Macy the artist

August 18- Macy wanted to sell lemonade today but I was able to talk her out of it. One reason being she sold packs of gum a few weeks ago and has sold things multiple times this summer. I feel bad for the neighbors having to buy one more thing. And two, we had no lemonade. 

She had the brilliant idea of drawing people's portraits for free. She wrote "free caricatures" on a paper and taped it to a chair. She then sat at the end of the driveway with paper and a pencil. It was around 3 pm so people were still at work. No one was driving by. She asked where everyone was then said daddy didn't ask anyone to come. (How did she know he does that to get people to come buy stuff?) 

She drew my picture and cut it out for me. She asked if I wanted my teeth lines so I said yes. 

She only got to draw her parents portraits. She was fine with that and went to play inside while I sat and watched for customers. I love her entrepreneurial spirit. 

Anna the potty trained

I have to brag about Anna a little bit. Today she went potty completely on her own THREE times!! One time she went inside the house while we were all outside. I was certain it was to go poop in her pants. I ran inside to find her walking out of the bathroom. I asked her if she had to go poop and she said she did, in the potty. I was so relieved. The third time tonight she even dumped the pee from her princess potty into the toilet all by herself! I can't believe this all. Prayer and fasting works!! She was regressing a little last week so I prayed Again and today was accident free!!!

Hanging Rock State Park

We had a completely free Saturday so we decided to go and do something fun. A friend suggested a place about 2 hours away called Hanging Rock State Park. There are a few hikes to waterfalls there so we chose an easy one that was only .3 miles. And a very easy .3 miles too.

We were rewarded with a little waterfall with a pool at the bottom the kids could play in.

Just like in Utah Ja wanted to climb the rocks and explore. This time he had Owen strapped to his chest.

Me and my girls waiting for Ja to climb back to us.

The water carved a path through this rock formation.

Anna was very cautious walking around on the rocks.

I'm not even sure what Anna is doing in this picture. It looked like she was trying to do push-ups. Maybe she just wanted her tummy wet?

I thought Owen's toes looked so cute in the water. This water was much much warmer than the waterfall in Provo!

Now, the best thing about this park is the lake with a sand beach! It costs something like $4 to swim per person. My friend that suggested it said there is a diving board and that Ja will like it. She was exactly right. He wasn't too excited about going to a lake to swim but he loved the diving board. And you know who else liked it? MACY!!

In order to jump off a person has to be able to swim unassisted from the shore to the platform. Macy tried it once then got scared because swimming in a lake is different than a pool. For one, you can't see the bottom! She was determined to jump off the diving board though. She asked for her goggles and then she swam all by herself!! I was so extremely proud of her. The funny thing is all the previous week I was teaching her freestyle and she practiced it every day! That really paid off! It's always great to have skills when you need them!

I don't have any pictures of Macy swimming or jumping because Anna, Owen, and I were all watching her in the water. I was so proud of her that tears started coming. I don't know if I've ever been so proud of her for accomplishing something. The cutest part was that the platform was full of teenage boys and little Macy. The first jump Ja went off first so he could catch her. But she didn't need his help and requested that she jump off first next time.

Out of all the teenagers on the platform only 5 or so were jumping. They were having a belly-flop contest. It was very entertaining to watch. Since there are two diving boards Ja had the other one all to himself. He was having a great time diving and jumping over and over. We had a fun time watching him too. (A side note- We had just started potty training with Anna the week before. She was laying still in the sand for a long time. I thought she was watching Ja but instead she was pooping. In her bathing suit. Thank goodness it wasn't very much.)

This didn't last very long.

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful setting. I felt like it could totally be in a movie. These pictures don't do it justice.

I fed Owen then he took a little nap on the soft sand. 

This is the only group shot. A real beauty. 

 Anna made this sand castle and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

After we left the park we got dressed then went to Cook-Out for dinner. We got home around 8 and put the kids to bed. We had such a fun day. The only sad thing is that we discovered this place at the end of the summer so we can't go back until next year! We will be going back though!

Owen is 7 months!

My big boy is already 7 months old! Where does time go?! I feel like he has been with our family forever and he brings the best out in all of us. We all love and adore him. 

Owen is generally a happy baby with lots to say. He loves attention from anyone and will talk and laugh back. He does not like being left alone in a room for any period of time, no matter how short. He does well when he's in the middle of the action. 

