Ice cream for dinner????

I decided a few weeks ago, after watching Jon and Kate plus 8, to let the girls have ice cream for dinner one night. (Kate is a bit controlling and has other issues, but some of her ideas are cute. ) I told the girls that we could start a new tradition and have ice cream for dinner one time each summer. They were beyond excited about it. So we got out 2 kinds of ice cream, whipped cream, peanuts, 2 kinds of cookies, 3 kinds of sprinkles, bananas, strawberries, marshmallows and chocolate chips. Ice cream heaven! Or so I thought. Addyson ate about 3 bites and wanted to know if she could have her bedtime snack now, at 5:45, because she was full of ice cream. WHAT!!! After all the talking it up, she wants to eat a real dinner?!? Who's kid is she anyways? Janae joined her after a few more bites. We had talked about having beef stick, crackers and cheese for a "healthy", Janae's words, snack later tonight. They chose to have snacks foods for dinner; raw veggies, strawberries, grapes, the cheese and meat. I guess that it is partly my fault, I've ingrained in their little minds that they have to eat fruits and veggies at every meal.

So much for them remembering what a cool mom I was to let them have ice cream for dinner. I tried.

Soccer season is over

Addyson played soccer for the first time this year. She got tremendously better as the season progressed. We lucked out and got really great coaches. Shawna and Debbie were extremely patient with the kids. Addyson was the cutest player out on the field.

Splash Park

I have tried to talk the girls into going to the splash park lots of times this summer, but they never want to. They always say that the water is too cold. (like the water in the unheated outdoors pools isn't?) We ended up there today only because the water will be shut off on Monday for the year, got to get the last water day in. Usually I can't get them to get in the water. Today I couldn't get them out. We ended up staying for 4 hours. It was such a nice day, especially after the weather we have been having.

Lagoon

We headed to SLC on Wednesday afternoon to go to Lagoon on Thursday. The girls have been looking forward to it since last year. They have so much fun that, even though their parents are no really the amusement park type, we take them every year. Grandma met up with us after we spent a couple of hours at Lagoon-a-beach. The day went so fast! We only went went a couple of rides more than once. Poor Addyson was 2 inches too short for most of the "big" rides, maybe next year.

She was able to go on the Bat, a roller coaster type ride where you are suspended under the track. She thought it was great, I did not.


Our little family at about 10:15 on our way out of the park. We stayed the entire day and didn't get a chance to ride all the rides we wanted to.


I splurged and bought the girls an Icee in a cool cup for the car ride home. I had to do something to keep them awake, otherwise they would have gotten their second wind after a short nap. Sorry, not an option at 11:00 pm.


The girls with grandma on the Tilt-a-whirl. This is one of their favorite rides, especially with grandma.

It was fun, long, hot day. We plan on going again next year, anyone is welcome to join us.

Which princess am I?

You Are Jasmine!

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

My babies, how cute they are

So I was looking at pictures earlier today and came across some of my favorite and thought I would share.

Janae was such a cutie when I was pregnant with Addyson. I was in the middle of making breakfast when I got sick. Janae decided to join me at her potty. How cute is that!

Addyson giving me her best smile with dimples. I loved these clothes on her, so cute!

Scott brought home a digital camera from work so that we could take nude pictures of Janae. I was too afraid of who might get a hold of pictures if I had some printed off. (Good thing that I am putting them on the internet!!) She is cuter than any Anne Geddes picture I've ever seen.

After getting her ready for church, Addyson decided to have some fun. I saw her and wondered where she had gotten a hold of tissues, the bathroom door had to be kept closed to keep her from drinking the toilet water. She found the wipes and pulled every single one of them out of the brand new package. She is so proud of herself.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today is our 9 year anniversary. It seems like a long time ago, but at the same time, time has flown by. So much has happened in the last 9 years. We have had a lot of good times. Addyson was practicing a song for us for when Scott got home from work. "Happy anniversary to you, happy anniversary to you. I love my mom and dad. Happy anniversary to you." It doesn't get any sweeter than that. We went out to dinner on Saturday because Addyson had a soccer game tonight. Janae took a picture of us before our night out. Thanks sweety. Scott is a great husband, even though I don't tell him that often. He is a great provider, an awesome dad and a caring husband. Who could ask for more? Here's to another 9 great years!

