America the Beautiful

Ahhh, my favorite holiday. I LOVE the 4th of July!!! This year we hung out with our "Texas" family, the Hickson's. We have gone there for the past few years because we love them and their parties. We went to their house for swimming, bbqing, eating and hanging out. I made homemade ice cream for everyone and we all filled up on bbq and other tasty dishes. We had a blast swimming. Sienna got into an ant pile and got bit all over her feet and legs, but didn't even cry. I thought she was covered in mud from stepping on the grass, but they were ants. Thank goodness they have a shower, so I just rushed her over and rinsed her off. I hate ants. They are one of the worst things about Texas.

After a big day of eating and swimming we came home, gave the kids naps, and headed back out for fireworks at a park near our house. As we were leaving, we had the misfortune of backing up into a mailbox and shattering our back window. I was leaving for Utah in two days so I had to get that replaced the next day. Not the way to go out with a bang. Even so, I love this holiday. I love the traditions we do every year and the new ones we make along the way.

Summer Time and The Livin is Easy

It's no secret how much I love summer. It is the best time of the year, the time when I am happiest and this summer was no exception. We went swimming every day, sometimes twice a day. That's pretty much all you can do to burn some energy when Texas is going through a heat wave. It was a very hot summer. I think we set a record for the number of days over 100 degrees..70 days. That's crazy. But you aren't going to hear me complaining. Our days consisted of swim lessons (for two weeks), swimming, lunch, naps, and cleaning house, dinner and the occasional coaching. It was great. Aiden has become quite the swimmer, moving up a couple of classes in his swim lessons and he still wasn't that challenged, but it was fun for him. Here are some random pics of summer living.

Father's Day!!

I love Father's Day! It is such a great reminder of the wonderful Father's and Grandfather's in my life. I am so grateful for my dad, who is my hero. I look up to him so much. He is the greatest and I'm so glad my kids will get to know him and how awesome he is. I am also so grateful for Trent's dad. He is such a great example of how to live and be selfless. He has raised the greatest father, Trent and I love him for it.

This year for Father's Day, I made Trent his favorite dinner of roast and mashed potatoes and rolls. We hung out as a family, took naps and just enjoyed our time together. Trent is such an amazing father. He loves his kids so much! He gets so excited to tell me stories about them and is never put out by them. He helps me so much and is such a hands on dad. He truly loves spending time with me and the kids and has made that a priority. I appreciate him so much. I don't know how I could do it without him. He comes home from work and starts cleaning or helping take care of the kids without me ever having to ask. He is the greatest husband and father and we are so lucky to have him. We love you!

Happy Birthday to me!

The big 27! I had an awesome birthday this year. Trent let me sleep in, and then made me an awesome breakfast. We went to lunch at one of my favorite pizza places with Todd and Abby and then went swimming. That night we went on a date. We went out to eat with Hugh and Caitlin and saw the movie Thor. Such a great day filled with good food and people I love. Later, we had a party so I could keep on with the tradition of having chicken fajitas and homemade strawberry ice cream every year for my birthday. Trent made me a delicious cake. He is the Best! Here's to another great year!

Gymnastics

We signed Aiden up for gymnastics class at the Little Gym for some much needed release of energy during the cold months. He loved it and it was really good for him to learn to focus and listen to instructions. Most of the time he thought it was just a race with the other boys to see who could accomplish the routine the fastest, but by the end of the classes he was doing much better. They did a little performance for the parents and Aiden did so well, it was fun to see him perform what he had learned.

Easter

We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen come visit and help us watch the kids while we had a couple club tournaments. We had a tournament here in Dallas over Easter, but thankfully we still made it to church and got to take some Easter pictures. While they were here we also dyed Easter eggs, had an Easter egg hunt, went bowling, went to the zoo, made a Costco run, ate lots of blue bell ice cream, watched movies, exercised and had a great time. Grandpa is the best handyman ever and fixes everything in my apartment. We all loved having Grandma and Grandpa here and were sad when they had to leave. Thank you for everything!! We love you!