Mirror, Mirror

My dear friend, Jamie is on bedrest with her 4th child. I went over today to give her a pedicure and visit with her. After a few hours we were wrapping up and I was getting ready to head home when she asked me if Ava had a vanity. Um...no! So, she told me she had on that I was welcome to if I didn't mind cleaning it. Heck, yeah! So, we carted it home, washed it good with some Lysol and a toothbrush (for those hard to reach areas) and set it up in her bedroom. She's in heaven! Thanks Jamie!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Just a few more from yesterday. Watching the helicopters was really cool. They came in about every 30 seconds or so to refill their water "buckets". The fire department had their fire truck hooked up to a fire hydrant which then pumped the water to the pool. As an update, the fire has now burned over 5,000 acres and there were over 550 houses evacuated. Luckily, we were spared evacuation and just spend countless hours watching the fire move slowly across the mountain.

Owlz and a Fire

Another reason to love our Pass of all Passes! Tonight was opening night for the Orem Owlz! I packed up the kids and headed out for a night of baseball! We happened upon our dear friends the Kaufmans while we were parking and decided to hang out together! Ava loved dancing to the music over the loud speakers, Sean relished his churro, one of the Kaufman boys cut his finger when he disected his free snap bracelet and started playing with the metal inside and Lyle and I and Dee and Denise enjoyed the weather and the company!

We actually weren't sure we would be going to the game for awihle. There's been a wildfire here on the mountain just to the east of us and as I watched it the wind started blowing it west...towards us! I kept thinking, "how lame would it be if my house burned down and I wasn't here because I went to a baseball game?" So, I waited until the last second...and decided it would be ok. We got home about 11:15 and I ran for my camera to catch these shots. Luckily, the wind has started moving the fire south, so I think we're safe...for now.

Aqua Zumba

Last week a friend of mine asked me to come and take pictures of her Aqua Zumba class. She just became a certified instructor and wanted some promotional shots to help her get the word out! I must say...it's one genre of Zumba I could get into...not so hard on my asthma! Hope you enjoy!

Jump Into 11 Years!

What a whirlwind week! Here we are almost a week after Sean's 11th birthday and I'm just able to sit down and write about it.

I'm so glad that Sean's birthday is in the summer. I can plan birthday parties in the middle of the week and not have to worry about school nights. We've gone to a couple of family birthday parties at Jump Around Utah and Sean begged me to let his birthday party be there this year. Against my better judgement...I said yes. Having the party there was a great idea! It's just uber-expensive. Ah well...great memories...but it won't be happening again any time soon.

We were able to invite 30 kids and their parents could come for free. Sean invited all his cousins that could make it, most of his cub scout den and several of his friends from his karate class. His karate friends he hasn't seen for a couple of months so he was so excited to see them. He even invited several girls! Everyone had a great time. I made his cake and he said he loved it! I always make the cake too big and have tons left over...but this time I guess right. I didn't bring any cake or ice cream home with me! Just the way I like it! Sean got a few tangible gifts, but mostly he was given money. Money is the perfect gift for boys this age; they're so hard to buy for! His favorite "actual" gift was a set of walkie-talkies; those boys have been playing with those all week! He ended up with almost $100 and bought a new 3DS game, goodies and a big Lego set. I think he spent wisely.

As everyone left, they grabbed a goodie bag filled with candy, a water bottle and things that bounce. The party wasn't nearly long enough, but he was so grateful to everyone for coming and celebrating with him! Even Grandma 'Chele made it!

Motocross

Love our Pass of all Passes! In addition to Trafalga (which Ava is addicted to), we also get into various other events for free. A couple of days ago we went to Rocky Mountain Raceways for the Motocross. Unfortunately, there were NO seats when we got there, so we ended up standing for about an hour before Ava had had enough, and I had had enough of holding her. We left early...but it was a fun free event nonetheless!

Brickforge

Sean's birthday is in 5 days. He is so excited for his upcoming birthday party and presents from us he can barely contain himself. He asked me today if we would give him one gift every night until his birthday. After I counted in my head how many gifts I had gotten him, I agreed. What's the big deal? Tonight, he got some accessories for his Lego minifigures. He asks for stuff from Brickforge at least twice a year for his birthday and Christmas. He has inherited his father's love for Legos. Love it!