Saturday, July 21, 2012

Part girl, part fish

Kaitlyn has taken quite a liking to the swimming pool this year. The other day at Wal Mart she informed me that she needed a snorkel and some new googles since her other pair had broken. I obliged and purchased the said items. At first she wanted to try them out in the tub. I agreed and watched while she donned her new purchases. Next it was out to the pool. She took to it like a fish to water!! The freaky part is when she is chasing you around the pool and laughing through the snorkel. Something just isn't quite right when you hear laughter coming up the tube! She has learned to float and will do it all on her own now. She loves to dive and pick up the dive sticks at the bottom of the pool. She thinks that since she is in the pool every day, she doesn't need a bath at night. I told her she needed to wash her hair and she asked it she could do it in the pool!  Now if we could just cure her swimmers ear!

4th of July

I love the 4th of July. Next to Christmas it is my favorite holiday. Nothing beats the smell of gun power on a hot summer night! Unfortunately this year the 4th fell in the middle of the week making it for not much of a holiday. But we tried to make the best of it. Since my parents are on their mission we didn't all get together for the parade but we did make it to the balloons that morning. Kaitlyn loved walking around while they were inflating them. She was able to look up inside the Bank of A.F. piggy bank balloon and was even more excited to watch it take off.
 
I got tickets for the Stadium of Fire to go see the Beach Boys for their 50th anniversay concert tour. Considering that most of them had to be in their 70's it was a really good show. From the time they came on stage until their final song, they sang the entire time. I got a good laugh watching the "older generation" literally get up and dance in the isles. There was a family next to us that made for some good entertainment! Kaitlyn loved dancing on the benches.
                      
The fireworks as usual didn't disappoint. By the end of the night we were all ready for our beds. To bad we didn't get to see them until about 1:00 in the morning by the time we finally got home!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Cat fish Queen

Ed took Kaitlyn down to American Fork boat harbor to go Cat fishing the other day. Anytime she can go for a ride in dad's boat is a good day for her. The first fish she hooked into was a 7lb catfish. Ed couldn't understand why she was taking so long to reel it in. He held the tip of the rod up so she could reel it in a little easier. She told him "Dad, I think I caught a whale!!" When she finally got the fish to the boat he happily agreed. She caught one more that wasn't quite as big but none the less still a good catch!!

Mountain High

I decided we needed a little sight seeing road trip one weekend. So we loaded up some coolers and headed out. I had heard the Mirror Lake Highway and the weather was perfect for a ride in the mountains. Ed had never seen the Upper Provo River Falls so we stopped for a few minutes to take in the sights. Kaitlyn loved looking at the water falls.
 Then it was on to Mirror Lake for a picnic. I couldn't believe how many little lakes there were all along the drive. The one on one side of the road was named something and the one directly across from it was a totally different lake. On our way back down we took a ride up Soapstone and took in the sights up there. Kaitlyn decided she was tired of looking at trees and rocks and thought a nap sounded better. It amazes me how kids can sleep in those car seats. It looks so uncomfortable!
 We went for a ride up American Fork canyon with the side by side. I think the rest of American Fork, Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills decided to do the same thing. Holy people!!! We ate our fair share of dirt for the first few miles but once people turned off the different trailes it wasn't so bad. We found a nice spot in the Quakies for a picnic and Kaitlyn tried her hand at driving. Coming back down the trail I spotted a small bull moose that Ed decided to chase with the Prowler. Unfortunately I had just put my camera away so sorry, no pictures!
 We stopped where the road crosses over the river to wash all the dirt off our faces. Kaitlyn and Ed decided to go wading. Kaitlyn asked me to come in. No thanks, to cold for me!!

Memorial Day Weekend

It was time once again for our annual pilgrimage to Starvation for our Memorial Day Weekend  camping trip and once again Mother Nature was a royal pain in the keester!! We unloaded the boat on Friday morning and by noon the wind was blowing and it NEVER stopped!!! It did calm down a little on Friday night and Kaitlyn was able to go and fishing off the dock with Ed. She caught a good sized small mouth bass which she was rather proud of but refused to touch! I did get her to hold it with a stick through its gill plate. After Friday night the wind blew and blew and blew and you guessed it blew some more. Kaitlyn and I never set foot in the boat the entire time. Instead we made sure the motorhome didn't blow away and kept ourselves entertained watching movies. And like most camping trips it finally started to get nice around noon on Monday. Just in time for us to be heading for home! Typical!!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Mothers Day 2012

It's hard to believe that this is my 3rd Mothers Day! This year seemed a little more special to me. Kaitlyn is now in Primary and of course all the primary children got up during sacrament meeting to sing for their moms. I knew I wouldn't be able to control the water works so I brought a few kleenexes for the occasion. When it was time she followed all the rest of the kids up onto the stand and sang her little heart out. I watched her with tears streaming down my cheeks so greatful that she had chosen me to be her mom. I marvel at how much she has learned in such a short amount of time. I watched her the other day as she was proceeding to roll up the garden hose onto the hose reel. I asked her if she needed any help to which she replied, Mom, big girls don't need help from their moms to do stuff. I hope she realizes that no matter how big she thinks she is I will always be here to help her do stuff!

I want to ride my bicycle

I knew the day of Kaitlyn wanting a bicycle was coming, I just didn't realize it would be this quick. When I got home from work I saw it sitting by the back door. She came running out, holding up her hands telling me, Mom stop right there, don't move. She quickly buckled up her helmet and climbed on to show me how fast she could ride! Wait a minute, is this my little 3 yr old?! I don't think I have seen her legs move that fast! I couldn't belive how quickly she had picked up the steering and turning and braking all in a couple of hrs. Now all she wants to do is have you come and watch how fast she can ride. We go for walks at night and I am on a trot to keep up with her. I finally told her just wait for me at the corner and don't cross the street! As much as I hate to admit it, it won't be long before I am watching her drive away in a car! Scary!!