July 4th Fun

The 4th of July is always fun, even though it fell on a Thursday this year (which means I got to work on Friday).  We started out the day with our neighborhood's annual bike parade and BBQ, which was so much fun as always.  That night, we had Grandma and Grandpa Thomsen, along with the Burker family over for food and fireworks.  

This was Jack's first year with fireworks, and he loved them - even the loud ones.  He quickly figured out how much fun the snappers were....

 And Aunt Leslie showed him how much fun sparklers were...

 But all he wanted to do was douse them.

 Our neighborhood was so crazy with aerial fireworks, we all decided we didn't miss the professional shows we could have gone to.

All in all, a pretty great day!

So Hot

Sometimes I really wish we had a pool.  But, we get sprinklers instead.  And you know what?  I don't think they mind.

Mr. Flexible

Whose child is this?  This kind of flexibility does not come from Bryce or me!

Garden Before & After

Right before Jack was born, Bryce and I had big plans for the east yard.  It wasn't that big and housed the A/C unit.  We initially had lawn planted, but it really was just wasted space, and Bryce was tired of mowing it.  So, we killed off the grass with plans to fill it with rock and build a garden.  Unfortunately, Jack made an early appearance, and we just lost our motivation and momentum.

This year, we were determined to finish it.  Bryce did a lot of research on-line and built the beds himself.  We were super happy with how it turned out, and our plants have been growing like crazy.  It feels good to finally have it finished!

Some Zoo Fun

Nothing says summer like a trip to Hogle Zoo with friends.  Jack had never been before, (I know, right?!) and he loved seeing all the animals.  Cole was very excited to see the Lego animals on display.

Cole and Isak "enthusiastically" flapping their wings:

"So, let me tell you about what happened at school yesterday..."

Fascinated.

The whole family:

Some of our favorite folks:

These boys make me smile.  Best friends for life.

Recent Cake B'ness

I never thought I would have so much fun NOT making wedding cakes.  Birthday cakes have become my new favorite thing!  In the past few months, I've been able to do some fun new things:

Spiderman for a super adorable 3-year old:

Star Trek Emblem for a Trekkie's big day:

An Indian-inspired cake for a Bollywood bash:

And some completely adorable (if I do say so myself) little birds for a baby shower:

Good things really do come in small packages!

Look Who's Two!

We were very luck to be in St. George to celebrate Jack's 2nd birthday.  I cannot tell how much we love having Jack in our family.  Our favorite things about Jack are that he is:

Happy

Stubborn

Adventurous

A Fashionista (this boy sets his own rules)

A good little brother who wants to do absolutely everything Cole does

Busy

Friendly

Loving

Did I mention stubborn?

We've also loved hearing him start to talk more and more over the past year.  He has an adorable little accent, and it can take some work to figure out what he is saying sometimes.  Here's our handy field-guide:

Da = Yah

Farp = Fart

Bru-ess = Brutus, his favorite dog

Man = Spiderman, Iron Man, or Batman.  Depends on the day.

Cakes! = Pancakes

Jack Drop Floor = I dropped something completely vital on the floor, and if you don't get it soon, madness will ensue.

Sad...Cryin' = How dare you make me go to bed?  Don't you know there are forts to be made?

Giraffe = Any dinosaur that has a slightly long neck.

I cannot believe the past two years have gone by so quickly.  I'm trying to remember these toddler moments - snuggling Jack in my lap as we read stories (last book, Mommy?), how he squeals and runs to us when we come to get him from school, and how he chases Cole around the house being the bad guy, laughing and nearly running into almost every item of furniture.  We love you Jack, and all the chaos, noise, and joy you bring to our home!