A random act of kindness

Last Thursday we drove down to Robert J. Debry to get Mickell a helmet to wear when she rides her new bike. They sell helmets for 5 dollars there- which is an incredible deal. Since Baylen was at work, I had to haul all four kids in with me. We were standing in the hall (where they have all their helmets on shelves) ,trying to find a helmet that Mickell liked, when this man walked up to us. My first thought was that I knew him from somewhere. Then I realized that it was Robert J. Debry and that I recognized him from his commercials on TV. He said hi to us and then preceded to say that since my kids are all so cute, he wants to give each of them a helmet for free. I was in total shock at his kindness. I know he's probably a millionaire and can definitely afford it. But, it was so nice of him to even think to do that. He really did make my day. What a kind, kind man!!!

Two times the birthday fun!!!

When I found out that I was pregnant with twins, I promised that I would always treat them as individuals- because they are. For the most part, this is pretty easy. Since they are a boy and a girl, and have different interests, a lot of it happens naturally. There are some things that have taken more of a consious effort. For example, you will never ever hear Baylen or me refer to them as "the twins." Birthdays are also a little bit trickier. Considering the fact that they were both born on July 18th, it's kind of hard to seperate the celebration. This year when I asked them what they wanted to do for their seventh birthdays (it's the year for friend parties), they of course wanted to do totally different things. It made for a very eventful few days, but I think they both had a lot of fun. So here are a few of the highlights from their big day(s).

Happy Birthday Tanner!!!
Tanner decided to have a water baseball birthday party. He invited five of his friends. But, since we don't have a fence, we ended up with several other neighbor kids over, too. It turned out okay since we needed more people to make up the teams.

The kids played a water version of Duck, Duck, Goose which we called Strike, Stike, Home Run. They also played water limbo, and water balloon toss. The kids loved it when we used our launcher to shoot water balloons up in the air. They then played the much anticipated water baseball game.



After cake and presents, we gave each boy a water gun to have a water fight. I think that was the highlight of the whole party.

Tanner got a pogo stick (which he is getting very good at), a video game, and a metal detector from the family.
A foam shooter from Morgan and Kayla
A book, a Spiderman chair, and a shirt from Grandma and Grandpa S.
2 street racer radio controlled cars and a couple shirts for Grandma and Grandpa W.
A Tanner's Mix CD that Leslie made for him
A Ben 10 Game from Corey, Cherice, and Raylee
A Pokemon ball with a Pokemon from Emily and Dave
Money from Grandma B., Luci, and Tina
A nerf cross bow, Battleship, PJ's and candy, and a Transformer from friends



That night Morgan and Kayla were able to sleep over. We took the kids over to Classic Skating. They had a blast playing on the blow up toys



eating pizza


riding their scooters

and playing the games.


Happy Birthday Mickell!!!
Mickell had her party on Saturday night. She decided she wanted a "Late Night" party which we called a "Girls just want to have fun" night. She had three little friends over for an evening of "girly" stuff.

They played MASH, ate dinner, played musical pillows, freeze dance, hot potato with a slipper, and glow stick limbo. They also painted pillow cases and watched "Freaky Friday." It was a fun night. Even if the girls didn't have fun (which I think they did), I had a blast doing all those girly things.


When it was over, Mickell kept saying how sad she was that her party was done.

For her birthday, Mickell got a bike, a load of lip smakers lip glosses, and a flower pillow from the family.
A littlest pet shop set from Morgan and Kayla
A book, a baton, cheerleading stuff, and a shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Sillito
An MP3 player and a new shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Whipple
A Mickell's Mix CD from Leslie
A Holly Hobby activity suit case from Corey, Cherice and Raylee
An E-pet from Emily and Dave
Money from Grandma B., Luci, and Tina
A Barbie, Hannah Montana microphone, a puppies in my pocket set, and PJ's and candy from friends

