Happy 4th of July

We had a really fun day yesterday.  Will had the day off work, so we could do fun family things.
And, of course, all dress the same.  I thought it was a cute idea to wear matching outfits.

Apparently, the little girls did not think it was such a cute idea.  We took several pictures and couldn't get any with them smiling or looking at the camera.  But we did all wear red shirts and blue jeans and felt a little patriotic.

Our ward had a big 4th of July breakfast.  The ward provided pancakes and asked everyone else to bring sides.  So we made a big fruit salad that was delicious.  I put my fruit on my pancake so I wouldn't have to use syrup.  The strawberry and the banana and the kiwi all tasted good on the pancake - not so much the watermelon. Oh well.  There were also lots of egg things and cinnamon rolls.  Will and I had to keep reminding ourselves that we were dieting.

Will brought his bubble contraption and was a huge hit at the breakfast.  The older kids liked chasing the bubbles Will blew and the younger kids got a kick out of using the flyswatter with the holes cut into it.  Poor Will had to basically stay there the whole time we were at the park, but I don't think he minded too much.

Rachel gets a little ride with my friend Jennifer.  I am her visiting teacher and she is Whitney's nursery teacher.  So we all know each other quite well. 

Another lady in our ward brought balloons and made balloon things for all the kids.  She could make hats or swords or little animals.

It is hard to tell from this picture, but this is Whitney's flower.  She carried it around with her for awhile and only had to be rescued a couple of times by me.  I don't think Whitney realizes how fragile balloons are and that they shouldn't be used to hit the bark on the playground.
So that was a fun time with our ward. It is nice to have get-togethers where everyone is calm and can just sit and relax and talk.

We went to Riverfront Park for the firework show.  It was super crowded with thousands of people everywhere.

This picture doesn't do the crowdedness justice.  We are on top of the red wagon slide.  Whitney was very patient and waited in line to get to go down the slide.  We only went down a couple of times because the wait wasn't very fun.  Whitney liked watching all the people.

The fireworks show started at 10:00, when it was good and dark. I tried to prepare Whitney ahead of time that the fireworks were going to be loud, but that they were far away and not scary.  Both Whitney and Rachel did a good job and watched the fireworks without getting scared.  Here are a couple pictures that Will took.  He was able to use a special setting for fireworks on the camera.  Who knew that cameras came with settings like that?

 

Of course, the fireworks looked much more awesome in person.  But I think Will did a good job getting picture of them. 

We had an awesome day.  I am so grateful for our free country and for all those who have been, or are currently, serving in the military to maintain that freedom.  We really are a blessed people.

The Optometrist

I went in to the optometrist for an eye exam yesterday.  One of my eyes has been bothering me off an on for the past little while.  But switching to just wearing glasses has made it much better.  Since I haven't had my eyes checked in many many years, I thought it was time to see the optometrist.  It was in Spokane Valley and Will was very kind to watch the girls while I had my appointment.
I was able to narrow down my glasses selection to these three pairs.  I knew that I wanted something a little more bold and a little more fun than my current glasses since I plan on wearing them most of the time.

I guess they all look very similar in these pictures, but it was nice to be able to look at the pictures at the eye exam place and get a different viewpoint of what I would look like wearing the glasses.  Tune in in like two weeks when I get my pair to see which ones I selected. 

And Whitney got to try on lots of glasses as well.  I think she is trying to act like a police officer in this picture.

A short visit

Will's sister, Emily, and her family were visiting family in Portland and they wanted to see us as they drove back to Colorado.  We wanted to see them on their way back, so we met up in the Tri-Cities to hang out with them for a little bit.  It was just a fast trip because they had lots more driving to do, but we were really excited to get to see them.  It has been about a year since the last time we saw them.  We met up at the Playground of Dreams in Kennewick.

Will brought his bubble contraption and it was a real hit with all the kids.  Here is Emily giving it a go. 

I think Matthew liked the bubbles the best.  He loved making his own (and got really good at making them) and he loved chasing the ones that Will made.

Grant got ahold of the flyswatter that has holes cut out of it which makes for a good bubble wand for little kids.  He waved it around and got a lot of little bubbles all over the grass. 

After bubbles, the kids had a ball playing on the playground.  Whitney and Anna stayed pretty close to each other.  Anna is about a year and a half older than Whitney and she was very nice and let Whitney tag along with her.  I think this picture is really cute with both of them smiling in their little boat.

All Matthew needs is a hard hat and he could be a great construction worker.  Here he goes to town digging for whatever can be found in the bark.

Whitney and Anna both like swinging.  I didn't get a picture, but they were both on the tire swing for awhile just chilling together. 
After playing at the playground, we went out to the Olive Garden for dinner together and then we had to say goodbye to the Guptills.  They wanted to keep driving for a little longer that evening.  Thanks for visiting us.  We had lots of fun.  We will have to go down to Colorado and visit them some time.

