Simple Pleasures

Pony Ride on Daddy
I love this picture! We have so many simple, happy moments like this, but we don't often capture them on camera. Paul offered to give someone a ride into their bedroom for family prayer. Soon, the others were jealous. So they all climbed on and rode together! In such a short time, they will be too big for things like this. We need to treasure these moments with our young ones!




The Sugar Jar
The girls love getting a snitch from the sugar jar when we are baking. Usually mommy is there to keep things under control, but on this particular day, Millie took things into her own hands. All three girls were hiding behind the counter enjoying their treat. I caught on to what was happening, but I was still very surprised to see the damage that had been done in so short a time (you have to see the pictures bigger to see the sugar). Before I got upset, I had to remind myself to keep a sense of humor and enjoy it!

 
 



Our Very First Lemonade Stand
This was such a great learning experience for Millie and Grace. Even though it felt like we (the parents) were doing most of the work, we were really glad they learned how to market, and then sell something. We tried to have them do most of the talking, but it was hard to watch the confusion and sometimes deadly silence...so we pitched in to help out. We were surprised that they made over $10! We were hoping for a lesson in money afterward (counting it up, setting aside savings and tithing, and spending), but they could care less about the money. The next day, they were playing with all the quarters and somehow misplaced most of them...and they don't seem to mind! Oh well, that just won't last long.

Millie's Frog

Paul is always talking about catching a frog, and he even stops our car near swamps to listen for "ribbits" and look for any frogs to catch. So, we were all pretty excited when Millie happened to spot a frog on the grass at a park in Hyrum. Daddy caught it and we had it for a pet for a few days. Catching bugs was fun for Millie, Josh, and Ben. But after awhile, Millie decided it was time to let the poor frog go. Good choice, Mills!

New Bunk Beds

How long can you keep a child in a toddler bed? Millie lasted until age 5. We knew it was really time to upgrade when she ended up sleeping on the floor most nights. So you can imagine just how happy these girls have been with our new purchase. For the first couple of days, they would just hang out in their beds, and even say they just wanted to sleep (in the middle of the day!). Problem is, they all like being on the top bunk. It's the party place! Millie's finally adjusted to the idea of sharing it...as long as they make sure their feet are clean!

Homemade Fruit Leather
We got some free apricots, so I decided to make some dried fruit and fruit leather. Last year, I added sugar to make it taste good enough for the kids to eat. This year, I got brave and sweetened it with pineapple juice, and grape juice concentrate. I'm happy to say that the girls LOVE it! Free and healthy fruit roll-ups...I'm happy about that! 

Our New Addition: Tessa
We made a switch in bunnies so that we could breed. Ashley (who was really a male) is gone to new owners, and now we have Tessa (the female and future mother of our baby bunnies)! She is SO beautiful and so cute! She still hasn't learned how to get away, so even Claire can pick her up at will. 

Bathtime with Cousins
Addie and Millie got a bath together at G & G Yorgason's. I loved watching them so young and naive - no problem at all to be naked around their cousins.

The Putnam's Baptism

We have come to love this family in our ward and it was a really neat day when the son and father were baptized together! Their faces just glowed, and it was apparent that they had received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. What a blessing to come to know such good people and to see how living the gospel changes their lives for the better!  

What have we been doing this summer?

Swimming A LOT!
Enough to have two little green-haired girls, for Millie to learn how to swim the length of the pool, for Grace to feel completely comfortable in a floaty at the deep end, and for Claire to do decide she really does like swimming. 

 

A Visit to the ER
Gracie's 5-day long fever started to worry us, especially when she complained of a headache and neck pain. Of course, it occurred over the weekend when the Dr. office was closed, so we ended up in the ER in the middle of the night. Luckily, it ended up being a UTI. Grace and mommy were both so brave at the hospital!   :)

Matt Returned From Honduras
We had such a fun late-night at the airport! Our girls were home in bed, but much of the Thatcher family came to welcome Matt home. He looks even taller and thinner, and had a permanent smile. We're grateful for his wonderful mission and glad to have him back home with us again.

Murphy & Andrea Were Married
July 2nd was another happy wedding day in Cache Valley! Murph and Andrea were sealed in the Logan Temple by Uncle Paul. It was beautiful! A week or so before their wedding, Gracie said, "Uncle Murph and Aunt Andrea have been not married for a LONG time!"

During the reception, there were fun activities for the kids to do, like filling up a bag with candy from a candy buffet, searching for toys in buckets of rice, & making cards for the newlyweds. They played with cousins, swung, and ate way too much candy!

 

When it got dark, the kids waved good-bye to the newlyweds with glow sticks. So fun!

Yorgason Family Reunion
We had our first annual Yorgason family reunion headed up by Ang and Joseph! It was so fun to have most of our family here from out of town! We played games at the park, went swimming at the clubhouse, had a BBQ, a family slide show, and more. It was fun to get closer to family. We especially loved seeing Millie and Addie become such close friends (see the last picture). We've never lived near each other, but those two would be inseparable if we did!

Dance, Dance, Dance!
Millie and Gracie have performed with their dance group at Lagoon and Raging Waters, and then were in the Farmington Parade. They are so cute when they perform! They both have big smiles and seem so natural up on the stage. I love how Grace gets so into it with her hips--she doesn't hold back a bit! And Millie tries hard to do it perfectly, even the toe touches!

Park Playdates
We've spent a lot of time at the local parks this summer. Claire has little inhibition! She thinks she can do everything her big sisters are doing, and it's a bit dangerous!

Claire's Keeps Getting Cuter and Cuter
This little one just keeps us laughing. It's fun when there is so much personality bottled up in such a little body. She has a good sense of humor, and she has a lot of determination.

She knew that this corn eating game was funny

She loves being like the big girls

And she gets a lot of satisfaction doing other big kid things, like cleaning. But she doesn't understand when we try to tell her that she doesn't need water all over the rag. Let's just say we have to re-clean the whole area that she cleans and change her clothes afterward!

Daddy's Girls

For Father's Day, we surprised Paul with some pictures of all his girls together. I was proud of Millie and Grace for keeping our secret for over 2 weeks. We sure love our Daddy!