Pumpkin Patch 2013

We took our annual trip to the cute little pumpkin patch in Lehi for Family night. We just love this little pumpkin patch. Every year we go, it gets bigger and more and more crowded. It is literally somebody's farm/yard/pumpkin patch. this family builds slides out of hay bales and sets up pictures stations with all kinds of props. They have wagon rides, pony rides, and a little petting zoo. It is the best pumpkin patch and I'm pretty sure we will be going there every year for as long as they are open. Holidays are getting to be so much fun with now that our kids are getting older. They were so excited to pick out their very own pumpkins. Craig takes this job very seriously, too. I don't get into it as much as everyone else does. I just pick a pumpkin that is round and fat and move on. I like to watch everyone else have fun and take pictures. That is the fun part for me! I guess that's why my pumpkin was rotten before I ever even got to carve it! ....Maybe next year I should take the "pumpkin picking" job a little more seriously!

Actually, we all missed out on carving pumpkins this year. Cole was really sick with a fever of about 103.6 degrees, poor guy. We wanted everyone to be involved so we were just waiting and waiting for him to feel better. It never happened and by the time Halloween rolled around the pumpkins were still sitting uncarved on the front porch. Its okay though! The process of picking the pumpkins is the most fun! It was such a gorgeous fall night! The weather was beautiful. I love the smell of hay and farm. Something about it makes it feel like Fall is REALLY here! Here are a few pictures from our fun family night!

Summer Nights

If someone were to stop by our house during the Summer, this is most likely what they would find. Messy hair, chocolate faces, bare feet, and happy kids in the backyard. I am so in love with summer!

Cousin Time!

Brylee and Cole LOVE their cousins so so so much. Krista and Kenny stopped in Utah before their trip to SC and all of our kids were able to spend some time together. Everyone came over to our house and they were able to have a "cousin" lunch together and play outside in the water. I can't believe how big Kinsley is! We definitely don't see her nearly enough! We didn't get any pictures with Maya, but she was there, too. She was just snuggling with her mama! I'm still trying to figure out when we all grew up and had kids. When I really stop and think about it, it freaks me out a little bit. Am I REALLY a mom? We were really excited when Krista told us that she and Kenny are expecting another baby! I wish we all lived a little bit closer so that we could have these days more often. Brylee thinks she is the "mom" since she is the oldest and Cole definitely needs a boy cousin close by. He always scares the girls with his boy-ness. It is so much fun to watch all of our kids running around together. I love all of this babies so much! Being a mom and an Aunt is the best.

G.G. and Aunt Kristy in Utah

I get homesick sometimes...okay, so I get homesick a lot. When I think of home, I think of the water and the bridges a little bit but I mostly think about my childhood memories and most of those revolve around my family that is now spread out all over the country. I LOVE my cousins, Aunts and Uncles, and especially my Granny!! I don't have many memories that DON"T involve my family. We were SO SO excited when we heard Granny and Aunt Kristy were coming to visit. They weren't here for very long, but we were at least able to get a few pictures with them. We got lucky because Brad was in town and we got to spend a little bit of time with him, too! Aunt Kristy brought her little dog, Sophie, and Brylee still talks about how cute Sophie is. These pictures make me smile. I wish we could see each other more often! Maybe a trip to SC is in our future??

4th of July: The After-Party

We had a really fun 4th of July this year (minus my killer migraine, which caused us to cut the festivities short), like...probably one of the best in a few years. This year we spent the morning at Granny's house. We made hot dogs and played with cousins. We came home and took a nap, then went to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's house for a cookout with the other cousins. I love days when we get to spend the entire day with our families. It seems like we are all so busy that the times we get together become fewer and further between. When we made it home, all of the neighbors were sitting out in the street on lawn chairs. They were doing a fun little fireworks fireworks show. We went and sat on one of the neighbor's lawns and the fireworks were pretty good. I love feeling that "boom" feeling and we TOTALLY got to feel it a few times. The kids loved it and they loved staying up until eleven, too! They usually go to bed at 7:00pm....so it was a REALLY late night for them!

The next day, Craig pulled out some sparklers that he bought and we went out in the backyard after the rainstorm (I have been LOVING all of the rainstorms here lately) and lit them up! It is so fun to watch these two start to actually get into the holidays and get excited about them! Every year gets more and more fun.

Butterflies From Granny

Right after the school year ended, my Mom gave us some caterpillars. We kept the little jar on our kitchen counter and watched them grow and change over the next few weeks. Brylee would  just lay on her belly on the counter and stare into the little jar. We watched them change into butterflies and we were able to let them go. Each time we looked into the net and saw the next one had turned into a butterfly, my kids were just as excited as the first time. We're talking, jumping up and down and screaming, excited. It was pretty funny. It was pretty amazing to watch them change.....and DISGUSTING! I don't think I will ever look at a butterfly the same.

When the butterflies were ready to be let go (maybe there were a couple that weren't quite ready, but I was certainly ready to have them OFF of my kitchen counter), we took them into the backyard and watched them fly away. Our little "gimp" butterfly ended up letting us hold him. Then he got tossed over the fence. Poor little guy. I wonder if he "made it". Brylee kept saying that we had to let the butterflies go so that they could go live with their families in the flower garden. That girl cracks me up. Cole just kept saying "why why" (butterfly).

I'm so grateful my kids have such a good Granny. It was such a cool experience. I doubt Brylee will ever forget it.

The gross little bugs!!

I was glad Craig was there to help! I was so grossed out.

We had a little butterfly that wasn't flying so well...but Brylee loved it because she was able to hold him for a few minutes. He sat right in her hand. Then he got tossed over the fence.