Saying Goodbye to Old Faithful

This all happened so fast I still can't believe it happened. Baylen and I are usually the type who research things forever. For example, it took almost three years to find the perfect swing set and way longer than that to decide where to buy a house. Well, a few weeks ago, we were attempting to fix the AC in our Astro so that we could endure the long summer drive to the cabin. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. We called my dad to ask if he knew anything about the AC. He suggested that we might not want to put any more money into it since it has 175,000 miles on it now. One hour later we were in Bountiful test driving a van and 1/2 hour later we had basically decided that we had found the van for us. (Keep in mind that we were not even thinking about purchasing a vehicle for at least another year when we woke up that morning.) We decided we'd better sleep on it but man it was a good deal. The next day was Sunday so we didn't pursue it at all that day. On Monday, we spent a good portion of the day negotiating, applying for a loan, and figuring out insurance. On Tuesday morning, we called the guy back to tell him we wanted the van. He said he wasn't at the dealership yet but that he was pretty sure it had sold the night before. I won't lie that I was kind of devastated. We called him back a few hours later just to make sure and found out that the van was still there. I guess that the other people who were going to buy it decided to test drive it one more time. When they went to start it, the battery was dead (someone had left a light on). They decided there must be something wrong with it and decided against it. Yeahhhhh! We purchased it that day.

We are so excited to drive a new (to us) vehicle. It is really a blessing that we were able to find it for such an incredible deal. It's a 2005 Toyota Sienna. We bought it with only 15,000 miles on it. We cannot figure out why it has so few miles but we're not complaining! It was actually a lease return in Beverly Hills. We came up with the hypothesis that it probably belonged to a mom who only drove it when she absolutely had to. We're sure it's not exactly THE POPULAR THING to drive a minivan in Beverly Hills. So, she probably had a real nice car that she drove around most of the time and then just used that one to take the kids where they needed to go. Just a guess!

So we have to say goodbye to Old Faithful. As old as it is, and as silly as this sounds, I'm having a hard time letting it go. For one thing, it has been so good to me. It's windows don't work, the sliding door is stuck most of the time, the back hatch doesn't stay up, and the AC and heat don't work BUT IT HAS NEVER EVER BROKEN DOWN ON ME. For that, I feel so blessed. I also have soooo many good memories in this van. It's the van I drove around all through high school. I drove it on my first date and to many girls choice dances. I drove it up to Ricks College several times. I drove it up to visit Baylen at his house all the time when we were dating. He gave me fake parking tickets on it when I would drive it down to BYU. We brought Ashlyn home from the hospital in it and have been on so many fun vacations together as a family in it. I know it is just a car, but it is just so packed with memories. We also feel so blessed that because of the generosity of my parents in giving it to us, we were able to get through school without having to worry about a car payment. I can't even begin to explain what a blessing that has been.

Here's a picture of our purchase...


Any suggestions on a good name? Yes, we are part of that strange breed that names their cars. We just haven't found a name that fits it yet.

This Bites!

We absolutely love West Kaysville. We love the schools, our neighbors, the rural feel, how close we are to just about every store and the freeway, the awesome air force jets that practice flying over us, the mountain view... the list goes on and on. However, there is one thing that I cannot stand about West Kaysville. Anyone who has visited us at dusk or dawn will know exactly what I am talking about. They come by the millions....... MOSQUITOS. My neighbors (who are all from Davis County) say that we all moved here knowing that mosquitos are what West Kaysville is know for. However, I knew nothing about Davis County when we moved here. I've concluded that it's a good thing, though. If I had know beforehand, chances are good that we would have looked elsewhere. But, as bad as they are, the good FAR outways the bad. I guess I'll just hold out for that miracle solution.

It's funny how mosquito's like certain people more than others. Unfortunately, Ashlyn is one of those people that they absolutely love. The other night she was outside playing with the kids while Baylen and I were working in the yard. She ended up getting a bite right above her eye. The first day it just looked like a normal bite. I could tell that it was itching because she kept rubbing her forhead against me. I felt so bad. During the night she woke up and her eye was totally swollen closed. The next day it was doing much better but still a little swollen...


Mickell said, "Why does Ashlyn look so tired?"
Tanner said, "Why does Ashlyn's face look different?"

