A little too swishy...

I just realized I was so excited about finishing a post that I didn't actually finish it!!  Here is the rest of September:

Another tradition I want to keep is going berry picking every year.  I did this as a kid and loved it so I wanted to get my kids into it.  Last year was technically our first year although I went while I was living in Connecticut with friends and Keira was only a few weeks old.  This year Daddy was able to join us and it was a beautiful day.  The girls wanted to "team up" so we had Team Lexi & Mommy and Team Keira & Daddy.  The girls definitely ate more berries than they picked.  The best part was we got some remaining blackberries and raspberries.  Yum Yum!

The Brigham City temple was finished in September and we were excited to be able to attend the temple dedication via broadcast along with almost 50 other stakes.  It worked out that weekend for the girls to hang out with Gramma Judy while Rick and I went to a work retreat.  Problem was Rick got sick and didn't feel up to going to the retreat so we just had a nice quiet (but sick) weekend to ourselves.  We headed up to Gramma's house on Saturday so we could swap going to the dedication on Sunday without the kids since you have to be at least 8 years old to attend. 

We focused on temples the whole day. Gramma brought out her building blocks and Rick and the girls got to building various temples around the world.  If you know Rick at all, he LOVES to build things, take them apart, and build them again.  This was right up his alley.

Keira even convinced him to build a rocket ship.  She thought this was pretty dang cool!

Just a random highlight:  A fun day this month for the girls was when they were both special helpers at school...on the EXACT same day.  Love these cuties!

Ok.  Now I think I'm done with September...almost caught up!

September Swish

September came and went.  With the girls in school, me teaching, and Rick working, the whole month sort of breezed by. 

I am always looking for ways to make traditions in our family.  We wanted to make a tradition of going camping for Labor Day (last year was in our backyard), but this year needed to be a little different.  I was at the point in pregnancy where I couldn't sleep anywhere but a real bed.  Also, there were reports of rainstorms in the mountains which would have reduced the fun level a bit.  So I definitely lucked out when I suggested to Rick we spend the holiday in Park City and he was all over it!  My idea; His project.  He wanted to take the girls on the Alpine Slide and we knew they had a parade and other festivities so we made a weekend of it.  First stop was Seven Peaks.  These girls have always been no-fear little fishies. 

Later that day, Rick and I took turns doing a little shopping at the outlets while the girls napped in the car. we checked into our hotel and grabbed some dinner.  We were pretty wiped out.  The next morning we discovered the Park City Silly Market.  It's basically a farmer's market, but there were bounce houses and entertainment all free with the exception of donations.  The girls LOVE getting their faces painted.

 
We took a short walk to a park which is now my FAVORITE park of ALL TIME!!  This seriously was the coolest park I have ever been to.

The girls were talking to each other through these cones.  So cute!

When the Alpine Slide opened, we headed over to the Park City resort base area to discover all kinds of festivities!  So we bought the day pass that included everything and spent the rest of the day playing (with a short break for a nap).  What a day!  The girls took turns on the slide and the rollercoaster with Daddy while I shuffled them around to various other activities.

 This was one of the favorites - the trampoline!  And yes, we stayed until closing :)

 The next morning, Rick's boss had also happened to stay in Park City so we met up with them for a delicious breakfast at their hotel.  It was "fun" to ride the "Funicular" to the restaurant.

After breakfast, they humored me with a picture...looks like a family photo :)

 We finished our weekend with a parade for the princesses.  I was so happy we caught it because we missed all the other holiday parades this summer.

Wrap it up please!

The rest of August continued to get even busier.  I decided to accept a job as a preschool teacher since we were able to work out schedules where Rick could be home with the kids while I taught.  Pretty sweet deal?  I think so!

We also celebrated my 29th birthday.  29!!  My last 20-something year.  It's weird to think about since I don't feel 29, but I'm definitely happy with where life has led me.  I am blessed with a wonderful, husband who teaches me the value of optimism (and many other things) daily.  I have amazing children who teach me to be patient and humble, but to have fun, too.  I am happy with what I have accomplished and excited for new challenges to come.

Since I was too pregnant to do a whole lot of activity for my birthday and Rick had to work part of the day, he surprised me with a 3 hour trip to the spa.  I got my nails, facial, and hair did!  Woohoo!  He then took off the rest of the night so we could go to dinner.  I love birthdays with my hubby.  

We had some visitors from California.  My sister and her family came to visit my mom, but stayed with us a couple days as well.  As you can see we weren't very good about taking pictures of their actual visit.  I love this picture of all the cousins watching a movie, though :)  We also made it to the Dinosaur Museum.

It worked out great to have the Petersen's because they could come to cousin Brigham's baptism.  I love being able to teach and show the girls about important ordinances we partake of in our church.  Brigham asked Rick to give the talk on Baptism and, of course, he nailed it.  Congrats Brigham!

Rick was working A LOT in August so we decided to squeeze in a trip to Gramma Judy's before school started and arrival of baby brother.  We played at the beach and took advantage of a free day at the Ogden Nature Center.  We learned about why we should like all species and ate worm pudding, talked to the wandering turkeys (every time the girls yelled to them, they would gobble back...it was hilarious!), sat in an eagle's nest, and observed creative birdhouses (the one pictured is the Ogden temple). 

Our last highlight of August is SCHOOL!  We had to make sure we took our traditional First Day of School photos!  I can't believe both of my girls are in preschool.  Where has the time gone?  Love these squishy girls :)

Bassett beach reunion

I am so embarrassed how far behind I am, but between being too large to sit at the computer and having a new baby, I just decided to wait until I was ready :)  Yeah for catching up...even just a little.  Backtracking to August...

After Lexi's birthday, we headed to California for a Bassett reunion at the beach!  Yes, the beach is one of my favorite places to go so we were excited to be staying at a beach house.  The day we arrived was Lexi's actual birthday so we kept our tradition of getting birthday donuts.  Later that day,we checked into the beach house and celebrated the birthday girl with more treats.  Cupcakes!  Thanks to amazing Aunt Amber, she had beautifully delicious purple cupcakes.  Yum.

We spent lots of time at the beach...obviously :)  Running from waves, ocean kayaking, building sand castles, volleyball, boogie boarding, and playing with cousins were some of our highlights.

Twinners!!

Lynda and Craig with ALL their grandkids. 

We made a few other day trips while we were there.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium, kayaking at Moss Landing, and the Beach Boardwalk. 

To finish up our week, we stopped by a berry picking farm and picked lots of strawberries.  Aunt Amber made Keira her very own fresh strawberry pie.  Keira had been the victim of a toe incident which eventually led to her losing the entire nail of her big toe.  Poor thing.  Keira was definitely a trooper and wouldn't let Amber forget she promised her a pie.  Smart girl :)