I Love Two Years Old

I want to help !! A trying phrase coming from a two year old. A anxious phrase from a 5 year old. A wishful phrase from an 8 year old beyond.

I love the twos because they are loving, eager to help, and willing to try anything.

I brought up a basket of stuff from the storage room downstairs to fill the pantry upstairs. The girls were yelling that they needed help. When I came back this is what I discovered.

He emptied the basket and arranged everything around the pantry.

He quickly turned around after the pictures and said "Mom, I helping You" Who could be mad at that.

This phase is starting to fade into the background as the Three's are around the corner the screaming, pinching, No, and Hate words are quickly coming.

24th of July / Pioneer Day

On the 4th of July we missed the local fireworks since we were in Salt Lake. The 24th of July we were going to see some. Well the night started off driving to Washington City we were told that they were having some. Nope!! Next we drove to Ivins and loved the scenery on the back roads. Again, no fireworks. On the drive back to town everyone was parked off to the side of the road. So we decided to see. Again, Nope!!! Let's go home and make smore's and watch the neighbors blow up the neighborhood. They were going off on all sides. The kids thought this was great.

Water, Smores, and fireworks a great summer holiday night.

I cheated and made microwave smore. Just as yummy and much faster.

Yummy!


The camera doesn't pick up the fireworks very well.



Ryder was done and I needed to get him showered and into a pullup before he fell asleep. I turned the tv on and they were showing the Salt Lake fireworks. He thought that was great.

Back to School Fashion Show

Dilemma how to do school shopping with 3 kids on Saturday. There are only 3 weeks until school starts and the Rylee & Reganne are in dire need of new clothes. Online shopping and lunchtime shopping are becoming my friends. The girls are excited when things arrive and they quickly grab up what they want. Thus the fights start because of course they like the same shirt, pants, etc.

Thus was born the shared closet. All clothes go into the closet and they can pick from there. They are not just for one but for both. So Grandma's Closet is now their shared closet. Next task seeing what fit and what needs to be returned.

Welcome to the First Annual Back To School Fashion Show:

Rylee in a purple tee shirt and blue jeans.

The dressing and staging area

Reganne...Strike a pose in a pink tee shirt with pretty jewels on the front and blue jeans. They need to be hemmed (6 inches)

Ryder....New shorts he wasn't to happy to be left out. These shorts are a little big and kept falling off. Who knew I would be buying 3T Shirts and 18 month pants.

Everything fit and the count down to school as begun.

Potty Training Plan B

Two weeks ago I took Ryder shopping for big boy underwear. He picked out a package and wouldn't let them out of his site. That was until we got home and he quickly forgot about them.

Then this week we were shopping at Walmart and he saw a large box of diapers. He told me that he needed a new box. I told him he didn't wear diapers, but pullups instead. He just a quickly replied those are diapers. A light went off in my head! He thinks they are diapers and until they are gone he won't go on the potty.

I started on Plan B along with his teachers at school. Put him in the underwear and he will feel what is going on. I was off on Friday and we began. If he went through all 9 pair before 10:00 am we would forget it and try again later.

He picked out which pair he wanted to wear and at 7:00 am we started. 9:30 am he had his first accident. The look on his face was priceless. 10:00 was the next one. He really didn't like being wet and wanted them off. At the end of the day we still had two pair left. I was exhausted.

Day 2:
He woke up wet and wanted it off. The day began we had a lot of errands to run. I knew I was tempting fate, but I packed extra clothes and we were off. Every stop I asked him if he needed to go and he just a quickly replied No, I fine. We had to make a quick trip back home and he told me he needed to potty. We were off again.

He stayed dry all day. After his shower he didn't want the pullup back on. I told him that they were his night time underwear.


Potty training is hard work. He fell asleep watching Cars.

Day 3:
He woke up dry and went potty. He told me he wanted his underwears on. He came complaining of a belly ache. He hadn't pooped since Friday. No amount of talking would he sit on the potty. He asked for a pullup. I gave in and within a half hour he had pooped. He then put his underwear back on. The day is still young and who knows what is in store. Church should be fun.

