Our First Attempts with Sweet Potatoes

So yesterday and today we decided to let Alexis try some Sweet Potatoes. I think her photos will explain how that went!! Even though she reallyliked them, she couldn't seem to keep them in her mouth! Reminded me of the first time Mikaela tried sweet potatoes...scroll down to see the similarities in pictures:)

Alexis trying Sweet Potatoes.


Mikaela trying Sweet Potatoes.

Can ya see the family resemblance? Even with Sweet Potatoes being smothered all over their faces, these two are definitely sisters!!

Gardening

This year and last year the end of our summer has been filled with Gardening...that's right Gardening. Never in my life did I think I would ever garden, and for that matter enjoy it, but I really do. We got sucked into the gardening life by our Ward, which plants gardens in the backyards of several members home for all to benefit from. We LOVE it. And this year in particular the kids have loved taking part in any gardening project that has come our way. We have been corn, peach, blackberry, tomato, zuchini, squash, bell pepper, and cucumber picking this year, and each and every time the kids have been right there with us. They love putting the food in our buckets and then coming home and seeing what can be done with the food. To date we have made pies, cobblers, jams, and chili from the fruits of our labors:) YUMM YUMM!! Because they have had so much fun this year they said that we need to plant a big garden in our yard next year!! Mikaela in particular says we need to plant strawberries (her favorite fruit) and lots of raspberries!! She has loved gardening more than any of us and is always super excited whenever she gets to go. Below is a little page I made from when we were peach picking at a friends house.

Swing Set

So we finally did it...we bought the kids a swing set!! Well, actually I should say that they bought themselves a swing set. For a little over a year now they've been wanting a swing set. Jared and I told them that if they wanted one that they would have to save up their money to help buy one because they are pretty pricey. They agreed, and so every Christmas, Birthday, or whatever holiday rolled around that got them money in the mail, we saved half of it for the swings. Well come spring they had enough for half of a wooden set (we would help out with the rest) or a metal set all on their own!! I was so proud of them. So we started researching and after months of debating back and forth we opted for a metal set. One, because they could pay for the entire set themselves without cleaning out their accounts, and two, because I kept reading bad reviews for any wooden set that cost less than $1500.00!! So Friday night, after Jared and I finished a night out without our kiddies, we decided to surprise them and come home with their swing set. We picked them up from our neighbors and they could hardly believe their ears!! They were so excited, but since it was pretty late we told them we would put it up on Saturday. Well, it is up and almost completely finished now. They have been outside every chance they get, only coming in to refuel with food!! I love it!! They love it!! What a fabulous investment!!

Jared couldn't get started until late Saturday evening because we were at The Gateway all day with some friends from St.George. But since he had promised them he would set it up he got to work and by 8:30 p.m. he at least had the swings on! That was all they needed...they were out there for over an hour!!


Jared finished today, here are the kids enjoying all the other ammenities of the swing set. Yet to be completed though is the teeter-toter and the slide. Man these things take a while to build! Thanks Daddy for all your hard work:)

It's Done!!

Afte two months of dealing with this project/headache, our fence is finally DONE!! I just thought I'd post some pictures of the great job Jared did with it. Too cheap/smart to hire someone out to move the fence for us, Jared moved the fence on the North side of our house all by himself. It was a big task, with quite some mishaps along the way, but I think the final product is WONDERFUL. Because he did it all himself here are some new trades Jared knows how to do:
*Dig Fence posts (he had help from two friends with this trade but now knows it down pat)
*Fix broken sprinker pipes
*Move entire section of sprinkler system
*Uproot concreted in fence posts (that's right he did it all by hand, no back hoe involved here!)
*Put up new posts and entire vinyl fence!
*Save a ton of money in the process:)
Thanks Jared for all your hard work. Now that our big task is finished we can finally finish the landscaping on that side of our yard. We're hoping for the end of September to be done, we're keeping our fingers crossed! I am so very tired of the sand the kids keep tracking in from there and can't wait for the cement slabs or pavers (haven't quite decided which to do yet) to go down!

BEFORE: This is what the fence looked like when we first moved in last year.
DURING: Here are some pictures of what it looked like just before we went on our trip to Cali. You can see where the old posts remained and the new fence went up.

STILL DURING: That little section you see there with the wire fence was Jared's Achille's heel!! It was such a headache that he had to finish it when we returned from Cali.

AFTER: Look NO WIRE FENCE!! YEAH!! Jared finshed it all this weekend. I think it looks FABULOUS!

I just had to show all sides of the fence that were moved. Here are just a few more pictures from different angles.

Here's what it looks like from the front! Ain't it nice:)

Clowning Around

With last week's slew of HOT HOT summer days, my kids decided the best way to keep cool was to stay indoors and get use out of the camera!! Silly Silly kids;)

Breaking Dawn - Mixed Review

I have rejoined the ranks of the living! No pun intended, especially considering the book I just read!! Okay, so I fell in love with the whole Stephanie Meyer Vampire series and since this book came out this week I have been totally consumed with it. Which is why I haven't posted anything in quite some time. So scroll down to see what else has been going on this week if this post bores you:) However, I must say this last book was great up until the ending!! I bought it on Saturday and any chance I got I would read, read, read. I think my kids must have thought I had been swallowed by a black hole because every time they turned around to ask me something I swear I had that book open. Well, I finally finished today and I don't know...I loved it and I didn't. The story line was great, the character depictions were great, but I think the ending was so anti-climactic. Am I being weird? Too Critical? Who knows...I don't regret reading it, I just wish their would have been more "umph" to the end. Let me know what you think if you read it:)

Cereal Time

After debating back in forth in my mind whether to start Lexis on cereal for several weeks now, I finally caved. She is five months old and it just seemed that if I waited another month she would not be too happy. She loves the cereal (especially super warm) and is primarily delighted to be a part of our dinner time. She sits in the middle of the table during dinner and is fed and encouraged to eat by all!! Below are a couple of photos from last night's dinner. After viewing the photos you too might wonder what Jare and I ask after every meal...How much exactly is she eating versus wearing!! Regardless, with the added cereal in her diet she has been now giving me five hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. May not seem like a lot to many, but for me is a miracle considering her prior weeks of only 3-4 hours at night. Eat on Lexis, eat on!!

A Very Happy and Unexpected Visit

After almost 5 years of not seeing eachother my friend Rachael and I were finally able to catch up this week. What a fun visit. Rachael and I have been friends since our Study Abroad days in Paris and most recently she has been living in Japan with her husband and adorable little girl:) Case in point for not seeing eachother in so long!! Well, she has finally returned to the States, and during her visit here in Utah she took some time out to come and visit us! We had a great day and it felt just like old times (well, with the exception of all our children running around!)

Here we are posing for a pic after many years. And who might you ask is the mysterious photographer since we visited during the day....JACKSON!! I think he did a pretty good job, well minus cutting off just a bit of the top of Rachael's head:) A five year old's angle is only so high!!