Weber River Trip

One of our favorite summer activities is running the Weber River. I tell you, there's something about being on the river with friends and family on a hot summer day that screams, "This is the life!" If you don't know what I'm talking about, give us a call. We'd love to show you.

Disclaimer for all concerned bystanders (ie: Grandpa Foy and David): The river is not as dangerous as it looks; it really is a very mellow river. We are experienced river rafters, and I (emphasis on I) would never put our children in serious danger. We know what we're doing. And, don't worry. We'll save the big rivers for when they're, oh, eight.

Lagoon

We finally made it to Lagoon. It was a blast. Mekinley is fearless. She wanted to go on every huge ride including Collassus, but she was too short. We did sneak her onto the White Rollarcoaster. She loved it! I could not believe how brave she was! What can I say? She takes after me. It was fun to go on all the rides with her. She is really growing up. Sierra, on the other hand, was not quite so brave. We could hardly get her to go on anything--and when she finally did, she screamed through it. She is hilarious, though. After screaming through the whole ride, as soon as she got off she'd have the biggest smile and say how fun it was. If you ask her about Lagoon now, according to her, she went on every ride. "I went sooooo high and reeeaaally fast!" That's my girls! I can't wait to see what Myles is like.

Myles just hangin' out.


Sierra and Olivia on the boats--the one ride Sierra didn't scream through.

Mekinley and Alexis on Puff

Tea, Anyone?

Phew! It has been a crazy month. We have been so busy. This is my excuse for not keeping up, but here I am now. We went to a Tea Party at a tea shop at Gardner Village with Grandma Foy and our cousins. It was "daaaarling"! The girls had so much fun. They dressed up fancy, ate with fancy dishes, ate fancy food, and tried to talk fancy (this didn't last very long). The girls were smart--they had lemonade in their teapot. Grace had pink hot chocolate. I, on the other hand, was talked (more like coerced, dared, bullied) into trying tea by Ami and Lana. Okay, I will be the first to tell you that I am not British. All American girl here. I don't know how people drink that stuff. It was disgusting! I did, however, greatly enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries, lemon cake, mini sandwiches and all the other yummy fancy food. It was a day to remember. Thanks Grandma!

One quick Mekinley-ism. On our way to the tea party we passed what I think is a dirt mine of some sort. For those of you who know the area, it's in North Salt Lake right as you're coming into Salt Lake against the hill. The entire drive she was asking me questions about everything--many of which I didn't know the answers to. I was getting tired of it and was now only giving half-hearted answers, anything to get her to be quiet. Well, when we passed the mine, she asked me what they were doing. I quickly replied, "They're building the mountain." Without missing a beat she said with the most disbelief in her voice, "Just them? That'll take forever without Jesus!" I have to give it her--she makes a good point.

This also reminds me of one more Mekinley-ism. About a year ago I was teaching Mekinley's Sunday school class. The past week Mekinley had had an ear infection, and I had taken her to the doctor. We got her some ear drop and anti-biotic and she got better really quickly. Well, in her class I was telling the stories about Jesus healing the sick--making the blind see and the deaf hear. Mekinley listened very intently and then thought for a minute. I could tell that something was on her mind. After coming to a conclusion in her head, she said, "Mom, I didn't need Jesus. I got ear drops." Another good observation!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope you had a great holiday. I know we did. We went swimming at Aunt Sharon's, and Sierra even went down the slide. Yea! I don't think it would be possible to swim more than we do. We also lit fireworks and went for a bike ride. And speaking of bikes, Mekinley finally earned enough money to buy her bike, and it was well worth it. (Except now she thinks she has to get paid to do anything!) She rides her bike more than ever. One quick "Sierra-ism": We've been having an ant problem in our house lately and Sierra said, "Mom, the only bug I like is potato bugs 'cause they know they're supposed to stay outside and they tickle."

Everything else is going great. Lots of love from all of us, and some more fun pictures.

Rock on, Sis!


Mama's boy.


Mekinley loves to dress Myles up--isn't he cute?!
(I only posted this to drive Rob crazy.)

Sierra's getting ready early for swimming.

Mekinley's new beachcruiser.


Mekinley's our daredevil!

Mekinkley loved the sparklers.

Myles

When I was very much pregnant with Sierra and absolutely certain she was a girl (I even had the ultrasound to prove it) I had the most vivid dream. In my dream I was in the hospital and had just given birth to a baby. When the nurse brought me my baby, she told me I had a beautiful boy. "A boy?" I asked. "No way. That's not my baby," I told her. "I had a girl." The nurse kept insisting it was my baby, and I kept insisting it wasn't. I had a girl. Finally she placed the baby in my arms, and I was sold. It was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. "How was it possible that this absolutely beautiful baby was mine?" I kept thinking. In my dream, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He had the biggest, darkest eyes. I was instantly in love with him. I held him and the love just poured from me. When I woke up, I told Rob all about my dream. We both laughed about it. I thought it was so funny and odd since I was just about to have a baby girl. I never forgot about this dream and kept bringing it up when I was pregnant with Myles, even long before I found out he was a boy. It was my hope that the baby I was pregnant with was the baby from my dream. And sure enough....he was.

