Miles lost his first tooth

I have been such a slacker about updating this, but I figure losing the first tooth is blog worthy news. Miles is apparently half shark, so the new tooth came in behind the old one, meaning I see $$$ for braces in our future :/ 
I wanted to find a picture of him when he was a year old with just that one little tooth poking through.  Instead I went on a photo trip down memory lane and wound up in tears about how amazing my kids are, how blessed my life has been up to this point and how it really does all blast past at warp speed.

It's there if you look very closely!

OK...you can't see the missing tooth gap, but look at that smile

Crafty

Or not so crafty!  We have had two of those little stepping stone kits in the closet for years.  Today was the day to pull them out and get our crafty on.  This stuff requires time, patience and the ability to let go of your adult hopes for the finished project and just let the kids go.  Love their final masterpieces!

Work in progress

Failed hand print #5.  Do you know how hard it is to help a 3 year old do this?!

Miles, 6

Iris, 3

4th of July

We don't usually get too crazy on the 4th of July.  I'm not a huge fan of do-them-yourself fireworks, mostly because I don't want to land on the news for burning down half of this dry valley we live in!  We also haven't been to a big fireworks show since long before we had the kids.  It hasn't been an issue, but now that they are getting older and wiser they asked why they don't get to do any.  Jeff caved and bought a few sparklers and minis to do in the driveway.  The kids were so excited.  Miles has Jeff's pyro genes and Iris hates the loud booms.  A new house bonus: we can see several displays from the deck, so we bathed, put PJs on and hung on the deck, getting our show without the crowds.

We started small

Double fister

Such focus

Grass doused, hose ready, ear protection on, safe distance back...yes, I'm that kind of Mom

His go-to funny face!

Fathers Day at Moon Lake

We spent last weekend camping with friends up at Moon Lake, a beautiful lake on the south slope of the Uinta mountains.  We were all looking forward to getting away, but we are beginning to think 3 days is not enough considering all the packing and effort and drive time that go into the camping weekends.  We'll take what we can get though!

Our destination

Get the boy his fishing pole!

Iris, Miles, Sam and Ivy

Hours of fun in the sand

A rare moment of stillness

Dog lover

Sand chucker

Give the man a boat for the day and look what happens!

Water lover

Jeff's first fish ever!  And caught on the $15 Lightning McQueen kiddie fishing pole.  It was a pretty rainbow trout that the picture doesn't do justice to, but I needed to put up some photo evidence.

All packed up and ready for our trip home

Sunday fun day at Red Butte

We wandered Red Butte Garden this morning.  It was nice to get out and get some fresh air.  The garden is beautiful right now.

Taming the beast

Fragrance garden in all its glory

The moose is always a hit

Pretty Iris in the irises

Look Aunt Jen...it really flies!

Little Red Riding Hood

Another year, another Little Red Riding Hood bike ride.  I got lucky and my name was picked in the lottery for riders.  4,000 women, beautiful weather and no flat tires this year!  My original goal was 70 miles, but my ankle surgery and lack of training required me to be more realistic in my expectations, so I rode 35 miles this year with my friend Sandy.  We had a great day!

Ready or not, here we go!

Birthday fun

We had Miles' 6th birthday party at Jump Around Utah.  We actually had a joint party for Miles and Grayson since their birthdays are close.  We'd been there a few other times and decided it's the way to go.  The kids (and Jeff!) love it and we don't have to cook and clean...what could be better?

Another cool creation by Jeff's coworker Emily

Make a wish!

Boys going wild

Jeff showing them how it's done