Christmas in July!

For Christmas, Santa brought Ben some really cool Tonka's, obviously anticipating the new sandbox. They weren't exactly "inside" toys, so after a few days we stored them in the garage until there was a home outside for them. At last the day has come, and as far as Ben was concerned it was Christmas all over again.

We've also started getting more than just zucchini and squash out of our garden. Check out last night's harvest!

Ben had to give Erin the rules for handling his garden veggies.

Even still, he made sure she was closely supervised...

Crazy Fun : Part Two

So now for this weekend. We started Friday (Pioneer Day) with Spanish Fork's parade. It was a dream come true for Ben. Tractors, firetrucks, horses, candy...what more could he ask for?

Erin wasn't nearly as fond of the firetrucks as Ben was.

Nana and Papa came down and treated the kids to some carnival rides. Here's Ben and Jen driving a sweet ride and then with Papa on the carousel.

Here's a shot of the fireworks from our front yard. Pretty awesome.
The 24th was Nana's birthday, so we made the 25th a jam packed fun day in Salt Lake. We started with the zoo. Nana made all the grandkids tie dye shirts to make them easy to keep track of. After that we had a quick lunch, then Brandon & I went to see Harry Potter. After that it was off to the annual Campbell family BBQ. What a crazy fun day.
Elephants!

The Zebra's were not feeling very social.

Jen loves to hold Baby Erin. I think Erin has her own opinion about this.

Uh, Dad? I think that bird weighs as much as I do! Lets not get too close.

Who taught the penguins synchronized swimming?

Crazy Fun : Part One

The last two weekends have been so busy (and fun!), now it's time to catch up. Here's what went on last weekend.

Our ward's primary has an annual children's parade on bikes and scooters through the neighborhood. Ben doesn't have a bike or a scooter, so we decked out his 4-wheeler. He was pretty cute.

The project of the week was a sandbox! We didn't tell Ben what daddy was building...

but when Brandon brought the sand in we told Ben that he needed to help daddy spread the dirt. He loved having a job. Problem was that the sand was wet enough that he really thought it was just dirt and still didn't realize it was a sandbox.

He sure was a good helper though. Eventually we got him to understand that this was his new sandbox and he's been loving it.

So, onto the second project of the week: a shed. Brandon's dad helped design it, then his parents came to visit and help with construction. They got a lot done in 2 days!
After it was all said and done we had two very tired and very happy kids. Goodnight little munchkins!

7 month update

My little 'punkin' became a big 7 month old last week. It's amazing how much a baby can change in one month. She can now sit for self-determined lengths of time...or until Ben plows her over. She's figuring out how to make sounds, other than growls, and even tried to mimic "hi" the other day. She still hasn't figured out an efficient way to move, but is getting very close to scooting. She has rolling down, she just doesn't seem to like to use it to go very far. It seems like she's been teething on and off for two months now, but still nothing to show for it. But who can resist a toothless grin?

Coming soon: cute Ben & our nearly completed yard!

WiLd Weekend

We finally had a good weather weekend in Moab! It did rain briefly, but not during anything too important. Brandon took a 4-day-weekend so that we could try our first campout with 2 kids. Even though Grandma & Grandpa gave us their cushy trailer to use, we didn't get much sleep, but we did have 2 days of mountain fun. Sorry for the picture overload...but isn't that how you know that it was a good trip?

Our litte 'jumping bean' getting some air.

What's a campout without playing in the dirt?

In case you couldn't tell, Ben LOVES 4-wheelers...


Fishing Time!!!

Ben got so soaked at the lake that we had to dry his shoes on the campfire overnight. He did not enjoy being held all evening.

But Grandma, I'm just not sleepy.

Here's Brandon and me shooting my 22-pistol.



Ben & Grandma swinging
Ben riding his "tractor"
Mommy & Erin swinging
Moab fireworks show

Family Day & Father's Day

Saturday was the annual Family Day for Brandon's work. Previously, this has been a lunch meeting in a warehouse followed by games for the kids on the lawn. This year they went all out and had it at Boondocks! The weather wasn't great, but we still had fun.

Ben LOVED the bumper boats. Who cares that it's cold and windy when you can float and spray a water gun at the same time?

Ben wasn't as thrilled with the go-karts. He didn't get upset or anything, just looked a little terrified the whole time.

And last, but not least, my terribly late Father's Day posting-

We just spent the whole day hanging out with Daddy.

Even Erin was in on the present opening.

The kids weren't being super-cooperative, so Brandon ended up doing a lot of the cooking (and cleanup) for his special day. But check out the hamburger he made for dinner! Mine wasn't too shabby either.
Happy Father's Day to all the great Dad's in my life. I don't know what I'd do without you!