Kali-alla-doodle-alla-day

This fall, my sister Stephanie went back to school to get her teaching certificate from Weber University. I volunteered to take her four year old daughter, Kali every other Tuesday. Her given name is Kalia (ka-lee-ah), she goes by Kali, but for some reason I began calling her Kali-alla-doodle-alla-day and it always made her giggle. We had so much fun together! Ashley loved having someone to play with during the day and we were able to do many special outings. 

One of Kali's favorite things to do was go to my neighbor's farm. She loved to pet the horses, chase and catch the chickens, feed the ducks and play with the dog. She was also brave enough to ride the zip line!

We went with Grandma Place to Gardner Village to see all the witches!

Three darling witches!

We met up with Heather and her kids, Melia and Evera at the Zoo!

All the monkeys at the zoo!

On our last time together before Christmas break, Kali sewed a heat pack for her mom for Christmas.

She cut the material

Sewed the edges.

Filled it with rice

and added some love!

Veritable Smorgasbord Orgasbord Orgasbord

If you don't recognize the title of this post, it is from the song the rat, Templeton, sings in Charlotte's Web while enjoying all the leftovers at the State Fair. This wonderful song was going through my mind the entire time we were at the Utah State Fair! 

Now usually I would not buy tickets to the State Fair because they are too expensive and we always go to the Davis County Fair so I see no need in going to the State one. However, this year, the state sponsored a summer reading program where you could read a bunch of books, fill out the form and send it in to get free tickets to the fair. I am always needing and incentive to get the girls to read so we did it, and it was well worth it! The girls earned, tickets, a ride and a lemonade at the fair! (all free to me!) The girls had a FANTASTIC time!!!!

Aubrey enjoying the HUGE bubble maker! I couldn't get them away from this discovery zone. We went in the middle of the day and it was pretty empty when we got there so the girls had the place to themselves, they were in heaven!!

We went all out and bought a turkey leg to share for dinner! It was GIGANTIC and yummy, we felt (and looked) like cave-women eating it!!!

Cave woman Aubrey eating her dinner!

On our way out, we passed the US Marine booth. They were having a contest of who can hold a chin-up the longest. If you could hold it for 10 seconds you got a sticker, 15 a water bottle, etc. up to one minute. To qualify for a marine a girl needs to hold a chin-up for one minute. NO BODY could do it. It was mostly teen and college kids trying. I've seen Aubrey in action at USA gymnastics and I knew she could do it. She bravely went up there and asked if she could try. Everyone started laughing and the marine said it was fine, but I could tell he was just appeasing her. The marine showed her how to hold one and helped her get up there. Then she pulled up and hung on! They smiled and then they were shocked! She hung on, and hung on. She beat everyone there! Pretty soon a crowd gathered around. I kept telling her "Come on Aubrey, you can do it!" Then everyone started chanting "Aubrey-Aubrey" it was so awesome!!!! She made it the WHOLE MINUTE!!!! She was the only one to win the Marine t-shirt (the grand prize!)

Aubrey and the Marine!

Aubrey and her marine t-shirt that says, "Pain is weakness leaving the body"

On our way out the girls each got a frozen banana dipped in chocolate and sprinkles! It was such a fun day! BEST REWARD FOR SUMMER READING EVER!!!!

Lake Powell August 2012-- Christmas in August!

For Christmas 2011, Kim and Wendy Powell gave all their kids an all expense paid trip to Lake Powell in August! Ahhh, it's so nice to not worry about the cost! I must say, this ended up being the best Lake Powell trip! We had so much fun. The best thing about going to Lake Powell is that you can never have the same trip twice because the Lake is always changing. We love going to Lake Powell. 

My little Ashley exploring on the beach.

I love all the scenic views of LP. This is a view of our houseboat and what we got to wake up to every morning.

Our little family went exploring on the waverunners. We love going out on the wave runners and finding little places on the wave runners will fit. We snuck back to a little tiny cove that had the most wonderful "narrows" and places to explore!

My girls exploring a cave we found.

Winding through our own private discovery!

