Which side is your side?

Right or Left

Logan and I were having an intense conversation this morning over a delicious bowl of Golden Grahams. A tooth on my left side is bothering me so I had to chew on my right side. It wasn't pleasant. That's when I realized that I am a left side chew-er. I asked Logan and he said he is always a right side chew-er. Yuck! I can't imagine chewing on your right side by choice!

Which moved into the the next topic . . . phone ear. I am left ear phone talker. And, once again Logan is right. When I have to put the phone up to the wrong ear I feel totally awkward, almost like I can't hear out of the side.

So. . . .I'd like you all to take a moment today and figure out what side you are.

Right or Left

A new development

Sophie has entered what I like to call the Body Art Phase.  No matter how many pieces of paper I give her, coloring on herself is much more fun.

The life of a 3 year old

Long day

Boys will be boys

I, myself do not understand the extreme excitement that comes from turning blankets and pillows into a fort of some kind, but I am so grateful that Logan does. Ayden's new favorite thing is to build forts, and his extremely fun dad has made quite a few really great ones. The latest invention is turning the kitchen table into a tent, and they actually SLEEP IN IT!! Funny boys. 

The other morning I was heading out to the gym at the crack of 5, and saw this:

They stayed in there all night. We have the worlds most comfortable, double pillow top, king size bed, and he sleeps on the kitchen floor. What a guy.

Just the 2 of us. . .

I'm sure many of you have had this experience, or at least heard about someone who did. Back in November, Logan and I attended one of those timeshare events where they promise you a free night in a hotel and then proceed to spend the next few hours trying to convince you that you are ridiculous if you don't want whatever they are selling. Well, we made it through and we got our prize without being sucked into anything.

Our hotel choice was between the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake (where we went on our wedding night) or the Alaskan Inn located up Ogden Canyon. We thought that since we are up North anyway, and have already been to the one in Salt Lake, we'd give the Alaskan Inn a try.

Thursday afternoon we dropped the kids off at Whitney and Craig's house in Kaysville and headed to the hotel. When we arrived we were shown to the "Hook, Line, and Sinker" room. I know what you're thinking, romantic huh! I'm sure most of you are aware of my aversion to fish, so you can imagine how ironic it is that we ended up with a room themed by them.

We had a good laugh and headed out to have dinner at this delicious restaurant in Ogden called "Bistro 258". We had been there once before and were really impressed. Our dinner was delicious!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to enjoy the one redeeming quality to our room, the giant jetted tub. (I'll leave the rest of the details out)

The next morning my Mom picked up the kids from Kaysville and took them to her house so we had the whole day to hang out together. We headed to the mall and did a little shopping. Then we went to see:

We don't make it out to movies much and it was fun to see one in the middle of the day.

After the movie we headed down to Salt Lake for the anniversary dinner (see previous post) and then down to Orem to get our kids. It was such a fun weekend, and we are so grateful to our helpers for making it possible. I think when you have little ones, it is fun to get out sometimes and have a minute to focus on each other. We talked a lot about our honeymoon, and how quickly the last 6 years have gone by. We still feel like kids, just like we did back then, and no matter what, we always have a good time together.

40 Years of Love. . .

This week Logan's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. What an amazing thing, 40 years together. And they couldn't be happier.

Judy told us months ago that she was going to make dinner for all the adults. I thought she was crazy because technically shouldn't WE be making dinner for HER on her anniversary? But she insisted so we went along with it.

When we arrived at the house there were sheets hung up so that we couldn't go into the kitchen/dining area. Once everyone was there we all walked in together and saw. . . . nothing. She totally tricked us. There weren't any candles, no places set at the table, nothing! Then she told us to get in our cars and follow them somewhere.

Much to our surprise, we ended up at the Lion House. There was a room set up for us. We had a wonderful evening, laughing and celebrating together.

{the whole gang}
{Steve, Kristen, Colter, Abi, Logan, Mary, Chris, Judy, Ron, Chelle, Codye, Whitney, and Craig}

So Happy Anniversary Ron and Judy. Thank you for the wonderful night. Thank you for setting a tremendous example of love and support for each other over these 40 years together. You two amaze and inspire me, and I'm grateful to have you in my life.

Funnest Dad Award

I nominate Logan Sean Hammer for the funnest Dad Award! Can I just say. . . that man is amazing.

