Lake Powell

We spent a week at Lake Powell with the McMullin Family (good family friends of the Denney family). John and Christy and their kids came, as well as Kimi!  Between everyone, we had nine kids on board so it was a little crazy, but so much fun to spend time with great people and enjoy the sun.  And of course there was great food;)

The water was freezing and Owen didn't love swimming in it or floating, but tried at least once a day! 

But he sure loved sitting on the side throwing rocks into the water (all.day.everyday)

Thank goodness for the kiddie pool on top of the houseboat!

Owen and Wes watching a movie eating otter pops.  Half the trip they were friends, half the trip they were screaming at each other:)

Each night, one family was in charge of dinner and an activity for everyone after wards.  John and Christy did Italian night and had everyone style/or slick back their hair a little Jersey Shore/Mafia-ish and played minute to win it. 

Me, Brett, and Kim did Mexican night and had a pinata for the kids.  Kimi made our pinata on the fly with a trash bag (both of us forgot to buy the pinata before we left).  The kids scored lots of candy so I don't they cared.

Just a random pic of Brett and I....

Martha and Crea had a Pirate Day (a McMullin-Powell tradition)! Everyone got their make-up done to look like pirates. 

Owen and Wes in their pirate hats...

They even had a treasure hunt, with a map, clues, and a real buried treasure!

The Pirate Booty....

One angry pirate...

 Pirate Day finished off with a Shrimp Boil!

Dan and Megan Griffin had a Meekus (mysterious sea creature) sighting that the kids got so excited about it. All week the kids were told Meekus wouldn't come get them if they were good kids.  Bummed I didn't get pictures of this one.

Late one night after kiddos were sleeping, the boys wanted to sneak attack John and Cade's buddies' houseboat that was at Lake Powell too. 
 

 

The girls came along and completely ruined the "top secret, stealth" style they had planned.  

There were a few downers to the trip...

Poor little Austin got hit in the face with an oar, was rushed to the Bullfrog ER and returned with 11 stitches! Tough little cookie.  



10 of the 24 passengers caught a stomach bug, which resulted in lots of nausea and vomiting. Not so fun when you're in tight quarters.  Brett, Owen and I were lucky enough not to catch it (at least no vomiting).

Overall, it was a great week! Thanks McMullins, and Meg and Dan for inviting us along!

Lastly, here is the Denney clan.  This was the last day and we had been cleaning the houseboat, so it was definitely not our finest moment for a picture.  But I knew Sheri would appreciate a family picture!

Summertime...

Summer is here.  Finally some warm weather in Utah.  

We plan on swimming lots, "splashing" at the splash pad, and eating lots of popsicles.

A Family Fun Day...

Brett's company had their annual employee appreciation day at Lagoon on Friday.  The park was only open to Overstock employees and their families.  Maybe we should have taken full advantage of the opportunity to ride all the rides we wanted, with practically no lines to wait in, and gotten a sitter for Owen. 

But, we decided it was a family day so brought him along.  Nose-picking and all.

The Carousel was the only ride he could ride.  And he loved it. 

 

 

After Lagoon we went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy.  Our cousin Emily is doing an internship there so we thought it'd be fun to have her show us the ropes and fun for Owen. He crashed on the car ride so had just woken up.  He hardly noticed the little cockroach in front of him. 

He livened up once he saw the fishies, the frog statue, and a play boat to drive. 

We could sure get used to family fun days and four day work weeks for dad!

Provo City Half Marathon

Last weekend I ran the Provo City Half Marathon.  Last time I ran a half was two years ago, before I got pregnant with Owen.  It's been something I've been wanting to do since I had Owen (last February) and I can finally check it off the list.   

 

Collin and Traci came down for the weekend and they ran the Relay Half, along with our friends Abby and Taylor Zmoos. 

And our friends, the Blomquists showed up before and after to show their support. Cory showed up pre-race with Gu's and water and Bree showed up to cheer all of us on as we finished! We are lucky to have such great friends.

Brett and Owen were great cheerleaders too.  They showed up along the course to cheer me on and seeing them always gave me an extra boost of energy.   At about mile 10, Owen saw me and came running towards me with his arms open, saying "mama". 

Owen might look mad in this picture, but really his mouth is just full of the french toast they served right after the race. 