Having fun swimming with the family.

Quin and Ky tried to teach Aubrey to surf. It didn't work out too well, but they were patient uncles and it made for some funny times.

5K with Eagle Bay

The girls have seen me run (no, wait, jog) and train for events like the triathlon, 5k, 10k and half that I've done, so when their elementary school, Eagle Bay, was doing a 5k they were stoked to participate. I thought a 5k would be a bit too much for them, so we entered the 1 mile race instead! They were so proud of themselves for running a race "just like mom". 

 Towards the end, Hailey wanted to give up and walk, I told her it was just a bit further and to push through it. With some encouragement from me, she was able to keep up a good jogging pace.

 Aubrey ran ahead of Hailey and I so she could run with a friend, but she was there and cheered us on when Hailey and I crossed the finish line.

What a surprise when Hailey placed in her age division!!! Good thing she listened to her mom, never gave up, and kept pushing through!!

Hailey Turns 9 -- Aiyah!

I can't believe my sweet little girl is 9 years old already. We've both come a long way baby! I was scared to death to bring home my little 4 lb. 6 oz. premie. I had never been a mom and had no idea what I was doing. Together my little Hailey and I have overcome many challenges, had many adventures and learned valuable lessons from each other along the way. I am so thankful for Hailey's tender spirit, her closenss to her Father in Heaven and her strong will that kept her alive in utero and keeps me on my toes today. Here's to many more years together living, learning and loving!

 Hailey's birthday breakfast before school.

Hailey received this personalized belt rack for her karate belts.

 For her birthday party, Hailey was able to have her friend come to a private party at the dojo. She was excited to have her friends come and see just what this karate stuff is that she does all the time.

 It was special to have all her friends see her in her element.

At the end, after presents, Hailey got to wear a kimono and cut her cake with a real Samurai sword! It was pretty cool!

Sum-sum-sum-summer time!

Here are just a few random pictures from our awesome summer. All of these pictures I took with my phone. I love, love LOVE having a camera on my phone because I am able to capture all these moments!

Station Park Fountain Opening

Station Park opened officially this summer. It is a really neat shopping center/entertainment complex in Farmington. It is the cool place to hang out now. I can just see the girls going there with their friend in jr. high and stuff. It is only one mile from our house and the girls and I like to walk there. I LOVE the fountain!!! It plays music and does a "show" every thirty minutes. This is us there when it opened.

Swimming at the Bountiful Rec Center

My nephew Skyler worked as a lifeguard at the Rec center this summer. We went to see him and he was off work. He spent the entire day swimming and on waterslides with the girls. All Sky's lifeguard friends were there too and he introduced the girls to them. The girls thought they were in heaven hanging out with these older kids. Skyler is a wonderful cousin! The girls adore him!

I actually have no idea when I took this picture, but my little Ashley looks so adorable!

Tracy Aviary and International Peace Gardens

When Angela and Jeff came to visit, we went on little field trips. Above is the Tracy Aviary.

We also went to the International Peace Gardens in SLC. This is Salt Lake's best kept secret. I didn't even know it was here. It is so beautiful and well kept. It is a huge garden/park place with little areas dedicated to different countries. It was so fun to explore all the countries. And it had the BEST climbing trees! A really neat field trip!!!

Jeff's daughter Caroline in a tree.

Above: Aubrey and Caroline in the trees.

Hailey, my treehugger.

Davis County Fair

Every year we head off to the Davis County Fair. We kind of have to go because it is only one mile from our house and the girls see it going on. It is also free, so I really have no excuse not to go. It is a fun way to spend the day! The girls love the hands on exhibits. They are hold real, life scorpions. Yuck.

City Creek

A new mall opened in SLC. City Creek. It is the new big, fancy thing to bring people to the downtown area. It is pretty swanky. It was under construction for a million years and finally opened this summer. It's huge. I took the girls to get a look at it. Aubrey has never had her ears pierced and has always chickened out when we've gone to do it. I think the ambiance of City Creek got the best of her and she actually got her ears pierced there!

Nervous before the deed.

Very happy after!