Pioneer Day

In Utah, the 24th of July is a holiday called Pioneer Day.  It commemorates the arrival of the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley.  It is a great day with fireworks, parades, rodeos, and barbecues.  Lexi & Jordan have never had a chance to celebrate it, but many of our friends are there this summer.  I didn't make a big deal of it, but I decided to buy a few extra sparklers on the 4th and save them for tonight.    

Sunday Dress

This morning, Jordan picked out his clothes for church and got himself dressed.  I was a little surprised to see him so formally dressed.  Lexi decided she would like to match his color scheme.

  At church, quite a few people told Jordan that he looked very handsome.  As we were leaving, his primary teacher's wife said the same thing.  Suddenly, Lexi blurted out "our dad's ex-fiance bought this for him to wear at the wedding, but our dad called it off."  The lady was completely frozen in awkwardness.  I just busted out laughing, which put her at ease.  I giggled the whole way home and both of the kids wanted to know why.  I come from a family that doesn't hide anything. I love that we don't have any skeletons in the closet.

Houston Zoo

Some friends invited us to go to the zoo with them this afternoon.  They have a family plus pass and were able to get us in for free.  We didn't stay too long, but saw quite a few things.  We spent most of our time in the children's area, in and around the petting area. 

 Lexi & Lucy

After the zoo, we went to La Finca, which is a Mexican restaurant.  

Last Summer Movie

We went to the last free summer movie today.  It was Madagascar 3, which is a great one to see on the big screen. We actually have the DVD, but it doesn't compare to the big screen.  

Best Church Friends

This evening, Lexi went to Heather's birthday party.  Heather and Lexi are best friends at church.  They get along perfectly and I really like Heather's mom, so they have been able to spend time together this summer.  Heather is one of five kids.  She has two older brothers and two younger brothers.  She is smack in the middle.  Even though Lexi only has one brother, I think all that time spent with boys is what makes these two perfect for each other.

Sadly, Heather is going to be on vacation for the next 5 or 6 weeks.  Her family will be visiting relatives in Utah and on up to Canada.  Many of our closest friends will be heading to Utah for the next few weeks.

VBS Performance

I picked up the girls from VBS and headed to the park for a few minutes to wait for Lucy's babysitter to get home.  While we were there, I took the pictures above.  

This evening, we went back to the church for family night.  Although, Lexi has not enjoyed this VBS even half as much as the other one, I did like that the kids performed for us.  It was a much smaller group of kids (about 200 at this one vs 1500 at the first one).  The performance was definitely the highlight of the week.  Lexi doesn't even want to do the VBS at this church again.    

 

Another VBS

Lexi & Jordan have been talking about VBS since it ended.  They have also been singing the songs.  Two weeks ago, our neighborhood newsletter arrived and had an ad for another VBS with the exact same theme.  I went online and signed Lexi up.  I started to sign Jordan up, but read that they had to complete kindergarten to be part of it.  I mentioned it to the kids and Jordan said he didn't mind if Lexi went without him.  I e-mailed the information to several friends who live out by us.  One of them, Lucy's dad, decided it would be fun for her. Since her dad works and she has a babysitter, I've been taking her & dropping her off with Lexi.  

Sleepover

Lexi's friend, Lucy, came to our house for a sleepover tonight.  The kids requested homemade pizza.  Lucy wanted to eat the dough too.  I made beds for all of them and they watched Smurfs before going to sleep.  

Cat Drawing

Fourth of July 2013

We started celebrating the 4th of July by going to a park in our community.  I didn't figure out what our plans for the day were until last night.  I have just been too busy with work to think about it.  We got up early to decorate the scooters.  Jordan thought we should spike and spray paint his hair, so Lexi wanted me to add color to her braid.  The kids were in a parade and got to follow a fire truck.  After that, the kids went on a bouncy castle water slide and got temporary tattoos on their faces.  

It all sounds fun, but the best part of our 4th was that night.  We went to our friends' house to set off fireworks.  Lexi and Jordan loved spending time with Kacy and Cole while "helping" Mr. Bill light up the street.    

Sunblock in the eye (ouch)

Friends/Neighbors

Temporary Tattoos

Kacy & Cole's House

Evening at the Park

The temperatures were a little cooler than normal for this time of year, so I decided to take the kids to the park.  

Patriotic Sunday

Since it is the Sunday before the 4th of July, I thought it would be a good idea for the kids to dress patriotically.  

Swimming at the Water Park