At the beginning of the month we drove all the way out to Heber and went with Heidi, Sam, and Jami as well as my Mom and Dad and Grandpa to watch the national sheep dog trials. We own a border collie and I've always been interested in going to see what real border collies can do. Our Boot could never be a real sheep dog because she's scared of sheep. It was really neat to watch the dogs run all the way up the mountain to get the sheep and then carefully bring them back down the mountain to the person who was directing them. It was like it was on the movie Babe but they really run like half-way up the mountain and only have 13 minutes to bring the sheep down then back up then down again and go through some gates and get them in the pen. The dogs would run right by where we were sitting and Gwen would shout "There goes Boot."
The little ones were good at holding the hoops and then running around with them.
We didn't actually get any pictures of the sheep dogs or the sheep. They had some fun activities for the little kids to do. We got to find the missing sheep they had hidden and each of the kids won a little stuffed bear. Gwen gave hers a piggy-back ride when we had to walk up the big hill to watch the dogs jump in a big pool and make a big splash. We had to leave after only being there a couple hours because I had to work. It would have been more worth it if we had made an entire day of it. The drive was beautiful though.
Emily made a new friend at the gym and the little 2 year-old bit her on the cheek. I was so frustrated by it because the mom of the biter didn't really do anything about it. Neither did the gym day care. At least it was just a bruise, no permanent damage or scaring or anything. Plus, it's not going to stop me from going there. I'm just a little more anxious when I go and I keep reminding them to keep the little biter away from Emily. 
Gwen actually took this picture of me with my anniversary flowers. Not bad considering I really had to convince her to hold the camera the right way. Usually she just takes pictures of her own nose because she always holds the camera backwards.
Jonathan and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on the 10th. He and Gwen went and picked out 4 beautiful red roses for me as a surprise. We went out to lunch at Red Robin and then we all went to the fair together that evening. It was so much fun being at the fair together that Jonathan took the girls back again the next evening while I was at work. They even took the train and the bus so that they didn't have to pay for parking. That meant they could spend more money trying fair delicacies like deep fried peanut butter sandwiches and a deep fried Snickers candy bar. I think it's funny that he knew that I would never allow my kids to consume anything like that so he did it when I wasn't there. 
Gwen's favorite parts of the fair are the animals and the butter sculpture - this year's was a pair of dancing cows.
Emily demonstrates how she's so big now that she can even use a sippy cup. My pediatrician told me to start her on a real cup, but since Gwen can't even use one without making a huge mess I didn't think that was too smart. She is really good at the sippy cup though.
Okay, I did something I regret a little bit earlier this month. I was so sick and tired of fighting Gwen about her hair that I chopped it all off one afternoon after a particularly nasty fight with her about brushing it. It's pretty cute and it fits her little personality but I miss all her curls in the back. It is a lot easier to brush and take care of now though. So, I'm torn about it. I just wish she wouldn't have such a fit about brushing it.I've mentioned before about my incredible working mom guilt that makes me have to go out and make each day fun for my little ones. It's been extra nice outside lately - well before it turned into winter yesterday. We've been spending more time up at Liberty Park. We hadn't been there since the beginning of the summer and it was fun to see what Gwen had remembered from a few months before. Last week we went and had a picnic lunch at the Tracy Aviary. It was warm and quiet since all the kids are back in school these days. Gwen found a peacock to follow around all day. I guess he thought that he was invited to our lunch because he showed up and stole Gwen's peanut butter and jelly sandwich, even though it was still sealed in it's baggy. That made Gwen upset so I chased him down and got it back and shooed him away. Gwen still asks if we can go to the park so she can share her lunch with the peacock again. I guess she's forgotten how scared she was when he jumped up on the table right by her.
At Liberty Park they also have this area with all these small rivers showing all the canyons in the Salt Lake Valley and how they all dump into the Great Salt Lake. It hadn't been working when we were there at the start of summer but it's up and running now. We went two days in a row so Gwen could get her fill of playing in the water. Luckily, Emily can sleep just about anywhere and she ended up taking a nap for over an hour while Gwen played.
Also, for her birthday, Gwen's grandma gave her dancing lessons. Gwen is so excited each week to go to dancing class. Last week she had a really hard time focusing on the dancing because she was trying hard to play with all her new friends. She even made the shyest girl in class cry because she was giving her a big bear hug and pulled her hair. Yesterday's class was much better and although her attention span puttered out at about 45 minutes into the lesson, she didn't make anyone cry this time. Emily spends the entire class practicing her crawling. She's fairly quick at the army crawl but likes to be up on all fours in the traditional crawl because it's easier to go from crawling to sitting that way.
1 comment:
Great post, but you forgot the most important part. Coming up and visiting me! IT was lots of fun. Sam misses you guys! Luv ya!
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