Saturday was just a relaxing day with my family.  We went to Chiawana park in the afternoon and only got a little sunburned.  Whitney loves holding grandma's hand and is happy to be walking to the water.  There were a lot of duck feathers and seagull feathers all around the water's edge that Whitney kept trying to throw into the water.  It was pretty funny because the feather often just floated right back to her.  Oh well.

Rachel is not too happy in this picture because we had just put her feet in the water.  It was apparently too cold for her because she started crying right away.  Again I say, oh well.  We went back to Cheney Saturday evening so we could spend Fathers Day without driving and just being by ourselves.

That is pretty much all that has been happening here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Potty Training

Why was I never warned just how difficult potty training can be?  We have only been doing potty training for the past six days and I already want it to be done.  But I guess that just doesn't work.

This is our potty chair that we are using.  It was given to us by a friend whose little boy was too young for potty training.  We have had this chair for about seven months; I have really been putting off the potty training.  Now all of Whitney's friends in nursery are starting to learn to use the potty, so we decided that we better start as well.
So we bought a bag of jelly beans as a reward for using the potty.  At first, Whitney was afraid to even sit on the potty, so she got a jelly bean for just trying to use the toilet, but now she isn't afraid anymore.  I am thankful for that.

I didn't take any pictures of the actual sitting on the potty, but this is Whitney right after she went potty for the first time in the toilet.  I let her play with a whole bunch of stickers and she put them all on our little brown toy chest.  She kept saying "What is that?" when she saw that she had gone to the bathroom.  So I am hoping she is starting to recognize the feeling of going to the bathroom in the toilet. 
What else should I do for potty training besides just leaving her on the potty for a long time while we eat or read books or watch TV or whatever?  I would love potty-training suggestions.

Anyway, that is what we have been doing this week and will be continuing to do for a long time.  Cheney has been rainy, so we have been spending lots of time inside.  I hope next week will be better.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day down in Pasco with my family.  We did lots of fun things and also got to spend some time just relaxing - playing games and watching movies with lots of popcorn.  Life doesn't get much better.  Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Everyone took turns making some of the huge bubbles from Will's cool bubble contraption.  I think Conner likes it as much as Will.  Whitney is holding a fly swatter with extra holes cut into it that can be waved around and make bubbles.  So that was a hit for her.  I think everyone got a little bubble soap on themselves Friday evening.

We spent a lot of Saturday at the Playground of Dreams.  It is this really huge park that was built when I was about twelve by people living in the Tri-Cities.  I remember going to help out for mutual one evening.  Here are a couple of pictures from the park.

Whitney starts climbing.  It was really hard getting good pictures because she didn't want to sit still.

One of Whitney's favorite parts of the park was the slides; there were quite a few slides and Whitney had to try all of them - many times.  She has gotten a lot less nervous about going down all by herself and not always wanting to be caught by me or Will.

Rachel sat in the swing for about ten minutes and she wasn't too sure about it the whole time.  She never cried, but she also never smiled.  So I guess we will have to try again in a couple of months to see if she likes swings any better.  Whitney didn't want to get out of her one.

   
Next to the park was a church gathering.  It offered free jumps on the bounce house and free face painting.  There were a lot of kids in the bounce house, so Whitney was a little nervous, but she did a good job.  Some of the kids were very nice and helped her jump and avoid falling down.

Whitney got a purple glittery star painted on her face.  We just had the lady do something really small because I didn't think Whitney would sit still for very long.  Whitney really liked her star and kept touching her face later that day to make sure it was still there.

Memorial Day was fun.  We went on a hike in Sintel Canyon in Kennewick.  It was a nice easy one, more like a nature walk, so it was perfect for a family with little kids.

We saw this sign outside of the trail which seemed really appropriate considering it was Memorial Day.  We do want to remember all those who sacrificed to make America great.

Here the troops get started on their journey.  My mom was nice enough to carry the bag with some food and water and extra diapers (just in case).

It was so cute and so nice seeing how well Conner took care of Whitney along the trail.  He held her hand during the more rocky hills and ran with her when she wanted to run.  Thank you Conner for being a great uncle and a good role model for Whitney.

We pose on a fallen tree for a family picture. 

Brave Kylee and Kaitlin got on a tree that was fallen and was over a small stream.  It was about six or seven feet in the air. 

After the hike, we went to a program to remember all the members of the armed forces who had fought and are currently fighting to maintain our freedoms.  It wa a beautiful program.  Here is just some of the crowd.

Everyone got a yellow balloon to write names of loved ones on.

Whitney clung to her balloon pretty fiercely. 

After the program, everyone released their balloons at the same time.  It was touching to remember all of our soldiers for Memorial Day and to be part of something to remember their sacrifices.

Anyway, we had a great weekend.  Thank you my family for letting us come stay for a couple of days and for the fun times.