Fun at the Park

One of the fun things we have done as family this summer is play at the park in the evening. Usually we go and get an ice cream somewhere first and then we take it to the park and eat it. Annika's favorite part of any park is the swings. She can swing forever saying "weeee" as she goes back and forth. It looks like so much fun, it makes me want to get in the swing with her and sail through the air just like I did as a little girl.

Annika has no fear as she plays on the play set. She goes up the stairs, waddles on the wiggly bridges, and zips down the slides. It is quite the workout trying to keep up with her!


Monday, July 14, we decided to take Annika to Barnes Park not far from where we live. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Annika was yelling, "fwing, fwing!" Unfortunately, there were no baby swings at this park. Luckily we brought some bread with us, so we introduced Annika to the joy of feeding ducks. Three of the ducks had gotten over or under the wire fence. Each time we threw the bread, the ducks would come just a little bit closer. Soon they were close enough to touch! Annika loved the ducks, although we definitely need to work on throwing bread. Who would've thought THAT was a skill you need to practice. I can tell we will make many happy memories at the park in the years to come.

Here come the ducks closer and...

and closer...

and closer!

Pioneer Times

"Cheese!"

Saturday, July 12, 2008 was a memorable day. Since the Krieschers were in town, we decided to do something fun and different. We went to Heritage Park at the "This is the Place" Monument. I had only been there once before when it was still being built. I was amazed at how big the park was as I pushed Annika's stroller uphill over dusty dirt roads. I thought we'd never get to our destination! Finally we made it! There was so much going on and lots of people. (Coincidentally, we decided to go on a day when everything was free. This is why we had to park so far away.) One of the first things we did was take a "train" ride through the park as different sights and facts were pointed out to us. It was fun to see all the pioneer buildings. Some were original and some were replicas. One of the most fascinating was Brigham Young's first home in the Salt Lake Valley. It was originally located in Sugarhouse, but they relocated it to Heritage Park by cutting the building in half horizontally and then putting it back together in its present location. It looks as if it has always been there. Annika just sat there as still as can be the whole ride. (Definitely unusual for her!) I hung on to her for dear life, since we were in the front and it was a surprisingly fast ride!

Cindy, Annika, Brent, Alyssa, and Aunt Amy walking through the streets of Heritage Park


We then visited a replica of an old hospital which was run by women doctors. Brigham Young sent them east to go to medical school. It certainly makes you thankful for modern medicine. Next, Alyssa, Jacob, and Brent were in a donut eating contest. We laughed as they tried to eat them without any hands as the donuts dangled from a string. They were all winners, since they got to finish their donut after the contest. We also visited the Petting Corral. Annika was excited to see all the animals. She was able to pet a calf, lambs, and goats. She mooed, baaed, and maaed at all of them. She also saw a rabbit. I said, "Oh Annika! Look at the cute bunny!" She looked at it and said, "Oh cute bummy!" The last thing we did was ride in a covered wagon. Annika squealed in delight as the horses started to move forward. I definitely think Annika's favorite part of the day was the animals. She was so excited whenever she saw them. It was so much fun, we are excited to come back again soon. There is still so much more to see and do.



No, Jacob and Alyssa aren't kissing, they are TRYING to eat their donut without any hands!



Annika loved to pet and talk to all the farm animals.

Annika's First Day of Nursery!

Annika's First Day of Nursery!

On June 8, 2008 Annika was eighteen months old. Time to check another milestone off...our baby is old enough for nursery! Where does the time go? Nate went with her to because I had to do sharing time in Primary. She was delighted to see all the kids and toys. She hardly noticed her dad in all the excitement. Too bad he was subbing and couldn't leave. Annika enjoyed snack and drinking her water from a cup. (Actually spilling her water from a cup! Guess we'd better practice that more!) Her favorite time in nursery was definitely singing time. She loved "Do As I'm Doing", "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and of course, "Ring a Round the Rosies". She often requests that at home or at grandma's by saying "Ashies, Down!" Luckily, her cousins are usually happy to oblige. Too bad we can't keep the cousins around more...they a provide great entertainment! I would have to say that Annika's first day of nursery was a great success. Now a month later she still loves it and so far has never cried when Daddy leaves her. That's a good thing because I don't know if her tender-hearted dad would be able to leave her crying! I still can't believe she's already in nursery. What's next?...College?
Annika-rella swiffering the floor after church!

It's Independence Day!

