Welcome to the family...

We are (or I should really say Uly is) the proud owner of an African Dwarf Frog.  It's pretty darn adorable.

We went to the Orem Summerfest carnival last weekend - or was it the weekend before???  Anyway, Uly got to play a game where he tossed balls into cups.  You know the one.  If he got a ball into a cup, the prize was a frog.  He didn't make any of the balls into the cups but the girl who ran the game must have thought he was adorable because she gave him one anyway.  What a nice girl!  She made his night.  He forgot all about the rides and only had eyes for his little froggy.

On our way back to the car, we asked Uly what he wanted to name the frog.  Uly randomly pulled a word out of his head - Arnolkardis.  So that is our frog's name.  Arnolkardis.  Or is it Arnolcardis?  How do you verify the spelling of a word that comes from the mind of a 4 year old?

Welcome to our family, Arnolkardis!

Here is a picture to show how adorable he is:

Here is a picture to show how very small he is.  This is a normal sized fish bowl.  You know the kind...  You may recognize this fish bowl it was previously seen in another post earlier this year about Uly getting fish for his birthday.  And then how I killed them.  He still tells people, "My mom killed my fish."  Anyway back to Arnolkardis... He's teensy weensy.  Do you see him on the bottom left corner/side of the bowl?

Below is proof that Ben is still the Ben we all know and love...  He had his first Utah game last night.  For a small group, I think he had a fun time.  I'm probably going to get in trouble for posting this... hehehe.

Fun Weekend

So we had a blast last weekend - in fact, we're pretty much having a blast every single day.  When Ben is out of work, it's always hard on the pocket book but extremely good in the family camaraderie department.  We love having Daddy home!

These are a few photos from last weekend; Art City Days parade, Orem Summerfest parade, and a Fathers' Day picnic.

Waiting for the Springville parade to start:

Waving to the parade people:

Gar picking up candy in the street:

Uly's hand with a piece of booty:

Mag's most recent trick.  He's excellent at clapping. 

Question:  How do you know he's the third kid?  

Answer:  When he starts licking soda off the ground, mom grabs the camera instead of picking up.

This is baby Olea, nicknamed Coke.  Not because of anything to do with these photos.  Really.  

Kristina, I have more of these.  Too many to email so I'll burn you a disk.

Hot Air Balloons

We live in this cute little town called Springville aka Art City.  Every year they celebrate their exhistance with a week long party.  There is a carnival, art shows of all kinds, parades, pancake breakfasts, concerts and a hot air balloon shindig.  

This morning I woke Uly and Gar up and got them dressed and out the door with a juice cup and a bagel in record time.  We went to the Springville Jr. High School and watched a whole bunch of hot air balloons set up, inflate and ascend into the heavens.  It was so much fun.  We really had a good time watching those balloons float off into the blue. 

We even got to go on a little ride ourselves.

Above is a photo of the inside of the balloon we got to ride in.  It didn't turn out very well but you can kind of see the flames.

The very first photo is of our favorite balloon.  It is in the shape of a pink pig.  We love that one!

We're looking forward to the parade and carnival tomorrow!  I'm also hoping I can squeeze in an art show and maybe a concert tonight.

Helping Dad on the Car

This post is just another way to share with you cute pictures of my kids.  No shame there, right?

Here are a few of Gar "helping" Ben work on the car.  He's just too cute.

Share and Share Alike

So Trena and Meghan's posts about music made me want to hear what you listen to.  Anyone want to share their favorite Pandora stations?  I want to hear your favorite station.  Send a share link to me at jessicastier@hotmail.com and then I will send one to you with my current fav station.

Deal?  Do it now...  :)