Ava's 4th Birthday

I am finally starting to get back to a semblance of a routine! Over the last 2 months we've been out of town more than we've been in town. It's been fun, and I'm sure glad we've been able to travel and visit friends and family, but I'm also sure glad that we're done traveling and don't plan to pack a suitcase for the next month and a half (: So now, I get a chance to post some of the fun things we've been up to...

At the beginning of June we went to Utah for a week. I had told Rylee when we moved that we would go back to Utah for Ava's birthday, so that's just what we did. Rylee, Cailyn, Grandma Mac and I drove up and got there the evening before Ava's birthday (Grandpa Mac and Quinn came up later that week.) The trip was so fun and worth the drive - cheeto bums and all! Rylee and Ava were SO happy to see each other! (And I was so happy to see them together - those girls are just the best of friends!) They kept referring to each other as "my" Rylee/Ava/cousin/friend.

And, of course, Ava was happy to have her Grandma too (:
So here's how the birthday bash went down:
We did breakfast at IHOP

Then went home for presents

Ava had to cover her eyes while her big present was brought into the room...

...and what Ava does, Rylee does...

...and Ava LOVED it!

We went right out to take it for a test rideOh, and don't forget the bike's best feature!

Ava was nice enough to let Rylee try it out (although she didn't want to let it get TOO far away from her!)

And Cailyn blew on a dandelion.

The next item on the agenda was to go fishing - something the girls both wanted to do. The first attempt turned out to be more of a swim than a fishing expedition.

(While the older girls played in the water, Cailyn napped in the shade.)

But then we drove up the canyon and actually fished.

Josh bought a pink princess fishing rod for the occasion!

Eventually the girls decided to take a break... ...and that's when Katie took over and immediately caught the fish! It was quite the excitement! Ava named the fish "Rylee."

(In case you were wondering, Josh put Rylee fish back to swim free.)

So that was how we spent June 8th.
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The party was planned for Friday. It was going to be a fun summery outdoor party at a splash pad that we love in Highland. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so the party got moved inside (to Pirate Pizza Island) at the last minute, but that didn't stop it from being a fabulous party! Can you guess what the theme was?

All those little girls running around in their Hello Kitty ears sure were darling!

The balloon guy was a hit.

Rylee chose a tiger.

Cailyn chose...what else?...a dog.

Then for the cake...

and the games!

I loved it all, but this was my favorite part:

Happy Birthday, Sweet Ava Girl!

Swimming Suit Season

That cake seemed like a really good idea at the time...

New Mexico

We went to New Mexico for a week in the middle of May. This was not just any trip to visit family, however, we went for two very special occasions: my youngest sister, Charlotte, graduated from high school, and my sister just younger than me, Anne, got home from her mission in Germany the same week! It was so nice that the timing worked out so well that we were able to be there for all of Charlotte's events (the concert where she was the featured oboe soloist, her graduation party, and of course the graduation itself) as well as welcome Anne home and be there for her talk at church on Sunday.

Anne went into the MTC just over a month before Cailyn was born, so this was their first time meeting, and they sure did hit it off! (Of course, I don't know of any kid that hasn't hit it off with Anne! She's fun and silly - what's not to like?) It took Rylee about a day before she stopped calling Anne "Emily" (my other sister), but you can't really blame her - they do look alike and Rylee wasn't much older than Cailyn last time she saw Anne. Right name or not, she sure was happy to see and play with Anne!
I didn't do a very good job with pictures on this trip...I think it was because I spent a lot of time working (that's one of the blessings and curses of working from home - I can go anywhere I want and still work, but when I'm on vacation I'm not always really on vacation) so while the kiddos were playing with everyone, I was sitting in front of the computer. I totally neglected to get any pictures of the kids with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dave, but luckily we had some family pictures taken, so when we get those back I'll put some up.
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What I may be lacking in pictures, however, I can make up for in a funny story!
One afternoon while we were there, Rylee was sitting on the couch with my mom and Anne. She was eating chocolates from a bowl on the end table. She kept eating and eating, and my mom made a few attempts to convince her that she had had enough, but Rylee kept insisting that she needed to eat "one more!" Then, without thinking much about it, my mom said "You know Rylee, if you eat too much chocolate, your pretty blue eyes will turn brown." Rylee, who had just popped another chocolate in her mouth, froze, slowly covered her eyes with her hands, then took the chocolate out of her mouth and handed it over saying "I don't want this, you have it." She wouldn't touch chocolate for over 24 hours until we were finally able to convince her that Grandma Karen had been joking!
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Anyway, here are a few of the pictures I did get.
Rylee and Emily

Greg and RyleeEmily and Cailyn

Charlotte and Cailyn

I didn't get any pictures at the graduation - the girls were going bonkers, so we left as soon as Charlotte walked across the stage (lucky for us, she's a smarty pants and walked across the stage at the very beginning with all the other 4.0+ GPA students!)

I did get some at the graduation party, however. Cailyn's favorite part by far was the cake:

(She also had fun playing with London, my best friend since 4th grade's daughter.)

Rylee's favorite part of the party was Cooper (London's brother.) They didn't stay still long enough for me to get a good picture...

...but I did manage to sort of capture her trying to kiss him!

Cailyn spent lots of time outside picking flowers

and walking around the "drink" (more commonly know as the "pool.") She got in sometimes, but mostly she just liked to walk around it.

She also really liked pointing at all the "ducks" in the "drink"

and shouting for us to look at them while she quacked.

What? You've never seen ducks in a swimming pool? Well, this wasn't just any swimming pool, as I said, it was a "drink", and there were lots of "ducks!"

Oh, and meet Cailyn's "baby" that lives in the "drink."

Rylee loves to pretend to fish, and Cailyn loves to copy Rylee, so they spent lots of time standing on the edge dipping noodles and other things into the water.

My Grandma and Grandpa Heiner were in town (and I did get a picture with them!) so it was nice to visit with them,

and the girls both loved playing at Gran's house. I love when my kids are able to spend time with their great-grandparents!

I have a few cute pictures from the airport on the way home...I love that these sisters are getting to ages where they are becoming companions!

The plane ride was lots of fun for the girls; Gran wrapped all kinds of little treasures up individually and put them in gift bags to be opened on the plane. The girls LOVED it!

Rylee "built" some of her favorite characters from "Word World"

Cailyn decorated herself with lots of stickers.

And since we've been home this last 1 1/2 weeks (which is the longest we've been home in over a month!) we've just been trying to relax and unwind. Apparently, face painting is Cailyn's preferred method of relaxation!

Here's a video of Rylee doing "motorboat" by herself in the pool in NM...she discovered the freedom of floaties while we were there!