Memorial Weekend

We've had a lot of fun having Kevin off work this weekend. Friday we spent most of the day in Ogden with Scott's food allergist (nothing has changed unfortunately, maybe next year). We let him stay up until about 9:30 or so because it was a really hard day on him getting the scratch skin tests done and everything. We rented the "Bee Movie" and popped some popcorn. He loved it.Then Saturday Scott and Kev did some finishing touches on the basement while I did some shopping. I was lucky enough to find Kelty kid packs for 40% off. I was SOOO excited since backpacking and hiking is something we love and now we can have time to do it since we can bring the kids along. Saturday night I finally had enough guts to leave Hailey with a sitter (she is almost 6 months now!) Dates are so much more special when your not trying to shove a pacifier in your baby's mouth all evening long.... So we went and ate some yummy dinner and then went to D.I. and bought a few golf clubs to go to the driving range with. It was so much fun! I told Kevin while we were at D.I. that it was a college date. (You know, when they actually came up with creative ideas to impress you!) I said, "Yeah, you've got your game back!" I don't know how stressed the 12 year old was that had to juggle 2 kids for 3 hours, but we had a blast and the kids were great when we got home.

Then we took some time and drove through the Logan Canyon and to Bear Lake. We've lived here over a year and this was our first time there (besides when Kevin has gone mountain biking with the guys) We live by so many beautiful places, we need to go discover them this summer!

Here's Hailey all ready for our hike!

(If only I had a wider lens maybe you could see Hailey too!) Scott loved the backpack ride! So did Hailey! This girl will fall asleep anywhere! Actually she only fell asleep when we stopped for lunch, once we started moving again she woke back up. The trail went right along the river and Scott's favorite part was stopping to throw rocks into it. (Guys always have to do that, don't they?) This picture was taken earlier in the week. I had to post this to prove that she is sad sometimes. AND isn't she still just adorable even know she's crying!? She doesn't like being on her tummy anymore because she doesn't go anywhere. She just flares her arms and legs around and gets frustrated. Maybe another month and she might be crawling around...we'll see. Hang in there Hailey!

This girl isn't afraid of splashing one bit! In fact Scott gets annoyed at her for splashing him, and I have to keep all eyes on her because several times she has tried "bobbing for toys" with her mouth! Here's tonights bathtime!

Silly Hailey!

I also had to add this picture to my sidebar because I want to look at it every day! I love how big her eyes are too! So cute!

I was talking to my mom the other day about some of the things Scott recalls, and we both decided that it must be a gift. This kid remembers EVERYTHING! Even if you don't think he's listening or even if your not talking specifically to him. Here's one example-

Kevin's mom (aka Grammy) was here visiting almost 2 months ago and she watched the kids so that we could go on a date. Well that night he was fighting to go to bed so she laid down on the floor with him and told him about how God made night so that our bodies could rest, etc. I'm sure he didn't even act like he was listening (the kid is always fidgeting, even when I read bedtime stories...) So now 2 months have passed by and earlier this week out of nowhere Scott says to me while he is playing, "Grammy had a talk with me about our bodies." I said, "Oh really, what did she say?" Then he said plain and simple, "Oh how our bodies need to rest so that we don't get sick and how we need to go to sleep." He continued to tell me all about their conversation. Then while he was eating his lunch he stopped and told me his foot hurt (he was kneeling on the stool and I'm sure that it went numb or something). I rubbed it for him and he says to me (which should go in the record book by the way) "I want to go to sleep". Confused I said, "You do?" He said, "Yeah...my foot will probably feel better when I get up." And sure enough, off to a nap he went with no kicking or screaming (I didn't even have to lock the door!) So funny. He just amazes me sometimes with things he says and does. Even the fact that we never have to repeat to him what something is. Once he finds out a name or word for something, especially a tool, he will remember it always even if he's only told once what it is. He's done that from a really young age. Anyway I'm not trying to brag on my little boy, it just got me thinking about what kind of gifts our kids are born with... another I've posted about before is his love for animals. Although most kids love animals, Scott just has a different perspective about them and I definitely think that's a gift too. Our children are so precious! I can't wait to find out more about Hailey's gifts but I know already one of them is the gift of happiness. She is always happy. I hope she keeps that forever. I challenge all the moms to think about what gifts your children have and what traits you love about them. It will definitely keep things in the right perspective, especially on the hard days.