The Crazy Days of Summer

I know I titled my post at the beginning of June "Hurray for the lazy days of summer." However, our summer definitely has not been lazy. This isn't a bad thing. We've been having a lot of fun. But, we honestly have had so much to do that I haven't had a spare second to sit back and be lazy. We are so blessed with such awesome family, friends, and neighbors who we have been having so much fun "playing" with!

Fourth of July Weekend:

We started out the holiday by going to the West Point Parade with Tavi, Brian and their girls. It was a perfect parade for our kids. It started at 8:30 in the morning. Other than having to get up early, it worked great because it wasn't so blazing hot. There also weren't huge crowds so our kids were able to get candy without other kids jumping on them.

I've decided that the Kaysville Parade can be summed up in one word- "insane." After going to West Point this year, I don't think there is any reason why a person should try to brave Kaysville's parade. Oh and they gave us a dozen free Krispie Kreme donuts, too!
During the afternoon, we took the kids over to Barnes Park to feed the ducks, ride scooters, and play. I guess this has kind of become a tradition. We had a lot of fun.

There were a few duck that had gotten over to our side of the fence. Mickell and Hailey were terrified that they were going to bite Ashlyn's fingers off.


Ashlyn was hilarious. We could not get her to throw the bread to the ducks. We kept showing her how to throw it. But everytime we gave her a piece, she'd put it in her own mouth.

Here are a few random pictures of the fun...








That evening we went to a neighbors house for a barbeque and swimming. We were going to go to the big fireworks but the kids just wanted to stay home and do our own. So, we did our own little "Stadium of Fire" in our cul-de-sac. The kids loved it. Although Ashlyn didn't understand why we wouldn't let her run into the street to get the fireworks. She was getting so frustrated with me (and vice-versa) that the two of us finally just went inside.


On Saturday, after the tick ordeal, we went swimming at the Brigham City Pool. It's a really nice pool and wasn't crowded at all. It was a lot of fun. The kids loved playing with their cousins. They are getting really comfortable in the water.



On Saturday night we went to the drive in with Tavi and Brian. We saw Wall-e and Prince Caspian. I love summer drive-in's.

Last weekend Cami, Jon, and boys stayed over at our house on their way to Idaho. They weren't here long, but we had such a good time with them. We really miss not living close to them anymore. They are such a neat, fun family. The kids had a great time together. They all slept in sleeping bags in the same room and pretended to go camping the next morning. In fact, they were having so much fun that I could not get them to look at me for two seconds for a picture.



Another fun outing we went to was the Days of 47 party at This is the Place Park. I didn't know that this event occurred before this year. But, it is definitely worth going to. It was totally free and there was so much to do. Here are a few pictures of some of the fun things we did. Did I mention that EVERYTHING WAS FREE?!!! They also gave out FREE Domino's pizza, ice cream sandwiches, and water bottles.

The pony rides were a huge hit! In fact, Ashlyn started screaming when her turn was over and we had to take her off.
There was a little petting zoo with several different kinds of animals.
The kids had a blast playing all the different carnival games. They got some pretty cool prizes!
Tanner and Kayla doing the laundry "pioneer style." If only he did this at home!
Tanner and Mickell beating the rugs (a great way to relieve any frustration).
There were probably a dozen blow up toys that the kids had a great time on. One of the toys was a jousting tournament. Tanner really wanted to do this but no one wanted to do it with him. So, he just went and got in line in hopes that there was someone else who didn't have a partner. He waited in line for quite a while. When he was just about up to the front, I turned my head for a second to check on the girls. When I turned it back, he was at the back of the line. Baylen went over and asked why he had moved. His response was, "There was this really big kid in front of me, and I knew he would get me." So, he waited in line all over again for a chance to fight someone more his own size.


He ended up getting whooped by the kid he fought. When he got out of the rink his response was, "I don't ever want to do that again."

GROSS!!!

I am officially grossed out! To give a little background as to why, I just have to say that I hate creepy, crawly things. I have always despised ugly bugs and spiders. I used to literally freak out whenever I saw one. Over the years I think I have made quite a bit of progress towards not totally going crazy whenever I see one. Part of it might just be the mom in me and that I need to be the brave one now. I have even gotten to the point where I'm able to smash "small" spiders with a clenched fist. Pretty impressive- I know! However, from the events of yesterday, I think I've regressed. So here's what all this trauma is all about...

