Big Girl's Birthday

Avenly turned 3 years old yesterday.  Unfortunately, she was sick on her birthday, but that did not stop her from having a great day.  She got to open her birthday dress in the morning, and Payson really wanted her to open the present from him, so she got to open that in the morning, too.  He gave her a preschool coloring book with crayons.  The rest of the day included blowing up balloons for birthday pictures and videos, 3 year old birthday interview, nap for the girls while Payson and I made Avenly's birthday cake, opening the rest of her presents, spaghetti dinner (her favorite), and a little party with Grandma Teresa, Grandpa Doug, and Aaron.

 After dinner (spaghett) Avenly wanted to take a bath.  I think she was using the messy spaghetti as an excuse so she could try out her new lady bug towel she got from Grandpa Jones and Mimi.

I made her wait until Daddy got home to open her big present.  I found this gem in January from the Christmas clearance.  It was originally $59, but I got it for $15, and saved it for her birthday.

I made a rainbow cake inside and out.  Avenly and I explored Pinterest for ideas, and she a chose rainbow cake over a butterfly cake, which surprised me.

I took some birthday pictures of Avenly when we were in Wolfcreek.  She loves making faces, and rarely looks at the camera, but I love how her personality shines through each picture.

This was the first year we did a birthday interview for Anny girl. It was a little difficult because Payson kept trying to answer for her, or jumping in front of the camera.  If you listen closely, you can hear him answering for her, and then her saying what he said to her.  

Questions and answers from the interview:
1- How old are you? three
2- What is your favorite color? pink, purple, and blue
3- What is your favorite animal? bunny
4- What is your favorite book? The Rain book
5- What is your favorite tv show? Peppa Pig
6- What is your favorite song? (She said some gibberish, so I had her sing the song for me, and she made it up).
7-What is your favorite food? Spaghetti
8- What is your favorite snack? fruit snack
9-What is your favorite game? Duck, Duck, Goose
10-What is your favorite outfit? Minnie's Boutique (she has a Minnie shirt)
11- What is your favorite toy? purple baby
12- Who is your best friend? Payson
13- What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Payson
14- What is your favorite thing to do outside?   (I missed her answer because I turned the camera off to tell Payson to stop telling her the answers).
15- What is your favorite holiday? you
16- What is your favorite place to go? Parowan
17- What is your favorite place to go on vacation? Grandma Teresa's
18- What do you want to be when you grow up? doctor
19-What did you do fro your birthday?  (I think she said play)
20 - I asked her to spell her name, but I missed it on camera when she did, and then I tried to get her to spell it again on camera, but she just started being goofy.
21- Who is the President of the United States? you

Avenly had her 3 year old checkup today, and Zaylee had her 4 month checkup. Avenly is 26.4 lbs  and exactly 3 feet tall.  Zaylee is 12 lbs 13 oz and 25 inches.  Since this might be their only well child checkup together, I had to get a picture.

Northern Utah Fun

My last post, Elder Spencer Jones and Sister Abby Lee, shares a little bit about our latest adventure.  We went up North for two reasons.  The first was to see Spencer speak for his mission.  The second was to spend the week up at Wolfcreek with my family.  We decided to go early, so we could spend the Saturday with Molly, Jarom, and Laura.  We went on a hard (for all of us, but Jarom, Laura, and Zaylee) hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon at Snow Basin Ski Resort to Mary's Lake.  The sun was hot, it was high elevation gain, and we had three littles with us, but the wildflowers were beautiful, and the lake was pretty, too. Avenly was pretty funny. We had just begun our elevation gain when she stopped, looked up the trail, and said, "I'm not doing this hike." Then she turned around to head back to the car.  She ended up hiking most of the way, and when she did ride on Josh's back, she fell asleep.

Sunday was spent with Josh's family since Spencer is leaving on a mission.  Josh went home that night, and the kids and I stayed so we could spend the week at Wolfcreek with my family.

Wolfcreek adventures included shopping and movie in Ogden, swimming at Pineview Reservoir, hiking, and family fun at the condo resort. Below are some highlights of the more adventurous parts of the week.

Pineview Reservoir:  After a fun and hot picnic lunch in Huntsville at the park, we went to the reservoir to "cool off."  Since the water was pretty high, we found the perfect sandy beach spot under the trees, so we had plenty of shade.  Aaron and Caleb had fun swinging off the rope swing until Aaron broke it. :0 

Our Hike: I have no idea what the trail was called, and no idea how far we went.  I do know, we had 6 adults, 1 teenager, 9 kids under the age of 10, and 3 babies, therefore, it was slow going on the hike.  I don't know how far we went before we turned around.  Tina, Brant, a couple of their kids, and Aaron went a little further and found a way to the river.  The rest of us, stopped at a fun shady place, and let the kids climb the slanted tree.  I got some cute pictures.  At one point, I headed back to the car to feed Zaylee, and apparently the rest of the crew saw a rattle snake after I left.  

Condo Resort Fun: The resort was pretty fun, and had a lot to do.  We played a few holes of Frisbee golf, went swimming, played in the playroom, and had a talent show outside.  We also had a bake-off in which Aaron, Payson, and I made colorful cookie sandwiches.  They didn't win, but they were pretty cool! Our condo was next to a big grassy hill, so it was a great place to attempt to get a picture of my parents and all 12 of their grand-kids.

It was a fun week.  I missed Josh, and wish Jason and Chelsea and Benji could have come, but I loved being with everyone else.  The kids had a lot of fun with their cousins, and we are all looking forward to the next Bosen-Berry trip.