Dental (Not So) Fun

She's no "David after the Dentist" but when Chloe broke a tooth and had to be put to sleep to repair it, I caught a few seconds of Chloe shortly after she woke up so that Joe could get a bit of a feel for how she acted.

I think the experience was tougher for me than for her. After the initial fear, she had picked up from somewhere that she was going to "go to sleep" at the dentist, she was taken in by the fun toys and friendly assistants at the dental office. The shot to her arm as she looked for toys in a treasure chest was an unwelcome suprise, but in less than 30 seconds she was out. It was at this point that the doctor said "This is when the child stops crying and the mom starts." His timing couldn't have been more perfect because the tears had in fact just started welling up as I cuddled my limp, blankly staring daughter, and felt like the worst parent in the world - even though this really wasn't my fault - and continued to tear up as they took her away for the repairs.

When I saw her next she was asleep on a sofa and I sat next to her until she woke up. She was still completely unfazed by the experience and I then went from upset mother to entertained as she told me I had two noses and realized she had a tongue. As we got home and she was still unable to walk steadily she decided to army crawl across the room in hopes of making it outside to blow bubbles. The rest of the day she was more than a little loopy and five days later sometimes I wonder if she still doesn't have some side effects - but instead realize her funny little moments are the result of being three, not being drugged. Although it didn't end up being the horrible experience I envisioned and had it's funny moments, it was bad enough, and I never want to go or put one of my kids through it again. So my rule from now on - no stale starbursts.

Fireworks!

Last week we joined Joe's Dad's extended family in Bountiful for their annual fireworks. We don't see them all very often so it was fun to sit and visit. Being as my kids scare easily, I thought that the noise fireworks make would immediately make them dislike the experience, but after a successful Fourth of July, we decided to try again and, again, they loved them!Noah was hilarious. He was so tired, by the time the display started it was 10:00 PM, that he just laid in my lap very still staring at the fireworks. We tried to catch it, but the flash from the camera caused him to blink everytime. Still cute. Chloe loves her aunts, Joe's little sisters Marinda and Deborah, and their friend Big Abby (she has a cousin named Abby too, thus the addition of "big" to her name). She thought is was so cool to get to sit by them and show them her Highlights magazine and be one of the "big girls"

We had a great time and love when we get to spend time together and with the extended mambers of our family - if only it happened more often!

For Sale...Again

We finally have our house up for sale again. I am again both scared and excited, but above all I know it's the right thing to do.

Also, if anyone is looking or knows someone looking for a new house - send them our way! Brian Morris is our awesome brother in law and agent and whether you want our house or to find a different one, if you are looking for a realtor, you should totally call him!

A Horse of A Different Color

As the kickoff to the Pioneer Days Celebration in Ogden the kids and I, along with our neighbor and her little boy, attended a children's parade on Saturday. The parade was short and mostly consisted of kids riding their bikes. After watching, we both concluded that if we were to come again next year it would be to participate!

Since we were already out and nearby, we decided to walk up the street to the Farmers Market & Art's Festival held each Saturday during the summer. The kids loved it but not because of the cool arts and fresh fruits, vegetables, and breads, but because of these cool horses that they have placed up and down Historic 25th street and downtown Ogden for the pioneer holiday. Each one is decorated differently and they are really fun! Here are some of the stops on our tour of this stampede of art.

I think this one looks really cool -

Noah was a little timid - I think he thought they were real

Georgia On My Mind

On Sunday July 5, after a 15 hour travel day (including two flights, a FOUR hour layover, lots of driving, crying kids, and actually a lot of fun) we arrived in Georgia for our family reunion! We had a great time, minus all the travelling! In fact we were so busy playing that I missed taking as many pictures as I would have liked. Here are some of the ones I did get though...

During our layover, Chloe got bored and asked to take our picture - not a half bad job. Our family travelled in two groups. The lucky sisters that got to fly with me included Christa (with little Hadlee), and Melissa.

We arrived at our cabin at 11:15, so it wasn't until the next day that we got to spend time with our grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Most of the time was spent in the lodge watching old (scary) videos of us as kids and catching up. The next day was spent at a lake in the Unicoi National Park. Georgia, with all the dense trees, is beautiful and and the lake was no exception. My kids loved playing on the sand and in the water. If you can see, Joe didn't have a horrible time in the water either. He loved running and splashing people, in this case, Melissa.
Wednesday was the last day spent in the Unicoi park area. The Hubbard cousins all wore matching outfits - Chloe loved her flower shirt and thought she looked cute, she was right.

Before heading to spend the rest of the day in Atlanta we stopped in the small town of Helen. This place was great, with fun little shops, and funnel cakes everywhere, the only down part was the rain!
Noah loved the shops so much I guess he wanted to be included in the sales when he couldn't resist climbing into a display with the stuffed animals.
Chloe's Hubbard cousins, minus infants Jack and Hadlee. Raegan, Camden, and Riley
The girls loved the shops, the boys loved the food, the kids were just happy to look at the fountains!
Raegan and Chloe have become cute little friends. As soon as we got home, Chloe was already asking if Raegan could come to our house. I am so glad that Chloe and Noah have cousins that are their friends too!
What a trip, quick and fun, but exhausting too. We took this picture of Noah asleep on the hotel room floor the night before we flew home. Joe and I were jealous it was not us! To fly home required getting the kids up at 4:30 in the morning and putting up with way tired kids on a four hour flight was not fun. To be able to spend time with my family, immediate and extended, was such a blessing though and totally worth it. I am so grateful for wonderful grandparents who are such great, loving, examples and for the opportunity we had to get together with the Johanson side of our family. Here's to Utah in 2011!

In Case of Emergency...

On Sunday we flew to Georgia to attend a family reunion with my Mom's side of the family. I had been stressing about how the kids would do with the flight. Would Noah have a hard time being confined in a small space, would I run out of things to keep them entertained throughout the flight, would Chloe be scared and freak out? Well the answer to my first two worries was yes, but the third, Chloe being afraid, was a big NO! Chloe was so calm, like flying was nothing special, and in fact was even almost bored by the idea. As we were getting ready to take-off on the second leg of the flight I looked over to see this: What was even funnier was when she started doing this:




I knew the emergency procedures brochures were kind of boring, but I didn't know they could put my three year old to sleep! If only the same thing had worked for Noah on the flight home...

Summer Sprinkler Fun

My kids love water - they love baths, swimming at Grandma Hubbard's, playing at the local pools and splash parks, but until recently Chloe hated sprinklers. Last week though she asked if she could and she suprised me by loving it!























Chloe also loved that her favorite neighbor friend, Cadence, came over and joined the fun! This is them telling is about how to run through sprinklers and that we are not allowed to go with them. Silly kiddies!

I LOVE this picture. Cadence was trying to lick Chloe and I got it at the right moment. Cadence's Mom, Sara, and I couldn't stop laughing.

Enjoying the sprinklers!

I love the look on her face in this picture. There is nothing like the enjoyment kids experience in the little things, and there is nothing like getting to watch it! We are definitely loving fun summer days!

Unfortunately, Noah didn't have the same good time. He got hit by those sprinklers once and was so done. Joe tried to set him down, away from the sprinklers, and Noah held on for dear life. Joe wasn't even touching him half the time, but he held that grip, determined not to be set down near those awful sprinklers!