All Good Things Must Come to An End

With summer drawing rapidly to a close (sigh), I wanted to catch up a little on what we have been doing since I last posted. 

At the end of July uncle Stu came home from his mission to Tempe, AZ (Same as Reed). I thought I would be really funny and make "Hello My Name Is..." stickers for all of the kids because they have changed so much in 2 years and Stuart hadn't even met Ella. I still get a laugh out of it, but I think it went mostly unappreciated by other. Sadly that's how most of my jokes go over. Anyway, the boys had fun making posters to take to the air port and welcoming home Uncle Stu.

Reed had fun reminiscing about his days as a missionary in Tempe.

Grammy treated us to a fun day at the children's museum in Portsmouth. They were having a special Curious George exhibit. Kason and Harley LOVE "Monkey George", so they had a lot of fun with it.

They had a big fire truck that the boys are driving in this picture, but there was a part where a really loud siren comes on unexpectedly. It scared Harley and he was very cautious the rest of our time there and would completely freak out if he even thought he might lose sigh of me for a second. 

This was my favorite. It was a whole room filled with different ways to make bubbles. In this picture they are standing on a platform surrounded by a mote of bubble solution. you can see Kason pulling on the rope in the middle that lifts the metal circle and creates a bubble wall around them! So Cool!

They had a fun place for babies with soft things to climb and fall on. Ella had a blast here.

This was fascinating, and a little terrifying for Harley.

Can you see Kason's face?

Thanks Grammy! 

Also in July, Kason turned 4!

We had a Shawn the Sheep birthday party. What? Never heard of Shawn the sheep? Neither has any party store in the United States. Shawn the sheep is a Wallace and Grommet-ish show where there is no talking. Just this little sheep and his antics on a farm somewhere in England. It is pretty funny and Kason and Harley are really into it. So, I ended up making all Shawn the sheep themed party paraphernalia. This included the T-shirts the boys are wearing, the cake and the piñata. I was satisfied with the way everything turned out and Kason loved it, so it was awesome! 

I can't believe that he is 4. He is such a great kid. He loves to learn and talk and talk and talk. He also loves to see other people happy which makes him a great sharer (usually better with his friends than his brother) a great helper and a great joke teller. He will do anything to make people laugh and even has a few really cute jokes in his repertoire.  

Kason got a little putter for his birthday, so Reed has started taking the boys on golf dates and teaching them how to put. Kason really gets into it and works at getting it right.

Harley mostly goofs around, but has a lot of fun (and looks really cute in his golf outfit)

By all reports this was the highlight of the trip - getting water from the water cooler. Go figure.

We also took a family trio to Nauvoo, IL for a Sloat/Dow family reunion. We took the opportunity to see some church historical sites. This is the boys in Carthidge jail. 

This is just outside the jail. Kason decided, now that he's 4, he is big enough to carry Ella. So he does. And she loves it! It's so funny, Kason thinks he is such a big kid and so responsible. He is a great big brother.

Here we all are in front of the Joseph and Hyrum Smith statue. It was a long trip, but the kids did very well in the car. Although I think Ella still gets a little nervous when I put her in her car seat.

We stayed at a place called Camp Nauvoo. It had individual cabins for each family and a big lodge where we did our meals and group activities. It was fun for the boys to sleep in the bunk beds. And with full and busy days they went right to sleep each night. It was very nice! 

This is us on a wagon ride around historic Nauvoo

Kason and his cousin Elyse on the Wagon ride. They sat right behind the horses and had a great time pretending to be the drivers. They always have a great time together, it is fun to watch them play.

Here is pioneer Ella!

Harley and his cousin Elyse playing stick pull. We also saw a play put on by the younger missionaries that work in Nauvoo called Just Plain Anna Amanda. Harley was captivated. He sat by himself the whole time and I don't think he even blinked he was so into what was happening on stage. It was awesome! I need to look into taking him to some plays around here.

One of the nights we went and saw a show call Sunset on the Mississippi. This was kind of a variety show put on by all of the missionaries. They did a great job, it was very entertaining. My favorite was the Devil Went Down to Georgia. 

Before the play they had all of the kids decorate hats and them march in a parade to get things started. Ever since the 4th of July parade at our house where everyone through candy out, the boys have LOVED parades. They are always pretending to be in parades. So, even though they were a little nervous to march with all the kids and people they didn't know, they really got excited about being part of a parade!

Our last morning there we were able to do a session a the Nauvoo temple. It is a beautiful building!

Our last major event from the last couple months was Ella's first birthday! They boys were pretty set on Ella having a princess party, so even though I have some reservations about the whole "I'm a Princess" culture that we have going on these days (not that I don't think she is special and beautiful and the most wonderful little girl ever, I just think the way it's done a lot of times gives the wrong message) , we did do a princess party. 

With the help of her very sweet and helpful brothers she got all of her presents opened.

And thoroughly enjoyed a very pink cupcake! It was fun to do a lot of pink this time!

And here she is enjoying her new toys... oh wait ....

... I think her brothers got to enjoy them a little more than she did :)

Just a little brag, I did make Ella's party dress. And I am very proud of the way it turned out. I LOVE the  fabric and it's the first time I have done anything like this with sleeves, but it turned out great and fits her perfect and everything!

This Saturday Reed and I will be taking the kids to Reed's sister's house in Ohio, where they will stay for a week while Reed and I are in HAWAII! I am a little anxious about leaving the kids for so long, but also very excited. It will be a great trip and a needed vacation.

So, in addition to Hawaii we may have one or two more trips to the beach, and a few more afternoons at the park in the coming month, but for the most part we are now looking forward to Fall and will be focusing on Halloween (a favorite holiday around here - dress up and tons of free candy - what's not to love?), preschool, and cooler whether.