Warm Weather Finally!

I have to tell this story because it melted my heart. Scott is such a sweetie (to his sister atleast...he is definitely acting out to everyone else) So on Friday I met up with my sister Brooke and Hailey was crying in her carseat. Scott was sitting next to her in the back and Brooke and I hear this small little voice start in..."Twinkle Twinkle....Twinkle Twinkle.....Little star, how I wonder what you are." Of course Hailey stopped crying to listen as her brother sang her a little song. SO cute! The cutest part was how he just leaned into her carseat and sang it so softly.

This picture is to show Scott's face when he is trying to tell you how something works (which happens often because he's mechanically minded like his daddy). He gets so serious! In this one he's trying to show me how the two pieces of metal once went together.

Just as Grandpa Scott suspected, Scott is having a blast filling his wagon up with stuff to pull around in the yard, even without shoes on. He LOVES his wagon! Update on the hair...It's coming! And it's even now-yeah! On Friday I met up with my sister in law Lana who is in Utah for the weekend. We got the kids together for lunch. It was so much fun meeting up and getting to meet Amanda for the first time! She's beautiful!

Of course Kelli has her 3 beautiful kids, but by the end of this year, all of the Riggs' boys will have babies! In a one year span of eachother... so much fun! Amanda (from Carson) was born in September, and Hailey in December. Then Caeven (from Chris) was born in February and Kenny's little girl is due in August. Cathy must be so proud!
Here is the only way Hailey will take naps now...with her little puppy dog cuddled up next to her. Moving beyond rice cereal. Today she tried sweet potatoes and loved them. I was going to wait a few more weeks, but the girl nurses 6 times a day, has a 1/4 cup of rice cereal twice a day, and is still grabbing at everything on the table! I don't think we will have to force this one to eat! It's soooo cute- I love it!

Hailey actually stays entertained now if I sit her on the floor with all of her toys. She thinks she is so cool!

Scott...Still not in picture-taking mood. My dad told me that it's about time he went on strike from the camera - he's been in the spotlight since the day he was born! (No, seriously by one week old we had about 4 rolls of pictures!) I know we are totally breaking the rules on this one, but we needed some family time and we don't have a bike trailer...Scott took his usual seat behind my bike, and Hailey got to enjoy a frontpack ride with dad. She was passed out after about 5 minutes!
Close-up!
I managed to sneak a picture of Scott while he was helping his dad cook on Mother's Day.
For Mother's Day Kevin (and Scott of course) made my favorite french toast for breakfast and steak for dinner. He even made a really yummy peach cobbler for dessert! (I'm not even lying it was the BEST I've ever eaten.. even from the times he's cooked it camping). Well I am always begging Kevin to buy me kitchen gadgets because I love to be in the kitchen, but he refuses because he thinks it's weird/disrespectful. Well he decided that if he was going to do it, Mother's Day was the day, so he got me the icecream maker that I've been wanting (thanks Mel for letting me borrow yours for so long). When I saw the pretty wrapping paper and bow I said, "Wait a minute, who wrapped that for you!?" (not that he isn't a great wrapper himself...it just didn't look like his style) When I found out it was from the Love to Cook store I told him that they were a lot cheaper at another store, but he informed me, "Well they didn't have red at those stores!" What a sweetie! Of course I'm crazy over anything red, especially kitchen appliances and it definitely made the gift more meaningful. Thanks babe! Before giving Mel hers back I stocked up my freezer with sorbets for Scott to eat...so I might need to clear some room before using mine! I'm excited to experiment with soy milk and yogurt!

