End of Summer Catchup (Number 22 & 18)

So we have officially entered Fall (September 1st I was ready to bring out the sweaters and start making cider!) so it seems a little late, but I'm finally getting around to going over everything we did the last half of the summer. I realize it's been a while since I posted, but I just had to get around to this one, be prepared for a long, long post (sorry, not sorry):

July 12: Baby William's Birthday
      - I can't believe it, but yes, William is a whole year old now! I swear first years go by way too quickly! We drove up to Heber to this cute little park where Shawn and Amber were having the party. I feel bad because our gifts weren't THAT exciting, I didn't realize how into little toy cars he was already! But he still had a blast...until he tried to put his candle out with his fingers. That was a little sad, but he seemed to get over it pretty quickly when he got to dig into his Batman cake. It was so funny, I guess the cake was supposed to be white, but when they heard Batman the bakery decided to do it black so black cake and coloring got EVERYWHERE! I guess it was good it was an outside birthday. Larry and I brought grandma up with us so she could visit with them too, I know the two sides of the family don't see each other too often so I like to bring everyone together when I can. It was a nice day and I'm glad we got to see them again, I feel bad when I don't make time to see certain family members more than I do.

July 19-20: King's Peak Part II (Number 22):
       - Larry FINALLY got to say he saw the world from the top of King's Peak! Lucky for him I wasn't there to slow him down, he just went with his brother, Skyler. They left Friday night and then got back Sunday morning, I didn't expect them to get back so early. In my head they were going to drive up Friday night, sleep in the car (or set up the tent real quick) and then start hiking Saturday morning, camp halfway up, then finish the hike and come back down on Sunday and then drive home, so I was expecting him home Sunday night. Well I guess they got there Friday night, slept in the car, then started so early on Saturday they were able to make it to the top, stop and take photos, and then hike back down and get to the car by that night. Then they drove for a few hours and Larry realized he was way too drowsy to keep going so they stopped in a hotel parking lot and slept in the car again. By the time he got in on Sunday he was limping everywhere, took a quick shower and then fell asleep for another 6 hours. The poor guys had blisters for days on their feet and both were so beat up, it was so sad. For the next few days I'd ask Larry if he was happy he accomplished something so big and he'd say "ask me in a few weeks, I'm in too much pain to be happy about it right now." Now that it's been over two months I think he's glad he can say he did it, but the blisters are still there a little bit so he's reminded of the pain still. I'm just glad he remembered to take pictures, something to cherish for a while.

 

Since they did that, I had a three person baby shower that Saturday day (yes 3 people I know are pregnant and that far enough along that we included them in one shower! I'm literally surrounded by babies and pregnancy these days!). Then that night Jena and I got together and played with Cailyn and hung out, which was fun, but it was nice to have my poor, broken husband back the next day. I ended up missing him more than I realized and when I was with the girls I would say how I missed Larry and Cailyn would say "Larry is hiking a big mountain with dad, he'll be back." It was the cutest thing in the world.

August 2-3: First Camping Trip for us, just us!! (Number 18):
       -So we finally got to have our camping trip that was just us going. We've been camping with my family before, but never just us and never in a tent. I will admit my very first camping experience in a tent was the worst experience in my life! I won't get into why it was so bad, but it was miserable and I don't think I'll ever forget it. My mom, however, wasn't going to accept that because it wasn't with her so she made us go on one with her later that summer and it was a blast! She introduced us to Snider Brothers meats, she had us go skip rocks, we had a campfire. If only I could forget my first time and think of only that one, it would be better.  Anyways, I had made plans to go on a camping trip over the 4th of July weekend, but turns out instead of reserving a camping spot I accidentally reserved a Picnic Cabana so we didn't have it overnight. I was so bummed because I had already gotten the meat to grill and had everything ready. Well since it didn't work out we reserved a real new camping spot for this weekend instead. I didn't have time to go get more meat so we just brought frozen burger patties with us and then went to the store to get sides like chips and dip, olives, etc. The only real unfortunate part to it is that it was a hike in spot, which I knew it was when I booked it, but I didn't think it was THAT much of a hike. It probably took us three trips to unload and load back up. We DEFINITELY got a workout then. The good part about it being a hike-in is that we got to see a couple of dear on the hike (and a baby rattle snake that I pushed Larry OUT of the way of), it was pretty cool to see them! The night was amazing because we got to float in the lake (I forgot about skipping rocks) and we made our burgers and I got to make s'mores and Larry got to play with fire...haha. It was VERY relaxing. We decided once it got dark to play cards in our tent, we played so many games until we got tired and just passed out. It was hard to go back to reality the next morning, but I missed the kitties and a real toilet haha.

Our site (camp and view!)

August 13: HEQ Company party @ Smith's Ballpark
      -My company had their annual Summer Party at Smith's Ballpark this year. Normally I skip the summer parties because they are right after work and I just feel so ready to relax once I leave that I don't usually want to leave again, but I thought this one sounded fun. It had a lot of "kiddie" activities so we invited Skyler, Jena, and Cailyn because we figured Cailyn would have a blast and it was a free event. I think everyone enjoyed all that there was, unfortunately we didn't get to do a lot of it because if we weren't eating we were in line for the train that took forever. But I actually won a prize during the drawings!! A couple of games, which I love because they both are at least 2 players so Larry and I can play them together without needing other people

Cailyn would wave and say "bye!" to EVERYONE we passed
It was adorable!

 

 

While we were there Jena asked if we'd watch Cailyn that weekend, I jumped at that chance because they've never had us babysit for a whole weekend and I thought it would be fun to take her to a couple places near us that I heard about and had coupons for. I thought I had the perfect weekend all planned out for her...

