Evelyn is TWO!!

I can't believe my sweet little girl is already 2 years old! She is such a goof and we wouldn't have it any other way. We love her so much! I feel like she has grown up so much lately. We can understand more and more of what she says each day. She finally has been going to nursery all by herself (it just took 4 months to get there!). She is becoming more and more independent. Evelyn has been pretty attached to us. Normally she wouldn't go play at a park or splash pad without us. Now she runs off and is sliding down all the big slides without any encouragement. It is awesome! She always wants to walk in any store that we are in. She asks multiple times a day if she can watch Cinderella. I think Elmo is slowly getting replaced. At her 2 year check up she weighed 25 lbs and was 34 inches tall. I'm pretty certain Harrison is going to pass her up in the next few months. We shall wait and see. 

We had a little birthday party for Evelyn at the park. The kids had a great time playing!

Paul making us proud with 3 cupcakes in his mouth at one time

The Beach

Yesterday morning we were sitting on the couch not doing anything and decided we should go to the beach.  Within 45 minutes we had showered, packed lunches and we're out the door.  We made a quick stop at Target on the way out.  Gulfport, Mississippi is only 2 hours away.  We had such a good time.  Evelyn has never really enjoyed the sand.  Anytime she got it on her feet she would say yucky and wouldn't do anything else until you cleaned it off her feet.  I was a little worried about how she would do but I was surprised.  By the time we left she was rubbing sand all over her face and arms. We  decided that we need to do this more often.  It may not be the nicest Beach or the clearest water but at least it is close.  

Mike the Tiger

Today we took Evelyn to see Mike the Tiger who lives on campus.  Sadly he was sleeping near the back so it wasn't too exciting.  Maybe next time he will be walking around.  

playtime

Today we had our weekly play group at the mall.  Evelyn, Harrison and I rode the carousel.  Evelyn was a little timid at first but eventually she ran all over and would climb all over and slide down all the slides. I don't know why we haven't let her play there before.  

Happy 4th of July

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July because we did! We started the morning off at the ward pancake breakfast. Later in the day we had a fun BBQ with some friends and our group was invited to this nice country club to watch a firework show put on by the country club. It was a great firework display. I would even say I enjoyed it more than the show Baton Rouge puts on. 

I am figuring out that it is hard to take pictures of two kids and manage to get a smile out of both of them. 

Ben and Harrison in their matching outfits

Evelyn's first popper

 Waiting for the fireworks

 Harrison snagged Evelyn's baby

 Not the best family picture but hey, we are all in it

 Evelyn and her friends Emily and Katie

Vacation Part 2: Boise

The second part of our trip in May/June was spent in Boise. We got there just in time to have a fun Memorial Day BBQ with the whole family. We don't have too many pictures after that because we managed to get a horrible stomach bug that hit everyone but Harrison. Nine people with the stomach bug in one house over only 3 or 4 days was not a pretty sight. We had a great time regardless!! 

 Great Grandma Sparks

  Evelyn and Lola were taking turns brushing Aunt Lisa's hair

 Evelyn LOVED the swing. She could have stayed there all day. I think the record time she spent swinging was 45 mins. 

 Great Grandpa 

 Harrison fell asleep on me like this while I was standing in the kitchen, which rarely happens. I was soaking it up. 

Evelyn's first pigtails!

Harrison 4 Months

 On the 13th Harrison turned 4 months old. I can hardly believe how fast time is going by. He is such a sweet boy and a joy to have as part of our family. His activities include rolling, drooling, smiling and convincing mom that he needs to be held. His stats at his check up were 15 lbs 9 oz and 25.5 inches long. He is a healthy and happy boy!