He is still working on cutting teeth. This past week I was sure he would have a tooth because he wasn't sleeping well, had a low fever, and overall sad. Still nothing to show for it though. This picture is him falling asleep in the ergo. He was being really fussy and I needed to put things away so I strapped him in. After a few minutes I looked down and saw this sweet baby face. I had to sit down and stare at him for a few minutes to try and soak in his precious face.

He is still working on sitting up by himself. He seems to be content in the bumbo. Although, just today he's starting to arch his back to get out of it. It's time to sit up on your own baby!

Macy put his sweatband on Owen. I thought he looked so adorable!

Anna's first day of potty training

This was our day today. Every 20 minutes she had to sit on the potty. She didn't always go but she always tried. However, she did poop three times in the potty! She had no accidents today either! I feel like that is a huge win! Even if tomorrow doesn't go as well we at least had one good day. She is also really good at pulling her underwear up and down. 

We fasted and prayed yesterday that Anna will be potty trained this week. I also prayed to know what will motivate her because I tried a chart in the past with no success. I asked her what she wanted if she goes in the potty and she instantly replied "a bathing suit." She always keeps us on our toes! She is now the proud owner of a Frozen bathing suit.  Our prayers were answered!

July 2015

July 2- We renewed our passes at the kids museum again. On this trip Macy brought to my attention that Owen can sit in the seats in the baby/toddler section. I'm so glad she did because he loved it! I can't believe He is big enough to be sitting up playing with the big kids. Now all three kids can be happy playing in the same area!

This was Owen's first seat at the museum. He tried to put the beads in his mouth. 

I love that the museum has these seats for the kids. It keeps them contained and at the same height as the parents. My back doesn't get tired from bending over to play with them. 

I thought Owen's feet were so cute up on the wall. 

That face! He was having a blast touching the water and trying to eat a ball. He is wearing a girls bib in the picture (to try to keep him dry) so Macy wanted us to call him Suzy. 

After the water Owen played on the soft floor mat. 

Macy was a great big sister and played with Owen while I went to the bathroom. This area is geared toward 1-3 year olds so she is always hesitant to come in. I know she won't bully other kids or knock them down so if there's only one or two little ones I don't mind her coming in with us. 

July 3- our HOA put on a 4th of July party and rented this waterslide for the occasion. The company was so busy with the holiday they dropped it off the day before. The kids got to enjoy it all afternoon and evening. The little kids flew down it and got some air over the bump. It was really fun!

We had this little pool for the smaller kids and Anna had fun with it. It squirted water, had a slide, and a crocodile ball eater. 

July 4- Owen is in his "American day" outfit seating his American toes. 

I made Macy's hair into a star for our 4th of July party. 

July 6- I love having all three kids play together. 

Macy and Anna were trying to touch their tongues to their noses. 

Macy was convinced her tongue touched her nose even after seeing this picture. 

I was trying to get a picture with me and my sweet boy. I captured this gem of Owen looking up at me. I love my little boy so much!

July 7- we went to the ImaginOn library in Charlotte with Alyssa and kinzley. We had to stop and play on the big typewriter keys. 

These girls are best buds. I didn't take any pictures of the inside exhibit but it was a Clifford the big red dog exhibit. It was cute and the girls had fun delivering letters and writing letters to the characters of the books. (The exhibit was set up like the island they live on.)

My big boy Owen with his shades. 

July 10- this is Macy and Anna's new way of doing a head stand. 

July 11- you can never be too careful while eating a Popsicle. You never know what may fall on your head. 

July 13- Macy had a preschool friend have a birthday party at Latta Plantation Equestrian center. It was a really hot day but the kids had a blast. It was like a little preschool reunion. 

July 14- free food day at Chick-fil-a for dressing like a cow. We went for lunch and dinner! Both times with the Campbells. I dressed up to but didn't make it into any pictures. 

Ja was a brown jersey cow. I thought it was clever. 

I even dressed Owen up even though he doesn't eat food yet. I had to finish the family. 

July 16- Alyssa and kinzley came over to play and all the girls had fun turning this box into a car. Ja eventually taped it up and cut windows and a door to make it a van. 

July 17- Macy received some hand-me-down clothes from a girl in the ward and instantly tried them on. Most of them are size 6 so they are a bit big. I thought she looked so cute in this hat. 

July 18- Ja took the girls on a bike ride around the neighborhood. He said the extra weight made the ride challenging!