Campin' out

This last weekend the boys decided to "rough it" in the backyard. We all ate hot dogs and s'mores for dinner, and then David, Bryan and Matt went out to the tent for some good Daddy/son bonding time. They watched "Hook" on our portable DVD player and slept out there the whole night. The boys loved it! Just look at those smiles. :)

24th of July - Pioneer Day!

This year for Pioneer Day I wanted to do something to help Bryan understand a little about our Pioneer heritage. We'd been singing a Pioneer song in Primary all month, so he knew a little about covered wagons and crossing the plains, but to help him visualize it a bit better we watched the movie "Legacy" in place of his morning cartoons. :) He was most interested in the bad guy cowboys and the guns, but he was also intrigued seeing Joseph Smith ("Is that the REAL Joseph Smith?") and the building of the Nauvoo temple. It was a fun little way to start off the day.

David had to work in the morning, but around lunchtime we met him at his office and headed over to the Pioneer Celebration at Pioneer Park in Provo. They had a little Pioneer village open to walk through with old cabins, an old schoolhouse, covered wagons, handcarts, old tools, etc., along with Indian teepees. We all enjoyed looking at things, but it was so hot we didn't last for very long. Still, I was glad we got to do something Pioneer-related for the holiday.
We couldn't leave without checking out the fire truck. This is Matt trying to decide if he wants to get close to the fire truck or not. He seems to like things from a distance, especially if they're making loud noises. And I think he still may be traumatized from the fire truck birthday cake incident. :) After all was said and done, Bryan's favorite part of the celebration was playing on the playground.And here's little Miss Ari, just trying to stay cool.
After Pioneer Park we decided to check out the "Taste of Provo" event in downtown Provo. We paid $10 a piece and got to eat samples from all sorts of restaurants in the area, including our favorites (P.F. Changs, Tucanos, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.) It was yummy!! We got there close to the time they were ending so we raced around like crazy trying to get as much as we could and then enjoyed a nice picnic in the shade. We left stuffed!

That night Ari and I joined Heather, Bree and Cassity (Bree's roommate) at the Collin Raye concert in Orem. We had VIP tickets (Jake got them free from his work) so we got to attend a little reception beforehand where we ate dinner and had the chance to take pictures with the band members. The concert itself was fabulous - a lot more fun than I'd expected. Ari had trouble sleeping with all the noise, but she didn't fuss at all! It was a great girls' night out and a fun way to end the holiday.
(Yes, I've got braces. It's not cute, but I'm being brave and posting this picture anyway. No use hiding for the next year and a half, as much as I'd like to...)

Ari's new look

Today we finally got Ari's ears pierced! I was reluctant (and pretty sick to my stomach about it), but David's been telling me since we started dating that any girls we had would have their ears pierced. It's just what they do in Spain! They pierce girl babies' ears in the hospitals, in fact, right after they're born. Here they won't do it until after babies have had their first set of shots at their 2-month check-up, and since Ari's now a little over 3 months old David insisted that it was time.

Here we are at the jewelry store. The poor thing had no idea what was about to happen... This is her about 15 seconds after they were all done. She did cry, of course, but she stopped as soon as she got her pacifier and she hasn't cried since! What a little trooper! I love how she is in this pic, like she's saying "Here I am! Look at me!" I have to admit that I like her new look more than I thought I would. :)

Fun times with Grandma!

Mom (Grandma) had to leave to go back home last week after being here for over a month! We all loved having her here! She bounced back and forth between our house, Heather's, and Grandma Willes,' though we would have been happy to have her with us the whole time. :) We got to do so many fun things while she was here, some of which I've already blogged about. Here are pics of some of the other things we were able to do.

A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without visiting BYU and enjoying Creamery ice cream. I think that was Matt's first ice cream cone ever, and he certainly enjoyed it!While visiting BYU we hit the small dinosaur museum across from the football stadium. It's fun and free - our favorite kind of place.This pic was taken the evening we attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. It was really rainy while we were at the temple so we couldn't get any good family pictures, but Mom took this on our way to a restaurant afterwards. This was Bryan's first rainbow sighting!Several times while Mom was staying at Heather's house the boys and I drove up to see them and do things up in the Salt Lake area. We visited Wheeler Farm, which we'd never done before, and Matt and Bryan loved seeing the animals and, of course, the tractors! Heather and I couldn't do all the fun things we did without our Hooter Hiders! :) I love that we were able to nurse anywhere, anytime.On one especially hot afternoon we went to the Thanksgiving Point gardens with our cousin, Diane. We worked up a sweat walking around the gardens and then cooled off in the Noah's Ark splash pool at the end. The baby girls even got their feet wet a little. :)Mom and the boys had fun swimming in our clubhouse pool. Just look at those smiles!We had so many fun family gatherings during Mom's visit. This was taken at a Willes family reunion at Grandma Willes' house. We took 4-generation pictures but mine didn't turn out cute, so I thought I'd include this one with Bree and her new baby, Sadie. :)This last picture, while not the most flattering, sums up what we spent a lot of our time doing during Mom's visit - talking, laughing, and eating yummy food. :) We also played a lot of games (Settlers, mostly) which has always been a favorite Toone family pastime.
We love you, Mom, and we're so glad you were able to be out here with us for so long! We already can't wait until your next visit! :)

