On Monday night we decided to go to the carnival and take advantage of "family night" since the rides were only $1.00 each. The kids had a great time going on the rides with their cousins. I was amazed at how many people were there. We did the same thing last year and we didn't really have to wait in any lines but this year was a different story. Some of the lines took twenty minutes, which makes it rough when you have little kids that are so excited to get on the ride.

Harrison and Alex loved this ride so much. They went on it three times in a row.

We spent $20.00 on tickets and because of the long lines it took us three hours to use them up. Even though it was crowded it was fun to run into people from school, the neighborhood, and past acquaintances.

On Saturday Jeff decided to take the day off and do something fun with the kids. I wanted to go to Seven Peaks and Jeff wanted to go to Lagoon so we both lost and went back to Libertyland because the kids had had so much fun the previous night and Harrison missed out on it all. So we went back to Libertyland. Once again they had a great time (although it was a little hotter the second time).

Harrison gets a little nervous going on roller coasters but this one was tame enough that he did okay and actually went on it several times.

Harrison liked the rock climbing as well but he was a little disappointed when he got off because his new shoes got scratched up.

This is a picture of Adriana and Pieper watching Harrison and Parker in amazement.

More fun at Libertyland

Madison pretty much hung out in her stroller all night but she had a great time and loved watching the rides.

Pieper wasn't too sure about this ride but in the end she liked it.

We did a little miniature golfing but none of us were very good at it. Jeff kept hitting the golf balls off the course and into the bushes.

Parker enjoyed the rock climbing and got to be pretty fast at it.

Last Friday night after dinner we went to Libertyland for a little bit of family fun. We had a great time and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The best part about the place is that it's fairly inexpensive and the lines were short or non-existent in many cases.

Pieper pretty much hung out on the merry-go-round and the airplanes.

Adriana loved the fact that she was tall enough to ride the go-carts. The kids were teasing Jeff and said that he broke the orange car because it was slower than all the others once he got done driving it.
The bumper boats were fun as well. Pieper liked riding around with Jeff. Parker bumped Adriana under the waterfall so she was soaking wet when she got off the ride but she didn't seem to mind a whole lot.

They had a miniature version of the tidal wave (at Lagoon) that was pretty fun.

Last Friday Harrison got to go to the movie, "Dark Knight" with Brett and Janean so we let Parker decide where he wanted to eat. I thought he would pick somewhere like Arby's or McDonald's but instead he picked Golden Corral. He loves buffet style restaurants because he has a huge variety to pick from and he doesn't have to eat it all before he gets more. He also likes being able to eat a variety of desserts.

Check out my ponytail

Adriana usually tells me how she wants me to do her hair, which is usually in a ponytail. The other day Pieper asked me to do her hair in a ponytail, which is hard to do since her hair isn't that long. So I did the best I could and created a little "ponytail" on top of her head. I thought she was going to throw a fit but she loved it and kept telling everybody to look at her ponytail.

Last Friday we decided to take a trip to the pool with Janean and Kellye. We had a great time and the kids loved every minute of it. We were there for three hours but the time went by so fast it seemed like we were only there for a short time.

Aren't these cute babies. Even though it was so hot they were so good.

Pieper and Mallory have so much fun together.

Pieper loves to put on sunscreen so she decided to put some on her and Mallory. They were nice and lathered up when I realized what they were doing.

Parker is like a fish and would live in the water if I let him.

Doesn't Harrison look so excited to have his little sister hugging him!

There are a couple things I want to explain about this picture. First of all Pieper likes to decide when she is a "big girl" and when she is a "baby." She has been off the pacifier for at least seven months but she can't seem to let it go. Every once in a while she will sneak one of Madison's and suck on it for a while. Pieper also likes to change a million times a day into various outfits. She wanted me to help her put on her blanket sleeper pajamas but I didn't think it was necessary because it was about 95 degrees outside. She got upset at me and started crying and I guess she all of a sudden became tired and decided to take a little nap in the hallway.

