July Jamboree

Little Miss Addie Pie has lately decided that since she is two now, she no longer needs naps. This directly translates to: I no longer get anything done. Today she IS taking a nap, so I decided I ought to write a little something in case its another few years before I get this opportunity again.

Zach and Liz came to visit earlier this month and brought their dog, Ollie. Addie was really excited to have a dog in the backyard and J and I were really excited to have Zach and Liz in our house. We ate out a few times, kicked-back and relaxed, and went to a free miniature golf art exhibit.

Here's the view from up above, although it's only about 1/3 of it.

Since it is art (each hole was made by a different artist) everyone had to wear hair nets on their feet to protect everything.

Zach and Liz in an bio-hazardous alien haze. That wall photographed much brighter than it actually was. Maybe they were glowing.

One of the holes was a steep incline that you hit that ball up and then it drops down into a pit with steep sloping sides and high unclimbable walls. I didn't know what I was getting into since the pit is well enclosed, so Addie and I found ourselves in a swirling vortex threatening to suck us into a small golf ball-sized hole. It didn't help that we were wearing slippery hair nets on our feet. After what felt like a strenuous year inside that pit I found the courage deep inside my soul to call out in a feeble voice for rescue. Somewhere out there a kind man heard our pleas and came to rescue us, he being immune to the pit's pull due to longer limbs. Jason is the only reason, this I swear, that Addie and I are not still in that hole. The photo above is Jason and Addie tempting the hole to slurp them up and the photo below is the rescue.


The final hole: Liz successfully hit her ball up the slope and into the hole, where it was prepared to be launched through a tube that dropped it into the upper net. Once inside the upper net, the ball made its way through a series of nets with the use of gravity. Falling into the bottom net, the ball rolls through a tube and onto a putting green. One champion-grade swing put the ball into its final resting place. Well done, Liz. Well done. It was fun and called for an after-party at Mad Greek where my family proceeded to spill a variety of foods in a variety of ways all over me. Jason bumped into the chair and slopped lemonade down my leg and foot. Addie dropped a bite of sandwich and sauce on my knee. And then, while holding the tray of food wrappers to take to the garbage can, Jason ever-so-slightly tipped it while it was over my head and drizzled me with lunch liquids.

July 3rd we (almost the entire Utley fam) went to the Stadium of Fire, which was super awesome and I want to go every year from here on out. It was fun rockin' out to Carrie Underwood and Cami. And Addie, too, since she was belting out "nah nah nah's" and clapping a screaming like the biggest little fan around. She covered her eyes but peeked out through her fingers for the fireworks.

July 5 was Addie's 2nd birthday and we had a little BBQ in the backyard. My dad took all the photos so I will have to get them and post them here. This is the first present-opening event that she has willingly participated in and she was excited about every gift.

We went to St. George on the 8th to visit and attend a wedding. On Friday the girls and I went swimming while the boys went shooting. I imagine the boys had fun, but not as much as we did. Plus, it was 103 degrees. Later that day the family went to Toy Story 3 and out to dinner. That is a fabulous movie that I can't wait to see again! Saturday we just hung out and relaxed. Cami and Caitie painted Addie's toes, which she loved! She has such fun aunts that play non-stop with her every time we visit. Addie thinks they are the greatest!

Caitie and Cami each painted one foot. Talk about getting pampered!

Here's Caitie doing a swell job applying eye make-up. This girl was only two when I joined the family. Where did time go?

I love this photo of these two cute girls. They are both just so silly! They both have on some high-glamor lip gloss. Thanks for another fantastic time in St. George, Ma and Pa Utley!

The other day Addie had an impromptu swim in the backyard, thus no swimming suit. Fellow moms, if you do not own a little pool, go get one right now. Hours and hours of easy and fun entertainment are built into the inflatable walls.

My little goon fish.

I never knew the amount a Huggies diaper could successfully hold until this day. This was the ultimate test. This single diaper held about a quart of water and still DID NOT LEAK. I squeezed it, I tried to wring it out, but not a single drop came out. This is like NASA technology here. It probably weighed about 3lbs but Addie didn't want to take it off. She didn't mind feeling like she had a soggy pillow between her legs, pulling on her and preventing her from walking normally and comfortably.

The game: stand on the little slope next to the tree, run full speed towards the pool, stop, and step in. Repeat 1,000,000,000 times.

If you are a pool with dire amounts of water dwindling in the bottom, Addie is the person you want to rescue you. She's focused, she's serious, she's oh-so brave.

Here's what a toddler looks like when they want to go inside, don't have the words to tell you so, and are frustrated that you can't read minds. And they need a nap.

Here's what they look like after they have communicated their desires and they have been understood. Funny creatures, these toddlers.

Addie still isn't talking, so we had a team of four people come to our house and test her for one and a half hours with non-stop puzzles, questions, and physical feats. They had her jumping, comparing object weights, coloring, matching colors, etc. etc. The results: we have a really bright child who knows more than I was even aware of, but that talks at a 14mo. level. So, twice a month for as long as we need, someone will come to our house for an hour and try to help her talk. They'll also leave "tools" for Jason and I to use everyday with her. I hope it helps because I want to hear what's going on in that kid's head. The test results put her at a 3yr old level, so there's a lot of thinking going on in that brain. Raising a kid is such a cool experience because it's such a grab-bag thing: you never know who you are going to get. It's fun to watch Addie grow into the person she will be and I enjoy the adventure so far, but I already know when she's all grown up I won't be disappointed. I love this kid so fiercely and I know she's someone special. I guess that's how all parents feel about their kids, or at least that's the way it should be.

Last Saturday we went out to the Bingham/ Kennecot Copper Mine to see what's been going on out there for the last 100 years. I have lived near the mine my whole life and have never been to see it, so it was a special and deeply personal pilgrimage for me. Okay, it wasn't. But it was long overdue. This is a giant tire used on the giant trucks that move rocks around everyday. If you think that's impressive you ought to see the trucks.

Thanks to Clare's generosity, you can all see that I am alive and well. And Addie will know that I was around for her childhood, even if this is the only photo that proves it.

Here's the very awesome open-pit mine, so large it can be seen from space. I could go into the neato history and everyday workings of this mine, but that would take too long and be too boring if all you have to look at is this small image.

Here is Addie, contemplating a career in mining just to have access to all those rocks.

And here's Tyler and Clare, our dear family members and good friends. They are nice to let us drag them around all weekend. We will miss them when they leave for dental school, but we will enjoy the free dental work later in life. (Hint hint.)