A Penny Saved...

...more like $75! Who doesn't love saving money? I've learned that highlights from the box, done by Justin and me, are just as good as highlights from a salon. My mom first did it for me a few months ago so I figured I could handle it, too. Eventually I'll need to put some brown back in and get a professional two-color highlight. And I am missing out on the salon experience, but for now though, I'm saving so much! I also hit a couple garage sales and found this train for Nolan. It makes lots of sounds and he's thrilled with it! 5 bucks!

On Saturday we had a picnic and walked the Silver Lake trail up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was great to escape the near 100 degree weather at home. Hopefully it's the last really hot day we have. After our walk, we went over the mountain hoping to do a mine tour in Park City. Too bad it closed 6 years ago. We found a playground instead (Justin had the most fun) and then got pizza and ice cream on Main Street. We had a great time! Here are some pictures of our recent play times:

Perfectly Average

Today was Ezra's 2 month check-up. He is in the 50th percentile straight across the board! He smiled and cooed at the doctor and then I learned that he really can cry... hard. He didn't like those shots but calmed down right away. I'm so glad our little sweetheart is healthy and happy! I really can't believe how fast time is going by. Already he is sleeping 5 to 6 hours at night. He never needs the binky to sleep, either (Nolan needed it so badly). He is so good natured and doesn't seem to be losing any hair yet. One of these days though, he'll start getting the dreaded bald strip in the back!

We had a busy week in Logan while Dad attended a Small Satellite conference at USU. He was also busy studying for his class (he takes the final today... yippee!). It was a little tough keeping Nolan busy. He gets bored and finds trouble at Grandma K's if we sit around too long. But it's also trickier going places now because Nolan runs all over and I have to nurse Ez and all that good stuff. I think we found some fun things to do though.

Willow Zoo and swimming at the Campbell's (twice!)

American West Center... Nolan was most interested in the modern backhoe and four-wheeler that he saw, as opposed to the authentic farm equipment and animals. Check out the helmet he had to wear!

An evening up Blacksmith Fork Canyon with the Petersens. What delicious s'mores! Nolan wasn't too fond of the dog.

And finally, after coming home, we celebrated our little community with a parade and fireworks this past Saturday. We are grateful for our home, neighbors, and the area in which we live. And they sure know how to put on a great fireworks display! It will be warm for a while, but it felt like a great end to the summer.

Famime-me-me

Last night we were helping Nolan with his nighttime prayer. Justin said, "thank you for my family," and Nolan repeated, "thank you famime-me-me." I just love the way he says that word! It cracks me up. He's to the stage where I can correct his pronunciation and then he'll say it really well, but I think I'll let him mispronounce this word a while longer. Besides, to him, I think that's really what family is all about: me, me, me!

Wordless Wednesday

Ezra's Big Day

Today was Ezra's blessing day. He was a perfect angel. Our extended family members are always commenting that he doesn't know how to cry. It's true; he rarely ever cries. He wore the same outfit that Nolan was blessed in and he looked so handsome. We were glad to have my parents, Lacey's family, Keeley's family, Justin's mom, his Grandpa Moulton, Grandma Petersen, and his brother Daren all attend and come to our home for dinner afterward. Justin did a wonderful job with the blessing and we're so grateful to have Ezra in our family! Justin and I both bore our testimonies in sacrament meeting... I'm glad to have that over with for the next couple years (just kidding).

We spent a couple of days in Park City with my family. I enjoyed the shopping so much. After I had the baby I looked over my wardrobe and realized most of my clothes were either not cute or from back in middle school (which would also put them in the "not cute" category). Nolan loved swimming with Dad; Ezra loved being held by his aunts and Grandma. It was fun to go on the Alpine Slide after all these years and see Nolan go for his first ride. When we got home from Park City, he and Justin were discussing all the fun things we'd done. We even went through the Oquirrh Temple open house with some friends. Here is their conversation:

Dad: "Did you have a fun day?"

Nolan: "Fun day!"

Dad: "Was it a special day?"

Nolan: "Special day!"

Dad: "Was it a favorite day?"

Nolan then paused for a moment and said: "Favorite Daddy!" then gave Justin a big hug. Those are the moments that make up for all the screaming, escaping nursery, throwing tantrums, etc. What a sweetie!

Here are some other pics from the past couple of weeks.