Time for Preschool!

Today [Yes, TODAY.  I am blogging on the same day that these pictures were taken.  Be AMAZED.  It may not ever happen again...] Harrison started preschool!

He was SO excited to go back to school.  We've been talking about it and counting down the days for weeks now.  This morning I had to tell him about 80 times to take off his backpack (which was loaded with first day of school supplies) off because it wasn't time to go yet.  Then, when it finally was time to go, he suddenly got a little nervous and decided that he didn't want to go any more.   Oh Harrison...

I am happy to report that he DID go, and he went tear-free.  HOORAY!  He was acting very timid and shy, but he happily walked into his classroom and started playing with the toys so... fingers crossed that in a few weeks he still thinks that this preschool thing is a good idea.  :)

Here is our brave Pre-K boy:

Is he not the most handsome preschooler you ever saw?! He asked me to take 20 or so pictures of his backpack.  I think he really likes it.

How awesome is this first day of school sign?  I am in love with it.
{I totally stole it from here.}

CUTE.

And for fun, a silly shot:


























We are so proud of you, Harrison!  Hope this school year is a good one!

Look Whooo's One!

This little girl


turned one on August 9th.


Cutest. One. Year. Old. EVER.




Here's the birthday girl with her presents that morning:


Bridget was thrilled with her new stroller. So thrilled, that she had zero interest in opening her presents because all she wanted to do was push it around. We bought her a baby doll to go with the stroller, but she decided before opening it that balloons worked just as well.


She was SO happy putting balloons in her stroller to push around. She would smile and clap every time she put a new one in. Why did we even bother buying anything else?!


We eventually let Harrison open her doll for her.


Once it was open she gave it lots of loves.


And eventually the new baby beat out the balloons.




Later that night it was party time! We had a "Look Whooo's One" party for the birthday girl.


The theme was mostly so that I could make this ridiculously cute owl cake that has been in the back of my mind for months now:


And Bridget LOVES birds. An owl is a bird... so it works, right? I think it turned out so cute! Here's her smash cake to match:


Love them.


It was a big hit with Bridget. :)


We had cousins at the party! Here is the darling and lovely Emma:


The way bigger than I remember him and oh so sweet Spencer:


The always smiling cutie boy John:


And of course the ever beautiful Sadie-bug.



And there were adults at the party too... Why is it that Brock is the only one that made it into a picture?? To all of the other aunts and uncles and cousins that came to the party, we love you! Thanks for coming to celebrate Bridget's birthday with us!

One more look at the cake:


Dang. So cute.

This is when we sang Happy Birthday. Bridget got a little nervous; you can kind of see her lip starting to get pouty here. The wind blew her candle out for her, which was probably a good thing because after the singing she didn't really want anything to do with sitting up there by her cake.


Bring on the smash cake! She wasn't really sure what to do with it...


Daddy gave her a little taste and then she decided to have a few nibbles.




I was kind of surprised! I thought that Bridget would jump right in and mash that thing up! She was much more cautious and dainty than I expected her to be.

With a little encouraging she took some bigger bites.


I think in this one she was pointing to her big cake and wondering if she could have a piece of that one too?



At the very end we helped her pick up the whole thing and have a few more big, messy bites.






And then it was time for a bath. :)


Then more presents!






This little girl needed some of her own toys. Not that she doesn't love Harrison's Transformers (trust me, she does!), but she was past due for some of her own toys too. And all of them - babies, shopping carts, strollers, books, everything - are played with on a daily basis. She adores them. A big thank you to those of you that brought a little something for Bridget on her birthday. Thank you! And hooray for girl toys!



Happy, happy birthday, Bridget! I'm not sure where the last year went.... You are getting big FAST. You love to smile and laugh, and snuggle and hug. If you could you would live life with a binky in one hand and a banana in the other. You are curious, and adventurous, and busy, and we love watching you learn and grow. You bring so much joy to our home! We are so grateful that you are a part of our family and look forward to seeing you grow even more this coming year. We love you, Bridget! Happy birthday!

Oh, and by the way...

We have a walker on our hands over here.


Walking can be dangerous business at our house.



So I guess it's a good thing that Bridget is practically running now.

Happy 4th of July!

We managed to jam-pack this 4th of July weekend with activities. We had such a good time!

On Saturday we had a BBQ with Rachel and Hannah. It was delish. Then we made our way to the Provo Freedom Festival where we all lost about 5 pounds by sweating to death in the hot sun. They had bounce houses/slides set up and Harrison was so bummed to find out you had to pay to go on them, but then this little girl (maybe 12 years old?) came over and gave him her leftover tickets because her family was leaving. Who does that?! It was so nice, and Harrison was thrilled! Sorry, no pictures of these events. You'll have to trust me, it was a good time.

We then made our way to the mall because we couldn't stand the heat anymore and needed a little AC in our lives. That and the fact that we forgot to put sunscreen on. How our kids managed to end that day without sunburns is beyond me, but I'm so glad they did!

Next up, fireworks. We always head to the Provo Temple grounds to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks show.

Here's our happy Bridget:


She passed the time like this:




Bridget loves her daddy.


Harrison passed the time playing Boggle, one of his new favorite games. You tell him a word and he likes to sound it out and point to the letters that spell it. He thinks he is so smart. And really... he is pretty darn smart, if I do say so myself.




We're glad you came Hannie.


You too, Rachel!


I tried to take a picture of my cute kids in their cute red, white, and blue outfits.


Sigh.


You get the idea,


right?


Finally, fireworks started! Bridget slept through them and Harrison made it through the whole show without crying!!! (he doesn't do loud noises very well) HUGE SUCCESS. He even had good things to say about them the next day. Shocking. And awesome. I can't say enough good things about that.







Monday we went to the parade in Provo. You should know that this group got the loudest cheers by the crowd:


And this group got a close second:
(the missionaries)


Only in Provo, Utah. :)

I shouldn't wonder why it's so hard to get a good picture of my kids. When I take pictures like this, it really explains it all:

In the 4 pictures I took, not only are my kids not looking in a single one of them, but Peter isn't looking either. Peter, if you are reading this, shame on you. Next time be a good example, will ya?!??

Harrison LOVED the parade. He was all smiles the whole time.


He plugged his ears for all the loud parts. :)


And waved at everyone and everything that came by.


So cute.

He especially liked the stunts by Cosmo the Cougar.


How awesome is Cosmo? BYU has an awesome mascot.

Bridget loved the parade too. She got the most excited when the llamas passed by. :)






A lost balloon equals a good chance to take a photo:


After a quick lunch we went home for movie/nap time and then ended the day with swimming at the Spanish Fork pool. Phew! So many fun things.

Happy 4th to you and your family! Hope it was as fun as ours!