DDM Summer Party

For their summer party this year, DDM invited us to Boondocks up in Kaysville last night.  Leila had so much fun playing games, going on bumper boats, and playing on the playground.  She also liked mini golfing but didn't quite grasp all of the concepts (like not picking her ball up mid-hole).  And she beat me at bowling!  True, she had bumpers and I didn't, but still!

Yellowstone 2015

Thursday afternoon we loaded up in the car, anxious for our annual Yellowstone trip.  We weren't sure we were going to be able to make it work this year, mostly because camping in the cold in a tent with two young girls didn't appeal to us.  But at the last minute we were able to snag a cheap-ish cabin at Old Faithful.  Phew!

We were the first of the Larsen clan to get there, so we had Friday morning to ourselves.  Leila loved looking at all of the pretty colors in the hot pots.  She didn't care for the smell though!

We met up with everyone else for lunch at Old Faithful before we split off into two groups for the rest of the day.  Rogerses, Britts, and Jared went hiking and the rest of us drove the Lower loop with a few stops along the way, including our first bear sighting: a grizzly not far off the road!

She was genuinely terrified Jason was going to throw her in

The group all stuck together on Saturday which was good because Leila was always looking for "my people."  We started off at Norris and drove the Upper loop, adding a momma black bear and her two cubs to our bear count.

Sunday we drove the Lower loop and stopped at Dragon's Mouth before we had to head home.  I'm sad that the trip was so short but so very grateful that it ended up working out for us to go at all!

Rapunzel in the Gardens

Far too often lately, I am all too anxious to ship Leila off for some daddy playtime as soon as Jason walks in the door.  Between her not sleeping, not having school during the summer, and still adjusting to having another baby around, even an easy-going one, I am usually more than done with being a mom by 6pm.  I've been feeling bad at how short I've been with Leila lately and how little one-on-one time I give her.  So last night I took her to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point for a much needed mommy-daughter date.

We walked around the Gardens until it dusk when we made our way to the Waterfall Amphitheater where they were showing Tangled.  We spread out our blankets, ate some snacks, and enjoyed the movie.  Because of how active she is, we don't take Leila to movies, but I was surprised at how well she did.  The less-formal outdoor setting worked well and the fact that it was a movie that she knows and loves sealed the deal.  She'd brought along her little Rapunzel doll and acted out and sang the songs throughout the movie.  It made the family behind us giggle.  She may try my willpower and my energy levels, but I sure do love this little spitfire princess!

Hegerhorst-Larsen BBQ

A couple weeks ago, I met up with some of the Hegerhorst clan for some splash pad fun.  During our visit, we decided that we should have a reunion of sorts with my family and theirs.  Thus planning commenced and last night we gathered for a BBQ in my mom's backyard.  We had everyone there except Julie and her family because they just live a little too far away.  Not bad!  It was great to see everyone!