5 Years Together

Back on June 6th we celebrated our 5th anniversary. When I think of all that has happened in the past five years I feel like it has gone by so fast. I also feel like our lives have been blessed so much since we got married.

 

To celebrate the day, we decided to go as a family to the Springville Art Days Fun-a-rama. We had never been before, but it sounded like something that Leah might like. And we were right. They had bounce houses, kiddie rides, magic shows and other activities for kids to enjoy. After eating a picnic lunch, we joined in the activities. Here's Leah loving the swing ride.

Next we took Leah to get her hair spray-painted. She wanted red, but since they were out of it already, she settled for pink with sparkles. She also got a stick-on temporary butterfly tattoo that she thought was pretty cool.

Here are Ross and Leah enjoying the magic show together.

I was a little surprised by this, but Leah was sure that she needed to ride the kiddie Ferris Wheel. The carriages were very small and neither Ross or I would be able to ride with her, but that didn't seem to bother her. Neither did the long wait in line. She climbed right in the ride with three other kids she didn't know and had a ball.

She wanted to ride it again, but we ran out of time. Needless to say, she was pretty sad when the Fun-a-rama was over and they started putting all the rides away. So on the way home we stopped by Sonic. It was during their "Happy Hour" so we got some limeades and a slushie to cool off.

Next we dropped the kids off at the Miller's house and went out to dinner, just the two of us. We tried a new place to us called La Jolla Groves. It was a little fancier than we had expected and we felt a bit underdressed. But that didn't keep us from enjoying the delicious food.

After dinner we rented cruiser bikes from Provo Beach Resort and went on a ride up the Provo River Trail. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the best part of the trail, it was time to turn around and head back. But it was still a good ride and we had a great time. Then for dessert we got some Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream cones (SO YUMMY!) and went back to pick up the kids.

Deciding to marry Ross was one of the very best decisions in my life. He is such a good husband. He takes good care of me and the kids. And he is such a good example of humility, faith and love. I'm so glad to be on this journey of marriage with him. The road might not always be smooth, but it is so worth the ride. I love you, Ross! Here's to many, many more years together!

3 Months

Wow! June is almost over. I have to hurry and get this posted before he is 4 months old. Our June has been very busy and our little Corbin Boy is growing right before our eyes. He is alert a lot more now. He loves to look around and take everything in. He especially seems to like watching Leah whenever he can see her. 

He is a very chill and happy boy. You can't tell as much from these pictures, but he is a very good at smiling and does it a lot. However, like most babies, when the camera comes out, the big gummy grins disappear. It's also harder to get a good picture of him smiling because he loves to put his hands in his mouth. Through most of this little photo shoot, I couldn't get him to keep his hands out. I love to see him playing with his fingers by his mouth. I makes him look like he's nervous or fretting about something.

Here's a couple candid shots I got with my cell phone where he is smiling a little better.

Corbin can't quite laugh just yet, but he tries. He smiles really big and makes gasping noises. I'm excited to hear what it will sound like when he finally figures it out.

 

I just can't get enough of this cute little guy. So glad he has joined our little family! I love you, Corbin.

Leah is 3!

Leah was so excited for her birthday. She has been talking about it for months. It got to where she wanted to know how long it would be until her birthday every day. So I helped her make a count down chain.

She was so happy when her birthday finally arrived!

I took some pictures for a fun little birthday photo shoot. She hammed it up! So cute.

My mom and dad came down to spend some time with her for her birthday. They gave her some Cinderella dress up stuff. She loved it! Then we went to the park to play and eat pizza. Leah just wanted to play with her Grandpa the whole time. Back when we were staying at their house my dad introduced Leah to and gave her a proper appreciation for Disney's Robin Hood. So she of course loves it now. While they were playing at the park, they pretended that Leah was Robin Hood and my dad was Little John. My dad called her "Rob" all afternoon. Leah ate it up!

For her birthday, Ross and I gave her a new bike and helmet. She was so excited to try it out.

Next we went to Farr's for some yummy ice cream. All the excitement of the day had worn his little birthday girl out.

Having her Grandma and Grandpa all to herself was the best birthday present. Leah loved every minute they were there.

After my parents left to go back home, we took her to Provo Beach Resort to play on the playground and ride the carousel (one of her very favorite things to do.)

Then we went outside so she could play in the splash pad.

At the end of the day, we sang "Happy Birthday" one more time and then shared the last cupcake left over from her friend party.

Our little girl is getting so big. It is hard to imagine that she is 3 already. At her annual doctor check-up she was 36 1/4 inches tall and weighed 28.8 pounds. I recently did a post all about her, but I did want to mention a few more things about her at this age. She is getting to be a bit of a girly girl. She likes to wear skirts and dress up in dresses that she can twirl around in. She also loves to get her fingernails and toenails painted. She's developing quite an imagination and likes to pretend more when she's playing. It is fun to see the creative things she comes up with. We love this little girl so much. And I'm glad we could make her birthday such a special time for her.

Leah's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party

In the middle of all our water saga, I needed to get Leah's birthday party with her nearby friends and cousins planned. Ross had handed out the invites the night we left for our house to dry. But it didn't take long for both of us to realize that our house would not be party ready in time for her scheduled party date. So Ross went ahead and scheduled our church building so that we could use that instead. I guess that's one of the perks of having your husband in the bishopric and in charge of scheduling the building. I'm so glad that he did too. Having the party at the church allowed plenty of room for lots of little 2-3 year-olds to run around.

The theme of her party was based on her favorite show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." I set up the party to be like one of the episodes. Each of the kids got a set of Mickey ears and we started with the magic words: "Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!"

Then we did the activities I'd planned using ideas from various episodes. I even made a "Toodles" with pictures of "Mousekatools" the kids would need to complete the activities. Before each activity we would call "O Toodles!" and the kids would decide which Mousekatool to use then say, "We've got ears, say 'Cheers!'"

The first activity was Goofy's Obstacle Course. The kids jumped over "old stinky shoes" (the Mousekatool they choose from Toodles.) Then they got gold medals for completing the course.

Next we did Daisy's Dance. "Jump Forward, Jump Backward, Clap Clap Clap, March March March, Slide to One Side Then Slide to the Other Side." The Mousekatool they choose for this was a music player. After letting them dance for a bit, I gave each of them a little water bottle to cool off.

Then it was time for fishing for gooey fish in Mickey Pond using a couple handy fishing poles from Toodles. For this, each of the kids got a little baggy of Swedish Fish.

Then it was time for cupcakes. I used Oreo cookies to make Mickey's head and ears. But Leah needed something to blow out! Luckily the "Mystery Mousekatool" was some candles! "We used all our Mousekatools! Say 'Super Cheers!'"

They even got to do "The Hot Dog Dance!"

There's nothing quite like a group picture at a little kid's birthday party! Leah's guests included Brix, Parker, Ty, Morgan, Kylie, Kenzie, Millie and Makynlee. We told guests they didn't have to, but some brought gifts anyway. How kind!

I think Leah had a great time for her first "friend" birthday party. She was sad when it was all over and it was time to go home. I had fun planning it too! Oh, and I can't forget a big shout out to my sister, Melyssa. She came down to help since Ross would be at work. She helped a lot with setting up, taking down, doing activities, taking some pictures, crowd control, and the very important task of keeping Corbin calm and asleep since he wanted to eat right about the time the party started. She also brought Leah's buddy, Makynlee, which Leah loved.

Love this birthday girl!