The Week of Adventure!

Well, April got to go to NYC for ten days for a Ballet training, so I got to hang out in Orem with my babies! Best ever. We did a lot of fun things and had some really good times. First up? Thanksgiving Point's Ancient History Museum on a two dollar Tuesday. Free tip from me to you? Don't. Ever. Do. That.



It was also shark week.
We had a picnic at the park.
We came home from Grandma and Grandpa's one day and Grandma had let Brayden take home that hook. Twenty minutes later Brayden came upstairs in full pirate regalia.

We blew bubbles.
We went bowling with Aunt Laura.

This is a pretty standard picture of A and E. Audrey is usually oblivious of the irritation she causes Ellie.
We made cookies.
And we ate those cookies.
We relaxed.
And ate popsicles.
We sunscreened,
So we could go swimming.
We hiked Ensign Peak with Daddy and Aunt Tracie.
Then we went to the Drive in and saw "The Smurph's."
We read a lot of stories. (I was walking by Audrey's dark room and heard talking so I looked in and she was reading to her babies so I took a picture. Then she asked me to read to the babies and after I would finish a sentence, she would whisper what I had just said, "did you hear that babies? The princess had a new friend!")
We played dress ups.
This is Audrey's "long booiful hair"

We took a few pictures.
We went to Jump On It with Aunt Tracie.

Ellie didn't like the jumping but she loved this little ride.
And the toddler play area.
Tracie and the kids washed the cars.
And our big project? We painted Brayden's room. Now, you need some information. Alan and April had been renting out their basement until earlier this year. When the kids moved downstairs, Brayden's room had these super awesome (read: ugly and tacky) life-size stickers on the wall. The door was covered with stickers. And Brayden had drawn all over his walls, with this gem found in the closet.

These decals were such a nightmare. We spent half a day just getting rid of those and then ended up painting over most. . .which is why I moved the shelves.

I asked Brady what color he wanted to paint his room and he said, "Can we do two walls red and two walls green?" I said no. So we chose to do all four walls green. Instead of the dark green that he wanted, I found this cool "Carolina Parakeet" that turned out to be a lot of fun.
Totally worth it.
Best week ever!!!

SYTYCD: Melanie gets her own post.

Have you been watching this summer? Remember, SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) is one of the top five things that I love about summer. Really, addicted. If you have been watching, you'll know who and what I'm talking about. Melanie. She's a dance goddess. She makes everything look so effortless and the passion that she puts into every piece is just amazing. So here are a few of her highlights. Because I want to watch her dances over and over and over again. You're welcome.
1. This first dance just might be my favorite EVER. Not just this season. Yeah, I know. Choreo: NappyTabs

2. Her partner for the first few weeks was Marko, who is also a phenomenal dancer. Choreo: Travis Wall (sigh)

3. This was done last night and I was FREAKING out. I was watching by myself and there was no one to scream to about the beauty I had just witnessed. I included the long version because I loved Lady Gaga's reaction. Choreo: Mandy Moore

4. I just love this one. Choreo: Dee Caspary

5. This was choreographed by Sonja Tayeh who is so unique and awesome and really really cool. I love love loved this routine. If Mel doesn't win, it will be Sasha.


Amazing.

The Little Mermaid with Little Victoria

I can't believe that Tor will be 10 this year. It's so crazy how time goes by so quickly! When I heard that Little Mermaid was playing at Tuacahn, I knew I wanted to go. I loved it in NYC and thought about how much Tor would love it. This inspired all the other summertime dates because I knew that if I took her on a date, the others would want one too! And who am I to deprive them of Aunt Kat time?
I picked her up around 11 and we headed south. The ride went quickly with the help of the portable DVD player and the air conditioning provided by mom's car. We got to the hotel (Sun Times Inn) and went swimming. I forgot sunscreen so we didn't swim too long and then we went shopping! We found two shirts, a pair of shorts a headband and some sunglasses all for $14. Then we went to dinner at Golden Corral where they had cotton candy AND a chocolate fountain. Tor was so excited for a buffet and then barely ate anything. Kids.
We headed over to Tuacahn and I was so excited! I can't believe I've never been to a show there, it was so beautiful! We got there early and drove into Snow Canyon park for a mile or so but then I felt guilty that I didn't pay the fee box so we turned around. Stupid fee box.
I love the red rocks in St. George. The surroundings of the theater are incomparable. We were able to move up about 5 rows because we traded seats with a mom/daughter who wanted to sit by the rest of their family. We did not complain! I cannot even say enough good about Tuacahn and the show. For a $30 adult ticket, ($23 kids) we were able to see a Broadway show. The biggest difference between NY and St.G was that the show in NY was more polished, which is a given since it has been set up and going for much longer. St.G also had the benefit of being outside and was able to utilize more of their surroundings, like a huge waterfall that flowed down onto the stage, and fireworks at the end! It was amazing. We both loved it.
We went back to the hotel and slept. Well, Tor slept. It was the worst mattress I have ever slept on, maybe slightly better than sleeping on the floor. I knew, though, going into it that it wasn't going to be the Marriott for $40 a night. So I can't complain.
We went to IHOP for breakfast and then drove home. It was a short trip but so very worth it! I loved spending time with the cute little bug, I sure love her!

