Lydia's 1st Birthday

Happy birthday Lydia!! I can't believe that she is already 1! Where did the time go? She is so much fun and we love having her as part of our family. She LOVES bananas and "na-na" was one of her first words (at least one of the first words that she actually knew what it meant), so I decided to make her a banana cake and put a monkey/bananas on top. The fondant monkey wasn't the greatest but hey, for my first try wasn't half bad. :)  Because her real birthday was on Sunday, we had her little party on Saturday. The festivities included a yummy bar-b-que, cake and ice cream, and presents.

I had lots of fun making Lydia's monkey cake.

 Lydia really wanted the candle on her cake but wasn't quite sure what to do with the actual cake. After finally getting a few bites, she decided that there was too much going on and she would rather get down and play.

She got so spoiled by everyone! Of course she liked the wrapping paper, bags, and boxes more than her clothes. She also got some new shoes, a doll, a musical walker, a stuffed monkey (with a bunch of real bananas), and a new car seat.

She loves her new walker and dances to the music. 

Great Grandma and Grandpa Pratt also sent her a birthday card with $5 inside. She liked the red bird on the card, but LOVED the money. She carried that $5 bill around with her all day. What a happy girl!

24th of July

Each year, in celebration of pioneer days, the city of Bountiful has "Handcart Days." This includes a fun weekend with a parade, park activities (games, food, rides, entertainment), and fireworks. 

The parade! I couldn't believe how crowded it was! Kevin loved having Lydia around. When he saw something in the parade that he wanted, he took Lydia to the front and usually got it (including rolls from the Lion House, otter pops, frisbees, etc.) This year they also did a special entry with the "Sons of Helaman" Here is an excerpt from the handcart days website about it:  "This year’s parade will include an entry that will happen only one time and in only one parade.  Complementing this year’s theme, They Did Not Doubt, young men from all over the area will come together dressed as warriors.  They will be led by President Cory Hanks, president of the Bountiful South Stake, who will be dressed as Helaman.Young men from all over the valley will be involved in the march.  It will be inspiring to see.  They will all be costumed and will each have a wooden staff-like spear. The staffs will each have a nail in the bottom.  Every fourth step, the young men will strike the staff on the pavement which will make a thunderous sound unlike any heard before in a parade.  They will all be wearing wrist bands that proclaim the message, “They Did Not Doubt!”

Neal was asked to help organize the boys in our stake. I think he enjoyed it (most of the time) and the end result was quite impressive. I'm not sure they got the 2,000 boys they wanted, but there were a LOT of warriors marching. It was a great experience for all those involved and it was eye opening to me to help visualize a little better what it might have really been like for the stripling warriors. 

Neal is actually in this picture, but since everyone is really small, he's hard to see. :)

Enjoying lunch at the park. We had: pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, and creamies for dessert. 

Hanging out and enjoying the activities at the park.

A week in Rexburg

After a few days home to unpack and recuperate from Bear Lake, Lydia and I packed up again and headed up to Rexburg. My sister, Melissa, and her three girls were visiting from Hawaii, so we wanted to go visit with them. Jen (another sister) and her baby were also staying in Rexburg (her husband is currently in Jordan), so we had the three of us and our girls together for most of a week. Rhonda (and most of her family) and Spencer (and all of his family) came up for the weekend as well. Before Rhonda arrived, there were 11 little girls in the house (13 after she came, and only 3 boys!) The granddaughters in the family greatly outnumber the grandsons. :) It was so fun to be with family and enjoy each other! We enjoyed visiting, watching the kids, playing outside, going to the splash park, and riding the carousel.  Going through the pictures on my camera, I realized I just had lots of pictures of the 3 babies (trying again and again to get a good one with them all looking and smiling) and not of anything or anyone else. They did play together (or at least keep each other entertained) better then Christmas (last time they were all together). I wish we all lived closer so we could get together more often!

Take 1. Kaitlin and Lydia took off as soon as we put them down. They were off to explore grandma's yard. Poor Sadie was left sitting all by herself. When they did come back to look at the pretty flowers, Sadie was not a fan of being patted on the head by the others. :) 

The first one here we at least caught them all looking at the camera before Lydia decided to take off again.

My parents took us all to the Teton Flood Museum one of the day we were there. It is not a huge exibit, but is pretty interesting to see and learn more about. Unfortunately Lydia was not the least bit interested in any of that, but luckily they also had a toy/activity room for the kids. This fun activity table was a big hit, they were fascinated by all the different things to do.

Cute cousins hanging out at the park!

Lydia's first carousel ride. She liked it for the first 5 minutes or so, but wanted to get off before the ride ended.

We had so much fun visiting with family but definitely missed Neal, as he stayed home to work. A few days after arriving in Rexburg, he sent me this beautiful bouquet of flowers and a sweet note! I loved it, it was a nice surprise from my wonderful husband.

We loved picking all of Grandma's fresh produce. Lydia saw the rhubarb and really wanted to have some, so I let her have a stalk. I didn't think she would like it, but she loved chewing on it!

