The Fourth of July

We have yet to take Cannon to a big fireworks display for the 4th.  Cannon is sensitive to loud noises, particularly fireworks, but he said he was ready this year.  We had planned to go to Largo Central Park near our home, but the rain kept toying with us. 

However, we started the day off right with some red, white, and blue, pancakes!  Cannon is my new flap-jack-flapper.  He tells me it's his job.

We did our own fireworks in our parking lot and smoke balls continue to be Cannon's favorites!  We did them just in time because as soon as we were finished it started to rain. Hard!

 

It rained off and on and we were all getting cooped up in the house so we decided to head to the beach where it doesn't matter if you are wet or dry.  We went to Reddington Shores, one of our favorite beaches.  It was actually really nice there and the clouds kept us from the hot sun.  We wished we had gone earlier because it was so relaxing.  It sprinkled off and on and we left during the major downpour. 

 

 

We decided to just go home because we figured the fireworks would be rained out.  Cannon had a bath and went to bed.  Then all of a sudden all the rain and clouds cleared up and the fireworks began!  Haha, well maybe next year we'll get to see the big show.  But I thought our day turned out pretty well anyway.  



Ryan's Birthday

Ryan's birthday fell on a Monday (July 8) this year and with all of our travelling, we didn't plan any big adventures for him.  However, we had a lovely dinner and evening with him.  I told Ryan he could pick what he wanted me to cook for him for his birthday dinner.  He's not one to get excited over celebrations so I think he just said tacos.  Boring!  That's not even his favorite food!  I know that he LOVES carrot cake and I said I would make him one from scratch.  He suggested that I should just pick up one from the store.  What!  He really didn't think I could make a good one!  That meant challenge on for me and I searched for the best and simple recipe I could find since it was my first time making a carrot cake.  Cannon was so excited to help me make it and he kept telling Ryan it was going to be a surprise. 

Ryan had to work on his birthday and when he got home dinner and dessert were awaiting him!  During dinner a massive thunderstorm came through and the emergency alert on my phone came on saying there was a tornado in the area.  But we continued on with our festivities.  Dinner was good and the cake came out great!  I totally proved him wrong!  I made the cake without nuts and I later came to learn that Ryan prefers nuts in his carrot cake.  After 7.5 years of marriage we are still learning things about each other!

Watching the big rain storm

A good looking cake and a good looking guy (BTW, I love his gray hair!)



Cannon was super excited about the whole evening!

Happy birthday Ryan/Daddy!  We love you! 

Utah

In between Mother's and Father's Day, Cannon and I went to Utah for two weeks (Ryan went to Minnesota and Wisconsin).  We had wonderful adventures and the weather was perfect! 

Before our trip Cannon kept telling me that he was going to play with Kennedi in the snow.  I told him that all the snow may be melted by the time we got there, but he was adamant about it!  Luckily for him, his wish came true!  Our first real day there we drove up the canyon until we found some snow!

Yes you may eat the snow and walk in it barefoot!

I wish we had more time to play in the snow and I wish we had warmer clothes!

We did do lots of other fun things.  Cannon helped Uncle Jesse mow Nana's lawn:

We did smoke balls:

Merci and I took the kids to the zoo one day.  Our favorite part was watching the seals and sea lions!



He loved this elephant because it would unexpectedly shoot out water!



Cannon and Kennedi got to spend lots of time together!  Everyday they played a make believe game about going to work and school.  Her name was Blonde and his name was Splodge.  It was so much fun to watch them play together! 



There was time for friends, although I didn't get a picture of everyone!

Ryan and Cannon at the splash park

And time for family...

My Mimi is 90 years old!

Cannon always has so much fun with my Uncle Dave's boys, Ben and Alex.  I was surprised that he remembered them from last year!  

Eddy, he's old

 Kennedi, being the only girl, was feeling a little left out so Jill spent some one-on-one time with her



It's always so difficult to get a decent picture of these boys!

 While in Park City, Cannon and I did the Alpine Slide!  He was a little nervous at first, but I talked him through everything and showed him how we can control our speed.  As soon as it was over he was ready to go again!

We did other things too, like:



Nature walks and finding tree stumps (he's very interested in tree stumps)

We found these cool wind turbines in Spanish Fork!

 We also took Trax down to Temple Square, another one of Cannon's requests.  Why is this boy unhappy you ask?  He was quite disappointed to not see the prophet!  Oh sweet boy.  We did, however, take a tour of the Church Office Building and saw where the prophet and apostles have their offices.  And we did get to see all of the apostle's wives at their special weekly luncheon.  He wasn't impressed, but I thought it was neat. 

The main reason we went out there was to attend my friend Stacey's wedding open house.  Sadly, I didn't even take any pictures!  We stayed afterwards and had hamburgers with the family.  It was fun being with them again.  Cannon felt right at home and bonded with Stacey's dad and uncle.  Her dad was such a good sport and pushed Cannon around in the wheelbarrow at his request and Stacey snapped a great picture!

We sure love Utah and its beauty!  It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends.  





Happy Mother's Day and Happy Father's Day!

This is another catch up post, starting with Mother's Day!

