Opinions?

I started making a group of digital art prints for Jim and my anniversary.  The plan was I was going to hang them as a set of three somewhere in our house before our anniversary.  I never finished.  Part of the problem was life in general. . . I got busy.  The other problem was, I couldn't decide between two prints.  

I knew I wanted a (kind of) primary color theme.  I also knew I wanted a SLC temple print (where we were married), a favorite couples print, and lastly a tree printable.  Jim and I carved our names in a tree when we were first dating at one of our special spots in Logan Canyon, so I wanted something of that nature.  

The first tree-ish print I created had just our names with a tree trunk-ish background.  Then I saw some prints online that incorporated birds and trees into the name carving, and I liked that as well. . . so I made one like that also.  Now I can't decide which of the tree themed ones I like better.  I created two mock-ups of how they might hang together, and I ask you, dear reader, to please let me know which one you prefer.  Leave a comment, if you have a moment.  I just can't decide.

Here's possibility #1 with just the tree trunk:

 Here's possibility #2 with the trees, birds, and carving:

 Here are all the prints a little closer:

The print above incorporates some of Jim and my favorite couples. . . including us!  I can't take credit for this idea, I saw it on Pinterest or Etsy or something like that and I thought it was marvelous.

The print below is where we were married.  I took an actual wedding picture of us, and made the silhouette from it.

 And lastly, here are the two I can't decide between:

Which one?  Any opinions?

Payette River Day

On Friday we drove into nature, and spent the day with the other Jacobs family playing by the Payette river.

Here are a few pictures from our day:

Jim bought the kids each a treat when we stopped at a gas station on the way up.  Hunter was pretty excited about his sucker.

Tralee is our little daredevil.  She has no fear.  She kept going into the water, and this time of year the water was cold and high with a strong current.  We thought a life jacket would be best for this little munchkin.  

Jim caught a lizard.  It kept the wee ones entertained for a bit.

Jovie loves lizards, can you tell?

Building something in the sand

Cute baby Anson.

The water was frigid.  You can tell by Jared's face that it wasn't too pleasant to be in.  Lil' Oakley was a trooper to go in!  Tralee, Jovie, and Jim went in as well.   I had no no plans on swimming this day.  Hunter shared my thoughts on the matter. 

Chow time

Hunty was just fine and dandy with playing on the big rocks by the shore.

My cute baby boy!  I'm told he looks like me.  I would have to agree.

Jim and Jared are close friends and cousins.  Can you tell?  Should I be worried? :)

It was a beautiful day playing in nature!  The kids sure had fun!  The girls pretended to be mermaids.  Jovie was the mother mermaid.  Every time Tralee said, "Mother" I asked what she wanted only to be told she was talking to Jovie.

Cute sisters!  Joves and Oaks

Anson looks weirded out by Jim.  It doesn't take much for anyone to be weirded out by the man I've chosen to spend eternity with.  Jealous?

We had a lovely day playing with our friends.  On the windy drive home we stopped by a gas station that had a little fruit and veggie stand next to it.  Jim bought a huckleberry pie that was TO DIE FOR!  We also purchased some summer squash, garlic cloves, watermelon, cherries, and jalapeno jelly.  Everything was delish!

Our day was fantastic!

Daddy's Pink Suit

Last night at scouts (I'm the new commissioner, you know.  It sounds very important.  I'm still pretty clueless unto what it means.) I was chatting with Tralee's Primary teacher who told me a story that made me giggle uncontrollably for several seconds.

A few weeks ago in Tralee's Primary class all the children were coloring a picture of a few men in Sunday suits giving a girl a blessing.  Tralee colored all the suits pink and purple, of course.  One of the boys saw Tralee's masterpiece and said, "Boys don't wear pink suits!"  Tralee NEVER wants to be wrong --not in the slightest-- so her reply was as follows:

"Oh yeah!  Well my daddy has a pink suit and he wears it at home for us all the time!"

Oh my!  I told Jim about his imagined pink suit and he thought it was awesome.  We'll have to keep our eye out for a pink suit, and maybe one of these Sundays Jim will show up to church looking like this:

I can just see the controversy it would stir up with all of the five-year-olds in Tralee's class!

Tralee would be so proud!

