What did McKay like most this summer?

Was it meeting Mickey Mouse at Disneyland (awkward pose)...

or riding the wheeler (I know, no helmet, see picture below with helmet)...

or hiking Willow Flat with the family...

or playing with cousins (and Bear) at the Pearson Family Lodge in Mink Creek, ID...

or jumping on the trampoline at Uncle Alan's house...

or attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House...

or eating his favorite meal of spaghetti...

or "driving" the truck...

or swimming in his pool in the backyard?

It's hard to tell! He is such a fun and happy guy who loves just about everything. He has so much energy and is so busy that sometimes nap time can't come soon enough, but then I always miss him when he's sleeping. In the fifth picture down he's holding a spatula. It's his favorite toy. He's actually pretty selective on the type of spatula he carries...it has to be black with holes in the flat part. He spends a lot of time following me around the house, and if I'm cooking he has to be a part of it. Good times!

Super Fun Fourth

This year, Independence Day was much more fun than I remember in years past. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with how fun it was watching McKay's reaction to all that went on...especially during the parade and fireworks. He is usually quite a happy boy, but on the fourth he seemed to be in a particularly good mood. We started off our celebrations on the third by watching our friends/neighbors put on a spectacular fireworks show. McKay's first experience with fireworks was rocky at the start, but he slowly warmed up to the loud noises and flashing lights. Let's just say that we learned how to get McKay to cuddle
with us. ;)

On the fourth, we headed up to Cedar City for the traditional parade and family picnic. In our rush to leave home at 8:00 am, I forgot to pack the camera. Holly was kind enough to take these pictures for us at the parade:

On the Loose

Family Picture
(Third time's the charm.)

Fishing at the Park

We headed up Cedar Canyon for a picnic with my family. Everything seemed so green and lush and we managed to take a few good pictures with my cell phone.




We spent the evening with Nathan's family, had dinner and watched more fireworks. I let my guard down and let McKay play in the water...fully clothed.



McKay was too tired to stay awake for the big show in the sky, but he was a little more brave with the frontyard show.

H a P p Y B i R t H d a Y to a S u P e R S i S t e R

I know I'm the luckiest girl to have FOUR of the most FABULOUS sisters and best friends ever, and one of them is celebrating a big birthday today.

Happy Birthday to Suzanne!!!

Here are a few fun pictures of the two of us through the years:

We still enjoy sharing a good snack.

That was the beginning of many fun driving experiences together.

A snack, again. I wonder what that look is all about.

We looked tres chic with our twinner mullets!

We happened to arrive home from my high school dance and her college dance at the same time. I guess that explains our expressions.

We've shared a lot of good times together and I look forward to many more!!!

The world's a little brighter when Suzanne's around. She's creative, fun, inspiring, kind, talented, supportive, wise (the list goes on), but you better watch out---she's crafty in more ways than one!

Happy Birthday to you again, Suzanne! We love you!

Child Slavery?

Some of you may remember this post where McKay's daddy helped him wash the car.


McKay also needed some help washing the dishes. He's a little too short to reach the sink on his own, so naturally, Nathan helped him out and held him up to the sink to do his chore. Doesn't McKay look like he's having the time of his life? ;)

Button! Button! Must push a button!

Not unlike most toddlers, McKay has a curious fascination with buttons. McKay routinely walks throughout the house pointing at things, grabbing whatever he can get his baby hands on and trying to push any button in sight (I know, that's normal.) If I'm free and paying attention I'll generally say the name of the thing he is pointing at. Recently, he started pointing at the smoke detector in each room. I think that in one day he stopped and pointed up at the smoke detector at least fifty times. When Nathan got home from work on that particular day, I told him of McKay's attraction. Nathan said, "I think he wants to push the button." So Nathan stepped up on the couch and held McKay up so he could reach the smoke detector. With his little pointer-finger ready, McKay went straight for the button and pushed. Luckily, the button has to be held for several seconds before it goes off so we were spared the alarm. He still points at the smoke detector quite often and we will indulge him a little and hold him up so he can push the button once in a while. We've asked him "Where's the smoke detector?" so much that he now inspects the ceiling of any home or building and will point out the smoke detector (yes, even at church). We are so proud! ;)

McKay also likes to touch the digital thermostat because of the pretty glowing green light that comes on. One night before bed I let McKay touch the thermostat for a few seconds. On my way to bed later that night I checked the thermostat (as I usually do) to make sure it was set at the right temperature. I awoke at 2:00 am, thought it was a little chilly, pulled the covers a little tighter, fell back asleep and then woke up at 4:00 am to McKay's cries. I couldn't believe how cold our house was with the A/C still on. As I passed by the thermostat on my way to get McKay, I saw that the current temp of the house was 60 degrees, but the target temp was set at 45. What?!?!?! How did that happen? In the few seconds McKay touched the screen, he must have programmed the temp to go to 45 degrees at midnight for every night of the week.

I thought it would be fun to include a picture of how McKay looks when he really, really wants something (mainly something with buttons...like a camera).

(He also makes that face and gesture when he wants food.)

The look paid off. I gave him the camera and he learned that by pressing one particular button a light would come on. He managed to take this picture of himself:

Monkey Business

McKay usually follows me around the house, room to room, all day long. When I left the kitchen for my bedroom I expected him to be close behind. When he didn't follow, I called to him to see if he would come. He didn't come, so I continued putting the laundry away for a few minutes happy that he was entertaining himself. I decided since things were a little too quiet I had better go find him. I found him in his bathroom having the time of his life:



I try to keep the door to the bathrooms closed at all times, so this was his first toilet-paper unraveling. When he saw me, he laughed like I'd never heard him laugh before. I wish I would've been fast enough to also catch his laugh on camera.

Birthday Bash!

We had a two day fun-filled celebration in honor of McKay's first birthday. On Saturday evening, we had a little party at the park. It was so fun to have some of our family and friends come celebrate with us. On Sunday, Uncle Preston and Aunt Kristin came over and I made McKay's favorite dinner of chicken and rice. After dinner, we sang "Happy Birthday" again and gave him his own little cake to smash and eat. We then opened presents, played with them a little and then put a worn-out McKay to bed.

Ahh, yes, the pictures. Here we go:

The cake.

(There was supposed to be a fondant banner between the two monkeys on the bottom that read, "Happy 1st Birthday, McKay!" At the last minute, I couldn't find my icing writing pens so I scrapped it. I guess I shouldn't have pointed that out.)

(For all you fondant users out there, use this recipe...only mix it in a
KitchenAid or Bosch instead of by hand to avoid the sticky mess.)

Birthday Boy


Pinata Time

Brennan Kemp getting ready to take a swing!


Ethan's turn.


McKay trying to figure it all out.


Happy to not be forgotten about.


Not quite enough to get air born.


Playing in the grass at home.

Cake time!

So fun to get Mom messy, too!

Let's not forget about Dad!

McKay stayed surprisingly clean. Most of the cake just ended up in his lap.


McKay loved all of his presents!