Happy Father's Day!

 

Happy Father's Day to the neatest dad around, at least according to our kids.  He is always doing fun things with them, like setting up impromptu shelters in the backyard...

...or setting up the army men all along the piano and challenging the kids to a nerf gun competition!

Parker loves to watch Daddy play games on his cell phone after his bath.  At his 4-year check-up, the doctor asked Parker, "And what do you want to be when you get bigger?"  I was curious what Parker would say, my guess was maybe Captain America.  Parker's response, however, was, "Um, just like my Dad."

Pig Roast

Tuesday our neighbors had a pig roast.  Chris and I are usually anti-social, but we both like this neighborhood and our kids have plenty of little friends their age, too.  I had to post this picture just for Kenzie's face.  When the pig was pulled out, all the little girls standing around yelled some combination of, "Ahh!" and, "Eww!" It was quite funny.  (In contrast, after a minute of intensely watching, Parker finally looked at me and simply said, "Mom, it looks like a pig!")   

First Day of Swimming Lessons

  

Parker was so excited for his first day of swimming lessons!  (Both kids were excited, actually.  I got out of the shower to discover they both had put on their swimsuits and attempted to slather themselves with sunscreen an hour before we needed to leave!)

 

 I finally moved Kenzie up to the next class, since I figured she wouldn't care for being in Parker's class.  It seems to be about right for her, though.  She is much braver than she used to be.

 Parker was very timid about getting his face wet (also, to be fair, this morning there was a slight breeze so the poor little guy was shivering!).  He finally was willing to stick his face in and blow bubbles, though.

 Gearing up to throw that ring!  He wasn't shy about that part.

 My cute little guy was so happy, and eagerly agreed we should go back tomorrow.

Kenzie had fun, too, although you wouldn't know it because here she's moping about being chilly once she had to get out.  It didn't help that she sat down on the edge of the pool and got her towel all wet!  Silly kid.  Welcome to summer!

29 Years (and Weeks!)

 This weekend I turned both 29 years old and marked the 29-week mark in this pregnancy.  I thought that was interesting how they happened at the same time.  Parker spent the entire day reminding me, "Next you are just three and a zero!"  I have a whole year to contemplate that one...

(I had to post both pictures since the kids couldn't synchronize which was the silly picture!)  I am a pretty boring old person already - I painted the bathroom on Friday and spent my birthday money on new towels and other exciting items for the bathroom.  But we did get an ice cream cake from Cold Stone!  So the kiddos blew out my candles for me.  Later that evening Chris and I went out for cheeseburgers at Five Guys.  It was a good birthday to me!

Summer Park Series: Veteran's and Skye

 One of my many goals for the summer is to take the kiddos around to as many parks as we can manage to visit.  I thought if I kept track here of how well we liked them, I could reference in the future which parks were worth visiting again.  So here we go... first up is Veteran's Memorial Park in West Jordan (1985 W. 7800 S.). 

 We had been here before a few years ago, but only Kenzie vaguely remembered it when we went there Tuesday.  The main attraction is the large area full of wooden structures.  Parker spent most of his time running through the giant Saltair (a large twisty slide was on the other side).  I just had to make sure I kept seeing his gray hoodie run by the windows from time to time.

 

McKenzie lounging in the handicapped swing.

 A rare sighting of the elusive Gray Hoodied One.

• Kid Rating: B+ (lots to do, but I spent half the time begging McKenzie to check on Parker since I couldn't go in after him.  Also, two busloads of day camp kids descended on the park 10 minutes after we arrived.  Neither kiddo complained when it was time to leave!)
• Mom's Sanity Rating: C- (Sure, I could sit by the only exit and know they were somewhere in the wooden structures, but there were lots of bigger kids, some armed with squirt guns, and I guess I'm just paranoid.  I prefer to be able to see the kids.)

 Next up, Skye Park in South Jordan (4800 W. Skye Dr./9800 S.).  The weather was much better today, so we brought a picnic and played for about two hours.

 I think I counted seven slides, and Parker tried them all a few times!

 Last year McKenzie was nervous about monkey bars.  Why is she growing up so fast?

 I loved the little kid area, although McKenzie told me, "Mom, this isn't much fun."  Case in point, she's growing up too fast.

 I knew they'd been playing hard when they willingly sat down to eat!

"Okay, Mom," Parker called.  "We will just pick you up in one hour!"

• Kid Rating: A-  (a little crowded at some points, Kenzie complained a little about that, also no shade on the playground so on a warmer day it would not be fun.  There's even a sand pit, though, which I didn't know about so I didn't bring the sand toys.  Both kids were quite disappointed!)
• Mom's Sanity Rating: A- (I could sit at the covered picnic tables and see both kids for the most part.  There were typical gross park bathrooms to use, too.)

Artichokes!

I've mentioned before that Parker is an extremely picky eater.  In fact, only a month or so ago found him crying over dinner.  When I said, "Parker, it's chicken.  You like chicken!" he wailed in despair, "But it looks different!"  So, it has been so enjoyable that suddenly in the past two weeks he has been willing to try new things.  Usually it is just one bite of something, but we still give him high-fives and try to praise him.  I was really surprised, though, that he willingly tried artichokes last night.  After one leaf, I figured he wouldn't want more, but he asked for 6 and was very enthusiastic about it.  It gives me hope that someday dinner will not be met with such resistance!

First Day of Summer Vacation!

 Hooray!  McKenzie is done with first grade as of 12:25 today!  I think I am more excited than she is.  After lunch at Del Taco to celebrate (at least my kids have cheap tastes, I guess) they got their summer "presents" - new flip flops, new beach towels, and a Spiderman sprinkler.

 McKenzie laughed and thought it was great fun...

 ...Parker stayed a safe distance away.  Extremely safe distance, actually.

It didn't take long before it was popsicle and movie time, though.  I'd say the kids lost interest, but really Pregnant Mommy isn't too keen on being outside in the afternoon!  Here's to a long hot summer!