Saturday at Lowe's and The UFO

This week's project at Lowe's was building a UFO. Usually we pick them and take them home for Dad to build on Monday. Well, Dad is working the next two Mondays. I decided what the heck let's give it a try.

Ryder had his own ideas of how it should go together. He pounded a few nails into it and then came the stickers. Only after he was finished he looked around and discovered his wasn't quite right. He continued to work.

Rylee quietly looked around at what everyone else was doing. Opened her package, arranged all the parts, and then started to work.

Reganne ripped open her package and quickly started. By trial and error we built hers first.

St George is still a small town. Friends stopped by to help and offer advice. They knew building was not my forte. At the end everyone still had 10 fingers, toes and smiles on their faces.

We did it by ourselves!!

Little Valley 4th Ward Swim Party

Annual Swim Party @ Washington City Rec Center, July 19, 2010, 7:00 to 10:00 pm

Ward Swim Party

Our wards annual swim party was at the Rec Center this year. In the past it was so late in the evening that we haven't gone. This time it started at 7:00 and the kids love the going here. So it was a no brainer to go. They also had rootbeer floats on a hot summer night.

Waiting in line for ice cream.

Ryder playing peek a boo with me. He thought the pole would protect him. He wore these goggles all night long.

It was a perfect activity for a hot summer night.

The Heat Has Arrived!!!!

Summer has finally arrived or should I say the heat has finally arrived. Everyone thought it would be a cool summer. NOT!!! The past week temperature gauges are getting a work out. All over town they each read something different from 118 to 104. So take your pick, it is just plain hot. The weathermen can't agree either, but they always measure at least 5 degrees lower than anything else. How is right? Does it matter? NO!!!

We tried to beat the heat and go early to the splash pad. 9:30 am and it was already 89. The kids didn't care they were off to play in the water.

Ready, Set, Go.....

The race around the splash pad was over with Rylee as the winner.

10:15 am everyone was hot, thirsty, and tired. Time to find some air conditioning.

I'm Big Like Dad

Folding the laundry has become a wrestling match with Ryder. He loves helping with the clothes. He will tell me who they belong too and if it's not his he throws it back or on the floor. This week he was fascinated by the socks. He had to try on different pairs. Next thing I noticed this is what he looked like with Dad's Socks.

I'm big he said as he skated across the floor. He thought he was pretty cool. Too bad Dad didn't agree.

He finally got hot and tired of slipping around on the floor. I found them laying near the chair where he had put them on. Too bad they were dirty and had to go back into the laundry.

Water Fun or Chores?

Reganne has been asking if we could clean the garbage cans & recyle bins again. I knew she wasn't want to just clean them, but play in the water and bubbles instead. It was so hot outside that I figured now was the perfect time.

In went the soap, water, and bubbles appear.

They had to scrub really fast with the recycle bins. They have holes in the bottom and the water escaped as fast as it went in.

Of course water fights start very innocently. Ryder kept getting in Rylee's way and she would throw his rag across the driveway. He would pick it up and bring it back. After about 5 times he was frustrated and his temper flew so did the rag. It landed on Rylee. Thus began the fight. Rags were flying and they were soon drenched.

Ryder kept up with them and was the last one done.

So does is this water fun or work?

Mom Day Off @ The Splash Pad

The holiday falling on a weekend really threw our schedules for a loop. I had to take an additional day off or pay more for daycare. What a toss up, the day off won. There were a couple of errands that needed to be ran and I promised the kids a trip to the splash pad. I thought they would pick the downtown square, but they wanted to go to the one by our house.

We arrived and it was starting to get hot. Much to our surprise Rylee's Summer Camp Class was already there playing. She was in heaven. Reganne not so much at first, and Ryder wanted to go home it was too hot.

