Silly Nathan

Nathan has been talking, and making us laugh, since he was 10 months old. He says the funniest things. I just had to write a few of them down so I don't forget them. His favorite pajamas are the footie kind. The other night he was trying to put them on and he came out the the living room and said, "These jammies are stupid! They won't let me get in them!" They were all twisted up and half inside out. Today we discovered that he calls his Sunbeam Teacher Sister Samowitz, Sister Samwich, it's close. This afternoon he was eating a snack and he bit his tongue. He said, "That hurt so bad," he thinks for a second, "it was like hail. It was like 100 hails hitting my tongue." Randy and I laughed so hard, it hurt like hail, ha. Where does he get these things?

Blog Slacker

Okay, so I have been a total blog slacker. I always have the best intentions of writing new posts. I take pictures, I even think of titles and what I want to write. Here is an example I wanted to do a couple of weeks ago:

Out with the Old, In with the new

Good Bye squished cushions,

Frayed edges with the cording coming out,

Gross stains,

torn seem,

old couches, that everyone has, used to have, or knows someone who has had. You have been good to us for 8 and 10 years respectively, but it is time for us to move on.

Hello beautiful, new, "durahide" couches that my kids can wipe their ketchup faces and sticky hands on and it doesn't matter. Welcome to the family.

I was also going to write a post called "Jam Session" about making apricot jam with my neighbor friends, and one called "Scout Widow" about all the things the kids and I did while Randy was away at camp for a week. But I didn't. You have to give me a break, I have had four kids at home all summer. We have been busy:Playing games, this is Nathan's favorite game, Tumbling Tower.

Growing a garden, and making yummy food with our harvest. That zucchini made 4 loves of zucchini bread, 3 dozed double chocolate zucchini muffins, and a pan of zucchini brownies. I have also made lemon poppy seed zucchini bread, lemon zucchini cookies, chocolate zucchini cookies, and zucchini apple crisp. And, of course, we have enjoyed zucchini grilled, baked, and pan fried.

This yummy grilled pizza was made with homemade pesto from basil we grew, tomatoes and zucchini we grew, and onions from our neighbor. Soooo good.

Playing at the park, this was Natalie's first time on a swing, I think she liked it.

Visiting the Gale Center Museum with cousins. The kids had fun playing and I had fun learning about the history of South Jordan.

Visiting the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point and riding the ponies.

Playing with neighbors.

Playing at the splash park with friends every Wednesday morning.

Hiking, the hardest hike we did this summer was the "Y". It was tough with little kids, but we were rewarded with ice cream from the Creamery after, so it was worth it.

Visiting the airplane museum in Roy, UT.

Eating Aggie Ice Cream in Logan, it is pretty good, but I still prefer the BYU Creamery.

Spending a day at Bear Lake with Randy's family.

And generally having a fun summer.

Now that Jacob is back in school we should settle down into more of a routine. Maybe I will actually have some time to post more often.

Ten Years of Wedded Bliss

Ten Years
3 apartments, 1 house
2 college degrees
7 vehicles
8 job changes
4 pregnancies
4 babies
3 boys, 1 girl
1 major illness
1 dream vacation
0 fights
3650 days of happiness

I love you Randy!
Thanks for giving me the life I always wanted,
and making me the happiest girl alive.

Summer Fun

It is finally feeling like summer here in Utah. We skipped spring entirely, but now that the weather is nice we are taking full advantage of it. One of our families favorite summer activities is Herriman Town Days. We love the parade. I love watching the joy on my kids faces as they race for candy thrown from floats. It is like one huge pinata. I forgot my camera this year. We also love going to the park in the afternoon and riding rides and walking around to all the booths. This year Adam got to ride a pony, which he loved.We love to stick around the park and eat dinner (Little Caesars). We spread out our blankets on the grass behind the pavilion and enjoy the free concert. This year it was Jericho Road, a little 8 years ago, but still kind of fun. Someone should probably tell those guys they are in their 30's now and not as cool as they used to be. As soon as the concert is over and it dark the real show begins, fireworks! There is just something so awesome about laying on your back in the park with your family all around you listening to Lee Greenwood's "I am proud to be an American" and having your whole field of vision light up by fireworks. One of my favorite moments of the whole summer.

Adam and me, and Nathan with cousins Eli and Alayna waiting for the show to begin.

We are also having a lot of fun with our neighbors this summer. We always have fun with our next door neighbors in the summer. Jackie and I typically spend a lot of time sitting in our front yards watching our kids play while we chat. This year we have new friends. We got new neighbors across the street who have 4 girls all the same ages as my kids. We are becoming great friends and we love hanging out with them. Here we are playing in the water.

Adam and Morgan

Nathan and Harlie

Jackie and Kasey, being the great neighbors that they are made me this cute tutu for Natalie. They were making 4th of July tutus for their girls and had extra material. Thanks guys, isn't she adorable?

Riverton Town Days is another highlight of summer. This is a Wardle family tradition from when Randy was growing up. It is always on the 4th of July, so it is a great way to celebrate. It started with the parade on Friday night. The parade was crazy, residents of Riverton take their parade seriously. My mother in law put out chairs a week in advance. Then we had to squeeze about 30 Wardles and 10 friends of Wardles into about 20 feet of sidewalk. Good thing we like each other.Hayden, Isaac, Jacob, and Nathan waiting for the parade to start

The parade was long, so long that Nathan said to me, "Mom, I am tired of catching candy." Then then went and sat down to enjoy what he had picked up.

It was long for Natalie too, she fell asleep on daddy's lap.

On Saturday we met cousins at the park. We were hoping to see Air Force jets fly over, but they never came. At least we got to play all decked out in our patriotic attire.

Saturday afternoon we had a party with Randy's family. Natalie loves Grandpa Wardle.

I made the awesomest cake. Seriously, the best I have ever made. It was a plain white coconut cake on the outside, but inside held a surprise.

Ta Da!!

All the Wardle cousins, except Natalie, who was sleeping.

After the party it was off to watch the Riverton fireworks. We found a great spot with a good view of the action.

Since Randy had the day off on Monday we decided to go camping with Randy's brother Jason and his family. We left Sunday afternoon after church and drove up to the Uintas. For some reason we ended up in a campsite with no facilities. No table, no outhouse, no faucet. I don't mind camping when I have these basic things. Without them things are a little rough. There was no where to prepare our meals, no way to wash hands and faces (I think we used an entire package of baby wipes), and I would be happy if I never have to squat in the woods again. About the time the Ketchup exploded all over me was about the time I decided that I will never camp like this again. Natalie was sweet as always, she slept great next to me in my sleeping bag. And Randy and the boys had a great time, even if I didn't.

What boy wouldn't love getting this filthy?

We got back from camping on Monday afternoon. That night we were kicking it in the front yard with our neighbors and we decided to do some fireworks of our own. What a great way to end the weekend.
Whoever thought that lighting a firework and putting in the hand of a child was a good idea was crazy. And yet we do sparklers every year. Adam ended up with a little singed hair, but luckily that was the worst that happened.