The other day he came home with poster board and finger paints for the kids to do as an activity before bed.

Yesterday when he came home for lunch, he ran downstairs for a minute. When he came up he told me that he had filled Easter eggs with jelly beans for the kids to find. When they woke up from their naps, we all went on an egg hunt.

He is always reading stories, wrestling, building forts, making up games, and so many other things. I can't even tell you how many times a day Ayden says,
"I want my Dad. I just like him. He is my friend."

So thanks for being such a wonderful Dad, Logan. We love you!

Like a summers day . . .

I'm not exactly sure where that saying comes from, but it was definitely applicable yesterday. It was so warm that we were actually able to stand being outside enough to get the bikes out and play for a little bit. The kids were thrilled to get out of the house.

We even went for a walk around the neighborhood! (something we used to do all the time on the warm summer evenings)

We had such a wonderful spring and summer last year, we are just dying for it to warm up. We miss the warm evenings when we would sit outside and visit with our neighbors as they came home from work. The kids would play on their bikes, jump on the tramp, have water fights, etc.

I'm also excited because my kids are older and I think they will be a little easier this summer. Ayden understands about crossing the street and watching for cars. Sophie can walk/run now so she will be able to keep up with the other kids.

So the Hammers are officially ready for winter to end and spring to begin. We are ready for picnics, playing at the park, setting up the pool, water fights, late nights, working in the yard, and all the other wonderful things that warm weather brings!

Remember the days

I was trying to remember the last time I got out the video camera and taped my children. I know I'm going to regret all the time I missed. I always want to remember their sweet voices and the funny things they do.

Well, the camcorder wasn't charged so I used the camera and tried to catch just a couple cute things that they are doing at this age.




{Ayden's pledge of Allegiance}

{Sophie's "words"}

Thank you St. Valentine!

Happy Valentines' Day!

{Darling outfits compliments of Nana Jan}

What a great thing it is to have a whole day devoted to celebrating love. I remember back in elementary when we would bring Valentines to give to our class and as I was writing them I would always pick out a special one for the boy I had a crush on.

So today I want to wish a very special Valentines' Day to my sweetheart. He is the man of my dreams. He makes me so happy and I love him so much. You see, it was 6 years ago today that he asked me to marry him. Not a day goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am that he chose me. I love you, babe.

And here's a little shout out from the kids. I hope you all have a very Happy Valentines' Day!

Like Father. . . . like daughter

Ever since I posted that picture of Soph with the underwear on her head, so many people have commented on how much she looks like Logan. Then yesterday we got a Brammy package that had a t-shirt of Logan's in it from when he was 3. I searched for a picture of him wearing it, but I couldn't find one. I found a couple cute pictures during my quest. I'll let you be the judge:

I thought it was only fitting to put Sophie in her daddy's old shirt.

"I like the night life . . . I like to booogie"

I have always loved to dance. Logan enjoys it as well, which makes me happy. But I didn't know that it was a hereditary thing that would be passed along to my children. They LOVE to boogie.

We start many of our Saturday mornings dancing around in our jammies and loving every minute of it.

Our friends, the Browns, invited us to the Layton City Valentines' Dance. Texie's dad plays in a band that was performing there. It was such a fun activity to do with our families. We decided to start the evening with some delicious takeout from Wingers, which lead to:

Sticky finger madness!


I was confused about the terms used at this restaurant and accidentally ordered a sticky finger platter instead of a sticky finger dinner. To our surprise. . . we ended up with over 40 sticky fingers! Yummy! ( and yucky at the same time)

After stuffing ourselves beyond belief, we headed to the dance to try and burn off just a few of the calories we had just put on.

From the minute we walked in until the minute we walked out, our kids were dancing. They were a hit! It was so much fun. The place was decorated so nicely and they had cookies and water bottles for everyone. We danced our little hearts out, which was very apparent when we got home at 9:15 and crashed until after 8 this morning!

{Daddy and Ayden}

{Mommy and the kiddos}

{the ladies}

{cutest kids ever}

{check out cute little Soph in the background. She's so little.}

{Our little groupy}

{Ayden and his girlfriend, Brinley}

{me and Tex}

The music was great, and so was the company! Thanks guys!

Brighten up your Wednesday

Check out this video . . . if it doesn't put a smile on your face, nothin will.

Sophie Lynn

Man . . . my kids are always keeping me entertained.