Bounce Around Fun

A few months ago one of our sort-of cousins had a birthday party for the whole family.  They rented out this bounce/climbing facility and we all had a great time mingling while the kiddos burned off a lot of energy.  The best part of all though was that they didn't come home with cheesy party favors but instead each got a free pass to return again.  Which sadly we held onto for a while since I didn't really want to drag baby Isla there.  But with Taylor out of town and lots of time to kill over the 4 day weekend, I got brave and took the boys.   The problem is that there's plenty of parent seating but it's not exactly in a prime watching spot.  Miles is still only 2 so it's not like I can totally trust him by himself.

I shouldn't have been worried at all.  The boys were in heaven.  Running, climbing, bouncing, screaming, playing, repeat... repeat... repeat.  And when I wandered over to check on them this is what I saw.  Truly I hadn't planned to take any pictures but this was just too cute to pass up.  Ethan and Isaac holding hands, swinging around in a circle and then bouncing their way off the pillow thing.  I love what a good older brother Ethan is.
Occasionally I start to worry that maybe he's not good enough at this or that or that I'm not doing enough as a mother but then I see him being so kind and loving when I least expect it and I just remember that really nothing else matters.  He's happy.  He's a good boy.  Everything will work out.  And in the end all that will matter in 20 years is that he's still happy and still a good brother.

Isla was an angel (of course) and slept for a while so I actually plowed through a few parents magazines and got to check my email.  Turned out to be a fabulous way to blow through a daddy-less afternoon/evening.

Can't wait for Soccer

Isaac has been DIEING to play soccer.  He played last summer and I just wasn't up for this summer so he missed out.  Luckily he's old enough for the fall/spring league and since Ethan has moved up to a level where he gets actual real coaches (not just parent volunteers), Taylor is free to coach Isaac.  

So Wednesday was his first night of practice with his new team- 3 other boys from his Sunbeam class and 4 other new kids to meet.

He literally asked me every 5 minutes throughout the day: "is it time yet? time for soccer?"  

So excited!

And currently he's leaning over my shoulder asking "is that me with my soccer shoes on?  is today soccer practice?"  Yep, he's already asking for more!

Pool Night

After a fun first day of school and with dad working late we needed a quick dip in the pool.  The boys are currently obsessed with Lego Ninjagos so they spent the whole time in the pool climbing out and jumping in doing different "spins".  I don't get it but they love it!

Ethan actually managed a pretty decent spin.

Isla chilled with me.  Love her fuzzy hair coming in!

Ethan the Big Second Grader

Sadly the summer is over and I have to say goodbye to my biggest helper.  Truthfully he's pretty excited though to see his old friends and to meet his new teachers.

Waiting in line.  This year he's wasn't as crazy excited as last year so we weren't the first people to arrive.

Ethan with his morning teacher Mrs. Johansen.

Isaac and Miles played on the playground while we waited for Ethan to go inside.  Isaac was happier this year and knows he'll get his turn to go to school in just a few days.

Dino Park

For the last big adventure of the week we ventured up to Ogden to visit our favorite dinosaur park.  Ethan was the only one brave enough to take a picture in front of a dinosaur statue.

Miles did consent to a picture with a wood dinosaur cutout.

And under the giant brontosaurus.

My cute little crew.

After walking around and learning about all the dinosaurs outside, Isla and I spread out in the grass to cool off while the boys played on the dinosaur playground.  See?  Not at all interested in the binky.

Well, except maybe to lick it.  Someone gave us this cute binky with a stuffed giraffe attached when she was born.  It is hilarious.  But it's also hard to loose so we've managed to keep it around even though she's not that interested in it.  She loves holding onto the giraffe now though and licking either the binky or the giraffe.

Taking a break for a snack.

Begging for food with her coos and grin.  Aint gonna happen yet cutie!

Climbing dinosaurs in the playground.

And climbing up trees.

Swinging.

Ethan sat with Isla while I went and pushed Isaac and Miles.  Kind of nice to have someone old enough to be responsible.

After enough playtime we headed off to dig for bones and eggs.  Unfortunately the dig site is next to one of the dinosaurs that roars.  There are literally hundreds of different dinosaur statues around the park and about 1/3 have hidden noise boxes that roar and make other noises.

Miles was truly freaked out by this and refused to leave my side even to go dig in the sand.  He was truthfully pretty scared and clingy most of the time we were outside even though I explained over and over that they weren't real and neither were the noises.  And because I'm kind of a bad mother I found his behavior hilarious.

We spent a few hours outside and then headed inside to see the rest of the museum so we'd be cooler and out of the sun.  I'm not sure why my kids decided to wear their hats funny that day but every time I looked at them they'd changed them around which made me laugh.  Isaac making fossil rubbings with crayons.

Miles playing a dinosaur matching game with Ethan's help.

And I'll be honest this is my favorite part of the park.  Inside they have anamatronic dinosaurs that move and roar.  See Miles?  He's so scared he's hiding behind the wall.

