I sometimes wonder

about my little Layton.

He brought this to me and asked me to help him put it on.  There was no coaxing by me or Dallin or Mandy.  He picked it out and he wanted it on.  Not long after he brought me one of Mandy’s barrettes and had me put it in his hair.  Then he gave me a smile and said “I pretty”.  I’m little worried about him.

Not overly worried though.  Every day we have a little verbal exchange of me asking him “Are you Mommy’s baby?” and he always answers with “I Mommy’s baby.”  Yesterday, I began our dialog, but instead of the usual answer, he said, “No, I Spiderman.”

So maybe I really shouldn’t be worried.  Maybe he is just a well rounded individual who appreciates ballet, pretty things, and is also a follower of heroic male character.

Happy Birthday Daddy

If you were here we sure would be doing this to you:

Muffins

I showed Layton a blueberry muffin from the kitchen and he came running in to get it yelling “CUPCAKE! CUPCAKE!”.  He took it from me, looked at it, then looked back at me and said, “I want icing.”  This is one smart child.

Visiting the Grave

While at home, I visited my dad’s grave.  I really do love the walk down the path to get there. 

It is so quiet and beautiful that it sets the mood perfectly for a visit to a grave.

I sat on the little stone bench,

and reflected about all those that my dad is now with.  His father.

A brother and two sisters.

A favorite nephew.

And most importantly his son.  How sweet that reunion must have been! 

Then I cleaned  some of the old dead flowers off the grave and was surprised by this guy.

Then I laughed at myself for jumping when I saw it and then laughed again because I know my dad would have laughed at me too.  At that moment I learned another one of life’s lessons:  It is almost impossible to be melancholy when staring a toad in the face!

Lake Mystic

Our 3rd of the July celebration was definitely a full one!  We spent most of the day out at the lake swimming, surrounded by family and friends.

 

We were very proud of Mandy and Dallin for getting over some of their fear of deep water.  Up until this day, they completely refused to go out in water over their heads even with a swim ring or life jacket.  But, this time, they saw their cousins having so much fun out there that they strapped on a life jacket and went out to enjoy the fun too!

They played so hard and had so much fun that after a while, Layton crawled up into my lap and passed out.

While he was out, the other kids went out for a paddle boat ride.

 

It was an awesome day!  I couldn’t believe how nice the weather was.  I mean it was July.  In Florida.  And I didn’t even sweat.  Can you believe that?  It was nothing short of a miracle!  Thank you Copelands for letting us come over that day!  We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Parachute Fireworks

As part of our 3rd of July celebrations, Melanie picked up a few ‘interactive’ fireworks.  They were so cool!  You fired the rocket into the sky and then when it exploded a little parachute came out.  The kids (my oldest child Nathan included) had so much fun chasing them down!

Nathan fought for the first and won by being taller than Melanie.  With the second one though, Melanie tried to pull the same trick with the other kids and still Dallin came up with it!

He was so proud.

Even little Layton was able to get one.

They were so much fun, we may have to make the run of the fireworks an annual tradition!

See some photos of a couple of 22 year marriage veterans that are complete love birds :)  Check them out here and here.

We Love You Mama Doris

 

Just wanted to send out a little love to Mama Doris this morning.  We sure enjoyed our visit home and seeing you Mama Doris was one of the highlights! 

 

I’m sure you all know this hymn:

Each life that touches ours for good

Reflects thine own great mercy Lord

Thou sendest blessings from above

Thru words and deeds of those who love

I always think of that hymn when I think of Mama Doris.  She has most certainly touched my life for good.

Happy 5th of July!

Since the 4th was on a Sunday, we celebrated the 4th on Saturday and will be doing it again today.    I can’t wait to dig into this in just a little while.

Hope your 3rd, 4th or 5th is/was a happy one!  And a yummy one too!

Crafty

I really do love summer time.  No set schedules.  Leisurely days.    Doing whatever we like.  Spending all our time together.  Doing crafts.  Making treats.  It is the best!

The Frog Saga

Deanna is scared of frogs.  No, no, that is an understatement.  Deanna HATES frogs and TERRIFIED of them.  So what does Dallin do?  He enlists the help of Mandy and decorates her room in frogs.

In case you can’t read that sign, it says “Are you afraid of frogs?  Answer here_____________”  He started out the reign of terror by placing a little frog on her door handle.

And let me just say it really did scare her.   She was totally afraid to go into her room!

 

He put every toy and stuffed frog he could find in her room.

And when he ran out of those, he strategically placed Frog and Toad books all over her room.

It was pretty awesome.  I was very proud of him.  I thought the Frog and Toad books were just the perfect touch to the perfect little prank planned out by a 7 year old mastermind.