the zoo...again!

paul's sister, kenna, and her family came to visit last weekend and one of things we did together was go to the zoo. i know we just went a little while ago but i'm always up for some more zoo animals, and it's always a good place to go with the kiddies.


i don't know WHAT was up with this alligator. he sat there like this with his mouth wide open for like forever....it kinda weirded me out.

*kenna's husband, gabe + paul's mom.


*paul's dad + kenna's daughter, maddie.


*penny enjoying a ride on grandpa's shoulders.

my family was also up for the weekend and, as i'm sure some of you know, when both sides of the family are visiting from out of town, the schedule can get a little packed. last weekend went a little something like this:

friday: splash pad in the evening
saturday: farmer's market in the morning / max's 3rd birthday party in the evening
sunday: baby blessing for elsa in the morning / dinner at debbie + glade's in the evening
monday: lunch, shopping, dinner, fireworks
tuesday: zoo in the morning / maddie's 2 year birthday party in the evening

*my family
*paul's family

like my color code? i practically had to color code my calendar just to keep everything straight! it was definitely busy but definitely fun, and maybe a little exhasuting. :)

and then i realized with all these fun events going on i didn't even get one picture of myself! isn't that always the way? ha.

happy 4th!

*penny + my brother jordan.
*my nephew max.

*my niece elsa.

*my mom + grandma balmforth.

*second cousins: tyler + max.

we had a fun get together at my aunt margo's home complete with food, fireworks and family (nice alliteration, right?). they legalized aerial fireworks in utah this year so we had our own personal fireworks show in the backyard. coming from a girl who grew up in california where fireworks are banned, it was awesome!

penny had fun petting some horses and eating nothing but junk food. the girl wouldn't let me put anything remotely healthy in her mouth, not even a piece of watermelon! she clamped her mouth shut like i was trying to feed her poison. all she had was a cookie and rootbeer, and when i say she had some rootbeer, i mean she nursed that pink sippy cup like it was her job and when it was empty i had to pry it out of her sticky hands with more than a little of my strength. i was pretty much going for mom-of-the-year award that night.

hope you all had a fabulous fourth!

little tattoo artist.

i'm just glad she didn't get her mitts on a sharpie.

*admiring her handy work.

cheeeese!

me: hey penny, look at mama!

penny [sees my camera]: CHEEEEEEESE!


maybe let's not say "cheese!" for a picture ever again...because lately you end up looking a bit like a pirate.

yes, that is a mountain of toys. i like to keep it classy. and yes, that is a halloween bucket. also very classy.

pool baby

we didn't really do the kiddie pool thing last summer and i'm totally reveling in it this summer. it's so easy and penny loves it, and i get to read a book and dip my toes in the water while she splashes around.

it's a little surreal, in a way. i totally have hazy memories of playing in a kiddie pool in my backyard growing up and my mom sitting by the side, watching me. and now i get to do the same with my baby and i love it. it's the perfect temperature outside, mid-seventies, not too humid and not too dry. i think it could only be more perfect if they weren't tearing down the old elementary school across the street...bulldozing kind of makes for a slightly noisy background.

p.s. is there a better scent of summer than a baby in sunscreen?? i submit that there is not.

farmer's market!

i love the farmer's market. there's always interesting stuff to see and everyone seems to be in a good mood. the weather's warm, i can wear a skirt, penny loves getting pushed in her stroller, we can sit under a tree with our lunch and relax. it's pretty much my ideal summer activity.

it made me a little sad to not be selling at the salt lake market like i did last summer, but i'm actually really glad to not be doing it this year. it was a little hard giving up all those saturday mornings, and not sleeping in but setting up in a chilly park at 7am. i look forward to as little scheduling this summer as possible.

memorial day weekend

we escaped the rain in salt lake this weekend and had a great time in sunny saint george. we went down with paul's folks + our friends, nate, claire + their little girl norah, it was so nice and relaxing!

we flew a kite...

(yes, paul is biting the kite.)

played in some (clean) gutter water...

aw...lil' buddies.

got pedicures...

and even squeezed in a visit to the grand canyon! i had never been so i can check that off the ol' to-do list.
(this was the least crazy-lookin' picture we got. it was SO WINDY up there!)
baby girl was tucked in tight, it was way chilly.
nice pose, glade.



we also went swimming and shopping and had some bbq...it was a great weekend all around!