Can't get enough of Ariana!

Ari is just getting so big so fast! She'll be three months old in a few days. I really couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more pleasant little baby. She's an angel! She's always very fascinated with her hands, but this picture cracks me up! She smiles all the time now! Here's a cute one with Daddy. He can always make her smile!
This was her first time in a swimsuit. She didn't actually get wet, but she sure looked cute!
Here she is all wet from her bath. She loves the water, so bathtime is fun.
And here are some sleeping pics. She likes to stretch out when she's not swaddled tight like she normally is.
She falls asleep without fail in the baby carrier. I love being able to peek down at her sweet face!Another carrier pic. Doesn't she look cozy?This is what happens after getting worn out during tummy time. What a sweetheart! We sure love this baby girl!

4th of July Fireworks

This year we spent the day of the 4th in northern Utah visiting friends and family, but we made sure to make it home in time for the Stadium of Fire fireworks! It's become a tradition for us to watch the fireworks from outside the stadium on University Avenue. Besides having a good view of the fireworks, we get to watch plenty of crazy people driving up and down University. Last year we saw a gang of teenage boys riding fancy bicycles and blasting music from a boom box they had in a basket on one of the bikes. This year there was a jeep driving back and forth carrying a flag and playing patriotic music. Our very first year the sprinklers where we were sitting came on, but thankfully this time we didn't have any problems. The fireworks were fun to watch, even though Matt really did not like the noise. He was close to tears for most of the show, but at least he let us stay. :)
Here we are waiting for the fireworks to begin. And here's our sweet girl in her red, white, and blue. :) She slept through the entire show!

It's official!

After nearly two years of preparation, David is officially a State Farm agent! He opened his office the first of July, and so far he's really enjoying it. It's a lot of work, and he's certainly not around as much as he used to be, but that should only last the first year or two and then he'll have more time to spend at home. For us this marks the beginning of a new stage in our lives, and we're all very excited! Congrats, David! You've come a long way in these last few years. :) We love you and appreciate all you do for our family!

Trip to the Farm

Last week my mom and I took the kids up to the Toone Dairy Farm in Idaho, where my dad's family lives. I love going up there for lots of reasons. First, you get to enjoy views like this... It's so beautiful and serene. I also love getting to visit with my aunts, uncles and cousins that live on the farm. Here's my Aunt April with Ari. They all got to meet her for the first time. My cousin, Steven, did a great job of showing the boys around the farm. It was Matt's first time really seeing everything and he loved it! We had to have him on a "leash" to keep him out of trouble. It did save him from being run over by a tractor more than once! Matt, being a typical boy, was fascinated by the manure pit, but he wasn't a huge fan of the smell. When we arrived at the farm and opened the van door he made a face and said, "Pee-yew! Stinky!" :) The manure smell happened to be pretty strong at the time... His favorite part was probably getting to see all the tractors. He didn't want to go near one if it was turned on or moving, but he had a blast looking at the ones that were sitting still. Not surprisingly, Matt was afraid to get within five feet of any of the cows, even the small ones. The calves are my favorite part about the farm - just look at this cute thing! Bryan, unlike Matt, wasn't afraid of anything! He loved riding on the tractor with Uncle Sherm! The boys got a kick out of the farm's "drinking fountain." They would have stayed and played in the sand all day if given the chance, especially with all the tractor toys. They also had fun on the swing set! Bryan was on cloud nine the whole day. :) And last, but not least, the marble run. Who would've thought such a simple toy could be so much fun! Bryan looks forward to playing with it every time we visit!
We sure had a great time! I wish I had more pictures of the other people and places we visited after our stop at the farm. We got to see my relatives and good friends in northern Utah as well, and enjoyed lots of yummy food. It was a lot to do and see in the few days we were gone, and a little stressful with three kids, but all the fun things we were able to do made it worth it!