Cabin adventure

Logan's grandfather built a cabin up Provo canyon that his family has been going to for many many years. We went there for our honeymoon, as well as many other trips with his family. We have been there a few times alone too, but I'm a home body and kind of a wuss so we don't go as often as Logan would like. We made a list of things we wanted to do this summer and going to the cabin was one of them. So we planned a weekend and did it! We had a blast too. We brought the Flittons with us (of course, we do everything together) and that made it even better. It's a pretty small cabin, 2 beds, 1 bath. But we didn't mind the close quarters so there was plenty of room. We went up Thursday night and left Saturday afternoon. Both nights we stayed up playing games: phase 10 and Uno. We watched a movie, went to Sundance and rode the lift, played at the park and some people even did the three bears hike. It was a great weekend and we feel really grateful for this beautiful place that we have to go make memories. What a blessing.

Ayden loves the slide!

So does Mom!

Sophie enjoying the slide and dirt!

Mary and Michelle pushing the swings

Ayden enjoying the swings!

Me and the man I love

My boys having a snuggle on the swings

Riding the lift.
Daddy and the kids at the top.
Sleepy kids after a relaxing ride!

Happy Pioneer Day!

As you may have noticed, I didn't post anything about the 4th of July. I had high hopes that it would be a great day but it just didn't turn out the way I had pictured it would. Things just kept going wrong, one after another. So after that fiasco I tried not to get my heart set on having a good pioneer day. Lo and behold. . . it was a great day!

My babies

Logan's family always does a RED WHITE and BLUE breakfast for pioneer day. His mom works so hard decorating the tables and making all the food so we can have a great celebration together. This year was awesome! The kids had a great time playing outside and the adults got to enjoy each others company (filled with inappropriate things as usual) while enjoying a delicious breakfast.Yes, neither of my children are looking at the camera as usual

After breakfast the kids went for a walk with their Brammy, watched a movie, and played outside a little more. All the while the adults got to sit upstairs and visit. It couldn't have been more pleasant. Around 3:00 we started firing up the grill for a BBQ. Bapa (Logan's dad) had to leave for work so Logan stepped up and took over the grillin. He made some yummy burgers and pretty much got everything else ready to eat. (He's such a good man. Always so helpful. I love him) Once again the food was great and so was the company. Just as we were getting ready to leave, there was a down poor of rain which was actually the perfect way to end it all. We all went running to our cars getting soaked by the minute, the kids crying and all of us laughing. What a fun Hammer Day!Mary and gangsta Abi

Later that evening we sat outside and played a game with Ryan and Michelle while the kids slept. It was a nice way to wind down at the end of a great day. (I was asked to mention that Ryan won the game, although I'm pretty sure he cheats!)

I love having holidays that give us the opportunity to plan memorable experiences. I always look forward to the RED WHITE and BLUE breakfast. It is a good memory for me. I'm also grateful that I have this blog to document the fun experiences that I share with the people I love.

Movie Mondays

So our best friends in the whole world just happen to be our next door neighbors. (I guess it's the other way around right?) We do almost every thing together. On Sunday evenings we sit together while Logan and Ryan complain about the Sunday night blues. Inevitable they always have them, sadness that the weekend is over and a new work week is beginning. So we devised a method of hopefully easing the Sunday night blues. We created Movie Monday! Now we can't do it every Monday (they do still have to work you know) but hopefully once a month the guys are going to take a long lunch and we are going to get take out and watch a movie. This months choice. . . the Island. (Ewan Mcgreggor and Scarlet Johanson) It is one of our favorite movies and the Flittons hadn't seen it. We got delicious food (Cafe Rio of course) and enjoyed a lovely mid-afternoon break from life. It was great! And even though the guys had to go back to work they were in good spirits. So to all those other people out there with a bad case of the Sunday night blues- try Movie Monday! It worked for us!

Roy Aquatic center

The elementary school in our neighborhood is on the year round schedule, which is why we have been filling our days with fun activities. The kids went back to school today so the fun is coming to an end which is really sad for Ayden and I since we don't start school for a few more years! On Friday we went with a couple friends to the Roy Aquatic Center. One year ago I didn't know what the heck Roy was and now I live 10 minutes from there. Strange how things turn out. Anyway, we had a wonderful time! My kids really love to swim and I love to bask in the sun so we are a great combo. Here are some shots of our fun day:

My scrapbook room

When we bought our house we decided that we would use the downstairs bedroom for my salon/scrapbook room. So far it has consisted of my salon, an empty desk and a messy closet full of scrapbooking crap. I have been wanting to decorate and organize it for months. My friend Michelle gave me a cute idea and I decided to run with it! So in a matter of 48 hours I transformed my scrapbook room and now I love it! I'm not the kind of person that can putter around a project, if I'm going to do it then I hurry and bust it out before I change my mind. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and I enjoyed the process. And the best part is that now I can SCRAPBOOK!!!

mmmm......Spaghetti O's

For some reason Logan has a total aversion to spaghetti o's. Because of his strong feelings I haven't really given them to the kids. Well, yesterday I decided, what the heck, I'm gonna let them try some. Holy cow! We almost had to open another can! They loved them! So much so that Sophie was lapping them up off her tray. So when Logan came home I had to break the new to him, but after he saw the pictures of Sophie, he said it was alright. Who'd of thought spaghetti o's would be such a hit!