Pieper wanted to do the "Princess Dance Camp" just like Adriana but I didn't think she could because she wasn't potty trained. I talked to Katie, the dance teacher and she said that she would love to have her do it, which made Pieper so happy. So the following week Pieper went to the camp with her cousin Kynli. She had such a fun time! She loved doing all the projects and loved to learn the dance. Whenever she hears the Enchanted music she immediately begins to dance around.

This is Pieper learning how to walk and sit like a princess at her "Princess Dance Camp"

This is a video of the dance that Adriana learned at the "Princess Dance Camp" that she had this summer. She had such a great time and learned this fun little dance. She was a little sad that her cousin Kynli didn't get to take it with her (because she was sick) but her friend Isabel was in the class with her so everything was good! The camp was Monday through Thursday for two hours a day. They had fun making princess projects and learning how to walk and sit like a princess. On the last day they had a short recital and showed the parents what they learned. Adriana was a little shy at first and didn't want to do the dance because Isabel's dad was there and for some crazy reason she is afraid of him. He is the nicest person but she was afraid to dance in front of him. It took a few minutes to convince Adriana that he was going to be watching Isabel and not her. She did a great job on the dance and had such a fun time throughout the week.

Pieper loves to dress up. This was her choice the other day while she was playing house with her cousin Mallory. I'm amazed that she even matches because she usually comes up with some interesting combinations. She wanted to wear a headband in her hair like Adriana so I put one in but didn't expect her to keep it in for very long but she left it in all day long.

Harrison is such an amazing little boy (or young man, he hates it when I call him a little boy because he says he is not little). He is the hardest worker! The other day Jeff called him and asked him to get a piece of pipe from the trailer. Jeff meant from inside the trailer but Harrison didn't think about that and he climbed up on top to cut one off. I was a little nervous that he was going to fall through the roof or fall off the side but he did okay.

Odds are this wasn't the first time he had climbed up there because he seemed to know what he was doing.

Rodeo

Last week we went with some friends to the rodeo. We had such a great time! The slide show below is of our night at the rodeo. I bought the kids cowboy (and cowgirl) hats on our way in so they could look the part. We had such a great time! I love how they start the rodeo with the American flag coming down with a parachuter (is that a real word?). It was also amazing to watch the soldiers run out as soon as the flag came close to touching the ground. It always reminds me of how lucky I am to be an American. After we listened to LeeAnn Rimes sing the National Anthem (a recording obviously) the rodeo began. Pieper did okay for the most part but she got a little ancy towards the end. She was pretty occupied with the cows that were beneath the bleachers. My favorite part of any rodeo is the bull riding. The cowboys did a great job of trying to stay on but not too many made it to the buzzer. At one point one of the cowboys got a very stubborn bull and once he was done bucking he decided to lay down in the middle of the arena. There was not a dang thing that would change his mind and get him out of the ring. After about five minutes the got him up on his feet but they had the hardest time getting him behind the fence. He was just as stubborn as they come and he did not want to be cooped up. It took another five minutes to coax him behind the fence. It was pretty comical. We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year.

Check out my Slide Show!

Yesterday I took the kids to the Spanish Fork swimming pool. We went around 3:00 PM and it was so nice because there was hardly anybody there.

Notice the difference in skin color between Parker and Madison. Her skin is almost transparent compared to his (actually probably compared to most people).

Harrison convinced Adriana to go down the slide with him and after a couple times of going down with Harrison she decided she was brave enough to go down herself. She spent the majority of the night going down the slide.

Madison even joined in on the fun for a little bit. She loved the water so much and kept kicking her legs when I set down in it. She didn't even cry when Pieper splashed her in the face.

Pieper loves the water and she has never been afraid of it. She is such a dare devil she actually makes me a little nervous so I always make sure she has floaties on. They are such a lifesaver and they make it so I don't have to hover over her all the time. Pieper loves the fact that she can float on her back while she has the floaties on.

Oops...