Minute-To-Win-It

We had friends over Saturday night for a Cinco De Mayo Party.  We had a great spread of Mexican food and desserts, but really it was just an excuse to get together.  Traci and Collin stayed with us for the weekend, so whenever they are here we try to get everyone together.  Each couple was assigned a minute-to-win-it game to bring. 

The "get the oreo from your forehead to your mouth" game.  So funny to watch.

Pull all the tissue out of the box in a minute (pulling one tissue at a time).

Stack three golf balls.....this one is impossible.

But I love the concentration faces.

I didn't get pics of the mummy-wrap challenge, but after the minute-to-win-it games we had a limbo contest {haven't done that since like the 3rd grade) and played Mad Gab. 

Such a fun night with good friends.  And believe it or not, Owen slept through all the ruckus!

Easter and Things...

Owen has taken an interest in his stuffed animals lately, so for Easter we took him to Build- A-Bear to get a new puppy.  He got two, one big and one little one (the little one practically free).  Build-A-Bear wasn't all that exciting for him, but he thought the cotton-stuffer thing was pretty cool.  And he got pretty excited when he saw his puppies and lots of "bahs" (balls) in a basket!

 

The little puppy is his favorite.  He's been carrying it around like this all week. 

We scattered eggs around the living room just to see what he would do.  He did nothing, except pick a couple of them up and throw them.  So we put them in his basket for him and he shook them all out.  Most of the eggs were empty but a couple were filled with mini marshmallows.  Nothing better than marshmallows for breakfast!

After church, we had our friends the Archibalds over for a pretty non-traditional Easter dinner.  Their little girl Alli is almost two. I think they like each other!     

We do dress our kid, especially when girls come over.  

On to other things.  Owen is growing up!  He's 14 months and turning into a handsome little boy.

He loves to watch The Backyardigans, loves to play with balls, always wants to be outside, and thinks he needs to run everywhere.  He has such a goofy personality, and such a great belly laugh, and loves to show off.  Although he can be stubborn and very impatient, and kick and scream and throw tantrums, he can be very cuddly and sweet.  He likes to give "big squeezes" to mom and dad (more mom though).


He still has this crazy hair that will only grow straight up.  We've tried to let it grow thinking it will eventually lay down, but it doesn't.  So we just keep buzzing it.  And it just keeps growing straight up.  Maybe we need to try some serious hair product! 

And, he is finally saying momma! The biggest milestone yet;)

How Great Thou Art

Love this. 

Kicking and Screaming....

Someday, Owen won't appreciate these pictures.  

But just to give you a glimpse of our tantrum-throwing one year old.  Here he is at his best.

Kicking, and screaming, and scooting his little bum....

all the way across the floor...

a little further...

until he just can't go any further.   And gives up.

He had just spilled his sippy cup all over (hence the wet shirt) so I took it away. And this was his reaction.  I couldn't help but take some pics, the camera was right there.

After an unsuccessful fit he is real sweet and wants to cuddle.  

So....who wants to babysit? ;)

Baby William

Congrats to Ryan and Laura on the newest addition to their family, William Craig Denney, born on March 3rd.

  Will wasn't a big fan of taking pictures, but there were a few {short} moments of him sleeping and laying still.  He is such a sweetie.   

 

The Three Year Glitch

Our very first day, in our very first home (townhouse, but I can call it a home right?), Brett and I celebrated our three year anniversary.  It was on a Sunday (March 13th, I know I'm behind), we'd been moving all weekend and it kind of slipped our minds.  Oops.

Until Sunday morning Brett said, "Happy Anniversary hun, I bought you a home. What did you get me?" Funny guy.  On Monday, he sent me an email with a link to this article with a note saying, "We made it!"

Apparently making it three years is a big deal these days.  The biggest obstacle couples face is called the three-year glitch, and that little irritations become a major issue within three years.  So big that it leads to divorce. 

What little irritations?

You mean how I don't squeeze the tooth paste from the bottom-up.  And I don't clean the top well, so it gets all gewy and sticky and the lid doesn't close right. 

Or how Brett insists all dishes "need to soak" before rinsing them off and loading the dishwasher, even if the dishes aren't that dirty.

Oh those. Yeah they are slightly irritating.  But we always find a way to laugh about them....eventually.  

We are proud survivors of the three-year glitch!

We'll survive 'em all....