We have a Fish in the Family!

While Amanda went with the Turpin girls for a fun getaway to St. George, Avery & Lily visited Grandma and Grandpa Downs in Idaho (Brian had work and had to leave for scout camping before Amanda got back).  While there, Avery became quite the swimmer!  A couple of weeks ago we visited Idaho and went swimming.  It was the first time that Avery would put his face in the water and "swim" (or really be pushed from one person to another).  Well going to Idaho he was so excited to swim without his arm floaties.  When Amanda came down to stay with them while Brian was at camp, she was surprised to see how much he has learned!  He could swim a few feet and turn around and swim back, all underwater.  He could swim to the rope (after someone helped him up) after going down the slide.  He also didn't want to stop!  Since he was always opening his eyes underwater, he was getting red, burning eyes.  I (Amanda)  told him to take a break, and he replied, "I will take a break underwater."  Silly boy!

Going down the green slide

swimming from the steps and back

 

Gardening Update!

This is for Amanda's Grandma Owen who wanted to know how our garden was doing.  Well it seems to be doing quite well!

something else is growing inside our corn patch...

We've been able to freeze some sugar snap peas and regular peas (even though Lily tried to pick all pea plants when they were just starting out).  We also canned some beans- a first for us using a pressure canner. We've enjoyed beets, zuchinni and squash as well.  We are looking forward to corn, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, and onions (and Avery watches everyday for his watermelon, but no melons yet).  Its been fun to see it all grow and to have the kids help out a little bit.   

Great-Grandma Downs

Since moving away from Idaho, we haven't been able to spend as much time with Amanda's grandmas.  This last week Amanda was able to take her Grandma Downs (Avery & Lily's Great-Grandma) down to a funeral. It was really good for the kids to get to know one of  their Great-Grandmas.
Avery stuck to Great-Grandma like glue all day.  He wanted to open the doors for her, help her "push" her walker, and help with anything he could.  When we were at the luncheon he was so patient and waited for her in the food line (while Amanda and Lily sat down). He was such a sweetheart.

Here is Avery and Lily with their cousins Aiden and Kyler.  They are just four of the 11 (with 2 more on the way) Great-Grandkids.

4th of July Celebrations!

We decided to just stay home this year for Independence Day.  West Point has a fun filled day.  We sorta slept in, but we did make it to the parade as it was starting.  Lily caught on really quickly when it came to picking up the candy.  Avery just had a blast with all the other kids we were with.

Then we headed over to the park for the fun and FREE games they had.  Avery really liked the bouncy toys, Lily not so much.

 Later in the day we had a fun picnic/bbq at our friends house.  There was the litattle swimming pools and a slip and slide!  We all ate so much and wore ourselves out that everyone (including adults) fell asleep after and missed the free dinner at the park before the fireworks.

Lily with her friends that are about 9 months older than her.  They were "washing" her hair, and she loved it (for a while anyway)

 After we all woke up from our naps, we headed back to the park for the fireworks.  There were a few technical difficulties, but the show was pretty awesome for being a "small" town.  Lily liked them, but was a little scared of them.

being silly boys

hanging with the other kids

Lily loved the older girls

Not the best picture, but Lily watching the fireworks.  She tried to grab them.

We sure had a fun-filled day of celebration.  However, our favorite memory that we won't forget is this:

Avery learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels!  We've tried a couple of times a couple of months ago, but he was too scared to really try.  Today he asked if he could go learn how to, so we took him over to a parking lot to let him try.  I (Amanda) wasn't even fully how of the car when Avery took off!  Brian held him for half a second and Avery did it on his first try that day!  Before 10 minutes were up he could start riding (from a stopped position) without Brian's help.  He actually learned how to get up on the bike by himself because he was really far away from us when he stopped, but he managed to figure out how to get started before we got to him.  We are such proud parents!  Now that is all he wants to do (forget about the fireworks).  We sure do love our Avery!

Getting on the bike by himself.