Seriously wouldn't even come in the room.  He was ready to bolt if needed.

Starting to get a little bit brave.

Cause really he wants to come see the baby triceratops that were making noises.  He kept saying "it's okay baby, the t-rex is a robot, he won't get you."  Yep, somewhat of a disconnect.  But very cute to watch.

And just because it needs to be documented here's Isla with her usually happy grin laying on the air conditioning vent.  Poor thing gets pretty sweaty in her car seat so when we get home and pull her out I usually hold her over the top of a vent blowing cold air and she just smiles and coos.  But to get a picture I had to lay her down and she didn't mind at all laying right on top of the freezing air.  I'm actually pretty sure she LOVED it!

Skate Park

I had very grand adventures planned for our week of fun but after almost 6 hours at the Classic Fun Center, I was pooped and so was Isla.  So instead of driving and going to somewhere all day we went to try out our local skateboard park.  We've never actually been before mostly because I've heard it's usually overrun with older kids going really fast and thus not really a safe place for little kids.  But since the local school district started a few days before Ethan's school does, we decided to try it.  There were 3 or 4 teenagers skating but the place was big enough and they were nice enough that everyone was happy.

This place is intense.  The kids loved all the ramps and hills.  They of course can't do any tricks but they loved just riding around.

Ethan made friends with another little boy on a scooter who was good enough to ride in the parts that look more like swimming pools than ramps.  See that part on the right side of the picture?  It's almost a straight drop down 6 or 7 feet!  And this little kid would just jump and go right down it and ride around in the bottom and then come racing right at the wall, throw his scooter up onto the ledge and launch himself up as well.  Crazy!  The boys were in awe.  And the kid was kind enough to give them a few pointers- like jumping with your scooter at the top so the bottom of the scooter doesn't scratch along the top of the ramp.  Here's one of Ethan's attempts at that.

And he's getting better at it. I'm not sure how often we'll go back or how much I really want to promote scootering and skateboarding, but they had a great time!

Nora Jones

Taylor's parents invited us to join them for a Nora Jones concert so of course we said YES!  Isla got to come along since she won't take a bottle.  That's really my only complaint with her.  She won't take a binky- not a problem since she so rarely even cries.  And she won't take a bottle.  Kind of a problem since that means I can't even leave her with Taylor for more than 3 hours.  Really though I know I'm spoiled because other than that I literally have absolutely nothing to complain about with her.

She loves sticking her hands in her mouth and sucking on them and is starting to get interested in her own feet.  She hasn't started pulling them in close enough to eat them yet but she's pretty close.  Love her cute little piggy toes!

So cute with her daddy.

Nora Jones is entertaining but sucking fingers is even better!  And I have to confess.  Her cute little soft hoody I bought a few months after Ethan was born and was NOT a girl.  I was having girl clothes withdrawal and bought it on a clearance rack even though I wasn't sure I'd ever get a girl.  So glad I can finally put it on someone as cute as it is!

Classic Fun

Since the boys have been so good this year and have put up with a LOT of time cooped up at home I told them we'd make the last week of summer all fun- or at least that we'd have 1 fun adventure each day.  (Ethan interpreted all fun as all day long 7am-7pm and I'm just not up for that).

First up:  Classic Fun Center

This place is fabulous if you live in Utah.  It's an old skating rink where you can bring bikes, scooters or whatever you want.  The kids rode their scooters more than an hour and loved having the radio blasting and lights flashing.  

This is the only non-blurry close up I could get.

Then if you get bored riding in one room, there's another whole warehouse with another track.  Tragically blurry cause either they're really fast or my camera is really slow.

And when you get bored of that they have 5 or 6 giant bouncy slides and obstacle courses.  That little orange speck is Miles at the top.  He's literally pulling himself up with a rope.  He disappeared for a while and when I went looking for him, this is what I found.  It kind of freaked me out that he was so high all by himself, but there was nothing I could do with Isla in one arm and him already up there.

After climbing that high and sliding down there was more obstacles for him to navigate.  He loved it!

And when they get bored with all that fun, there's this monster climbing area- like 20 McDonalds playlands all put together.

This is the only picture I got of Miles because he was all over the place.

And if all that wasn't enough fun there is a waterpark attached to the place.  I went and parked us in the shade next to the kiddy pool while Ethan and Isaac went down bigger water slides and Miles played in the heated pool.

Isla chilled with me.  Such a cutie- and such a good sport to miss all her naps that day.

At Home Fun

We've gotten out to do things more lately but I'd still rather be at home where Isla takes 3 solid 3 hour naps each day- plus she sleeps from about 7:45 to 7am at night.  Hallelujah!  She's fabulous!  She's great when we're out doing things but she'll only take little half hour naps and after a few hours I know she's exhausted and feel bad for her.  

Thankfully the boys are very happy entertaining themselves at home.

Pirates balanced on Lego Hero guys.

Isaac was very proud of this balancing act and wanted a picture taken of it.