Garden/Yard Update

I thought it would be a good time to talk about how our yard is coming along. And our garden. 

The pond too has been a project for Jesse too. He's constantly trying to get it just right. Trying to keep the moss down he bought more plants to go in there to help eat that algae up. It seems to be working. I think it's looks really good. Especially when I catch the lily plants blossoming. The Coy fish we bought are growing and I see them pretty regularly too. Jesse has seen one or two of the tad poles that we brought home from our Moab camping trip back in May. I have only seen one, one time for a split second. But it's kinda fun to have this in our yard. 

The garden has grown quite a bit. Not as much as I thought it would be by this point. We still don't have tomatoes. So far we've picked a few zucchini and cucumbers. But I think that it's a combinations of planting late this summer, the pine needles dropping in the garden and the water situation took a few weeks to get going. We thought the sprinklers would be enough, but Jesse eventually ran a drip system throughout it and it helped a ton.

This yard is certainly is a bigger bite than we can chew. It's been tough to stay up on everything with how much we have going on this summer. We both agreed to hire someone to help with yard clean up. Jesse's friend Kris had just hired a mexican guy and they said he did a great job. So we got his number from them and gave him a call. He came by Wednesday morning to see what we needed done and then he worked 12 1/2 hours Friday and Saturday cleaning up our yard. It was so nice to have him help out. Sucky that we have to pay for that, but it's so worth it. We just haven't had the time to do it ourselves. And this guy (Rogelio was his name) worked fast for how much he got done.

Another exciting change that happened to our yard this week was this playground set. My friend Harmoni's new husband had it in his yard and they didn't want it anymore. So they sold it to us for $300.  What a steal right? It was in great condition. Hardly been played with and just needed a new coat of stain on the cedar.

The boys have been loving it. Cy keeps saying he's going outside to play at the park. haha. And then little Fynn just loves swinging and chillin in the baby swing.

It's just so fun to have something for them to play with. Hopefully they don't get sick of it and they can continue to make memories with each other on this playground.

With a fresh yard clean up and the playset up, it's looking so charming in the backyard. 

Pioneer Day Weekend Part 2

Saturday Morning Fynn and I got all ready to go so that when Jesse got home we could leave as soon as he got home to make it to Mom and Dad's for breakfast. And we made it just in time. Over breakfast we discussed the Christmas trip we've been contemplating taking together as a family this December. In the end we all decided on the TimeShare resort Mom and Dad have in Puerta Valarta. We are all excited about it. A little stressed about the airfare prices for 4 people, but it'll all work out because Jesse and I are going to work extra hours when we can to help pay for it.

Anyway, after that we all packed up and headed to the church field to play kickball. We played with 3 teams, each one taking turns up to kick. How we divided up into teams was making the 3 boys team captains and they got to pick their teams. 

It was really fun to play kickball. It totally reminded me of my Elementary years.

Even more fun was the fact that the younger kids could play too

When we decided to call it quits on the game we all headed back to the house for naps. Haha well Jesse and Fynn needed a nap. Jesse had had a rough night at the station the night before so he was feeling it by this point. While he and Fynn napped everyone else played outside. We had some playing with the Slamo Ball game, the littles playing on the slip and slide, and the rest chilling and enjoying a moment to chill.

We ate a late lunch so around 5 we weren't feeling hungry yet. So with everyone finally awake we decided to go on a hike. Andrew picked the Willow Heights hike for us to do . It was up Big Cottonwood Canyon and it was only a mile up and a mile down. It was a really pretty hike. It took us longer than we thought but it was worth it.  I loved hiking up through all the Aspen Trees.

These boys love hiking. And love hanging out with each other.

Cute little Fynnie and his never ending smiles of happiness.

At one point the trail leveled out and it was so open.

Not long after that we arrived at the top where the lake was.

So nice to be in the mountains with my family away from the world and see the beautiful creations that the Lord has created and given to us to enjoy.

This sweet boy. The whole time we were hiking he was picking every variety of flower he could to give me.

By the end I had double this amount and a variety of colors. I love his tender thoughtful heart. I'm a lucky mama.

We made it back home and cooked a scrumptious dinner that we all enjoyed around the campfire.

I can't help but post this picture of Fynn. With his blanket, biniki, little chair and that one foot sticking up, I can't help but want to eat him up. I just love this babe so much.

With the left over pizza dough we had from the night before, we all roasted dough over the fire with Jesse's wooded fire sticks he made.

Then we shot off all the fireworks we had. It was quite the show. Especially the areal ones.

It was really late at that point that we needed to get home. We still had church the next day that we needed to get up early for.

But what a day. And what fun memories we created today.

Pioneer Day Weekend Part 1

Friday night the whole Smith Family met up for dinner at Mike and Heidi's. Everybody except Jesse who was on duty. Heidi had a fun idea to cool personal pizza's on the BBQ and they turned out so yummy. 

