Fourth of July

I am grateful for Independence Day. I am grateful for those who serve our country. I am grateful for the freedoms we have in this country. I am grateful that I could go back to Utah to be with my family for the Fourth of July. We really had a great time doing our annual 5k run/walk race. The best part is the t-shirt that you get when you have finished. After the morning race we had a great breakfast provided by the 'Kiwanis/Elk' guys. Parker enjoyed the pancakes. We then went back to where the race was and watched the Old Glory Days Parade. Parker now associates a firetruck with 'cany' (candy). He did really well until the high school senior class got him wet with their water guns.

Grandma Nanette was eager to take Lincoln for a little bit. Lincoln enjoyed snuggling up into her for the whole parade. I enjoyed it because I had my hands free to take pictures and grab a few pieces of candy.

Willie was Parkers designated bag holder. Willie was really good at chasing down the candy with Parker and filling up the bag. Parker had fun with his cousins; Kaylee, Daxton and especially Logan.

Logan had a fun time and kept saying 'wooooo'. He and Parker are good buddies.

Here is Parker loving the firetrucks, and there were a whole bunch of them for him to enjoy.

'CANY'

A Gift For Daddy.

For Father's Day Parker gave Willie a nice present. During dinner Parker asked for some 'bulk', or in English 'milk'. So I went over and picked out a new cup with Thomas the Train on it that was equiped with a lid and straw. We've been trying to get him to drink milk from anything other than his bottle. When Parker got his milk he was a little reluctant but Willie and I also had some straws for our milk as well. We turned it into a fun event and when Parker drank from the straw he got cheers and clapping. It was like peeing in the potty all over again. We got really excited over him drinking milk from a cup. Yeah for this little bit of progress. Soon enough the bottle will be gone and now he has an alternative way to drink his milk.

Happy Fathers Day, a little early

Potty Time.

Our house has been crazy recently. We have been fixing our car, computer, camera, and getting packed to move. Today we had something super fun happen. Parker went pee pee in the potty!! Yes, it may be a one time thing for now but you should have seen how excited we all got, even Lincoln gave his big brother 'knuckles.'
We bought Parker his own 'Cars' potty seat awhile ago. He is so interested in flushing the toilet and putting the toilet paper inside to watch it go 'bye bye'. Just as I was getting ready to put Parker down for his nap today he said he needed a bum change. I think Willie must have asked if Lincoln needed one and Parker just overheard. Well I asked Parker if he wanted to sit on the toilet and a little reluctant at first he sat down. I thought it would be like previous times where he just wanted to sit on the cool seat. About a minute later we heard a little trickle!! WAHOO! We were clapping, giving high fives and cheering for our little dude.
We would have had some video or something to post from our excitement but because the camera is in the shop we only have our memories to share and this picture of the cool seat Parker gets to use.

First time camping.

We did well in planning this trip. Both Lincoln and Parker went camping for the first time. This was also the first time we pulled out our new tent from my parents. Thanks mom and dad. The campsite was just outside of Helen, GA in Unicoi State Park.
Parker helped to gather wood for our fire, move the rocks around so we had a flat surface to lay the tent, and even hold the poles so daddy could set up the tent. After all the hard work we had drinks and a nice hot dog dinner. Lincoln loved being held by his aunt most of the time.
My favorite was when Parker put on the gloves so he wouldn't get cut or burned when putting the wood in the fire. What a great helper. Parker liked running through the smoke. He caught a mouthful a couple of times. This next set of photos was on our exploration of the camp. Parker was asked to not drink the water. That didn't stop him. Luckily we pulled his pants off before he slipped into the small stream.
We had fun at the campsite and wished that we could have stayed longer. We really loved getting out in nature and building a fire. The moon was beautiful. We did get rained on a little but nothing to dampen our spirits.
Parker and daddy read 'Just Me and My Dad' before bedtime. It sure was cute to watch them read Parker's book.

Gainesville Times

Parker seems to attract the photographers of local newspapers. He once again had his picture taken this time by a photographer for the Gainesville Times. This is the link http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/19682/
We had been camping up in Helen (more to come) and we saw the hot air balloons. They didn't do the planned race but we still saw about five balloons go up, kind of fun.

Firetruck, airplanes and SUPERMAN!

My oh my was Parker happy. When we look at the pictures from the airshow at Dekalb airport he gets so excited. Parker was excited to see motorcycles, helicopters, firetrucks, and airplanes. The firemen loved letting Parker drive their trucks, he sat in the front seat THREE times! Wow. This was a fun activity to do with Parker and Lincoln. Our car almost didn't make it but we kept going. After the show Willie changed our fuel pump and the car has been running a little better ever since.

The airplanes were awesome. We only stayed long enough to watch about three of them do really cool tricks. The video probably won't do the show justice but it still was really cool.