Sweethearts and Stinkers (hint: they all are)

I don't know if it's because I'm having another boy, but I am basking in the sweetness that are my girls.

These are the two most chatty girls I know. Words, questions, descriptions, stories, all day long. I wonder where they get it? They play more together as Erica is becoming very interested in anything Sarah is doing. I like that except that means they argue more too.

But for the most part, Sarah looks out for Erica and Erica thinks Sarah is the coolest.

Sure, they're whiny and they think they know everything.

But they are gentle and smart and sweet and feminine and they are mine.

I am convinced that there is nothing cuter and sweeter than a 2-year-old girl.

But I am bracing myself for more of this. These boys think they rule this neighborhood.

They think they're pretty tough until they run out of sidewalk chalk or someone's bike chain falls off. Then they need their moms like nothing else.

Last week we went to the cemetery to ride bikes. It's shadier than my neighborhood and it's nice to just let them go and know that they can't go too far.

Sarah got dressed after breakfast and then noticed that I didn't get Erica dressed so she changed back into her pajamas.

Erica is having more fun than she's letting on.

Henry is definitely having more fun than he looks. He just didn't like that I made him stop to take his picture.

While I put Sarah's bike chain back on, the kids played hide-and-seek. Is that inappropriate to do in a cemetery? 

This went on for quite awhile. When it was Henry's turn to count, he made Erica do it and she always did.

I may have a baby blanket obsession. I made this simple receiving blanket for Baby Boy #2. I just love the teepees and animals.

And then I made this blanket with 8 ribbon tags. My babies always had to find the tag to their blankies and hold them while they slept. I figure the more the better.

I've got a patchwork quilt I'm working on and another quilt that's on the quilting frames at my mom's. I'll show ya'll when I'm done.

Yesterday evening, Henry came down with the pukes. He threw up several times an hour from 6-11. Poor guy was so wiped out. He woke up this morning just fine but after I got the girls lunch, I found him in his room like this. When my kid puts themselves down for a nap, my heart swell with love.

More fun with my new lens. I can't wait to try it out on newborn baby feet.

Some stuff we did and some pictures and some news

True to form, we did something completely different this year for the 4th of July. We always have fun, we just don't have any established traditions yet. Maybe inconsistency is our tradition.

Justin's parents came into town Friday night so Saturday we all got together for lunch at Tucano's to celebrate Dallin's birthday. I ate a lot of meat, Erica ate a lot of watermelon.

From there, Corey and Nadine took Sarah and Henry to Deer Valley to the condo they had rented for the weekend and Justin and Eric and I went home as Justin had to teach primary and I had to teach Relief Society the next day.  After church we joined them in Park City but just missed Braden and Molly but Nate and Cassandra and Dallin were still there.

The condo they rented was huuuge. It had 4 bedrooms, each with it's own bathroom, a balcony with a hot tub and a big kitchen/family room area. The resort also had a pool so the kids were almost always in their swimming suits. 

On Monday we rode the chair lift up the mountain, went on a hike and then came back down.  Henry was our hike leader and was cracking me up the entire way. Once he heard me say it felt so nice in the shade, he was sure to tell me when we were going to leave the shade. "We're going to be in the sun for about four minutes, Mom." He also let us know safety things like "There are a lot of weeds up here" and "Watch out for rocks". He had a walking stick in each hand and used them to whack weeds as we went. 

That afternoon we went out to lunch then put Erica down for a nap while we played games. That night everyone but Justin and I drove to where they could see the fireworks from the Park City resort (I pinched some nerve in my back carrying Erica back from the pool...gotta love pregnancy and Justin had a headache). We stayed behind to play Ticket to Ride instead. Then Tuesday we packed up and headed home. It was nice to spend time with family and do something out of the ordinary.

Wednesday Justin took Henry and Erica boating with the family while I stayed home with Erica. We both needed to catch up on sleep. Then Thursday Corey and Nadine took Sarah and Henry camping up to Payson lakes with them. Justin had to work so we went up Friday night. 

Sadly I have NO pictures of any of this. I brought my camera to Park City but it didn't had the memory card in it, I didn't go boating, and I forgot to take it with me up Payson Canyon. Epic Fourth fail. 

I do have pictures of this stuff though.

We made our own lemonade and I may never be satisfied by fake lemonade again. 

It took 6 lemons so each child got to squeeze 2 lemons. This took a long time and they were very thorough.

I had to tweak the recipe a bit to make it not so sweet and more lemony so these are the ratios I used.
1 1/2 cups sugar  dissolved in one cup water and heated on the stove (this is called a "simple syrup"), pour into pitcher and refrigerate until no longer warm
Add 1 1/2 cups lemon juice (squeezed from about 6-8 lemons)
Add 7 more cups of water and stir
Refrigerate for several hours until chilled and watch your kids drink it all down in minutes.

My kids like Monopoly. I don't know how I feel about that. I guess it's okay as long as they don't ask me to play.

Erica decided these apricots needed to each have their own measuring cups. I like how her little mind thinks.

And I like how her little face looks. 

I told her I hope her baby brother has her same cute face. Have I mentioned we're having a boy? When we told the kids, Henry shouted "I knew it!" He and Sarah had been arguing for weeks over what it should be and why it should be so, as if they had a say or somehow winning the argument would determine the gender. I would have been equally excited either way; it's just fun to know.

And I leave you with this video of Henry singing while he is watering the flowers. When Henry is in a good mood and doing something that occupies his mind like building with Legos or cleaning, he sings. It is pretty much my favorite and I hope he never grows out of it.