The plan for the day was to eat dinner together, go to the Drive-In and then sleep over at Mom and Dad's. I was down for all of it except the sleep over part. I'm usually up for it but this year I just wasn't feeling like packing up the whole house for one night. Especially since Jesse was working. Doing it alone just wasn't sounding super fun. 

After dinner we headed over to the Drive-In to see the movie "The Secret Life of Pets."

These 2 babies were experiencing their first Drive-In together.

I love these summer nights to spend time with these boys. I just wish that Jesse could have been there.

The first half of the movie I was trying to avoid Fynn from crawling off of the back of the truck. But eventually I was able to get him to fall asleep in his carseat. I could then relax But maybe a little too relaxed. Before I know it I fell asleep too. I guess I was more tired than I thought. The boys were wide awake the whole time. So that's all that matters right? 

Once it was over, Ryker and Cy went home with Mike and Heidi to sleep over in the backyard. I went home with Fynn so we could sleep in our own beds.   

Summer Nights

Summer has really been good to us. We've worked hard and played just as hard. We are finding ourselves utterly exhausted. 

I found the boys like this in their rooms the other morning. Both just crashed on the floor or in the bean bag. I thought it was cute. 

This one is Cy all curled up on the bean bag.

And Ryker all sunggled under the fort that he made under the bunk bed nook.

Boating Day

The past few years boating hasn't been a very often thing for me anymore. My family used to go on Tuesdays in the summer but the past few years it's been on Wednesdays. So since I work on Wednesdays I have to really plan ahead to go with them. So for the summer I decided to take a Wed off in July, Aug and I'm thinking Sept too. 

When the day finally came that we could go I was so excited. It had been 2 years since I had been able to wakeboard and I was totally looking forward to it. Last year the only time I went boating was when I was 10 days overdue with Fynn. And if I could have fit a life jacket around me I would have totally been out there wakeboarding. 

Tyson and Jessica also took the day off so we could all be together. 

I got the honor of going first. YAY!!!! I didn't want to get out of the water. It had been way too long and it felt like home. I found it interesting how after 2 years I didn't miss a beat. All the muscle memory was there and I went out there and wakeboarded like I only had been a day.

I felt bad hoggin all the good water, so I thought I better get back in the boat and let Jesse have a turn. He's been able to go a few times this summer with my family because of his work schedule lined up with the boating days.

He took Cy out on the wakeboard with him for a little bit. Cy only liked it for so long. I think he must have gotten tired from holding onto Jesse's legs for fear of falling off the board. Haha

Weeks leading up to the boating day we have been encouraging Ryker to brave. And to ski. We told him he didn't have to but we tried to encourage him that sometime new things are scary but when we do it we feel good about ourselves. We kept reminding him how he used to cry when he had to dive off the diving board for swimming lessons. But now it's one of his favorite things to do and he's way good at it.

So when the time came he wanted to be brave and he went for it. Jesse let him ski with him for a little bit to hopefully get the hang of it and to not feel worried.

After several attempts and lots of tears he got up. He got up several times actually but he would fall down right away. He wanted to come in because he "got up". But we told him he needed to stay up for a little bit longer. So the next time he got up and went for awhile. And the longer he was up the bigger the grin on his face grew.

When he came back in the boat he was so happy. He admitted that he had overreacted about the whole thing and he is looking forward to going again.

By this point the water got choppy and we were all feeling hungry. So we went over to our lunch spot and chilled for a few hours and ate lunch.

Jesse went in the water to play and took Fynn with him. I was curious to see how he would do in the water because it might be kinda cold for him. He totally loved it. Grinning the whole time and kicking his legs in the water.

I was so happy to spend this whole day with my family. Good ole fashion fun made my heart so happy. I love these boys so much. I can't get over how blessed I am to have these 3 handsome boys.

After the long break and our lunch we blew up the tube and took it out for a spin. The boys would have gone forever if we let them, but we needed to get going home. 

We pulled off the lake, cleaned up and drove to my parents to finish the clean up. We decided last minute to eat dinner at my parents. Which turned out super yummy. Especially after a long day in the sun. 

Looking forward to a day in August to do this all over again. 

All the Joys of Camping. without Camping

That's my kind of camping. Haha.

The weekend after July 4th we wanted to do something together as a family. But be away from the crowds. Jesse came up with the brilliant idea to go up into the mountains above the B. The B stands for Bountiful and it's up on the mountain. And there is a dirt road that goes for miles up in the mountains. It's the perfect place to go and have a campfire and be away from the city.

July 8th was a Friday. I worked that day, but Jesse was off. So when I got home he had everything all ready to go. Including the Tinfoil Dinners with everyone's names on it. I got a kick out of how excited the boys were about them. I guess they had helped pick the ingredients at the grocery store and put them together.

Took us a little bit to find the perfect location where we could build a fire and safely shoot the 22 rifle Jesse brought along for the boys to practice. Once we did find a spot, the first thing we did was build a fire so we could get our dinners cookin'.