Playing in the water turned into a water fight with their teachers. The craziness didn't stop until everyone was soaked.

Time for lunch and get out of the heat.

Summer Vacation / Day Two

Day Two, Lagoon Day and everyone was so excited to go. We actually arrived before the park opened and were one of the first to go through the gate that morning. As we were waiting for the rides to open the girls were planning which ride to hit first. After reminding them that they could ride everything they wanted. The anticipation grew!!!

The ropes came down and they made a mad dash to the Dragonfly. Ryder couldn't ride since he wasn't tall enough. The madness continued through out the day. The day was beautiful with sun and cooler temperatures. The best part was the park wasn't crowded. They were able to ride everything and as much as they wanted to. The longest wait was 15 minutes on the Log ride in Pioneer Village.

Ryder & The Boats

This was the only ride the he could ride without a sister. The sisters were too big. Top it off he was the only child on the ride.

Reganne and the Airplane

This was the first and last ride she rode that went up into the air. She told us she didn't like being off the ground. She sat the same position the whole ride.

Ryder and the Train Ride

This was his favorite ride if you asked him. I think he loved anything he could ride.

Rylee and the Train

Oh how she is growing up. The many faces she pulls throughout a day. Her favorite ride was The Dragon Fly (swings). She loved it and rode it too many times to count. Of course I missed getting a picture of her on it.

Reganne & Puff the Dragon Roller Coaster

This was her favorite ride. She rode it at least 20 times. The workers just smiled at her and let her back on. Of course she couldn't go alone so Dad, Mom, or Grandma had to go as well. That was one ride I could do without for awhile.

Reganne & Grandma JeanAnn

One Tired Family

Our last ride of the day was the train or should I say the last family ride. We even got a tiger to roar at us as we went by.

The last ride was Dave & Grandma riding the Roller Coaster. They were done in 10 minutes. That was the quickest I have ever seen anyone get on and off that ride.

A quick stop at the gift shop for a souvenir and it was time to head back to the hotel. The kids wanted to swim. I wanted to sleep. The kids won.

After dinner, a quick swim, and a shower. Ryder put himself to bed.

Our mini vacation was over and back to the heat.

Summer Vacation / Day One

This summer is the 2nd year of our mini vacations. Dave was off the 4th of July Weekend so we were off to Salt Lake City to enjoy a couple of days playing and having fun with the kids. This vacation was our 3 Annual Lagoon Day and Discovery Gateway Day. The kids were all excited to and could hardly sleep the night before. You would have thought it was Christmas.

We made our flight to Salt Lake without any problems and they finally got smart and stuck us on the back row. There we don't have to worry if they are noisy the engines drown them out.

Our first stop was to visit Grandpa Waters and other ladies at the care center. Grandpa is doing much better after the last back surgery. In fact he was outside on the front porch when we arrived. We had a nice visit and it was time to have fun.

Our first stop was the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. Rylee had been talking about this place for over a month. The others don't remember it at all. Reganne was only 2 and of course Ryder wasn't born. That could explain it. We met Grandma JeanAnn & Grandpa Chris and started to play.

Ryder & The Bumble Bee Car

He would not let this out of his site. He got out once and another child stole it away. He finally got it back and he kept a leg inside it at all times.

Rylee & The Store

She loved being the cashier and playing with the other kids.

Reganne & The Cash Register

She had to try her hand at this. She became bored rather quickly and went back to shopping.

Ryder & Fire Engine

Finally he let go of the other car only to discover the fire engine. Trying to get his picture he is now trying to hide or cover his face.

"I'm A Cowgirl"

Family Road Trip...How do you drive? Wait we need gas!!!! Let's Go!!!!

Rylee on the Moon

Our next stop was Clarke Planetarium. The kids were impressed. They looked at the displays and wanted to run around. This was not the old Hansen Planetarium that was full of things to do and see.

Walking on Mars

It was a fun day and everyone was exhausted. Time to check into the hotel and go swimming.