The first reminder that it was the Fourth of July was the cannon booming at 6:00 am in downtown Kaysville. It is always a little shocking to awake from a dead sleep to the boom of a cannon. It was time to get up anyway. Nate had to leave at 6:30 to mow lawns in Salt Lake and Annika and I started the morning early by going to the annual Kaysville breakfast. It is always fun to attend the breakfast, but this year was especially so. We had so many people there we took up almost one whole row of tables. Mom and Dad were there of course, as well as Amy and her family, Gina and her family, my brother, Nathan, Grandma Hill, Uncle Doug and Aunt Jody and my cousin Jason and his family. We had the same breakfast as always: two huge pancakes, two eggs (scrambled or fried), ham and "juice" or milk. I guess that is why I love it so much -- it is part of a tradition I remember since I was a little girl.

For dinner we had a barbeque at Mom and Dad's. It was delicious as always. It was fun to have the Kreischers and the Garrisons come, since they are usually far away when we have family barbeques. You can imagine there was quite the chaos with three children in the Kreischer family, five in the Garrisons, three in the Gees and of course our own Annika. The cousins all loved playing together. The real excitement came after dinner when Tyler and Kirk lit fireworks in Mom and Dad's driveway. Little Steven stared at them with a shocked expression, Whitney cried, and Annika cheered and clapped! I guess that shows the difference in their personalities. (Now if I can just figure out how to get Annika to swim in a wading pool without crying!)

Just before dark, the Kreischers went with us to the DATC to watch Kaysville City's fireworks - a new tradition Nate and I started a few years ago. This year, like most, we met some of Nate's family there. His sisters, Stephanie and Suzanne were there with their families. It was a definite party! Annika loved running over all the blankets and falling down. The cousins had to keep chasing after her. Finally the fireworks began! Annika stared at the beautiful lights in the sky... and cried! So much for my brave little girl! After about five minutes of Mommy saying, "Look, pretty!" Annika finally agreed with me and hesitantly started saying, "Wow, pretty." By the end of the half hour show she was squealing with delight and clapping her little hands. What a great way to end a wonderful day!

Mommy and Annika

Cousin Summer, Aunt Suzanne, Annika and Daddy

Cousins Jacob and Alyssa, Annika and Aunt Amy

Our First Blog!

I've decided to join the world of Bloggers. It seems like a good way to keep a family history and share the "Days of Our Lives" with our loved ones who live far away.

Annika is of course our pride and joy and continues to amaze us each day with how quickly she is growing and developing. She is almost 19 months old and is a bundle of energy. You can always tell where she has last been in the house by the disaster left in her wake. On a normal day you will most likely see the Swiffer Sweeper discarded in the hallway, dishcloths "refolded" on the kitchen floor, a box of Cheerios opened outside the pantry, and various socks (without the mates, of course) scattered throughout the house. Although Annika is wonderful at creating messes, she is also a willing helper when it is time to clean up. We will take advantage of that as long as it lasts.

Annika loves to talk and has "talked" since she was tiny. She is a parrot and keeps her older cousins, entertained by copying whatever they tell her to. Just in the past couple weeks Annika has started to put two and three words together. For example, she says, "bye, bye car" whenever we go somewhere in the car or "Joewee come, potty" when it is time to take the dog to the bathroom. She loves to sing and often will sing, "lead me, guide me, help me find the way" or "Bbbbbbb" (sung to the tune of ABC) at random times during the day. She has become addicted to listening to a twenty year old tape that used to be her Uncle Nathan's called, "Oh Boy". As soon as she is in her car seat she says, "Oh Boy, Oh Boy!" It is quite traumatic when it needs to be rewound and she has to wait to hear her beloved tape. I think Nate has begun to memorize the catchy tunes, much to his dismay.

Nate has expanded his lawn care business this year. He has three high school boys that work for him as well as his brother. He enjoys having the company and the easier days of mowing. I, for one, hope that all this extra help will give Nate's overworked body a much deserved break. Currently he is working six days a week in 90-100 degree weather. As you can guess he goes through a lot of sunscreen and water. He also snacks from dinner to bedtime since he burns so many calories. Nate has also perfected the art of falling asleep on the couch. He finds the best background music is the Weather Channel. It provides just the right amount of noise to drown out any random noises, but it is quiet enough to lull you to sleep. Now if he could just figure out how to get his wife to sleep on the couch too, he could sleep there all night.

That is a quick recap of our summer so far...