The other day I Adriana, Pieper, Madison, and I met Jeff for dinner in Orem. Adriana wanted to ride home with Jeff in his truck, which was fine until they got to our house. Adriana was leaning forward in the truck while Jeff was trying to back the truck and trailer onto the side of our house. He couldn't see out his mirror and just as he told her to lean back so he could see he hit my car (I guess he forgot to put on the brakes while he was talking to her so the truck kept moving backwards). I was in the garage at the time and heard a loud noise but I just assumed it was the trailer going over the curb but as soon as I saw him pull forward and the car moved back a little I knew that he had hit the car.

Jeff doesn't think it looks too bad but I think he just doesn't want to pay to get it fixed.

It's actually not too bad and I'm hoping that we can just pop it out.

This is Madison's favorite blanket, which is one that my mom crocheted for her. The only way she will fall asleep is if she has this blanket over her face. I am glad that it has holes in it because I worry that she is going to suffocate.

She loves to wrap her little fingers through the holes. Sometimes she even manages to get a toe or two through the holes.

Whenever she is upset or crying all I have to do is give her a pacifier and put this blanket over her face and she will go right to sleep.

Lately Pieper has been in the mode of dressing herself, which is fine with me unless we have to go somewhere. Her outfit of choice this past week has been pajamas (mostly because she can reach the pajama drawer all by herself). Yesterday she changed her pajamas three times so when Jennifer saw her third outfit she said, "Pieper why do you keep changing your pajamas?" Pieper looked at her and said, "Because I can," and that was that. Generally she does not match the top and the bottom pajamas so we get some pretty interesting combinations.

What a mess!

I hadn't been in the basement for a few days and this is what I found when I went down there...not a pretty sight. We had several kids playing over at our house (added to the fact that my kids are pigs) and this was the end result. I guess they had decided to play house/dress ups and make themselves some money (hence the cut up paper everywhere). I was terribly overwhelmed but my wonderful husband took care of it while I went grocery shopping. I have to admit that I took my time shopping so I would't have to participate in the clean up. Some how he was able to get the kids to work together without a whole lot of complaining and the basement looked great when I got home.

Comb dilemma

A couple weeks ago Adriana decided to "curl" her hair with a comb so she began to twist the comb over and over in her hair. Before long the comb was stuck in her hair and she began to cry because she was worried that she was going to have to cut her hair. Harrison called Janean and asked her to come help him try and get it out but she was busy so he decided to call Grandpa and Grandma Cope. My dad is a pro and figuring things out and coming up with the best possible solution. I probably would have just cut her hair but my dad came up with the brilliant idea to cut the comb one bristle at a time. It took a little bit of time but it worked and they didn't have to cut her hair. Adriana was relieved when it was all over and she was able to keep her curly hair intact.

Where does the time go?

I want to apologize for not updating my blog on a regular basis but life has been so hectic lately and every time I have sat down at the computer to catch up I have had one interruption after another. So I am going to try and get caught up and if I bore everyone I apologize.

Memory Lane

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Great News

Pieper is finally toilet trained! I didn't think this day would ever come but it finally did. At first I tried to toilet train her by giving her cold showers (it sounds cruel but it really works, most of the time) but she didn't get the concept. Next I tried giving her treats but that didn't work either. So I decided to give it a break for a couple weeks. Last week Pieper went to a "princess dance camp" and loved every minute of it. On the last day I said, "Wasn't that fun! Too bad you can't go to dance this fall because you don't use the bathroom on the toilet." I guess that really stuck with her because ever since then she has starting going on the toilet. It has been so nice! I forgot how much time it takes when they are first learning. I feel like half my day is spent in the bathroom because Pieper has to have company and needs me to cheer every time she goes on the toilet. I'm not complaining though because it much better than changing diapers!! I will admit that it makes me a little sad because she is growing up so fast and there is nothing I can do to slow it down. I love it when my kids are independent but soon I won't have any more small children and that makes me a tad bit sad (but not enough to have any more).

Future Hairstylist

Adriana decided to help me out one morning by doing Pieper's hair for me. Pieper was actually pretty patient with her while she was doing it and this was the end result...