Finishing up the Summer

The past couple of weeks we have been trying to get the most out what is left of the summer. We have had a blast. We went to Red Butte Gardens with our friend, Wade, and his two kiddos. If you have never been, you should make the trip to Salt Lake and check it out. It was so neat. It is such a nice little walk and there are so many different types of plants to look at. They had all the different trees and flowers labeled. It gave me some great ideas for our yard. What a fun day! We had to take a picture of the kiddos on a moose. Averie was a little hesitant at first, but once she was up there, she didn't want to get down.

I really liked that the gardens kept kids in mind. They had a separate Children's Garden and fish pond. Averie loved feeding the fish and playing in the fountains.

I tried to upload some more pictures of her at the fountains, but it wasn't working so just enjoy the video of her instead. She was having the time of her life!


Yesterday my mom and I took Averie and my nephews, Issac and Caleb to the Zoo. It was Averie's and Caleb's first trip to the zoo. They absolutely loved it!

They loved this crazy monkey. The animals put on a good show. Usually when I go to the zoo, the animals are always sleeping. It was the perfect weather and they were all awake and running around.
We loved the elephants!


But most of all, the kids loved the monkeys the most.

Here is how Issac compares to the apes.


Here are the camels and tigers.



We had to get a picture with the lion drinking fountain.

My favorite animal by far was the giraffe.

Averie loved the "kitties". She kept trying to grab them through the glass.

The two kiddos riding on the wood horse.


To finish our trip at the zoo, Averie picked out this tiger. She literally would not let it go. Every time I tried to put it back, she freaked out. We are going to have a problem with this one.

Would you say no to this cutie though?
I hope everyone is having a great summer! I know we are!

First Haircut

Averie had her first haircut this weekend. I have been sick of her hair always being in her eyes so I decided to trim her bangs.
Before:After:
She looks so grown up! Brian was pretty sad when he saw her. He just looked at her and said, "Where's my baby?" She was pretty good for the trim. She just sat there and watched. My little girl is growing up so fast!

Here we go

Ok I am making the decision. Private we go. I'm not sure if there are many that read this blog anyway, but I think the time has come to go private. Please leave a comment with your email and I will send you an invite! Thanks for reading!

Funny Story

So I know I am not the only person in the world who blog stalks. Admit it. You do it too! I have a few blogs that I check on from time to time that are friends of a friend. The funny thing is, I don't even know these people, but I like reading their blogs. If anything, it should just be a compliment to them right? Their life is interesting enough that a complete stranger would follow it? Ok now I really sound like a weirdo...ANYWAY, onto the funny story. So the other day I was at Carters doing some shopping with my sister in law when I saw a little girl from one of the blogs that I stalk. It was SOOO weird! It was like I knew everything about her without ever meeting her! I knew her name. I knew how old she was. I knew things that had happened recently. It was just a really weird experience. I felt like I should say "Hi, how's it going?" to her mom. Of course, then I really would look psycho because this woman obviously had no idea who I was! I guess the stalking was not mutual... This whole experience got me thinking. If I knew this much about this woman and her little girl, could someone out there that I don't know potentially know things about me and my family also? I have never really thought about making my blog private, but this experience has made me really consider it. I don't think that I have that many people looking at my blog anyway, but it is just something that might give me piece of mind. Thoughts?

Summer Catch Up!

Issac's Baptism
Wow I have been the worst blogger! I am usually pretty good, but I never feel like there is time to blog. Well I will stop fighting it and give everyone an update of what we have been up to.

Earlier this month my nephew, Issac, was baptized. It was such a wonderful day! We are so proud of him for deciding to be baptized. I can't believe he is 8 already. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at the church so I had to steal this picture from my brother's facebook. This is the entire clan (minus Andy-since he was taking the picture)

What a handsome boy!


After the baptism, we went to Kylee's house for goodies. It was so much fun to spend time with the entire family. We always have such a blast when we get together.
So my sister has a wide variety of animals at her house. She has two dogs, two cats (I think), a chameleon, the occasional muskrat, and now 6 chickens! Averie loves animals right now so she was thrilled to excited to meet a chicken for the first time. She wasn't scared at all. She actually kept trying to hold the chickens. They were bigger than she was!

I am not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about holding the chicken. I kept worrying it was going to freak out and try to get away. Lucky for me, her chickens are very tame.
When my family gets together it is a little bit of a circus with all the dogs. We have 6 dogs between all of us. It can get kind of crazy. Ryan kept them entertained though.
Averie found this scrub brush on the lawn. She would not give it up for anything. She freaked out every time I would try to grab it from her. Drama, drama, drama...

Here is a picture of my cute mama. She is getting so skinny.

So there are two things in this world that we are going to have to get for Averie after visiting my sis. The first thing is a trampoline.

Would you say she likes it? She thought it was the greatest thing ever. Maybe in a few years we will have to invest in one. The other thing she loved was the sandbox.

Caleb and her were having the time of their lives. Such cute kids!


A Slight Drizzle
So I am not sure if the weather this year has been extra crazy or if it just rains a lot harder in Herriman. All I do know is, that we have had some crazy storms! Our first week that we lived here, we had a huge storm and most of our dirt in the backyard ended up in the street!
You can't really tell from this picture, but this is a small river running through our backyard.
Oh and this lovely mess. This is where my grass used to be. Now it is covered in mud. Wonderful...
Oh the joys of being a homeowner.

Well I think that is a good update for now. I will try to update more often. I can't believe the summer is coming to an end. Time just flies by too fast!

Kangaroo Zoo and Grandma & Grandpa Visit

I have a lot to catch up on this summer. We have been super busy doing fun things! Our friends from Virginia came to visit last week. They had a birthday party at Kangaroo Zoo. It is one of the blow up toy centers. Averie is not quite old enough I think. She was terrified of all the blow up dragons and turtles.

She finally played as long as Daddy was there with her. Silly girl!

Brian's parents recently came for a visit. We don't get to see them very much so it is always so nice to spend time with them. Averie was in the best mood. I had to get the camera out because she was being so funny. She loves her "Dargie" and he is so good with her. He just lets her climb all over and lay on him.


We are so glad to have such a patient puppy. Sergeant is the best dog!
Here are some pictures of our happy girl. She thought it was hilarious to run back and forth from Grandma and Grandpa to me and then she would fall onto her back.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

A few weeks ago we met up with our friends, Dean and Reece, and went to a Bees Game.

I can't even tell you if the Bees won or not. Reece and I spent the entire game catching up and keeping track of Averie. She was all over the place!

By the end of the night she was so pooped. It was wonderful!

I just love summer nights!