Twin Falls Temple Open House

Friday night we had the opportunity to take our little family through the Twin Falls Temple Open House. It was so fun- Wyatt had been asking and begging to go all week long and could hardly stand it. When we got there and started the tour- he decided that he didn't want to go inside! I finally talked him into it by telling him that we would go see the temple's swimming pool on top of the cows :) Whatever works...... Shelby's mom, his Aunt Emily, and her two neices, our friends Rob and Amie and cute little Kloee all came down from Tremonton to meet us there and go through with us. It was so fun to see all of them! Pictured below is Grandma Wendy with all the chillens-Cheyenne, Livvy, Wyatt, Sadie, and Kloee.
The added blessing of having them all come down was that Grandma Wendy and Aunt Emily were able to watch the kids all day on Saturday for us as we worked as tour guides for the open house. This was our second and final day serving there, so we felt more seasoned and more comfortable. The temple committee had released a total of 4400 tickets for that day. This allowed for a total of 30 people per tour group, but they estimated that 6600 people showed up. This meant that our tours were increased to almost 50 people per tour and they put a tour through every five minutes from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. It was so fun to meet people from all over and feel the spirit with them time and time again. We were so blessed to be able to serve there and loved every minute of it. After 9 tours and a total of 15 minutes sit time ALL DAY- my feet were certainly ready to go home, but I absolutely never wanted the day to end. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we are so grateful for and we never would have had the opportunity if Shelby didn't speak Spanish- Whoo hoo for second languages!

Peas- Peas- Peas

This is our first crop of peas that the kids helped me pick last night. They were so excited to pick them and then shuck them (Is that right- shuck?) We filled this purple bowl and then got about 2 total cups of peas :). But then we cooked creamed potatoes and peas for dinner. The kids were so excited to eat something that actually came out of our garden. Yum Yum!

Prayers....

Wyatt is so excited that he has been asked to give the scripture and opening prayer in Primay. After watching one of his fellow Sunbeams do it last week- he has declared "I can do that!" So we are practicing. It's kind of fun because both of our kids can now almost say their prayers entirely on their own. Depending on the night- we sometimes have to help them a little, but it's so cute to hear what they say. Like the other night........Wyatt didn't eat his dinner. Then at bedtime he was hungry. He kept saying- "Can we eat now?" "Can we eat now?" Then we knelt down to say his prayers and he said "Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day, Thank you for my family, Please bless that we can eat now....." I started to snicker in the middle of the prayer. Then I had to get up and get the cute kid a snack.

Dumb Dandelions!

I need some laundry advice! My sweet little Miss Livvy loves to pick flowers. She absolutely cannot pass one without picking it. Then she proceeds to put them in her pockets. I have been very careful to clean out all of her pockets before I wash them, but somehow I missed one. There are large yellow and green stains all over Shelby's dress shirts and many of Livvy clothes. I have tried Melaleuca's Sol-u-Mel, Shout, Oxi-Clean, and right now I am going for bleach. Any ideas that you have would sooooo greatly be appreciated or else I'm going to have to find Shelby a new shirt before we work in the temple this weekend. Darn it those Dandelions!

Just another day at the Wendell Pool

Livvy showing the camera how to blow bubbles. These goggles are really Wyatt's because he cannot keep his head above water and his poor eyes get so red and itchy, but yesterday he refused to wear them, so Livvy took them over and did not take them off. Below she is teaching her Dora doll how to 'dive'.
Wyatt practicing his back float. He's so awesome!
Livvy getting ready to 'jump' in the pool complete with goggles and floaties.

I was trying to help Wyatt get ready for swimming lessons in a couple of weeks by teaching him that he had to hang onto the wall, or drown :). If he would hang onto the wall, then I would let him practice swimming to me. I couldn't believe how far he could swim! Sometimes he would forget to do his 'big arms' or kick and he would sink, but he never once got scared. He'd come up just grinning! He thought that he was just the coolest. Check him out below.

Pretty Princess Livvy

This is Livvy after her aunt Laramie has put makeup on her and painted her toes and fingernails. This is a daily occurrence now when we go to Grandma Turner's house. Needless to say, Laramie is Livvy's favorite aunt. She loves anything pretty or girly and her new favorite this is "sparkles'!

Turner Family Camping Trip to Anderson Reservoir

This last weekend my whole family headed up to Anderson Reservoir for four days of hanging out and having fun. We spent lots of time at the beach, fishing, playing games, and eating (of coarse). But mostly - we spent the weekend trying to avoid mosquito bites. I'm not kidding here- it was like "REVENGE OF THE MOSQUITO". They were horrible. Livvy has at least 30 bites up and down her legs. Trust me, I did put spray on them- about every 45 minutes or so! But we didn't let them stop us.