Since we got back from our cabin earlier this week, I've kind of let my kids go around with the "natural" look. I've brushed their hair everyday but that's about it. Yesterday we went swimming and so I thought I'd better pull the girls' hair back. As I went to part Hailey's hair, I noticed this huge thing that looked like a tan colored pinto bean. I thought it was really odd that she'd have a bean just sitting on her head. Then, I noticed a ton of dark dried up blood all around this object. At this point it dawned on me that chances were very good this was one of those disgusting creatures they call a tick. Gross. I yelled up to Baylen and he came down and confirmed my fear. At this point, I was so distraught about it that I started dry heaving. Stupid, I know. Baylen tried burning the back of the tick. It wiggled around but didn't come out. He then looked up on the Internet that you are supposed to use tweezers to pull it out. So, I held Hailey's head still while he used a pair of his nursing hemostats to pull on it. I didn't think it was wise to watch, but I could feel that he was pulling HARD. He tried several times and the dumb thing wouldn't come out. Finally he got it but it wasn't because the tick gave up. It was because the skin surrounding the tick pulled off. Baylen put the tick down on the table to make sure he got the head, too. It was so disgusting. It was huge. We assume it had been on Hailey's head for about a week and had been feasting on her blood that whole time. Hailey did incredibly well with it. The only time she got upset was after it was out and I tried to clean all the blood off her head. But, I think I will forever be scarred. I cannot get the picture of the tick stuck in her scalp out of my head. I have been itching non stop since then. I know I'm dumb, but YUCK!

After this was all over, Baylen asked why I didn't take a picture. Honestly, that was the last thing on my mind at the time. However, I did find one on the Internet.
This picture shows what Hailey's tick looked like. It looked exactly like the picture of the tick at the fourth stage.
Note: I always thought that ticks were bugs. However, I learned that they are actually arachnids. Even worse.

A few more things that make me smile...

On our drive up to our cabin last week, we drove by the Boise Temple. We always point it out to the kids. However, this time we drove by it in the dark. It was even more impressive lit up. Mickell commented on how pretty it looked in the dark. She was then quiet for a minute (I could tell she was thinking). After the brief pause she said, "Is it okay if I get married at night."

At the cabin we all sleep up in a big loft. It makes it a little tricky to change clothes in privacy. We usually put someone (who happens to be sitting by the stairs) "on guard" to make sure no one goes up at the wrong time. Just recently Tanner has been very concious of having privacy when changing. One evening he was upstairs changing into his pajamas. Dave went up to get something. Tanner ran to the stairs, wrapped himself in the blanket hanging to separate the loft from the stairs, and called out, "Don't come in, I'm shirt naked." This was especially funny since, as Corey pointed out, Tanner had been running around in his swim trunks (with no shirt on) the entire afternoon.

The other day I was talking to Hailey about what she wants to be when she grows up. She said she wants to be a teacher and a mom. I asked her what her kids names are going to be. She held up five fingers and said, "I'm going to have this many boys named Riley (her little friends name). She then held up five fingers on her other hand and said "and this many girls named Michelle (Riley's mom's name)."

A couple of weeks ago Ashlyn was sitting on the floor looking at a Froggy book. All the sudden she started talking in her cute little baby language. I looked over at her to say something and noticed that she was folding her arms. I thought that was kind of interesting until I looked down at what page she had turned to. She was on a page where Froggy was sitting down at the table with his family eating dinner. The fact that Ashlyn connected a picture of dinner with saying a prayer just baffles my mind. The craziest part is that we had never even talked to her about folding her arms. I think that little kids are way smarter than we give them credit for.

Cabin living is the life for me!!!

