We started off the month in a fun and exhausting way by traveling to West Jordan for the Fourth of July. I've done a separate post here if you missed it.
The biggest thing that happened in July was my mom came to visit for a week! We loved having her!
The first morning we were here, we went to our library activity. I almost didn't take the girls, because I had an appointment with my midwife that morning as well and didn't want to overdo it. I knew the girls love taking my mom to these though, so we decided to do it. I was so glad we did! The main activity they had set up was a bunch of bounce houses. It was super easy and the kids were in heaven!
Parker playing with her friend that she sees each time we go to a library activity.
The girls all had so much fun and my mom followed Rylee around so I could rest in the shade while watching the older two! Ashtyn kept telling me, "Thank you so much for bringing us today, Mom!" And they got cotton candy afterwards, which they loved!
We also went to the Dinosaur Museum with her while she was here and the girls loved it!
It's always so fun to have her come. She brings and makes special treats with the girls, does special crafts like Paint-by-Sticker, brings toys (like Kelly Dolls) and books (Rylee's favorite is "the pumpkin book" right now) and spends a lot of time with them outside (even when it's hot)! Ashtyn cried and cried when it was time for her to go.
One of our neighbors gave us their girls' old dance costumes this month and the girls have had so much fun with them!
Parker was especially in heaven! She loves ballet, dancing, dressing up, accessorizing, and just feeling pretty. She loves all the different costumes we have now.
Each Sunday evening, we get together with family for a treat and to visit. It's always so fun. One Sunday, Grandpa Danny had his boat out and pulled the kids around. They thought it was amazing to "go boating" at Grandpa's! They also got homemade ice cream cones, which is their favorite thing ever!
In Pokemon Go, you can take pictures of people with your buddy Pokemon. This is Parker with Ashtyn's buddy. Ashtyn loves playing Pokemon games and this month, Ben's cousin gave her an old smart phone that we signed into Pokemon Go on for Ashtyn to use (so she's not always using my phone, since we share an account). She loves it and also makes a lot of videos with Parker using the phone.
Ashtyn still loves building with blocks (she'll often request the big blocks over our smaller Legos still).
This is a picture by Parker :)
Ashtyn was very proud to have learned how to change Rylee's diapers this month (except not the stinky ones 🤣). She also has learned to take Rylee out of her crib, so she can bring the girls down in the morning at 7:30 (she also has a clock on her nightstand now). It is amazing how much those little acts of independence help!
One of our favorite Saturday afternoon family activities is taking a walk out in the trees at Ben's parent's house. It is a simple but fun thing to do together. This month was a lot hotter than normal, but we braved the weather and did it anyway! The kids all love exploring and collecting things like sticks, bones, and flowers.
Ben goes on several walks a day right now, to get movement and sunshine into his day (since he sits at a computer for his job) and often comes in with bugs to show the girls or having seen something like this bunny.
Rylee snuggles 💓
This kind of sight makes my mom heart happy 💓
For the first time in a long while, the kids and I got sick this month. The girls got it first, and Rylee had it the worst. She had a fever on a Saturday, and then for the next few days, the girls all had stuffy noses and little coughs. They recovered really fast. I got it about a week later and it hung on to me a little longer.
Another fun library activity was their mermaids and pirates one! We went with Ben's cousin Makenzie and her daughter Navy. They had SO much to do and the kids had so much fun.
Parker found this mermaid all on her own and just loved her! She had the hardest time letting other kids have turns taking pictures and not touching the mermaid. She kept telling the mermaid how beautiful she was.
They had this giant slide that all the kids were a little skeptical of going on at first. Rylee went down it on her own twice and was really mad when we ran out of time and she couldn't go down again.
Ashtyn also went down quite a few times and loved it.
It was a really fun activity!
This is a picture that Ashtyn drew.
This month, I learned how to do a French braid on Ashtyn, which I was really proud of! I also learned how to do two French braids, because one doesn't work well with Parker's hair.
One weekend, Ben went to Salt Lake overnight for a Smash tournament. That meant a girls night! We went to the library and shopping. While we were out, I got the girls pizza and little cupcakes from Coldstones. Then we watched Cats Don't Dance, one of my favorite childhood movies that the girls had never seen (they loved it).
Parker pulling Rylee around on the blanket.
I also started freezer meals for after the baby this month! Chicken nuggets are my favorite thing to have, so I made a lot! I also made some extra so I could feed them to everyone for movie night. I'm really excited to have a lot of chicken nuggets in the freezer, but I will probably never make this many at once again (it was a huge and messy job!).
A picture of Ben reading to the girls 💓
More Rylee snuggles 💓
A picture of Rylee "reading" on the couch when she sick.
Pixel art by Parker.
Pixel art on Ben's computer is one of her favorite things. She'll run up to me, ask what the art game is Dad taught her, and then when I tell her Pixel Art, she runs over and asks if she can "play Pixel Art".
Ashtyn had Parker pose with her unicorn while she drew a portrait of her 😂
This was the finished picture.
One of Ashtyn and Parker's favorite outside activities is getting chalk wet and then doing "makeup" with it. Or painting with it.
Rylee often has a "baby" in her tummy right now. Or she's pretending to be the baby.
Ashtyn has been having a lot of fun with these shape blocks lately. She loves to make designs and also loves to use them to draw designs on paper.
We had a great month in July! Summer has been so fun and we look forward to more relaxing, fun, warm/hot days left this year!
