When Nana and Papa visit...

We love it when Nana and Papa come visit. They were able to come and stay for about 2 weeks through the holidays. The kids always have a blast with them and they love them to pieces. I was always really close to my grandparents growing up and it's nice to see my kids close to their grandparents as well. My parents come up here any chance they get because they can't stand to be away from their grandkids. I love it. Here are some fun pictures from their trip. 

New Mexico Trip

The beginning of July was a lot of fun for us. My parents came up to spend a few weeks with us and then I went home with them for a little over a week to visit family and friends in New Mexico. It had been a month shy of a year since I had been home, so it was nice to catch up with people. :)

Papa and Brooklyn playing Legos

While I was at home we had a family reunion for my Dad's side of the family. My grandma was 1 of 13 children, and every 2 years we have a Farnsworth Family Reunion. It has been a while since I have been able to attend one - before I left for college, in fact. It was the perfect chance to see my Grandma and Aunt Diana since they came up from Arizona for the reunion. Carson had a lot of fun hanging out my my dad. At the reunion they played a game where you throw sticks at blocks of wood and try and knock them over. Carson was actually pretty good at it!

Carson and Papa

Carson and Papa looking at the clouds. :) Nana was also able to get Brooklyn to sleep - for a whole 5 mintues.

My grandma and her sister, Geraldine. I just love my grandma.

The kids had fun playing with sponges in the water and running around outside. Brooklyn also LOVES otterpops! She ate a ton all by herself.

Picture with Grandma Bloomfield! Both kids were ready for bed at this point - as you can tell.

In my parent's backyard there is a tire swing that we would swing on when we were little. My grandpa used to push us so high that we could grab leaves from the tree. The swing broke last year so my dad made a new one. Carson had so much fun swinging in it while Papa would push him. It reminded me of my grandpa pushing us.

Unfortunately the new swing has a few issues. It kept wanting to twist and one of the ropes caught a branch while Carson was pretty high in the swing. It tipped the swing sideways and dumped Carson out through the hole on the side. He did a flip in the air (I can still see it all in slow motion) and landed with a thud. I thought for sure he broke his wrist or at least sprained it because of the way he landed. Luckily, he did not. He had a little bit of rope burn on his neck - poor kid. It knocked the wind out of him and scared me half to death. He snuggled with Papa and watched a movie after that.

Carson had his first taste of dippin dots while we were at the mall one day. He thought they were pretty cool!

While I was at home my mom and I did a 4th of July craft. I know- a little late. We went to the Wood Creations in Idaho Falls before we left and picked out a few things to do. I did a set with a hat, a star, and a firecracker. We both also did Uncle Sam. If you've never done something from the Wood Connection, you basically buy pieces of wood in shapes ready to sand and decorate. We sanded, painted, decorated, etc. I thought they turned out pretty cute!! It's hard to tell from the picture how cute they are. They all have a little glitter on them and they sparkle in the sun.

Carson thought I did a really good job with Uncle Sam. He kept telling me that. :)

One of the days we were there I took the kids and we went to Pagosa Springs, CO to a cabin with some of my good friends. Carson took an instant liking to Jordan and asked to take a picture with him. Jordan hates pictures and wouldn't look at the camera - so Carson tried to make him. The second picture is the result. haha! It was a lot of fun to see the Mannings and catch up with them all. I really miss them a bunch and wish I could see them more often. We are crossing our fingers that Jordan gets to come up in September to visit us.

On our way out of Pagosa Springs the next morning there was a hot air balloon right over the road. Carson thought it was amazing!! I snapped a picture at a stop sign for him.

It's always so hard to say goodbye to my parents. My dad doesn't get to visit us as often as my mom because of work, so he doesn't get to see the kids as much. They sure do love him though! Brooklyn fell asleep in his lap while I was loading the car to head out.

