal mistake of taking my kids to Temple Square at sunset.
I thought the pictures would look really pretty.
Unfortunately, my kids were already on fumes, and sunset isn’t until 9:00 pm in Utah.
Our first stop was the Christus.
My kids were at a 6 out of 10, but they did stop and admire the amazing statue.
And then we went outside.
If you look closely, you can just see it in their eyes.
Can you see it?
Dash’s pants were already wet from a fountain, and Pippi refused to stand up.
But I still love this picture, and I think the time of day is really beautiful.
And what isn’t pretty with the temple in the background?
I knew we were on thin ice, so I put my kids up to some running races to get their ants out of their pants.
Too bad Navy took a head start, so that didn’t end too well.
Scout was helping me get Pippi in a picture, but that didn’t end too well either.
When I was taking a picture of Dash, he started sticking his toes in the reflecting fountain.
Moments later, Pippi took a bite out of Scout when he was trying to help her again.
When I was attending to Scout’s injury, Pippi completely undressed on the temple grounds!
HOLY COW!
This is out of control!
I finally got her redressed, and asked her what her deal was.
This was her response.
Everything had unraveled by the time we were leaving.
Dash was totally wet, Scout was trying to help but frustrated with everyone, Pippi was a terror, and Navy was only teasing a little bit.
And since she gave me this winning picture, she gets the award for best child of the day.
And since the temple teaches us all about being Christlike, I will be Christlike, and give my kids another chance before I disown them all.
Except maybe Navy.
You know when you see a kid, and you already know them as an adult.
I don’t know what her major in college will be, or what her hobbies might be, but I DO know that Navy is going to be the best little mother out there.
Skylar was a major natural, but Navy is right there with her.
Here are just two pictures that she didn’t even know I took, of her in her element.
I love that mini mom so much, and am so glad she is my oldest girl, because she is such a help to me.
And clearly Bella, when we are at her house.
We hit up Mrs. Cavanaugh’s candy factory for a tour.
My kids got tons of samples, and we learned about chocolate from the very beginning.
It was fascinating, but the little kids got rascally by the end.
But then they got an ice cream sample, so they whipped back into shape!
And at the very end, we got to stick a pin (the white one) in their new map, because Dana Point wasn’t represented yet!
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