August 16-17: Our first babysitting weekend
       - So I heard about this place called Kangaroo Zoo near us that is a place with a bunch of bounce houses for kids. I thought it would be perfect to take Cailyn to since she loves bounce houses. It was also going to be a pretty warm weekend so I figured she'd LOVE to go swimming at our community pool too. Once we picked her up we took her grocery shopping (even in a fun cart that is dang near impossible with a toddler!), then we took her to Kangaroo Zoo where she decided she was scared to go alone and we had to pay for me to go with her (I eye rolled on the outside, but really it was fun to take her and eventually she went on the biggest slide all on her own!). After there we went to the dollar store to pick out a couple toys, she of course picked putty that would stain everywhere! Needless to say that got hidden real quick haha. Sunday we took her swimming in the morning, which she loved, then brought her home to watch movies and relax. She seemed to have a lot of fun, but later in the day she wanted to play on the playground so we took her there and then to this tire swing (that turned out to be too ghetto to actually play on) but she did build me a nest out of twigs and garbage for my "birthday that's coming up" (I think she was told this about herself and thought it was everyone else's too haha). It was a fun learning experience and test drive for us...we'll be waiting for kids now haha.

August 23: Zoo trip
        -I absolutely LOVE the zoo, if you didn't know. And now that they have that new exhibit for the Lions and Zebras I was so exciting about it. I was planning on stopping at Ruth's Diner that morning for breakfast (because you HAVE to do Ruth's Diner with the Zoo), but I completely spaced it and didn't realize it till we were leaving. I found when we went that if you don't have any children you finish MUCH quicker. I'm pretty sure we were there for about an hour (maybe 1:15) and we saw everything, watched our favorites, and took a couple pictures (none of which ended up cute enough to post). I was REALLY excited to see the Polar bear (bears are my favorite) and Larry got to see all the kitties, but they weren't really doing anything. I'm  hoping I can talk him into going for Zoo Lights because the animals are much more entertaining when it's a little chilly outside. We had great timing though because it started to downpour rain as soon as we left, so it was pretty lucky.

August 30: Shopping w/Jena
        - Jena and I had a fun shopping day this day while the guys watched Cailyn. It was so nice and relaxing. She and I have such a great relationship, but we mostly just text each other so it's nice to get out an hang out and just chit chat. It also got me excited because I decided I really need a new wardrobe! I've now become a shopaholic and it's nice to have a new girl to go shopping with (since my mom left I would have to go by myself and I HATE shopping by myself). Her and I decided if we ever win the lottery we're totally going on a huge shopping spree together haha (we know you have to play to try and win, but we're just taking baby steps right now haha). I also got some cool Halloween decorations and ideas for other decorations...I might be going all out this year :)

I'm thinking of turning these into potion bottles

My cute finds (aside from crazy face there haha)

September 6-7: Cailyn's Birthday Party
        -So on the 6th we went over to Jena and Skyler's to help them with anything birthday related. I made cupcakes while Jena decorated her amazing rice krispie cake/mold (it was shaped like a pirate ship and was AMAZING!!) while Larry played with Cailyn and Skyler made the sign/banner. We got to visit with Marie, Jim, and Larry's (and Skyler's) grandma so it was nice to see them too (we haven't seen them in a few months it feels like and normally we do dinners once a month so it felt like a longer time). On the 7th they did a dinner so we went over for that, she got a ton of awesome gifts (we got her these really cool pop up books that were REALLY intricate, I give them a month before they are destroyed, but as long as she loves them it's all that matters). We had some yummy food, some amazing root beers (I LOVE root beer these days), and got to try that very cool cake. I never had a cupcake because I ended up making myself sick with all the sweets, but it was still really cool. I hope Cailyn sees pictures of these one day and realized how lucky she is.

September 13-14
       - I treated Larry to Nickel City this weekend. Normally we go to Nickel Cade, but I had a coupon for Nickel City and it was down in Orem so we decided to try it...OMG I'm so going to this place from now on when Larry feels like playing Arcade Games. It was SO much more cleaner than Nickel Cade, they had a lot more (working) games, they had a whole food place, laser tag, and awesome birthday rooms. We totally decided we have to have one of our future kid's birthdays at this place! It was so awesome! We won quite a few tickets (Larry hit a jackpot on one of the games), normally we give them to other children, but if I can get a lot of candy I usually keep them haha. That's what we spent them on too, a lot of candy haha. It was a pretty cool day and hopefully it stays around for a long time.

September 20-21
        - This was the weekend of my Papa's birthday. I'm sure I've mentioned, but one of my biggest fears is that I will forget him as time goes on so I make it a point to do what I can to remember any occasion for him (birthdays, holidays, etc.). Andy and I hung out on Saturday and went to visit his grave and left orange flowers for the Bears (since it is football season and that was his team). We also went to see The Maze Runner (entertaining, but I think it left holes that you need to read the book to know), had lunch, and went shopping (I finally got my shopping spree on Friday and decided I needed more) so we went to Ross, where I've officially converted to doing all my future shopping. I'm OBSESSED with that and Burlington's. Although I think I'll still get pants from elsewhere, they don't have the best selection for those, but I LOVE the tops I got there.
Sunday my grandma did a dinner for us to get together as a family. It was nice to be around everyone and visit. We got to Skype with mom (and by we I mean me) and Larry and I jumped on a tramp and realized when you haven't done that in a while it kicks your butt.

September 27-28
        -This weekend I finished up my shopping spree time so I have all fun new clothes, spent way too much, but also had a lot of fun. I get the term "shopping therapy" now. Then last night we had a dinner with Larry's family. It's been a nice relaxing weekend and has been raining so crazy. I'm so excited for Fall and the Holidays to get here already!

So it's been a fun, crazy, busy few months. Now I can get back to regularly posting yay!!! Haha I'll try and keep them short and sweet from now on.