Laramie found butterfly in the water and showed it to Wyatt- he thought it was the coolest thing ever. He couldn't stop talking about it.

Strawberries Galore

This is just a small glimpse into the cooler of Strawberries that I picked with my friend Crystal. Usually, when I lived in Utah, I would just buy a flat of strawberries to make my jam. Not this year baby- it will taste sooo good because I picked everyone of the delicious babies by hand. Yum!

Hailey is Engaged!

I waited and waited to post about it, but I finally can! My little sis Hailey is engaged to Blake Dixon from Hamer, ID. They'll be getting married in the Twin Falls Temple on August 29th! We are so excited that we can't stand it. The really funny part about them getting married is that Blake actually used to hang out with Shelby and I when we were up at BYU-I. Yup that's right- he's really 27! So needless to say- we like him! They are really fun and cute together and we can't wait.

Wyatt has been tagged!

Thanks Jami for tagging Wyatt. I am excited to tell you more about my sweet boy!

11 facts about Wyatt:

1. He has the sweetest personality. He would never say anthing mean to anyone and if you are sad or feeling blue he is the first one there to make you feel better. He is one of the kindest kids I have ever met.

2. Wyatt has 2 heart murmurs. We recently discovered this at a routine doctor's appointment. Don't worry- I've them checked out and his heart functions normally.

3. Wyatt is a fish! He loves to swim and would do it all day everday if he could. I have to make him wear goggles because he only comes out of the water to take a breath and then goes right back down, so without goggles his little eyes are totally red and itchy. But he is not afraid at all and so fun to watch. Just last week he taught himself how to do a flip in the water. What a goof!

4. He loves to help. He always wants to be right in the middle of things to watch what is going on. Whether it is helping his daddy work on his truck, or helping me to make strawberry jam, he is right there and full of questions.

5. Wyatt likes to eat. My brothers have recently asked me if I ever feed this poor kid because you can see all of his ribs. I hereby declare that he eats all day! He loves to eat anything and everything. He does have weird tastes for a boy his age. He loves tomatoes more than anything. If you give him the choice between a tomato and candy- he will pick a tomato every time! He also loves salad, peppers, and cucumbers.

6. He has very sensitive ears. He hates loud noises and spends alot of his time at parades or large family gatherings with his ears covered.

7. He's learning his letters. Wyatt loves to play with our ABC magnets while I cook dinner and will hold it up and ask me what it is if he does not know it. He loves to find out what word that letter is in. He cannot write any of them yet- we are still working hard on his fine motor skills- but he learning them so quickly!

8. He loves motorized anythings. He loves four-wheelers, lawn mowers, go-carts, trucks, boats....You name it, Wyatt wants to ride on it. Interestingly enough though- he hates his Dad's snowmobile. I think it's the noise thing again.

9. He loves to pretend- especially with his sister. He loves to pretend to be animals. He will crawl all over our house pretending to be everything from a cat to a dragon. And he stays totally in character. He makes noises like that- wants to be called that ("Come Here Dragon- I love you Dragon, etc.") and eats like that. His new favorite game is to talk his sister into being the kitty and then he is the puppy and chases her all over the house. That is until she tires of being chased, then they trade and she (the puppy) then chases him.

10. He refuses to show off. He may know how to count to 20, or sing his ABCs, or know all the songs from Primary, but if you ask him- he will never tell you. You have to catch him in just the right mood and be sneaky about it. I think he gets that from his Dad.

11. He is my cuddle-bug. There are so many days that he climbs up in my lap and will give me a big hug and sigh "Oh- I love you so much Mom." I treasure moments like that because I know my sweet boy is growing up so fast and pretty soon won't want to snuggle with me on the couch or let me just hold him.

He is truly a blessing in our home. Although there are many days that are challenging and I never seem to know what will pop up next medically, or developmentally, he is so rewarding to help. I love love love that little boy.

We tag- Mitchell, Jeff, and Luke.

Livvy's First Real Haircut

Livvy has only ever had small trims when she was under 18 months to control the crazy baby hairs. This was her first experience getting a real haircut. Shelby's cousin Abby was so great with her. She set her up on the princess chair and gave her princess bubbles, princess lipstick, a princess ring pop, and princess sparkles. Livvy's hair was just growing faster in the back than on the sides and top so she was beginning to develop a little bit of a mullet :). Now it's all cute and even. But don't worry- she didn't enjoy it or even try to smile once. That's the Livvy we all know and love.