Curse the Mosquitos!

Really, what are mosquitos good for? Anything? Poor Lily got her legs eaten alive by an army of monster mosquitos when we went to look at our land the other night. Curse those bloodsucking annoyances and the misery they spread! It seems this year has been particularly fertile for the breeding of mosquitos. Maybe it's because of the wet season we've had or something, but I've noticed that mosquitos are strong and plentiful this year. Stock up on your repellants early- they're out to attack! And, it's a good idea to purchase some good anti-itch sprays and creams while you're at it. My little Lily was scratching her bites so hard in church that they started to bleed and she started to cry. Once again, curse those mosquitos!

Recitations and Joyful Tunes...

A couple weeks ago, Stephen and I started reciting an Article of Faith each night before the girls went to bed. It's amazing to me how quickly our children learn. Lily can now recite the first and second Articles of Faith. Amara is even picking up on it a bit. Her version is "We believe... Eternal Father... and Holy Ghost! Here's a video of Lily reciting what she knows.

Amara has become quite the singer. Our nursery at church takes the children into the primary room for a 10 minute singing time in between the senior and junior primaries. Today, when we went to church, she ran straight into the primary room instead of the nursery. I told her that we had to go to nursery first, and she said, "No! Me want ta sing!" So, I picked her up and carried her towards the nursery and tried to explain to her that they would go to sing pretty soon, but she had to go play with toys first. She cried and cried. She just wanted to sing. Here is her version of "I love to see the temple."

See-a temp-o,

Goin' someday,

Fee-holy pow-it,

Liss-n ad obey-ey,

Fo a temp-o hows a god,

A pace lud an boo-tee,

Pen my-sewf,

My-ay-yun,

Dis is sayk-kid duty-ee!

How firm our FOUNDATION!

That's right, folks! Our foundation to our home is underway. It was very exciting to come back to Roosevelt after 2 1/2 weeks in Utah Valley and find that some progress had been made on our home.

Below is a view from the back corner of our home.
The photo below was taken from the back of our lot. You'll probably have to click on it to make out any detail.
Below is the view we have of the mountains and green field from our backyard.

Lily's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese...

Mandy posted some darling photos on her blog of Lily's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Thanks Mandy for taking pictures! I had forgotten my camera, so I'm glad you got some really good shots. Below are a few of the pics. See mmandj.blogspot.com for more of the pictures.

Chuck E. Cheese came around once for hugs and high 5s; however, April, my sister, said she saw him a lot. Everytime she turned around he was there. I think he was following her. I only saw him once.

Lily really loved the clock ride, you can tell by the big smile on her face.

Amara was really "driving" the car ride as fast as she could; it was as if she was competing against her cousin, Jaxon, to see who could steer faster.

Thanks to all who came to the party, and thank you again for the fun gifts and almost 600 well-earned tickets. Lily is so loved.

Rachel's Wedding at Wadley Farms

We enjoyed going to Wadley Farms in Lindon, Utah for Rachel's wedding. We weren't going to be in town for it, but we decided we could prolong our trip in Utah Valley to support my cousin. It was a really pretty place, and both the wedding and reception were beautiful. I'm glad we stayed. Of course, I couldn't leave without using this opportunity for a family photo shoot. The weather was so nice, and the landscaping was all so gorgeous, I just couldn't leave without capturing it!

Yes, there's a cow on the other side of that fence. Actually, there were a few cows, but one in particular must've thought we had food to feed it, because the second we approached the gate, he walked right up to us. I think he waited a minute or so before he lifted his tail... then it was time to leave.
I love it when my girls are nice to eachother. Aw, so cute.

Lily Turns 4 Years Old!

Lily is now 4! She is so loved by so many that we actually have celebrated her birthday 3 times this year. The first celebration was on her actual birthday. I held a combined preschool/birthday party for Lily at our little apartment in Roosevelt. We learned about animals and played games around that theme. It was fun to have my mom there, even though she probably shouldn't have been because she was unknowingly fatally low on blood. What a trooper! We had fun! We own a mini parachute and I had all the girls bring their favorite stuffed animal and we bounced them on the parachute outside. Then, we used it as a picnic blanket and ate cake.

Speaking of cake, Lily picked out a cake design from a book that I had found at a yard sale for 25 cents. I followed the instructions, with a few of my own variations, and I think the cake turned out very cute.
Here's a snapshot of the teddy bear cake before it was presented to Lily.
We made monkey masks for an activity. The eyes have mini holes poked out, so the girls can see through the mask.
This was a little game of "I spy" that we played, using toilet paper rolls as our telescopes. I had posters of various animals taped to the walls around the room, and each girl took a turn finding an animal for everyone else to spy.

Below is a video of Lily's reaction to the balloons we scattered on the walls for her birthday. Steve and Uncle Geoff blew up the balloons and taped them to the walls the night before. So when Lily woke up, she had a happy birthday from the get-go. Amara calls the balloons "moons." Sorry that I was a little out of it and I filmed the first 1/2 of her reaction with my camera turned on an angle.