The Last Few Weeks

The reason for not posting in awhile is that Ben had us busy working on the playhouse....And, Ashley was busy throwing a party in honor of it. After that, we just wanted to relax. So, here it is...The Little Yellow (Lamb) Playhouse!
Notice the bugs climbing on the side, the doorbell, the garden gnome and the umbrella.

The chair covers and pillows were made by Nana Joan. The electricity was installed by Kenny Chan (except for the pain-in-the-butt wire under the carpet). The stone walkway and garden was put in by Ashley. The structure--particularly the deck--and the mailbox was worked on by Papa Jake. The letters, bench (not pictured), posts, frames, and numerous other knick-knacks were painted by Lois. Everything else and more was done by the incredible talented carpenter, Ben.

Special wind chime

RCA Cable so that no little fingers get stuck

Maia can climb the rock wall very well by herself in spite of the holders being 2 feet off the ground (an oversight by us)!

Ben, Akai, Maia, Ashley

The room that took forever to paint, but looks awesome!! It is even carpeted!

A cool light that makes stars and moons on the walls.

The custom mailbox. Maia's name is on the other side.

There is no way that we can ever repay the numerous people contributed to this 'little' project and our many others. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such loving people with helpful and giving personalities. We also appreciate our sweet Maia who was sooo patient throughout.
THANK YOU!! WE LOVE YOU!!

June 20th, Father's Day, invited friends and family over for the grand playhouse warming party. It was quite a turnout with over fifty people! We had the perfect amount of quiche, fruit, vegan muffins, cantaloupe and prosciutto, mozzarella and tomatoes, but WAY too much coffee. We had a wonderful time and so did all of the kids!
Maia and her friend, Maya, enjoying popsicles.

The family inside the bouncy house. Ssshhh! Don't tell the company that we took our dog inside! Ultimate Inflatables dropped this off on Saturday night and picked it up 24 hours later which left plenty of time for Ashley and Maia to have fun jumping. Ben kept spraying the two of them with water. What we would give to keep this bouncy house here??

Yo! After the party--our little gangsta and her homie getting cool in the water. Notice the size of the bouncy house in the background.


Mama and Maia and Akai needed a little break after the weekend, so we took off to Liberty Park and played in the creeks.
'Look at me, Mama!'

Biggest smile ever! I bet you could fit your hand in there.


Ben's childhood friend, Nick, and family came to Utah for his brother's wedding. We were lucky to spend a lot of time with them. THANK YOU, CHRISTOPOLUS'S!!
Ben, Akai, Nick, and Connor after a stop at Maggie Moo's ice cream.

Maia and Corbin having fun in the stream. These two had a BLAST together!! Maia was sad that she did not get to say good-bye--she fell asleep.

Nick and Chasity gave Maia a new sprinkler toy. The kids had a great time in their underoos.

Ash and Chas relaxin' on the swing.


We decided to go up and stay at The Canyons on the 3rd of July. It was GREAT! We got up there about five and decided we needed a dinner. We went to the only open restaurant, where they seated us next to a party of adults who seemed to be catching up/getting to know each other. This, plus the fact that the restaurant was a little posh and Maia's excitement, equaled no good. So, we asked for the food to be delivered to the room, which was awesome! The food was wonderful and our room had a big dining table to eat on. The room also had a full kitchen, a pullout couch, two single beds, and a queen bed. It was huge and all for the price of $130!
After dinner we headed to the outdoor concert, but Maia just wanted to go play inside. We played and watched Toy Story 2 until it was time to go out for the fireworks. They started just as we laid on the grass. Maia thought it was loud, but liked watching. It was neat to look down at the two mesmerized children laying between the two of us. The next morning we went to Park City's Main Street for breakfast at Callaway's. Wow! It was delicious!! While we were there we found out that there would be a parade later on in the day. So, we went back to swim in the very cold weather and then back for the parade. The kids were exhausted by this point, but were pretty good sports and liked watching the parade. Later that evening, we went to Ashley's parents house to eat and visit with the Rawling's family. It was very nice to not have to worry about dinner. We got some sparklers for the kids (the one's the worker at the fireworks place recommended) which started on fire!! Who ever said giving 2- and 3-year-olds' fire was a good idea? Then, Phil lit some fireworks in the driveway for us to watch. It was a really great weekend!
At the dining table in our room!

Ben and Maia enjoying a warm cup on a cold morning. Best breakfast ever (besides Grand America)!

'Why is my sparkler on fire?'

Monday, July 5th, Maia caught her first fish!! We went to a stocked pond, Sunset Pond, in Draper. It was nice and shady and relatively few insects. We snacked and fished. Maia was very determined. Ben would cast out her line and she would very slowly reel it in. After approximately 1.5 hours, she saw her floater move. She yelled, "I think that I caught a fish!" Ben kind of ignored it, thinking there was little chance, but then she yelled it again. She reeled it the rest of the way repeating, "Fish eat people." (Don't know where that came from). She did not want to toss it back, she wanted to take it home and eat it, but also said that it was gross. It was very exciting and the highlight of the weekend!!
Maia's excited face after Ben caught his first fish (a trout).

'I am so proud of my little perch!!