I decided to break the trip home into 2 days since it takes about 14 hours with kids. We headed to Sandy to stay with Jason's grandparents and then we went the rest of the way the next day. I just mentally prepared to make lots of stops since I was by myself. We ended up stopping about every 2 hours or so to let the kids get their wiggles out, eat, change diapers, go potty, etc. It was a long trip, but the kids did great (all things considering). My car was a disaster by the time we got home from all of the snacks I would throw in the back to keep them entertained.

It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa Hileman - even though it was a short stay. We love them so much and they love the kids. Carson knows where the blocks are and he likes to play with Grandpa. This time he made Grandpa fly an imaginary airplane with him.

Brooklyn was being a stinker and wouldn't sit for a picture. We got a good one with Carson though!

Before we headed back we stopped at Kneaders and met my friends from College - Callie and Kiersten. It was so much fun to catch up with them and see their cute kiddos! I took a picture with Kiersten too, but she forbade me to publish it since she was 9 months pregnant (and beautiful). Next time we head to Utah we will have to go out to dinner with them.

All in all the trip was great! We got to see lots of people we love and we all survived the ride home. :)

4th of July

We had lots of fun this year on the 4th of July. My parents were here again this year - which is always the best. My kids love their Nana and Papa. During the week we decided to go to Rexburg Rapids waterpark. Carson refused to play in the water. They have a huge playground in the water with lots of fun stations and slides - nope. I tried to go in with him - nope. I tried to go down the slide with him on my lap - nope. He kicked and screamed and cried until I let him go sit on Papa's lap. Silly kid. It's a good thing you were still free to get in! Brooklyn and I had fun in the Lazy River. :)

The morning of the 4th we went to the parade, as usual. This year we sat with the Weed's and it was a perfect view. It was pretty hot, so Carson quickly retreated to sit in the shade with Papa (go figure). Brooklyn, on the other hand, got the hang of the whole "candy" thing and was a pro!! She would dart after every little piece of candy and bring it back to us. That girl knows what's up! Haha!

The rest of the day was filled with fun too, but I can't believe I didn't think to take any pictures!!! We played a game of Family Kickball, saw Despicable Me 2 at the theater, and then had a BBQ and watched the fireworks at Carly and Will's. It was a great day!

Salt Lake Trip

 My brother, Zach, got a job in Washington as a State Trooper, and had a 2 weeks notice to move up there. My mom was coming up for her Spring Break and Ashley was already headed down for a wedding, so Carly and I decided to join in on the fun and go to Salt Lake for the weekend as well. My dad was able to come up for the weekend and we managed to get him a cheap flight back to Farmington. Jason was the only one not able to come because of homework. Let me tell ya, traveling as a single mom = no fun. Luckily I had my family there to help me and Carly and Will rode down with me, but it is still exhausting. I was glad to be home at the end of the weekend.

We started off the weekend with a little bit of Joe's Crab Shack. It's kinda turned into a tradition of ours to go with Zach and Haleigh when we are down in SLC. It was a little different not having Jason there to crack my crab for me.... A guy that worked there made the kids balloons, which was great entertainment. Carson got an airplane and Brooklyn got a flower. She tried to eat hers. Silly girl.

 We made sure to get a hotel that had a swimming pool so we could take the kids swimming. They had a BLAST!! Brooklyn loved the water! I was a little surprised because Carson hated swimming at her age. He would cling on with a death grip and be on the verge of tears the entire time. Not Brooklyn! She was a pro! Carson even had a lot of fun this time. I still can't get him to jump into the pool, but we are working on that. He starts swimming lessons next month. :)

We spent a lot of the day on Saturday at the City Creek Mall. Carson loves the water fountains there and wanted to watch them for quite a while. He has the best facial expressions. You can tell what he is thinking the entire time. It is fun to sit back and watch him sometimes.

Loading up the car with Papa. He got to ride on the luggage cart. He thought it was awesome!

My kiddos love their Papa! Probably because he shares his soda with them. :)

 By the time we went home, Carson and Brooklyn were both spent. They both fell asleep as soon as we left SLC and didn't wake up until outside Pocatello. Carson's stick from his chocolate dipped marshmellow stayed in his hand the entire trip.