I believe I've found my place

It's interesting how life changes so much and how you never imagined it would turn out the way it does. My whole life I have been defined by something. At first it was dancing. That defined me. It gave me meaning and something to focus on. It made me okay with who I was even when times were hard, when friendships were hard. After that was over, I became a beautician. It wasn't the same, obviously. But it gave me the opportunity to spend time with people and help them feel good about themselves. It also gave me something else to focus on. Since becoming a mother, almost 3 years ago, I never quite felt defined. I didn't know what kind of mom I was going to be. Hopefully a good one, which I strive every day to be. But I didn't know where my place in this world was other then being someone's mom. And don't get me wrong, I love it! But I didn't feel like I fit anywhere and I didn't know who Mary the mother was. Lately I have been finding true joy in motherhood. I've realized that having 2 young children is very stressful for me. Some people can handle it, I am not one of them. But as my children get older I'm finding that I LOVE being a mom.

We have lived here in Layton for 1 year now. I can't believe that because it seems like we just moved in. When we moved in Logan and I talked about how this was a fresh start. You don't get very many of those in life so we wanted to take advantage of that. We decided we could be whomever we want to be. I decided I wanted to be a person of service. I have tried to give of my time and talents to help others. I know I can always try harder, but in the process I made a lot of friends, and actually feel like I found my place here. Among our friends I am the "host". I'm the one that usually plans the get-to-gethers and I love having all the neighborhood kids over to our house to play. I never knew that I would be "that" mom. The one that loves to entertain even if it means you don't get the laundry done or you have to make dinner with kids running in and out the back door. I love it though! I love that Ayden has so many good friends. I love that I have good friends too! And I love having something that defines me a little bit. It's a great feeling to find a place in life where you feel like to totally fit. I love it here!

Ayden and his friends watching a movie

Smores up the canyon

Doesn't it seem like we always have the best intentions for creating memorable experiences? We always talk about wanting to do things that we will remember instead of "dink around". Well we talk with our friends about this and we decided we weren't going to let the summer go by without doing some memorable things with our family. We made a list, and then Ryan created a calendar so we could all know when we were doing each event. Last night was supposed to be "smores up the canyon". Well in Layton right now, as I'm sure it is in a lot of places, there is a law that you can't have fires or even hot coals up any canyon. That kinda put a damper on our event, but don't you worry, we didn't let it get us down. We just made our own fire pit in the Flitton's sandbox! We roasted marshmallows and had some delicious smores. Even though it wasn't up the canyon, it will definitely be a funny event to remember, and I truly believe it is important to fill you life with moments you won't forget. Otherwise the time just passes you by.Ayden and Madi enjoying their first taste of "smores"!!

Logan felt bad that he wasn't in any of the pictures so he had to take one of himself!
What a funny guy!

The Gator

I distinctly remember the Christmas when they came out with those battery operated cars for little kids. My brother Michael got one. I was so jealous. Strange because if I remember correctly, I could already drive. He would cruise up and down the street like he owned the joint, everyone cheering him on. And he never let anyone else near that thing.

Well, here we are, years later, and I finally got to ride the "GATOR". Our neighbors have the green dump truck version of Michael's red jeep. Ayden and Madi love cruising around, full speed in that bad boy. Last night we were having a popsicle outside before bed time and we saw the Gator left unattended. Ayden loves to try and drive it, but he hasn't mastered the whole "steering wheel" thing. So we found that the best solution was for one of us to ride with him, you know, to help steer and all. It was so fun, and now I can finally put all those negative feelings behind me. Thanks Gator!

Ayden. . . the master of slip-n-slide disaster!

Today was a fun day! We invited our friends over to swim in our yard. That's one of my favorite activities because I don't have the stress of going somewhere and chasing my kids. And the kids love it just the same. Well the Browns got a new slip-n-slide and wanted to try it out. It was an absolute riot. Ayden was a little timid at first (whats new right!) but once I pushed him down a few times he became a real pro! The other kids were trying to do it like him! He had a smile on his face the whole time. It was so hot today that even Texie and I had to give it a shot! There's nothing more sexy then a grown woman throwing her body down a wet tarp at full speed. We were cracking ourselves up! Texie's husband was there so unfortunately for him, he got to witness this! We had a really good time though, and I rushed off to Target as soon as we were done to get my own slip-n-slide for more water fun!

Our trip to the Dinosaur Park

With Logan being gone this week, I've tried to keep busy to pass the time. I'm sure that most moms do that. For some reason the day is really long if you don't go anywhere and Daddy never comes home. We planned on going swimming at the Roy pool today, but it was really overcast so we decided to go to the dinosaur park in Ogden. We went there once while on vacation at Wolf Creek a while ago, I think Ayden was about 8 or 9 months. I didn't remember much, but I told him earlier today that we were going there and he was really excited. We went with my good friend Texie and her 4 kids. Brinley (7) Bronson (5) Bridger (5) and Brock (4 months). The kids had a blast! Ayden ran around the whole time saying "hey guys, hey guys, come see this dinosaur!!" It was so darling cute! The moms had a good time too, aside from it being stinking hot!! Here are some of the cute shots of the kids having a wonderful trip to the dinosaur park:

Ayden and Brinley holding hands Sophie enjoying her ride in the stroller

Bridger, Bronson, Brinley, and Ayden

the 2 mommies!

Dusting off the dinosaur eggs! Sophie and her boyfriend Bridger

Sophie having a little sand snack

Enjoying a delicious Spider man popsicle