Don't Let the Tradition Die!

This is Bennett's first parade!

Wil's scooter looked really cute, too bad he wouldn't ride it!

Our Committee

Our 4th of July Neighborhood Parade and Breakfast has been going for 6 years. It has been one of our favorite activities. Because of a ward split it looked like the tradition was going to die out this year. We had no ward or auxiliaries to help and no budget. But, we knew that everyone still wanted to have it. So, with only two weeks to plan it and make it work, we put it together. It wasn't as grand or fabulous as in other years, but we kept the tradition alive. Allow me to get sappy for a moment. I am so grateful to live in a neighborhood of people that care about each other and their country. I was amazed that every food assignment was filled and every delegation was taken without complaint. Our "committee" let me take their time and let me whine when things weren't going so well. I am glad it went so well. Now we know it is a tradition worth saving and we hope it will continue every year. Just don't make me be in charge any more.

What a Day!

Look at our patriotic little men!

A picture of my sweaty self after the race. It was super fun!

The babies fell asleep and dreamed of the day they could eat parade candy and ......

hug a giant armadillo?!

Bennett looking up to the sky

Crazy Neil Diamond fans! Just sing "Coming to America" already!

Bennett fell dead asleep on my lap even with all the noise! He was DONE!

After living in Taylorsville for 3 years now, we decided it was about time we participated in Taylorsville days. It started early on Saturday morning when I left to run the 5k with my sis, Heather. I told Ben he was in charge of getting the kids together and getting them all to the parade. I didn't really have high hopes, but Ben seriously impressed me. When I went to find my family after Heather and I finished a sub 30 race (you go, Hey) I was fully expecting to see all three of them still in their pajamas all huddled on one of Bennett's receiving blankets. Not only did Ben have the children dressed and ready, he brought a blanket, camping chairs and even a sippy cup of milk for Wil. What a man! He even coordinated with Lisa so she could sit by us! The parade was super fun and Wilson was quite the candy hound. He was out there chasing after all the candy with the older kids. No fear! He stocked piled it and shared it with Parker. The babies slept through all the fun, of course. That evening I was tortured by the loud and booming noise that is Neil Diamond before I was able to enjoy the fireworks. (Don't let Ben know I said that!) Ben and Preston took the boys to the bounce houses while Lisa and I helped save spots for fireworks. My parents and Heather's family came too. Despite the pain my ears went through, it was a seriously awesome day ending in awesome fireworks. I even got a funnel cake which is like my favorite fair food ever. Ben waited in line for half an hour to get it for me. Can you say true love? Ben makes fun of me because I keep saying I felt like part of the community, but I really did. We are blessed to be where we are and surrounded by good people and good fun!

It's a three thing, you wouldn't understand

The birthday boy

I can't get over how cute he is!

Can you believe this is one of the first family pictures we've taken since Bennett was born? How lame are we?

I can't get over the fact that I have a three-year-old! Of course he acts like he's 7 so I shouldn't be so surprised. This year I let Wil pick the theme of his party. He told me all he wanted was party hats and chocolate cake. Easy enough. When I asked him what kind, he told me Elmo, which is really strange because we never watch Elmo, but whatever. At least it was easy to find the hats. I also felt compelled to make his cake this year because I've been seeing so many sisters and friends who have made phenomenal cakes for their children that I decided to give it a whirl. What I mean when I say give it a whirl is that I show up at Heidi's house, she has the cake and the frosting already made and she let's me do the nose and half of the fur before she kicks me off for doing to too slowly and tells me to do the cupcakes! (Love ya, Hides).

The party was supposed to be a water party with pools and water balloons and slip and slides, but the weather didn't cooperate, so I changed it to a puddle jumping party. I knew Wil would love that. But, when all the cousins came they disappeared into the backyard not to be seen until cake time. Apparently puddle jumping wasn't really necessary! Wilson had a great time and didn't even cry when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him! He got lots of good stuff and had the time of his life. Thanks everybody! Sunday was his actual birthday, but it was pretty quiet. When Ben got home from his meetings, he took Wil outside to jump in the puddles. Then when it got too cold we all went inside and had a cupcake carpet picnic and watched Mickey before bed. I can't wait to see all the shinanigans that we will see from Wil in the up coming year!

Party for Perry

Precious Perry

Proud mama with all her goodies!

Molly with Perry.

This is Elena. She is in our new ward and I really want her to be my friend. She probably won't be if she ever sees this picture!

My cute clothsline idea

The spread

These are Lisa's old high school friends, Chelsea and Erin who co-hosted the shower with me. They are cute girls!

My friend Lisa and her husband, Preston, just adopted the cutest little baby boy, Perry Jamal. So, of course we had to celebrate! We planned to have the baby shower in our neighbor, Molly's, backyard, but the crazy rain threatened to make us go inside. Well, I said my prayers and it didn't start downpouring until about 5 minutes after the shower was over. I felt a lot of pressure to put on a good shower because Lisa is so creative and over the top with everything she does. Every creative bone in my body hurt after this one. It was a really nice time and I am just so happy and excited for Lisa and her family. Now, if that little Perry could just learn to sleep at night and not all day long!

4 X 4 Farming

The Supervisors

I have always wanted to have a garden, but it seems like we can't even keep our lawn alive, let alone any tiny seeds and plants. But, with a lot of help from our parents, we built and started our own little veggie garden. It is an above ground 4 X4 box garden. It was our fhe on Monday and it was really fun. Even Wilson wanted to help water (a.k.a. drown) the plants and planted his own pumpkin seeds. This may seem like a small thing to most people, but it was a monumental moment for the Hardings to get it together enough to do it. We are excited about our new project and hope to get some kind of miniature crop. I will be very discouraged if everything dies! I am glad we have had so much rain to give us a good start. We planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, one zucchini plant (enough for the neighborhood according to my dad), carrots, beans, squash, parsley, basil and one pumpkin. Happy farming!

Bennett is the Train Wrecker and GI Joe

Wilson recently acquired the coolest train set from his cousin, Zach, who outgrew it. I knew Wilson would love it, but what I didn't count on was Bennett's reaction. Pretty stinkin' cute!

Bennett is now 9 1/2 months old. His head is in the 95th percentile while his height and weight are in the 50th. That is why it's such a feat that he can even move around! Just kidding, he's crawling, can you believe it? He chose the same mode of transportation as Wil did at around nine months, army crawling. He is really fast now and into everything. His favorite new forbidden zone to play in is the bathroom. I don't think we ever really baby proofed our house to the fullest extent because Wil was never interested in things like cords and outlets. Bennett on the other hand would rather play with my curling iron than his many toys. This one is trouble already. The best part is that now he never has to get left behind. Every time I have to leave a room for something and Wil goes with me, Bennett just screams because he hates being left. Now he just gets down on his tummy and follows us! Bennett's other new favorite thing to do is dance. It's super cute. It doesn't even really matter what song, he just loves to get down! He is getting funner by the minute and is such a sweet and happy baby. He, Wil and Ben are my joy!

Line 'Em Up

Lately Wilson's new favorite thing to do is to line everything up. Chairs, pots, letters, boxes, you name it and we've lined it up. It makes me a little worried, but the only thing I've ever read about children lining things up is that it's a sign of potty training readiness, but I know that's not right! It's pretty hilarious though. Everything is daddy or mommy or Wilson or Bennett sized. Every family member has to have a pot or box or chair assigned to them. At least he's good at inclusion. My sister, Carina, my neice, Janae, and my baby nephew, Seth, all have lawn chair assignments on the back porch. He likes to spread the love. Let me know if I should be worried, if not I just hope he never takes my mommy-sized stuff out of the line up!