Eliza's 3rd Birthday

My sweet and sassy little girl turned three.

Now that the girls are getting older, there have been tears this year at each of their birthdays from the one who wasn't getting the gifts.  

Ah, it's time for them to start learning some of the hard lessons of life.  It's not always YOUR birthday.

But even amidst the tears, they still managed to find a way to play nice together, for a little while.

I asked the master cake maker in the family, my sister Rebecca, if she could make Eliza's birthday cake.  Eliza was adamant that it had to be a Frozen cake.  

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this cake is MASSIVE.  Rebecca doesn't go half-way on her cakes.

 

It was pretty awesome.

My baby girl is growing up so fast!

Friends & Family

Between the two of us, Stan and I have lots of friends and family in the Utah area.  So we can't see everyone when we come out.  Of course, we always see his immediate family. 

My Grandma moved to Lindon last year, so we went and visited her (I realized I forgot to take any pictures!) and my Aunt Kathy with whom she lives.

My younger sister, Sara, who just got off her mission, just moved to Provo to attend BYU.  So we spent some time with her at the temple.  We also took a quick walk around BYU campus and reminisced from when Stan and I attended there (though not at the same time).

I must admit, it did feel a little strange walking around BYU with three kids and stroller.  That was definitely not on my radar when I was a young 18 year-old attending there.

We also always make time to see Stan's best friend, Kevin Johnson and his family.  

A year and a half ago, Kevin & Heather went on a Disney Cruise with us and Sara.  So we all hooked up for dinner and to watch the BYU football game.

Miriam was excited to reconnect with her friends from last summer, whom she would periodically talk about throughout the past year.

Watching the game.

We had a great time with Sara & the Johnsons and wish we could hang out more often.

It was a fun and busy week visiting our friends and family, but not wanting to wear out our welcome, we headed home to Arkansas.

This time, we drove the more scenic route through southern Utah and Western Colorado.

Beautiful.

See you all next year!

Oma's House

We spent the next few days at Stan's mother's house, whom the kids affectionately call "Oma."  

Stan's sister, Gina, and brother-in-law, Allen, and nephew, Finn also live at Oma's house.  The girls had fun playing with Finn on his little cars.  Except when he tried to ram into them. 

 Finn was so excited to have friends over and the girls aren't quite used to a rough and tumble boy in the house, so there were a few tears (just wait a few years girls, then Dallin will teach you).  But overall, they had a blast.  

Especially Miriam.  She liked being a little Mommy to Finn and was better able to race around with him.  

Growing up, Stan and his family would visit the Utah State Fair almost every year.  Stan was baffled that I had never been to a state fair and excited to share one of his favorite past times with me. 

One of their favorite things about State fair--the food trucks.  Allen enjoying his turkey leg. 

We watched an awesome BMX bike show.

We saw some strange animals--I mean--people.

Miriam loves to take a picture when ever she see one of these things.

We saw lots of livestock.

We bought some one-of-a-kind things from the vendors (oh, they're good at getting you to think you NEED this or that!)  Unfortunately our kids were getting a little fussy and Finn threw up (twice), so we figured it was time to head out.  Overall, it was a great afternoon and I can see why Stan always enjoys going.

We also got to spend some time with Great-Grandpa Harvey Southward.

Three generations.

We went to the Provo Farmer's Market and the kids played at the park.  Dallin got his first ride in the swing and LOVED it!

It was a great time at Oma's house!