Myles. Myles. Myles. Where to even begin? I'll tell you one thing--I understand the term "Mama's Boy" now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Boys are just so much fun! Myles has actually been probably my easiest baby. I don't know whether to attribute this to him or that my experience and patience has grown. Probably a little of both. From the very beginning he has been so full of joy. His eyes just sparkle. You give him a look and he bursts into laughter. He loves to play. You can't walk by him and not start playing. He won't let you. He hides his eyes and then peeks up. He mimics all of the noises and faces you make and thinks it's hilarious. He'll climb up into my lap and start bouncing up and down. Just the other day when he woke up, Rob brought him into me on our bed. Rob put him down, and when he saw me his eyes got big and he raced to me, climbed up onto me and snuggled. What can I say? I absolutely adore him.

His favorite toy is his Johnny Jump-up. He loves it!! When you even start to put him in it he gets so excited. You can hardly contain him. And once he gets in it, he's out of control! He jumps like crazy. He even bends his legs down as far as he can and launches, laughing all the while. It is so cute! He also is master of the army crawl. He's been doing it for months now but won't move on to the real crawl. I think he's too proficient at it to bother with anything else. He cruises!! He's also so curious. I have to be very careful with anything on the floor. He will find the tiniest thing and become fascinated with it.

We also like to call Myles Monkey. Since he's been very small he squirms and wiggles and makes monkey noises. Sierra's nickname for him is Dude. I don't know where she got this, but she loves it. Myles is also extremely patient. He has to be. He gets played with 24/7. I think this has actually been the hardest part about having him--keeping his sisters away from him. They love him! Mekinley loves him in a very nurturing and mothering way. She loves to take care of him, but she can't keep her hands off of his head. Mekinley actually just came in to see what I was doing. I asked her what I should say about Myles. She thought for a minute and said, "Crawl...and eat...and play." That's Myles. Sierra loves him in a very big sister bully way. She loves to play with him and not always as gently as she should. I can't wait for the day when Myles is bigger than her and fights back.

Myles, I love you so much. I can't imagine my life without your smiling face to brighten up every day. It is going to be so much fun watching you grow up. Stay my sweetheart always. As for everyone else, I'm not ready to share him yet. Check back later.

Sierra

Sierra, or better known as Sis (long "i" sound), SiSi, Sisabugs, Sisaboos, Scout, Isabelle, pretty much anything but Sierra, is a ball of fire. Rob calls her his Surfer Girl because of her bright blond hair, hazel eyes, tan skin and her "surfer" vibe. While Mekinley is like me, Sis is like her dad. She has so much energy and never seems to get tired or bored. She is constantly into or up to, depending on your perspective, something from the moment she wakes up to the moment she finally crashes at night. She is so busy in fact that she doesn't have time to be bothered with the little stuff. The things that have always concerned Mekinley like what she wears, what her hair looks like, if her hands or face are dirty, what's on the schedule for the day does not even enter her mind. She really does just go with the flow. But when something does bother her, watch out. She'll let you know with a vengeance.

Her favorite activities are high-energy active ones. While she enjoys occasional short-lasting art projects, she loves to make a mess with playdough. She loves to ride her bike, skooter, and jump on the trampoline. She absolutely loves her jeep. She rides it like a maniac! Once again not to be bothered with the nitty-gritty like the sidewalk or reverse, she rides that thing like Cruella Devil bumping into everything (including people) that is unfortunate enough to get in her way. She also schools Mekinley in soccer (don't tell Mekinley). We had to hold her off the field because she was dieing to play in Mekinley's soccer games. Last fall she actually did get to play for a few minutes because the other team was short players. She loved it. She also rarely will take a timeout to sit and watch TV or a movie. This is probably a good thing, but at times it drives me crazy. And while Sierra loves to play with Mekinley, she doesn't depend on her for her entertainment. She's perfectly happy playing by herself. She is very imaginative.

Sierra also loves to pick on Mekinley even though she is the younger sibling. She knows exactly how to push Mekinley's buttons. It's actually quite comical. Just last week Sierra was jumping on the tramp and Mekinley wanted to come jump. While Mekinley was climbing up, Sierra got really close to her face and said in the most serious voice, "No Brown-Hairs on the Tramp!" She then preceded to follow Mekinley around the tramp pushing her back down on the ground every time she tried to climb up. Rob said, "Okay, Hitler." She also loves to bug Myles. She really thinks that Myles is her personal play toy. When Myles sees Sierra coming, he instantly looks at me pleadingly to come rescue him. Most of the time, and I say most of the time, I don't think she is being mischievous; it's just her way.