We just got home from my absolute favorite place in the world- our cabin in High Valley, Idaho. On the way up there I was calculating how long we have been going there. I was very shocked when I realized that it's been 15 years. That's a long time. However, our cabin is a place that you could never, ever get tired of going to. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Each time we go, I love it more and more. I think a lot of the fun now is in seeing my kids having fun doing all the things that I loved doing up there when I was younger. It's also so nice to be able to just relax. So, here's a few of the highlights of the trip. Now when I say a few, I mean a lot. However, I probably took over 100 pictures. So it is a few in comparison to what I could post.

Here are a few reasons why we love the cabin (in no particular order)...

1. We love the cabin because we always see so many cool animals. This trip was no exception. Some of the spotting's included snakes, a beaver, a pot gut with four little babies, thousands of tadpoles, a toad, a wolf (or coyote), tons of catfish, squirrels,bats, and lots of neat birds. Of course our favorite bald eagle friend was still at Tripod. I think he's getting more daring each year. This year he swooped down right in front of us to get a fish that had gone belly up after being caught. We tried to get a picture but ended up with this...
Here's a picture of the toad we caught...
And here's a picture of what some mysterious creatures did to our bollo balls (I'm pretty sure they stole my flip flops, too!)...

Last but not least, a picture of our favorite bear...


2. We love the cabin because there's always time to fish. Once again we headed to Tripod Lake for a day of fishing. We didn't make it up on Idaho's free fishing day this year so just the guys (who bought licenses) and the kiddo's actually fished. Hailey caught her first fish on her Disney Princess fishing rod. Her face says it all...



A few of us decided to take a little walk around the lake. It ended up being longer than we had planned but was still fun. After carrying Ashlyn the one way, I've concluded that I am very out of shape.

Here's a picture of the hikers taking a break...

All in all, I'd say it was a very successful trip. Baylen said that between Corey and him, they caught around 30 fish. We brought five back to the cabin for dinner. I'm not a trout eater but they said they were delicious!

3. We love the cabin because of our need for speed! Just kidding mom and dad. We always go very slowly (smile). One of my all time favorite things to do is ATV riding. This trip was awesome for that because we had four ATV's. We were all able to go on several rides. It was extremely dusty this year (which is obvious from the pictures).


This year was especially memorable because Tanner, Mickell, and Hailey were able to head up to the hills for their first "long rides." They loved it! Tanner also learned how to drive the ATV's. I was quite impressed at how well he did.


Ashlyn and Raylee rode on the ATV's for the first time. Ashlyn loved it. She was all grins and said WEE for most of her ride.


4. We love the cabin because only HERE is work FUN! We were able to help with a few maintenance jobs during our trip. We raked and burned pine needles.
The guys were able to use their new waders to fix the dock.

5. We love the cabin because it has the coolest tire swing ever. Because it was so blazing hot, grandpa had the fun idea to put the sprinkler under the swing. He even put his swimsuit on to play with the kids.
Ashlyn loved the tire swing.

6. We love the cabin because of all the fun we have on Leo's Lake. It's always fun to head out on the paddle boat to catch a few tadpoles or go for a relaxing ride in the canoe. One of the days Cherice and I headed out on the canoe right as a thunderstorm began. We made it back to the dock safely but there were a few strong winds that scared us. Tanner was brave enough to go for a ride in the canoe, too.


7. We love the cabin because of all the beautiful wild flowers.
This time they were exceptionally pretty. Here are a few pictures from our amateur photo shoot. (Note- There isn't a picture of Tanner because he didn't think posing with flowers is a very manly thing- he's probably right!)



8. We love the cabin because we get to spend so much time with some of our favorite people.


Mickell made a new friend named Ashley on this trip. They spent a lot of time together. Ashley is quite the character. She could never remember Mickell's name so asked if she could call her Michelle. It was really funny watching Mickell answer to "Michelle."
We went on our Sunday walk over to the big rock. I guess it's become tradition to pose as muscle men at the top.
The kids had a lot of fun painting faces with Leslie. It reminded me of the time I took Baylen to the cabin right before we got married. We did the exact same thing.
Leslie was really sweet to sleep in the same bed as all three kids (even though there was an empty bed that she could have had to herself.)
Well there you have it. The post ended up being even longer than I thought! I think I'm ready to go back.