Melanie's Special Post

I have noticed how many times my sister-in-law Melanie checks our blog to see if there is anything new. She should probably only check it once a month. I am a little slow to update. Although, I have given you a good 15 minutes of reading and picture viewing over the last few days. Sorry if that seems inefficient, but it is just how things happen around here.

I thought I should reward Melanie's faithfulness to our blog with her own personal entry. I am truly hoping that it drives her to start her own blog so I have something to check-up on. I would prefer not to have an entry quite like this for myself, but if it would help her start one, I would sacrifice my pride.

Here's to Melanie:

Grandpa & Grandma Willardsen

Grandpa and Grandma Willardsen came to visit last weekend. We got together at our house and had a BBQ. Randy's sisters Michelle and Melanie came with their families. We had a good time eating, chatting, and mostly watched the kids. Kids are always great entertainment!

Happy 24th

Randy and I have never worked for a company that has given us the 24th of July off. We usually celebrate with a scout breakfast and maybe a BBQ that night. This year when Parker heard there was a parade he asked (begged with tears) if we could go. Randy was heading off to work and told him is sounded like a great idea. I told him the parade was great on TV and hoped that would satisfy him. Of course not. Off to the parade we went. Thank goodness Mandy and her dad and kids were already on their way and we could tag along. Joshua loved watching the motorcycle cops go by. I was quite impressed myself at their cool riding tricks. I wonder how long they practice so they don't run into each other?
Parker's favorite part was the pirate float (of course I can't remember who and what it was actually about).
Gabby's favorite was all the floats that required the "Float Dr." to come tow them.
Gabby, Sydni, Joshua, Owen and Parker enjoying their front-row seats.
And in the end, I must admit that I did enjoy it. It was not as crowded as I thought it would be, it was as hot, but much more bearable than expected, and it tired my kids out enough that all of them napped when we got home. Well worth it.

Enjoying the Outdoors

A friend of ours, April invited us to go to Red Butte Garden a few weeks ago. She had a Community Experience card from the library, but she only counts as one of the four tickets available. A free outing with my kids and an adult to talk to...can't pass that up. Lucky for me she doesn't seem to mind hanging out with our rowdy bunch.

We had been to Red Butte earlier this year before everything was in bloom, so we already knew we would enjoy it. The garden are great. someday I hope to have a back yard that looks half that great.

Gabby loves Sequoia. She is much lighter than Joshua so it is a lot easier to play little mom. It is great to have good friends that don't mind all the craziness that comes with me and my kids.

The Joys of Gardening

We love to plant a garden each year and watch it grow. Even if we grow things the kids may not enjoy, they love to participate. They love to look through the garden with Randy for things that are ready to pick. They are even pretty good at weeding. Our plants this year have grown really well. Of course the yellow crook-neck and zucchini produce plenty. We are even getting some great cucumbers. The tomatoes (back-right) are about 5 1/2 feet tall. We are still waiting for a good red one.

We tried onions for the first time. Next time I will plant them a little deeper. They seem to be growing right out of the ground.
Our apricot tree produced very well this year as well. I think most of the neighborhood made apricot jam and still had plenty to eat and give away.
Gabby, Parker & Joshua exploring in the garden.

A Successful Bedtime Routine

As parents we constantly measure ourselves to others to determine whether we are doing a good job. A long time ago I realized that I may never learn how to put my kids to bed. Until Gabby started preschool we never had a decent bedtime. During the school year we have finally been able to get Gabby and Parker to bed at a normal hour. Joshua, on the other hand is still a challenge. Sadly, this is a successful bedtime routine for him. He played on his own, pulling out toys and exploring until he just couldn't take it any more. No crying, no whining. Success!

Happy Birthday Dear Joshua...

Our little baby boy is now a big 2 year-old. He can definitely play as hard as any other 2 year-old. It's amazing how two years changes kids. It's probably good that the rest of us don't change so rapidly. We would never be able to recognize old friends.
We had a BBQ and swim party with the family. The kids had a great time splashing in the pool, running through the cool sponge bob sprinkler and getting each other wet.

Joshua with his pals: Parker, Bella, Gabby and Carter.
Isaac, Gabby, Bella, Parker, Carter & Joshua
Grandpa & Grandma Cooper & Aunt Lucille
Minde, Grandma Dyreng, Michelle & Corbin
Melanie (her good side), Brian & CorbinMichelle & Isaac

Christmas in July

I have heard of Christmas in July, but I can't say we have ever tried it. Well, when you find a gingerbread house kit for $1.99 in July and your kids ask for it, it's hard to say no. It was cheap entertainment.

Beautiful Babies

These would be Easter pictures taken in the middle of June. Close enough, right?

I must again, comment on how beautiful my kids are. I am often times at fault for focusing on the little naughty things they do. I'll try to make up for just a little of that. I love to see clean kids in a picture looking nice and innocent. Gabby (7), Parker (4 1/2), Joshua (23 months)

Gabby is a sweet girl who loves to help everyone around her, especially Joshua. She is a little mom. Sometimes when I am trying to comfort Joshua after he has gotten hurt she comes up and tries to take him from me. I have heard her say quite a few times, "What's wrong with my sweet baby?" when talking to Joshua.

I love her picture where she shows a confident upper body, yet her cute curled toes show she still has just enough insecurity to keep her humble.












Parker is his dad in miniature physically, but my personality times 100 (at least I don't think I am that loud and wild). He is much more about having friends than toys. He gets lonely very quickly. He loves to play anything with anyone, but especially likes to play catch with his dad.

He battles choosing his own clothes, but has no problem wearing his suite because that's what his dad wears.

Joshua is usually happy, but by the end of the photo session, he was obviously tired. He loves to follow Gabby and Parker around, but can also play Little People or send cars down a ramp for hours all by himself. He loves to talk and is very good at communicating what he wants, at least to Gabby, Parker and I. Randy has to ask for a translation sometimes. I guess it pays off to spend all this time with my kids!

One day we left Gabby to play with some friends. When Joshua realized she wasn't at home he cried at the door calling for her. He loves being the baby that is so well taken care of by Gab and Parker.

I forget all too often how lucky we are to have such great kids. They keep us very busy and make us extremely tired. I guess that does make us sleep better at night. We definitely will not be bored for a very long time, and the lessons they teach us I am sure I wouldn't be learning in a class or behind a computer desk enjoying a good spreadsheet. We are also so glad they love each other and want to always be around each other, even after a good fight!