Dinosaurs are bittersweet

My oh my does Cannon LOVE dinosaurs! He is always talking about them and wanting to watch the Land Before Time movies on Netflix. His dinosaur obsession is a funny thing though...even though he is fascinated by them, he is also terrified of them! For example, if Blaine or I are playing downstairs with Cannon and need to come upstairs for something, Cannon HAS to come upstairs with us or he will start to sort of freak out and always say, "the dinosaurs are coming, the dinosaurs are coming". At first Blaine and I thought it was kind of cute and funny. However, because Cannon now says it ALL the time and can't play by himself downstairs because of his fear of a T-Rex coming to get him, it doesn't seem quite as funny. Additionally, whenever Blaine or I play hide and seek with Cannon, he almost always says that he is hiding from dinosaurs. Where do kids come up with this stuff? Anyway, over the last two weeks we took Cannon to the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point and to the Hogle Zoo, where currently there are life-like dinosaurs displayed throughout the zoo as part of its Zoorassic Park exhibit. When Cannon saw the dinosaur bones at the museum and the real-looking dinosaurs at the zoo, he was both amazed and a little scared. However, Cannon did much better if he was held while looking at the dinosaurs, which is why you will see us carrying him in almost all of the following pictures:

Cannon not so sure about the dinosaurs at the museum:



Cannon starting to warm up to the dinosaurs at the museum and enjoying digging up their bones:




Who needs to see lions, tigers, and bears at the zoo when you've got dinosaurs?:





I also had to add some pictures taken today of the kids in their semi-matching shirts:

We've got corn and pumpkins!

When Blaine told me that he wanted to grow some corn and pumpkins in our backyard a few months ago, I honestly thought it would never work. I think my lack of faith in his crop growing skills came from my multiple failed attempts at growing fruits and vegetables in my own garden as a child. One would think that with Blaine's dad being a farmer and everything, I would think Blaine knew a thing or two about planting. But, nope, I did not believe that anything would come out of the seeds Blaine's dad sent to start our own corn and pumpkin patch. Boy was I wrong! We have corn stalks taller than 7 feet outside and three pumpkins! I wish I could take some credit for our crop growing success but I would be lying...I have done absolutely nothing with the garden but reap its rewards. Corn straight from your own backyard sure is fresh and tasty! Check out our corn and pumpkin plant:

Oregon to Washington Trip

Last week we decided to take a road trip back home to see each of our families since I am currently on maternity leave and Blaine could take the time off of work now, as opposed to later in the year when his work gets much busier. You can go ahead and call us crazy for taking a not yet 2 week old and a not yet 2 year old on a 32 hour car ride (round trip), but it was actually pretty nice! Even though we had to stop every couple of hours so I could feed Riley, she slept the ENTIRE time while on the road. Cannon was also a great little traveler, as long as there was a movie playing in the DVD player and some food in his snack cup. :) I wish road trips were always this easy!

Our first destination was the 12 hour car ride to Bend, OR, where my parents live, and where three of Blaine's brothers now currently live. We broke the trip up into two days, where we drove to Boise first, and then traveled the rest of the way to Oregon the next day. Cannon enjoyed playing outside at my parent's house, where there were MANY toys and kids to play with, since my mom runs a daycare business in her home. Cannon also enjoyed going on a bike ride with my dad and playing with his cute cousin Mercy, who is just a couple of months younger than him. Blaine had fun playing golf will all four of his brothers, since his one other brother, Trevor, also drove down from Utah to spend some time in Oregon. I also enjoyed just being home in Oregon and out of Utah's 90 degree weather.

Bath Time and Dancing with Cousin Mercy:





Riding bikes with Grandpa Murri:


After spending a few days in Oregon, we drove 8 hours to Colville, WA to see the rest of Blaine's family out on the farm. There, we all spent some time at Blaine's grandparent's cabin out at Loon Lake, Blaine spent just about every day golfing (again), and Cannon had a lot of fun on the farm. Along with seeing some farm animals, Blaine's dad took Cannon out on a tractor and motorcycle ride, which was a lot of fun for him. Also, one of their cats had a litter of kittens, which Cannon had a lot of fun chasing the kittens around and trying to catch them.

Riding Motorcycles with Grandpa Bateman:


Cannon with one of the kittens...whenever he caught one, he would pick it up and say, "I got one"! :)


Loon Lake Pictures at Great Grandpa and Grandma Riley's Cabin:















Spending Time with Great Grandma Bateman:




After a four night stay in Colville, it was time to drive the 12 hour stretch back home to Utah. We also broke up this trip into two days, staying the night in Montana and then driving home the next day. All in all, it was a great mini vacation for our family!

Baby Riley is Here!

Riley Elizabeth arrived last Tuesday, July 26th, at 6:05pm, weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 3/4 inches long. Delivery was a breeze, thanks to my epidural, and everyone is doing great! It has been so much fun to have a new little baby in the house! Cannon has adjusted better than we had hoped and just loves his new little sister...at least for now! :) He is always wanting to hold "baby Riley" and give her squeezes and kisses. There has only been one incident so far where I was a little worried about Riley's well being when Cannon gave her a tight hug around the neck and wouldn't let go. Other than that, which I am sure there will be more incidents like this one in the future, Cannon has done very well with this cute little addition to our family. I apologize ahead of time for the many pictures posted below. We just can't take enough pictures of our little Rye Rye...

6:30am induction at the hospital, waiting for Riley to arrive:




Riley's first pics:











Coming home from the hospital:






First Photo Shoot at Home:












Family Pictures:









Pictures with grandparents and aunts and uncles:







And some more pictures just for fun:







Sorry for the picture overload. If you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there and sharing this special time with us! We couldn't be happier!