Park Day

Sylvia and Juli Fay being so cute

Ben with his hot wheels cars

So sweet

I love that the kids can climb trees on their own now

Pregnant face! My friend snapped this when I wasn't paying attention.

This summer, Friday is Park Day. We go other days too, of course, but Friday at 10 am is our designated time to meet up with friends and have a good time. I love it because I get to chat with my mommy friends, and our kids play well together (most of the time!). We go to a different city park each week to keep things interesting, and we really enjoy ourselves. Gotta love Park Day!

Date Night w/ Katy Perry

July 25, 2011

Some things I realized at the Katy Perry Concert:

It is time to take more pictures of my pregnant belly. I think I've let Nate take one, max.

People stare at pregnant women in public places where they don't expect to see them. A pregnant lady at a concert? Crazy stuff...

Arena seating isn't comfortable at 22 weeks along, when you're already super large like me.

There were people of all ages at this concert, but looking around, I started to feel really OLD.

My face is crazy chunky in this picture.

Even though it wasn't terribly comfortable for me at the concert, we still had a great time. Nate and I haven't been on a real date in ages, so it was nice to go to Salt Lake and engage in adult-themed activities, if only for a few hours. Although, it must be said that dates are pretty much wasted on us. We end up missing our kids, and wishing they were with us. Without them, Nate and I don't really feel like a unit. It's weird, but totally true. I just about lost it when I realized that I hadn't told the kiddos I loved them before Grandpa Bill came and picked them up! So, we've decided that when our anniversary rolls around next week, we'll be taking the kids on our date and kickin' it family style.

Ben's Mug Shots

See how happy Ben is with his new hair cut? This was just too funny :)

We're Having A...

BOY!!!

A Few More Sporty Pics

Just Because

Ben and Becky at the Oregon Coast, 2011

I LOVE this photo! My parents almost never have their picture taken together. This makes me happy :)

Independence Day

Tom and Ben hamming it up for the camera.

Sylvia is wearing the cutest "patriotic" skirt that Grandma Susan made just for her!

Bonnie and Barbara enjoying new baby Isabelle.

Just having fun :)

Cami and Sylvia just being so cute!

Sylvia took this picture! I guess we can add photographer to her long list of talents.

Wow, what a day! Nate went with Aunt Bonnie at 4am to save seats for the family for the Freedom Festival parade. We ate doughnuts, bagels and mint brownies, and sat back and enjoyed the parade in the shade. After the parade, we went to the Thompson family reunion, and ate great food and caught up with relatives. Nate took the kids swimming with the rest of the family, and they had a great time in the water. After that, it was time for a nap! Later, we got special "Liberty" snow cones, and then came home to do some fireworks. We had a very fun, activity-packed day :)

Stadium of Fire

Dad and Ben in matching patriotic shirts :)

Sylvia clapping along to David Archuleta.

Mommy and Sylvia trying to have fun in the heat :(

Glow bracelet time!

The Stadium of Fire is always a ton of fun. In fact, Nate and I are of the opinion that you can't have an Independence Day celebration in Provo without going to the show! Watching the fireworks from somewhere outside the stadium is ok, but it really isn't anything compared with the spectacular show from an awesome seat up close and in person.

This year, the entertainment was a talent competition, David Archuleta, and Brad Paisley. The talent competition was a total joke--the top 3 acts performed in the show, and then the audience was instructed to vote for their favorite via text message. Can you guess what happened? The mass flood of texts broke the system, and so the winner was determined by measuring the screams of the crowd. So, that part was pretty lame.

David Archuleta has a great voice, so he didn't disappoint the audience. His music was ok, but I was glad that he ended his set after about 15 minutes. The big draw was definitely Brad Paisley. He put on an amazing show!!! What I loved was that he did very little talking, and just played lots and lots of great music. He has some serious guitar skills! I knew Brad Paisley was good, but I had no idea he was that good. I've discovered that I like country music in general, but I LOVE Brad Paisley. He is really a great blend of classic country and southern rock.

And of course, the fireworks were AMAZING, as always. I would definitely say they were better than in years past. I like now that the fireworks are just set to great music, and aren't themed, like they tried to do in previous shows.

Ben's favorite part of the Stadium of Fire: "Getting to wear glow bracelets."

Sylvia's favorite part of the Stadium of Fire: "The fireworks that were shaped like hearts, and I really liked the huge ones. When they fell down, I thought they were going to land on me!"