I had a lovely day!  First, I had no meetings at church so I got to sleep in a little.  Ryan made me breakfast and then we went to church.  Cannon brought home all sorts of goodies for me from his primary class.  The best part of church was to see Cannon sing on the stand with the other primary children.  Well, he didn't exactly sing.  He was pretty much a big goofball, but I was still proud!  I also got a cupcake from church. 

For Father's Day we all celebrated because I didn't have any morning meetings at church.  So we made Ryan breakfast and then headed off to church.  I spoke in church, but I'm not sure how much of a treat it was for Ryan since he had to sit with Cannon by himself the whole time (but from the look of things he seemed to be pretty even tempered that morning).  Cannon also sang on the stand with the other primary children, but it was kind of a repeat of Mother's Day.  I could only see him from behind, but I could tell from the giggles in the congregation that he was probably making some great faces!  Ryan later confirmed that.  Still, I was proud of my son!  After church I was going to make one of Ryan's favorite dinners (chicken crescent roll ups), but the Spanish branch invited us to their potluck.  We accepted their invitation and later on that evening I made strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Cannon made a really cute book for Ryan.  Earlier that week I had asked Cannon what he though were some of daddy's favorite things (color, food, entertainment, etc).  He ended up making a story out of it and I was so impressed with his creativity!  Cannon came up with all the words himself and drew the pictures.  I transcribed it for him and stapled it together.  Here's what he wrote:

A Story About My Daddy
by Cannon Rees

Once upon a time there was a daddy named Ryan.
His favorite color was orange and his favorite animal was a dog.
He had a dog named Blue. 
Ryan liked to read books, clean, brush his teeth, and go potty.
He went to work at Raymond James and did post audits.
He didn't want to drive the Florida car, he drove the black rental car.
At work he talked with his friends and ate chile.
He came home and ate his favorite dinner: macaroni and cheese and tilapia.
Then he read book and read Book of Mormon and went to bed.

The End

I just love his little story!  It's such an insight into his mind and what he pays attention to. I have to say that much of that story is true and accurate. 

Oh how I love my guys!

Reading the comics

Thank You Raymond James!

Ryan's work is always having some BBQ or family activity.  Often times they have free tickets to various events around St. Petersburg.  A couple of weeks ago Ryan and I attended an outside play called The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  It was downtown St. Pete, right on the water near the Pier.  Raymond James held a mini cocktail party beforehand, but we opted out of it and instead headed to the Taco Bus for dinner. 

The play was hilarious and I was really impressed with the acting.  The night was perfect and having it outside really enhanced the atmosphere.  But most of all it was great to have a much needed date night with Ryan.  And he surprised me with peanut butter M&M's. 

Last Saturday we got tickets for an outside symphony at the Raymond James Stadium where the Bucs play in Tampa.  Even though it was going to be a late night, we took Cannon with us and invited our friends Whitney and Brandon Vorwaller.  We brought blankets and bottled water and enjoyed the music and conversation.  Cannon played with some boys nearby and Ryan took him up near the stage to see the instruments up close.  It was a perfect night except for the five minute rain cloud.

 

They also climbed aboard the pirate ship!

You see his little face peeking?

And he got to meet the mascot!  He was so excited!

I'm somewhere in this picture!

 

 

 

The Haircut

Cannon's hair kept covering his goggles every time he swam so we decided it was time for a trim.  I've been cutting his hair for four years and so I thought I could do it myself.

Well, it ended up good in the front and sides, but after he woke up the next morning it looked really choppy in the back. 

I tried to fix it and it ended up like this:

I thought I would quit while he still had any hair left and we booked it to the nearest kids haircut place!

 She cut it really short around the sides and back, but left it quite long on top and it looked kind of funny.  So we went home and I cut it again!  What is wrong with me?!

So after three days of haircuts, here's what we ended up with:   

It's a darling cut and looks really good on him, but it's going to take some getting used to on my part!  

How We Fill Our Days

I love, love, love this time of year!  I feel like we get the best of everything!  The beach is perfect and the weather is perfect!  There are hot days for swimming, warm days for just being outside, and rainy days for playing in the rain. 



Blueberry picking with friends at Owen's blueberry farm in Hudson.  With Jodi and her kids: Anna, Kate, and baby Rachel; Maisy and her son Grey; Liz with Peyton; and Elisabeth with Altazara.  We picked 2.2lbs so far we've only made blueberry muffins, but I think we've eaten a pound!

We like to ride our bikes down to Eagle Lake Park.  You never know what kind of animals you might see there! 

This is an endangered Fox Squirrel!  Really cool!



Cannon likes to feed bread to the turtles and fish.  Sometimes there are ducks and other exotic birds.

Going to the beach with friends is a regular pastime.  The beach is gorgeous right now with turquoise water!  And the water temp is just right for a warm day. 



Peyton and Ella

Cannon loves to play around the Banyan trees in downtown St. Pete.  Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of that majestic tree, but we did get a pic of the friendly squirrels.  We also took a trolley ride just for the fun of it. 

The rainy season is almost upon us, so we make the most of it!

Here is Cannon's newly arranged play area.  There's still some tweaking to do, but it seems suitable for now.  There's all sorts of make-believe and inventing that goes on here!

"Mom, can we play with the vinegar and baking soda?"  Yes!  

This is another favorite activity of Cannon's!  This time we added funnels to "see what happens," as he would say.

And sometimes you just get so tired that you fall asleep on the cedar chest.