Cowboy

Bracken found a hawk feather earlier this summer while we were camping and was so excited to put it in his cowboy hat.  Breonna told him in passing one day while she was visiting that she could probably make him a hat band to hold the feather in place. He was so excited and even wrote a note to remind her to make his hat band.  A couple of months later she surprised us with a visit and a hat band for Bracken.  He was so happy!  Breonna was the favorite aunt that night for sure. :)  Now he wears his cowboy boots and hat almost every time we leave the house. We love having you come over Bree!

Happy 1st Birthday Kinsey!

Kinsey had a fun first birthday, filled with her favorite foods and activities.  Green spinach eggs and grapes for breakfast, then Bracken made her a hugely comfy baby bed with every pillow and blanket he could find. Chandra built a "doggy house fort" for them to play in.  We played in the water outside, where she spend most of the time picking and eating grapes off our vines.  Then she got a bath.  (Holy cow, she LOVES baths!! She gets so happy every time she realizes she get's to go upstairs to Melissa's house to take a bath. It's adorable!)

I made Greek yogurt cheesecake cupcakes and topped them with berries.  Kinsey loves berries.  Like mega-loves them. That's all she ate for dinner.  When she saw we had strawberries she went beserk she was so excited and I couldn't give them to her fast enough.  We bought strawberries and blueberries even though they weren't on sale, and that was her birthday present along with a toothbrush.  She brushed her teeth for a long time, so happy to be big like her brother and sister.   Mostly she just enjoyed being the center of attention.  She's a cutey! We love you so much Kinsey! 

 The kids stuffed Kinsey's balloons inside their clothes and pretended to be Baymax from the movie Big Hero 6.

Super comfy baby bed...and Kinsey's happy to have her binky even though it's not nap time. 

Love that face! The grapes were the perfect height for her to help herself. 

 Watering the grapes, a.k.a. making mud to play in.

 Mmmm...she ate every bit of the fruit and most of her cheesecake.

Daddy and Kinsey

Their own Fireplace

Our dear friends the Eggertsen's from Cedar City came to visit us.  While we were playing in the backyard, Jairus and Bracken kept asking if they could build a fire.  I told them no because we didn't have a safe place to build one.  They went to the back corner of our yard and worked for a long time. Then they ran to me, so excited because they had built a fireplace.  They'd moved some extra bricks and cinder blocks to build this awesome little structure, and even found an old kettle in our neighbors yard to mix concoctions in.  We still didn't light a fire, but they were so proud of their creation that they didn't mind too much. 

Bracken, Zedek and Chandra.  They played with the fireplace for another week or so, adding all sorts of delectable (?!) things to the pot.  They called it boudalin, and they'd sprinkle it on each other as a magic potion.  After a week, it smelled so bad no one would go near it, so we threw it out and put the bricks back in the kids "laboratory" so they'll be ready when the next creative building bug hits them. 

Chandra stirring "boudalin." (I have no idea where they came up with that name.) 

 He was telling me all about how he'd built the fireplace and was so happy and proud, it was fun to watch him.

Summer Swimming Lessons

 Bracken and Chandra (middle, top) went to swim lessons for two weeks this summer, 4 days each week.  Bracken loved his lessons and caught on so quickly that they bumped him up a level half-way through (he was so proud of that!) He loved the diving board and as soon as it was free swim time he would jump off of it over and over, trying new tricks each time.
 Chandra was a little more timid to start out with, but she went from not wanting to put her face in the water at the beginning of lessons, to trying to touch the bottom of the pool when she jumped in, and floating and swimming a little by herself.  I am so proud of both of them for working hard and learning so much!

Big Brother

Kinsey is so lucky to have a brother and sister who love and play with her so much.  She loves when they push her in this little wagon.

Pet Snails

We found snail "pets" while picking beans today. They kept the kids busy for three hours, doing snail races, building snail homes, inspecting, feeding and naming them.

Snail races!! These were high stakes...there was jumping and cheering from the bystanders. The snail Eddie won every time.

The "Food Land" the kids created for the snails. 

While they were busy with pets, I was snapping beans and peas. Yay for garden veggies!

 Sissy, Baby, Leafy and Eddie.