While they were on the fire we took some pictures.

...and did some shooting. On our way out we had stopped at Dick's Market to buy some soda pop cans for target practice. The boys thought it was cool when they would shoot them and they would blow up.

I was quite impressed with how well they both shot. They were better shot than me. Which I guess isn't saying much since I'm not good at all. But I did get a lucky shot on my first try and hit it dead on.

After patiently waiting for our meal to be done. We could feast. And it was SOOO Yummy. I was quite impressed with Jesse's preparations.

We roasted marshmallows later and made s'mores. By that point it was dark and we needed to get home.

It was the perfect summer evening with all the joys of camping without having the hassle of camping. Haha.

4th of July Weekend 2016/ 10 months old

4th of July this year was pretty low key. Jesse was scheduled to work both on the 2nd and the 4th (Saturday and Monday). I wanted to do a bunch of things with the boys but when it came down to it I thought it would be best to keep things simple. 

Saturday after work I took the boys to see the new movie "Finding Dory". I was curious how Fynn would do but I thought if I would bring him dinner and snacks that I could keep him occupied during the whole thing. And it worked. He was wiggly, but that's normal for him at this age. It was such a cute movie and I was happy to spend that time with my 3 boys. 

After the movie we ended up at my friend (Harmoni)'s parents house in Centerville to watch the fireworks from their front porch. Which was perfect because we were able to see the fireworks with out the crowds and the traffic. Oh and get home aroudn 10:45pm instead of midnight. It was perfect. 

Then Sunday the 3rd Fynnick turned 10 months old. AHHH!!!! I can't believe how close he is to turning 1. I want to freeze this age right now so bad.

He's crawling around like crazy (Not really doing the split crawl anymore).
Getting more comfortable and confident with pulling himself up.
Had to lower his mattress in his crib since he was pulling himself up.
I find him pointing that right foot quite often.
Finally starting to sign "more"
Loves Patty Cake
Ryker and Cyrus love it when he screams really loud.
His squishy rolly legs are to die for.
Smiles at strangers.

For the actual 4th of July I had plans to take the boys to the Centerville Parade in the morning. But Sunday night I just was feeling like I just wasn't in the mood to fight the crowd by myself with the boys. I'd probably lose one of them. And besides it was my holiday too I didn't need to be stressed out all day getting to one thing after another. So we all slept in that morning, was able to have breakfast and give Fynn a nice long nap before we headed out to Cottonwood Heights to go swimming.

The boys were kinda mad at me when they found out we weren't going to the parade. But once they found out we were going swimming they forgave me. Mostly. Haha.

We met everyone at the pool around 1:30pm. On my way there I text Emily and told her that we needed to recreate our picture we took at that same pool just a year ago with our 33 week pregnant bellies. And here we are a year later with our 10 month old babes. It's amazing what 1 year can bring us.

Fynn's first time in the pool and he totally LOVED it. He wouldn't stop kicking his legs when he was in the water. I got some great video of him doing that. It was so cute and he had a grin on his face the whole time.

I love these boys so much. We were really bummed that Jesse couldn't be with us that day. Even though we are used to it we still miss him when he's not around.

These two cousins are too cute.

I love how comfortable Ryker and Cyrus are in the pool. Having Fynn this year it was such a relief knowing I wouldn't have to worry about the older 2.  They could play to their hearts content and thn I could really focus on Fynn.

The whole Smith Gang (minus Jesse, Tyson and Tayler).

The pool closed at 4pm so we all cleaned up and headed to Mom and Dad's. Andrew and Emily actually had to leave, so it was just me and my boys left. I contemplated going home because I didn't want Mom to have to worry about making dinner for us. But I ended up staying and I'm glad that I did. We were able to do some fireworks after we ate and the boys just loved it.

We were kinda lame and did them when it was still light outside. But I didn't want to keep Fynn up any later than he needed to be. Which was actually still enjoyable. I had just purchased a thing of areal package from Smith's Marketplace and it didn't disappoint.

There was one time that I lit one of the areal ones not knowing that I sat it on it's side. And it shot right at us, barely missing dad's head. Thankfully it knocked over and the rest shot upwards or else we would have had some problems. In my defense though the fuse was on the side, which I thought should be on the top. So when I lit the fuse I had the side that it was on pointing up. Nope. I swear they should have arrows saying "this side up." But I learned to look at the writing. Thankfully noone was hurt.

At first Fynn didn't care too much for the fireworks. But eventually he didn't mind so much. THe poor baby.

Once we were done we headed home and I was able to get these boys in bed at a decent-ish hour.
We all showered actually and while I was feeding Fynn Ryker and Cy noticed that they could see all the fireworks going off across the city from the toy room window.  They were in awe. Then I start to hear Ryker singing "The star spangled banner" while he was watching them. I thought it was rather moving and a tender way to end our 4th of July celebration.