Fire Station #6

After spending a few hours at the museum, we went back to grandmas for a nap and dinner. Scott's cousin, Ginger, called to invite us to the fire station where she is captain. Although the girls have been to fire stations before, they were eager to go. Ginger made it fun for the kids. They got to try on her captains helmet, sit in her seat in the truck and try out the fire hose. Luke, the girls' cousin, had just one question to ask Ginger. "Could he go for a ride in the fire truck?" Not to disappoint him, she agreed. See Janae's face? She was thrilled to go for a ride. They went around the block, with sirens on. Janae said that a police car even got out of their way. When they got back, Ginger had one of the other firemen extend the ladder for her to climb up, all 100 feet of it. The kids thought is was great! Only adults were allowed to slide all the way down the pole, but the kids were able to hang onto from the bottom end.

Captain Ginger Barraclough (Bearclaw)

We went for a tour of the station also. The kids liked that there was a tv, a kitchen and even beds for the fire fighters, even if they don't get to sleep much. Addyson's favorite part was when the dispatcher announced on the radio a welcome to the Neff family at Station #6. "How in the world did she know we were there???" It was way more exciting than any tours the girls have gone on before! Thanks Ginger!

Gateway Children's Museum

We stayed the weekend in SLC because we has plans to go to Lagoon on Monday. Our plans changed when Scott's brother, Lee, and his family also stayed in town. We decided to spend the day with them instead. We went to the children's museum at the Gateway Monday afternoon. We have been there before, so the girls were looking forward to it. From the balls right inside to the water table, the service station to the farm, the store to the rock wall, the girls had a blast. They both had favorites that they would return to often. It was fun to see our girls play with their cousins too. The picture on top left is a picture of all four of them, kind of. Addyson dressed up as monster from "Where the Wild Things Are", how fitting :) Janae found the crafty section where she could stamp and color. (wonder where she got that from? ) Addyson is even checking out the mouse hole in the house where she left food for any hungry mice. They must of been hungry, the food disappeared. I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Grandma's house

Sunday was grandma's actual birthday and it turned out to be a nice day. We got to sleep in since church wasn't until 12:30. We went to just sacrament, so we were home early. The afternoon was spent outside playing. Grandmas got a new sprinkler so her and and kids had some fun in the water. Out of respect to her, I won't post any pictures of that hour. Bubbles, swings, the hammock; it was a free for all in the backyard. After dinner, grandma had to blow out her candles, with help from all the kids. At dusk, grandpa decided to go for a walk with some of the little ones. Addyson thought she'd scored big when she came back with 3 snails. She was a little put out when no one wanted to touch them and when grandma told her that they couldn't be put down in her yard. Addyson thought she was bringing a pet home for good. To the garbage they went!!

All in all, it was a great weekend. The surprise party was a BIG surprise, being with family was great, the weather was good, and the cousins played really well together.

Girl time

On Saturday, we headed to Utah for grandma's surprise party. We got up before the sun came up, as Janae pointed out to us, to get there for our pedicure appointments. The ladies at the salon must have thought I was crazy to bring my two girls with me because they kept asking what they were going to do on them and then reminding me of the cost of everything. Janae and I have been planning this for a while and we decided that we didn't want Addyson to feel left out, so we included her too. I didn't think about taking my camera with me, but I wish I would have. Both girls were grinning ear to ear pretty much the whole time. Addyson couldn't keep a smile off her face, even when I tried to get her to. Janae kept saying how much fun she was having. One of the customers in the salon was watching us the whole time. She would look at us and laugh like we were a riot. I'm sure that it wasn't Addyson she was laughing at. Her little legs weren't long enough to reach the tub, even with the chair all the way forward. They put a pillow behind her and even then only about 2 inches of her little foot was in the water. When it was time to soak her hands for the manicure, the lady asked her to bend her legs to hold the bowl of water on her lap. Oops, her legs weren't long enough to reach the tub if bent. It was fun to share their first mani/pedi experience with them. I'm sure that there will be many more to come in the years ahead.



Janae's toes

Janae's fingers

Addyson's toes

Addyon's fingers

Wyoming's Big Show

The fair was this week, so we went as a family on Wednesday night. We spent some time watching the barrel racing in the rodeo arena. The girls thought it was neat to see how fast the horses could go. They really liked when watching the tractor drag the arena smooth between heats of racers. We went to the petting zoo and saw lots of goats, ducks, cows, sheep and other 4-legged animals. The girls even got to milk a cow. I was surprised that Janae was the first in line to milk. They got stickers for their efforts. They thought the best part the fair was the bubbles. They could have played for hours if there hadn't been a long line of kids waiting for their turn.