Q2 2016 Wrap Up

Ah, Springtime.  I can smell the flowers and rain as I type.  I've often been asked which is my favorite season and I find it difficult to pick one.  I love so much about every season.  Perhaps that's why I love living in Utah so much, four distinct seasons.  I think it just might be Spring.  Winter is over, the sun is out, the temps are up.  It's time to stick our heads outdoors once more and reacquaint ourselves with the world, our neighbors and life.  The flowers bloom, the lawnmowers awake, and everything is a bustle.  What the heck is a bustle?!  Anyway.  Here are a few random photos that show what it was like in our household during April, May and June. 

 

Springtime means spring cleaning.  Time to make everything new again.  Leah
and Dax helped me paint the fountain which was just one of MANY things on
my Spring "to do" list.  I should have posted an after pic.  It looked great.  Of
course, now the pump is already not working again.  Sigh.

Dax couldn't stay focused on the chores, so he found the nearest thing he
shouldn't be doing and did that instead. 

Of course, Springtime was no different than Winter when it came to Leah's
mouth.  The teeth keep falling out.

Every day, Dax grows more and more into a boy.  He is at that perfectly fun age when he
makes you laugh one second and curse the next.  Luckily for him, the laughs outnumber
the curses. 

Spring means a renewal of friendships as the BBQ grill awakes from hibernation.
As we often do, but not often enough, we had the Valderramas and Hopkins
families over for fun and games.  The older kids helped Dax and Leah put on
a talent show.  We are blessed with good friends who are blessed with good kids.

This boy loves his sissy.  He follows her around everywhere and does what she does
and says what she says.  So much as to be an annoyance to her.  Here he is wearing
her soccer cleats.

We're so happy they love eachother so.  They are best of friends
.....most of the time.

Spring time means The Children's Discovery Museum at Thanksgiving Point
with the cousins.  Sarah took the boys there a few times this Spring.

Dax loves his cousin, Emerson.  He sometimes even wakes up with concern
for Emerson's well being.  Sometimes he likes to blame things on Emerson...
even when Emerson hasn't been around for days. 

He is loving and cuddly, but he is no angel.  He spent so much timeout in this
chair that he fell asleep. 

We even spent sometime at the Children's Discovery Museum as a family.  It was a hoot!

Daddy showed Leah how to spell her name on the big board at the T-Point
Museum.

As you saw in Q1 2016 Wrap Up, Springtime means Soccer Again!
 

Leah loves soccer, but I think we've come to the conclusion that this will be her
last year...at least for now.  This picture makes it look like she is an aggressive
soccer player, but pictures can be deceiving.  She loves the team, the uniforms,
practice, the social aspect, and especially helping the other players from either
team when they fall, but she does not like kicking the ball when others are
around trying to do the same thing.  I may coach next year and she would be
a great assistant!

Playin' some D.

This pic represents one of my happiest moments of my life as a parent.  Leah,
as stated before, is not much of a soccer player, but on this day, she was in the
right place at the right time and she got her first goal ever.  I wasn't happy
because she got her first goal.  I was happy because I have never before seen
that level of glee and joy on her angelic face.  She was so stoked!  She talked
about it for weeks.  Sarah wasn't able to get the camera out and on until Leah
had scored and run over to celebrate.  I will never forget that moment.

How awesome is this.  Leah and her cousin, Jake, sporting the same number on
their soccer jerseys. 

It was awesome that Jake, his brothers and his Mom were all there on the day that Leah scored.

Dax found a dirtpile to play in, and apparently bathe in, while Leah had her game.

Of course, you can't celebrate Spring without THE TULIP FESTIVAL!!!!

I wasn't prepared for this day to come, but Leah had been patient long enough and finally got
her wish to have her ears pierced.  She was very brave. 

She's a cutie!

Springtime is a perfect time to teach your toddler the SC Fight song. 
FIGHT ON, Dax!  "V"

The end of school and Spring means dance festival.  Leah was excited and
enthusiastic as she practiced every night.  Dax practiced too. 

Leah's class performed a couple dances to two different Star Wars songs.  Leah
was on the dark side with her sith cape and light saber. 

Sarah, her sisters, sister-in-law and Mom all went to the filming of
 "Good Things, Utah". 

You can't go through Spring without making breakfast in bed for Mom on
Mother's Day!  Leah was a great help this year. 

 

Leah and Dax have the bestest Mom ever!

Spring means climbing.

The kids made their annual Spring trip to the dentist.  Dax handled it like a
champ!  Leah?  Well...she endured. 

Dax loves the dentist.  What says Springtime more than a trip to the dentist in your swimtrunks?!

 

Dax's teeth before the dentist. 

Sarah with a blank canvas....hmmm....

I'm not trying to fly, I'm trying to dry the wet paint. 

She is so talented.  To make ours different, she added a couple surfboards. 

To make mine different, I added a hut, tiki torches and a hammock.



For my birthday, Sarah got me a Paint Night Date Night.  We had a great time.  Sarah is
definitely more the Picasso than am I. 

So.  There you have it.  Spring is in the books.  Actually, Summer is nearly in the books, but I'm so far behind I am struggling to catch up!  The best part of a great Spring is that it leads right into a great Summer!