While Sierra is quite spunky (I think that's a good word to describe it), she is also very loving. Periodically throughout the day she'll come find me and climb up onto my lap for hugs and kisses. She'll say in her sweetest voice, "Mom, I want snuggles." How do you say no to that? She also loves to give and get butterfly and Eskimo kisses. We also play the "I Love You" game we got from one of her favorite books in which we take turns telling each other how much we love the other. Sis will say, "I love you all the way up to the sky." I reply by saying, "I love you all the way up to the sky and back." etc., which gets her giggling. Also at bedtime she makes you give her a kiss in between every single rail on her bunk bed. She also makes Rob scratch her back for hours on end. Myles is also "lucky" enough to be at the receiving end of many hugs and kisses. She doesn't realize, however, how rough she is and it usually ends up with Myles screaming, but with Sierra, it's either all or nothing. There's nothing in between. She is also extremely sweet with her dolls. We've got Baby Cakes, Princess Ella, Sal, Pink Baby, Marley, Jessie, and Kari among others. I can never keep straight what name goes with each baby, but Sierra and Mekinley certainly know. Another one of my favorite Sierra things is her singing. She is a hilarious singer. Unfortunately she inherited my tone-deafness. She sings with the sweetest most serious expression on her face in mostly monotone and off key pitches with lots of falsetto. She sings the words right, but the tune is another story. It is so adorable!

Sierra is such a fun person to have around. She livens up everything. Sierra, I couldn't love you more and wouldn't change you one single bit. You truly brighten up each and every day. I am so privileged to be your mom. As for everyone else, watch out because Sierra is on the loose!

Mekinley

Mekinley is a miniature version of me. Rob has been saying this all along, but I will finally now admit it. It is too obvious to deny anymore. It's not that she looks so much like me, but she acts just like me. Sometimes it actually makes me flinch because it's like looking in a mirror. Poor Rob! But, hey, I'll take it as a compliment. I only hope she sees it this way. She is my little helper. She loves to be the mom to her younger sister and brother. She absolutely adores Myles. In fact, I think she adores him too much. The poor kid never gets a break. But no one can get him laughing like Mekinley, and he lights up when he sees her.

Mekinley will start kindergarten this next fall. I can't believe she's old enough already! She is more than ready, however, and cannot wait. She loves to "read" books, which she is actually getting very good at sounding out many words, she loves to solve addition problems by counting on her fingers, and she will count to...well she'll count until we make her stop. She also loves to talk on the phone. Just ask Grandma and Grandpa and her uncles. She starts talking and Rob and I forget she's on the phone. We go about our business and next thing we know it's been at least a half hour and she is still talking! But there's nothing like a phone conversation with Mekinley. She is also our artist. She paints, makes books, you name it. I have pictures coming out of my ears! Her favorite thing is to make special pictures for people. At her preschool the walls are covered in pictures she made for her teachers. It is the ultimate present. While she is very conscientious, she is also very adventurous. She will try anything. She can already do a flip on the tramp (which we've only had for a few days), she rides on the wakeboard with Rob, is an excellent skier, and absolutely loves to swim. If it were up to her, she would swim eight hours a day. Her only problem is that is if she doesn't learn something immediately, she gets frustrated, but we're working on that.

Mekinley is my sensitive child. She gets her feelings hurt quite easily. (Sierra once told her she wished she didn't have sister, and Mekinley cried for an hour). Sometimes Sierra takes advantage of this, and it never fails, Mekinley always gives her the reaction she is looking for. But Mekinley is also very careful not to hurt others' feelings. I've seen her go out of her way to include someone who was left out or play with a lonely child at the park. It also kills Mekinley when Sierra is in trouble. When Sierra is in time-out, Mekinley will sneak over to her to comfort her even if Sierra is in time-out for something she did to her. Also, if she has a popsicle and Sierra wasn't allowed one (probably because she didn't eat her dinner), Mekinley will sneak her some of hers. She'll also always fess up if she has done something wrong, especially if someone else is getting blamed for it. She hates to see anyone sad and will do anything to make them feel better. She really is a sweetheart.

While I will talk more about Sierra in her own blog, it is impossible to talk about one of them without mentioning the other. They are best friends and worst enemies simultaneously. They play and play and play together, but also just about kill each other every day. When Sierra goes to her Joy School, which is only 2 hours once a week, Mekinley drives me crazy. For two hours straight all I hear is, "When is Sierra going to be back? Nothing is fun without Sierra." Their creativity never ceases to amaze me--the games they come up with. They play haircutter, Mom and Dad (listening to them mimic me and Rob is amusing), picture day at school, restaurant, you name it. And of course their favorite is princess dress ups. They are also amazing dancers. They also now share a room. While they yell at each other for "keeping me awake," often we will go in after they've fallen asleep to find them snuggling with each other. It is so cute! They would be lost without each other.

Mekinley really is my little sweetheart. I couldn't go a day without her by my side. Mekinley, I love you very much and am so proud of the great girl you have become. It is my life's joy watching you grow up. As for everyone else, I hope you are lucky enough to know her.