A few things a mother said in her talk at church on Sunday stuck with me. She said after appologizing so much to her sister for her messy house, her sister said, "Yeah your house might not be sparkling clean and quiet, but your kids are making memories." I liked that a lot. I do actually keep a fairly clean house, but Kevin has always told me from day one not to worry about cleaning up EVERYTHING because he knows that we were just having a good time playing. I agree. I think if your house is too clean, and you are picking up everything your kids drag out, they won't be able to be imaginative and creative. Let them make a mess every now and then- they will have a blast doing it! Another thing she said was to stop looking forward to the next stage and enjoy the one you are in. I guess that could go for the stages of your kids as well as the stages of life you are in. That especially sunk in because the next speaker was a mother of a missionary and she was crying her eyes out. I said to Kevin, "Do you think I will be that big of a boob?" He just laughed, but I know that day will come sooner than I want it to, so I better just enjoy the now! (I think writing that down just taught me a lesson for today....it was a rough one!)

Back to Life!

We are back from Las Vegas. We had a lot of things going on for such a short weekend, but we had a blast, especially seeing all my family for the blessing. Our car ride home was great in our new car. We didn't pull out the dvd player until we had to, and when I did Scott said, "WOW! How did you do that?" He loved it. Every time he would get bored he would say, "But I can watch a movie..." It was pretty cute. So now we are back to our normal routine. Scott always goes through a "detox" period after he spends time with family giving him attention 24/7. Yes, even though we were only there for 2 days. This next picture explains why all the pictures on this post are of Hailey!

Hailey is sitting up now! Earlier this week she out unstable, and now she can sit for minutes at a time. She loves being able to see what's going on around her.

This is definitely my favorite garage sale find (with Kevin's mom in Colorado). Scott loved it, and now it's Hailey's turn! I always play kid music and let them bounce away.

This was bathtime last night with Scott (he didn't want to be in the picture). I decided to be brave and let her play on her tummy. That's why there wasn't very much water, but she still loved it!

Kevin put his hat down by Hailey this morning and this is what I found! I said, "Kevin did you put that hat on her?" And he said he didn't. Serious! She rolls around so much that she rolled the hat right onto her head! How funny!

Quick Trip to Vegas

We decided last minute to come to Vegas for my sister Candice's baby blessing. I promised all my sisters that I would make blessing dresses for their girls and I had so much fun making Mia's. It turned out beautiful and I was glad it fit her!I think you can tell by the glow on her face that my mom loves all these new grandbabies! All cozy on the couch before bedtimeHere's a close up of Mia. She's 6 weeks old and has the most beautiful dark brown hair!Little cousins. They are 3 1/2 months apart. I can't wait until they get a little bigger!Two peas in a pod and about the same height too!Playtime at grandma's Hailey is definitely teething! The bottom tooth is right on the surface and the only thing that keeps her content is chewing on some celery. I told Kevin I was going to hitch a ride with my baby sister down to the blessing and after trying to fix the oil leak on our car for the 30th time, he found there were a lot more things to fix then we were thinking to sell it. We were going to have to put way too much money into it, so that's when he had the idea to return the struts and drive the car and leave it in Vegas. We've been looking at buying a car for quite some time now, but being the cheap-wads we are we just keep putting it off longer and longer. So we took the plunge into the dreadful car payment like the rest of the world! Here it is, our new pride and joy-a Honda Pilot- and let me tell you- WE LOVE IT ALREADY! Neither of us have ever had a new car (the newest I had was my 94 toyota truck and for Kevin it was our 93 car, and of course we can't forget about the 77 International Scout) Best of all, Scott gets to watch movies the whole ride home! When we picked it up at the dealership Scott was out with my dad. Here's a video of him seeing it for the first time.