Preschool Summer Party

Last Wednesday was the last day of preschool.  Tralee has been in a preschool co-op this year.  There were six students total, and each student's mom took turns teaching for two weeks in a row.  We had a teaching outline and routine to follow, and it was a lot of fun!  I was lined up to teach the final two weeks of preschool, and thought it might be fun to have a party for the last day instead of the regular preschool routine.  The topic was "Summer" so we had a summer themed party complete with carnival games, summery food, and lots of playing outside.

Rainbow fruit kabobs were one of menu items.  I also made a plethora of peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches, a veggie platter, homemade guacamole, homemade black bean salsa with tortilla chips (not homemade), and lemon-infused water.  The other moms were invited, and each contributed a delectable as well.

The picture above is of the kids doing a relay race.  I had them each pick a mask, and then complete the entire relay as that animal.  It was classic.  They got to keep their masks as a prize for completing the relay.

We also played the, "throw the penny in the fish tank" game.  I put toy fish inside clear plastic cups filled with water, and gave each child a turn throwing pennies in a cup to win a fish.

We did the "pick the rubber ducky from the pool" game.  The rubber ducky had a shape on the bottom.  The shape they picked determined which prize they would win.  I also let them keep the rubber ducky they chose.

Another game played was, "throw a dart to pop a balloon."  Each balloon had a piece of paper inside that had a shape, number, letter, or emotion on it.  Depending on which piece of paper was inside the balloon meant a different prize from the various prize boxes.

In the end I let the kids toss a giant dice, and whatever number it landed on meant how many more prizes they could pick.  I think those were all the games.  After they were done I laid out a picnic blanket for the wee ones, and they ate.  Then they all played.

I set up our bouncy house, the trampoline was jumped on, and the kids all took turns crashing into each other and running over the picnic blanket with the Powerwheels four-wheeler.  Luckily there weren't too many tears shed from kid-os getting hurt!

The moms visited while the kids ran amok.  I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves.

Before everyone went home, we had a little graduation ceremony complete with certificates for each child.  Their name was read, they went up and shook one of the mom's hands, were handed their graduation certificate, and we all cheered.  It was a lovely way to wrap up a successful year of preschool.

After the party was over, I told my kids mommy needed to rest.  I had stayed up WAY too late getting things ready for the party, and wanted some shut-eye.  Jim was out-of-town, so I sent him this picture right before I attempted to get a little sleepy sleep:

I think I shut my eyes for a total of 11.3 seconds before Tralee came in with a book and requested that I read it to her.  I obliged.  Such is the life of a mom.

I can't believe Tralee will be heading off to REAL school this fall!  Crazy!

She's Learning!

Sleep Talker

Hunter talks in his sleep.  It happens almost every night.  I notice it more when Jim is out-of-town because   Hunter keeps me company in the king-size bed.  Tralee sometimes joins the party, but mostly she sticks to her bed.  Anyways, some of the more recent middle-of-the-night ramblings are:

"I want a cookie.  No, actually, I want a brownie."  I'm willing to bet that was a very yummy dream.

"No, that's Hunter's!"  This was followed by a bunch of whining.  I'm assuming he was wrestling a fellow three-year-old for a favorite toy.  I can't be sure though.

Finally, last night I was awoken by a BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM!!!!!  I jumped up and started comforting Hunter, who I assumed would start crying.  Nope.  Instead he said with his eyes half open, "Whoa!  I just did that!"  Then he rolled over and snoozed the rest of the night away.

That's all I remember for the moment.  I told myself I need to start writing Hunty's midnight convos down, because I don't want to forget all the funny things my boy does.

Hunter's Three Year Stats

We just got back from Hunter's three-year well check at the Dr.'s office.  I'm always surprised with the difference of my children.  I'm always prepped to hear how "off the charts" Tralee is when it comes to her height, so when Hunter's doctor told me where Hunty lines up I started to laugh.

Weight: 33 lbs in the 60th percentile (that sounded about right)

The height is the one that I laughed at.

Height: 37 inches in the 30th percentile!!!!!  

I called Jim after the appointment and told him the numbers.  He said, "Well, we're always telling Hunter to stay our little baby.  I guess he's listening!"  We never thought one of our children would be on the smaller side of the charts.  To be fair, the doctor said that Hunter is only an inch away from being in the 50th percentile.

The best news of the appointment was that Hunter is a happy, healthy, well adjusted three-year-old.  We'll take it!