Having fun

Lately we've been just a little stir crazy, but Ryan is always coming up with the most fun and creative ideas of what we can do together. From family fishing trips to a campfire and roasting marshmallows to making a cake together, he knows how to keep things fun. This week we were trying to get Lisa to decide what kind of cake she'd like for her birthday this year (because she seems to change her mind every other day). Ryan was hoping she'd choose one of the Sesame Street cakes (we have a Big Bird and Cookie Monster pan inherited from Grandma Barbara) but Lisa wasn't going for it...so Ryan said we should just go ahead and make one anyway just for fun. So we went to the store, got the needed supplies and made a very yummy cake. I was impressed Ryan decorated over half of the frosting stars!

The fabulous personality of a 3 year old and fun summer art projects

Sometimes you just can't help grabbing the camera to catch moments like Lisa's reaction to her first viewing of "Yo Gabba Gabba," an interesting kid's show, or her falling asleep talking to who knows what pretend friend on her recycled cell phone from Cortney. Then there is also crazy hula dancing and earrings fashioned out of ponytail holders.One of our favorite things to do together is make art projects. Some of our more recent ones have been a pretend fire ring for roasting pretend marshmallows, a summer vase made from recycled plastic jar, sticks, flower-looking pine cones and raffia, and a candle holder made with glass jar, colored tissue paper, and glue. Of course, that night I had to explain to Lisa why she couldn't have fire in her room. She wasn't pleased with that, but she got over it quickly.

Summer=Watermelon and fishing trips with daddy

Last Sunday we enjoyed a nice watermelon (and some free cookies from Albertson's!). Lisa was very fun to watch with her slice that was almost as big as her head.
Also this week we tried a new fishing place called Birch Creek that Ryan had heard about. He invited Lisa and me along and we had fun just playing along the creek and watching him fish. He caught a few really little ones. We decided if we go again we'll take a picnic or maybe have a campfire. It has been so nice this summer to have so much time to spend together.

Ryan's long awaited Teton Crest Trail Adventure (and Susanna's pregnancy photo shoot!)

This last week Ryan finally got to hike the Teton Crest Trail trip he has been planning for quite some time. The trail is in Grand Teton National Park and people come from all over the world to hike it, so you have to secure a permit way back in January. Lisa and I went with him to the park's visitor center the day before he would start the trip to pick up the permit and bear-safe canisters he would need. We spent a little time walking around Jenny Lake and Ryan humored me by doing a little pregnancy photo shoot. It was a very fun and relaxing day. Lisa loved pretend fishing and playing at "the beach". It was good to spend time with Ryan at the park since he would be gone the next four days. Originally when Ryan talked about doing this trip I was going to be doing it with him, but plans have a way of changing (thanks a lot Lyra! just kidding...waiting for this beautiful little girl is totally and completely worth it and Ryan says he'll take me on this trail someday). So at first it looked like Ryan would be doing this trek alone, but during our last trip to California a friend stopped by to visit us and said he would love to join him. So Ryan was lucky enough to have Mike Johnson along with him on his adventure and it made me feel a little less anxious that Ryan would not be alone. We were truly grateful to Mike for being so generous and fun and spontaneous! I was also grateful to Natalie for coming to spend a few days with me here in Rexburg so I didn't have to be alone the whole time. We had a good time visiting and the kids enjoyed playing together. Ryan had the camera though, so no pictures of the play time together.

To sleep

As many of you know, I've tried several approaches to getting Lisa to sleep every night. The most current routine involves me sitting by her door, which is wide open of course, and reading a book "with no pictures" while she falls asleep. I keep a timer by the door and I've been decreasing the time I sit there each night. When it goes off , she knows I am going to my room to read my book. The first night she was pretty insistent that she still needed me by the door, but she now will usually fall asleep within ten minutes after that. Sometimes she's out before the alarm even goes off. Eventually the idea is that she will be fine going to sleep without me sitting by the door at all.

But enough about that part of the story. The main reason I am writing is because I was just picking up Lisa's room a bit and had to smile at the book I found on the floor. She has decided that she also needs to read a book "with no pictures" every night and her book of choice lately has been this one:

I haven't read this one yet, but Lisa seems to think it's very good!

What can you do for $2 in Rexburg on a Saturday night?

This was our Saturday night. Family fun for $2. We were feeling especially cooped up and bored and decided a non-committal trip to Wal Mart might help. We walked down the party aisle and Ryan spotted the fluorescent hairspray. Perfect! We brought it home and had ourselves a little party, complete with music (Kool and the Gang's "Celebration"), dancing, and sugar cookies. Lisa thought it was great and we had fun too.

Summer and sprinklers

I'm not sure who turned this sprinkler on today, but I wish I could tell them thank you for leaving it on ALL DAY! Lisa thoroughly enjoyed it. Since it was right outside our door, she noticed each and every time when other kids happened upon it and would run out to join them.