Before we knew it, a week had almost passed and it was time to pack up and head back home. We had a great time and were a bit sad to leave, but so excited to go home and see Neal!

Bear Lake

July was a fun and busy month. To start things off, we went to Bear Lake for a few days with Neal's family( on his Dad's side). We all stayed in a big cabin and it was so much fun to all be together! We went boating (complete with tubing and water skiing) one day, rented jet skis another day, played tennis, went biking, played some mini golf,  had a cake decorating contest(thanks Camille!), and of course played lots of games and visited! I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few.

Family! This is most everyone who came.

Just the Steve Johnson family.

The Beach!

Lydia surprisingly loved the water even though it was freezing!

Lydia happy and still enjoying the water!

Hanging out with grandma and ready for some lunch.

Playing games at the beach! 

Camille (our cousin) recently took a cake decorating class and thought it would  be fun to decorate cakes. Since we were there over the 4th of July, we did patriotic cakes. We ended up in two teams: Michelle, Stephanie, and I, and Camille, Annie, and  Kim .The cakes were already made- we just need to decorate. It turned into a fun evening with each group trying to outdo the other one. Our cake was smaller and falling apart, so it was interesting to try to keep it together and get the frosting to stay on and look decent. :) We finished our cake way earlier than the other group so we started to look around for something to make our presentation better. We found a pretty blue cup that worked great as a cake stand and then ran outside to pick some flowers and leaves to put around the base. When the other team finally finished their cake and saw what we had done, they found a taller cup and a prettier plate to use for their cake stand. At the last minute Robert (Kim's husband) ran out to the car and came back with some crazy headbands to put around the cake. It is hard to see them well in the picture, but they looked like a bunch of colorful Chinese finger traps together- and they had flashing lights to top it off. Who has those in their cars? In the end, Dallin chose their cake- because he liked the flashing lights. It really was a fun filled evening and we all had lots of laughs.

 

Playing games after breakfast.

Quite a few of us brought up our bikes and we enjoyed a nice, scenic ride through the town. Neal's parents rented this cool surrey bike and took Lydia with them. After a while they traded with us and let us take a turn. It was pretty fun!

Roommate Reunion

We recently had a fun get together with old roommates and friends. Jake and Tricia were visiting from California so it was the perfect reason to do something. Tricia and I were roommates the summer before we both got married, and Neal and Jake were roommates at the same time- along with Dave and Bryton. Dave graciously offered to let us use his place in South Jordan to bar-b-que, chat, and catch up on life for everyone. We met Jake and Tricia's handsome little boy, Sterling, for the first time. And they met Lydia for the first time as well. We're sad that they don't live closer so we can do this more often! 

The gang: Neal, myself, Lydia. Dave. Tricia, Jake, Sterling. Bryton

Our sweet, happy Lydia

Neal and Jake showing off their cute babies

Tricia and I with our babies.

Dave and Bryton were feeling a little left out while we were all taking pictures with our babies. They decided to take a picture as well with their own "babies."  :)

Camping

Last month we went camping with Neal's family in Eden,UT (near Pineview).  It was Lydia's first camping trip and, besides the sleeping part, went very well. :) We didn't arrive until after dinner just in time for dessert! What is a camping trip without roasting marshmallows and making smores?! Neal's dad also picked up some small containers of ice cream for Stephanie's birthday. We gave him a hard time about it because instead of the chocolate ice cream he thought he bought, one was coffee flavored and he is a bishop. It was so nice relaxing, eating, and visiting around the campfire. Lydia refused to go to sleep in the pack-n-play so she stayed up late with the rest of us. In the morning, after catching a few hours of sleep, we enjoyed exploring the area, eating a wonderful breakfast, and playing games before packing up and driving back home. We can't wait for our next camping trip!

 Mom, Stephanie, and Dallin

Enjoying the campfire.

Breakfast time! Neal and his dad made a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausage.

Lydia was excited to be outside and liked watching the fire.

Going walking with Grandma.

June update

Here are a bunch of random pictures from June. I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. We love the warm weather and spend a lot of time outdoors. :)

My grandparents came up from Texas and we had a fun get together at my cousin Robbie's place. Of course I forgot that I had my camera until I saw this cute little rocking chair on our way out. We love visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoy each time they come up (especially as it is not too often). Quite a few of the Utah cousins and some aunts and uncles were there as well.

Stephanie also just had a birthday. I wasn't sure what to get her so I ended up making this cute little cupcake box (to hold a gift card). It was actually just a plastic cup with a snap on lid that I had lying around. I used cute paper to make the cupcake "liner", some tissue paper for the "frosting", and some fabric flowers for decoration. 

Neal's mom also took us out to Wingers for lunch. It was really good (plus I had enough food for lunch that day and lunch for Neal and I the next!) and Stephanie was nice enough to share the asphalt pie they brought out for her birthday.

We got Lydia a little toothbrush and toothpaste. She loves to brush her teeth with Mom and Dad!

I  have also been trying to get Lydia to feed herself with a spoon. She will take a bite or two with the spoon, but then she just holds it in one hand (or throws it on the floor) while using her hand to eat. So messy now, but hopefully she will learn soon.