On our way! Don't worry. I was parked.

She's so excited!






She thought she was so funny for doing this.






I love a theater that lets you eat shaved ice in your seats!

This is our tired picture. We both wanted to sleep more.

On the other side of the placemat there was this helmet that you were supposed to draw a design on. Tor is so creative and is always designing dresses for her dolls and drawing and stuff. Her helmet had these shooting stars, it was so cute!

We had to get a picture with our shades. We're friends.

Bear Lake - Mosquitoes = Paradise

Really. The mosquitoes almost ruin it. ALMOST. But as always, it was fabulous! We have been going to Bear Lake all my life and I look forward to it every year. We missed Laura and Mike this year and Erik and Kami could only stay a few hours, so we barely managed to have a good time. Here are the pictures!

Audrey's special day

I like my nieces and nephew. A lot. I recently started taking them on dates for their birthdays where we do whatever they want. Within reason. So it's summertime, you know, and I thought it would be fun to take them on a summertime date too. Because that's what summertime is all about! Summertime.

I'm taking Tor to see "The Little Mermaid" at Tuachan next week and Brayden will be accompanying me to my ward campout ("and we can do other things too, right?") so I had Audrey sleep over last week. I picked her up after lunch and we decided to go shopping first. We found an adorable pink swim suit with an attached tutu at Target and she loved it, but I knew that Ellie would want one too. Justification? Like I need one, I'm an aunt. But just for fun, here it is: I'm not taking her on a date since she's just so presh and little, so she needed a present.
We went to the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center to go swimming, and I was super glad that they have an indoor pool because I forgot the sunscreen; or "sumscream" as Audrey calls it.

I didn't get a picture when we were swimming.

We went over to my house and she watch Spongebob and ate goldfish while I showered and then Tracie got dropped off at my house. We picked up Cafe Rio for the big kids and stopped at "FicDonalds" to get A some chicken nuggets and a chocolate milk. After we ate dinner with Grandpa, we came back to my house and watched Re-punzel ("Brook-a-lin told me that he [Flint Ryder] is a real person and I said, yeah, he is a real person"). When my new roommate Kali asked her how old she was, she thought for a minute and completely seriously said, "ten."
Audrey slept really well, but I didn't. That girl was crazy! She was all over the place. Pretty sure she kicked me in the face at one point. When I woke up early in the morning, she was more on my side than on hers so I went over to her side. She woke up and said, "why did you switch?" I really wish I could remember more of the funny things she said because she's hilarious. My favorite was when she kept referring it to her "special day."

In the morning we had to drop Lucy (our family dog) off at the groomers. Lucy HATES the groomers. I don't know what they do to her there, but she is definitely a-scared. So, I wasn't very surprised when Audrey yelled, "Lucy pooped!" because she had. All over the front seat. At least it was solid and cleaned up easy. She talked about that a lot. Then we went to Lowe's and picked out some flowers for my front garden. She was so cute pointing out all the pretty ones and saying, "oh! This is boo-a-ful!" She loved the pink and purple ones the most. We came home and she helped me plant them.

She picked this one out.

She loved to dig the holes but hated getting the dirt on her hands.

It was a lot more fun doing it with her than by myself. There is still more work to do, but I'm excited about the progress.

before

after


After we went to the park and played on the swings, we got ready and left to meet April and the other kids at a splash pad in Herriman for a picnic.

She loved my sunglasses until they trapped hair that kept itching her nose.

Audrey fell asleep, which was good, because we went to bed too late. She was a bit ornery when she woke up but became happy enough after some time in the water. It was fun to see the kids play and little Ellie hammed it up and entertained everyone.



I love this girl. I love her sassy-pants ways and the hilarious things she says. I love it when she snuggles and gives me her big giant hugs. I love it when she told me "you were right, huh Aunt Kat. But sometimes Audrey is right too." Being Aunt Kat is the best job ever!