Hogle Zoo

I talked my friend from High School, Kira, to go with me to Hogle Zoo. I've been wanting to go all summer because when Meili turns 3, we'll have to start paying for her. (Poor girl, once we have to actually pay admission for her, we won't do fun things anymore. Hopefully she has good memories from the first 3 years of her life!)

 Honestly, Meili and Kira's daughter, Eliza, probably would have been satisfied playing at this little splash pad all day. But we MADE them see all the animals.

 Seeing as how the only zoo I've been to in YEARS is Willow Park, I was impressed with all the animals that Hogle Zoo has, and the fact that you can actually see them. You can see the bear sleeping over in the corner.

 Meili said her favorite animal was the polar bear because he was doing tricks in the water, but she and Eliza just stared at this monkey, and we had to drag them away.

We had a few major meltdowns, and with Kira and I both pregnant, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but I would say, overall, it was a success!

The Fair

August=County Fairs.

We went to both the Cache and Box Elder County fairs.

 Meili loved the rides and couldn't get enough. To me, she suddenly seemed so big that there were actually quite a few rides she could go on.

 Josh was sure that this little roller coaster was going to be a bad idea. And to me, she did seem a little nervous at times, but she said it was fun, and it was one the first things she told people about at the fair.

 But nothing compares to riding horses. We saw these horses on the way in, and tried walking around the entire fair, trying to distract her, but alas, we paid our $3 for her pony ride. And she still talks about it to this day.

 The boy leading the horse asked if I wanted to walk by her. (I'm sure that is common among most 2 year olds.) No, no, this picture is Meili waving "sayonara" to her mother. Because, when you have a horse, who needs Mommy?

And what's a fair without cotton candy. She would have eaten the whole thing if we had let her.

Randomness

These pictures are truly random-couldn't find anywhere else to post them-kind of pictures.

 I am a first-time mom, and so obviously my child is a genius, and an artist, and the most beautiful etc. etc. But for real-are you not impressed by her artistic ability at 2 years old? That person is complete with hair, legs, feet, eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth. I mean really!

 She put this little ensemble together all by herself... In August, mind you. Yes, I'm sure the neighbors giggle every time they see Meili riding her bike outside with a beanie on.

 And speaking of bike riding... welcome to Meili's new obsession. She went from struggling, and I mean STRUGGLING, to riding all around the neighborhood in a matter of days. We thought this bike was just a couple months too big for her, now we think she may wear it out by the end of the summer.

 Another outfit she put together by herself. (Truth be told, I had a little input on the shirt.) She is her daddy's daughter through and through.

And I had never mentioned these shoes. Josh rarely gets excited in his life. But there's something about getting a good deal on Air Jordans for his little girl that makes him giddy like a kid on Christmas. (I will add that these shoes are a mom's worst nightmare. Which means they are some of Meili's favorites-because Daddy told her they make her run fast and jump high. Sure they're cute, but they have actual laces, and they are high tops-which are not easy to get an uncooperative little foot in. Add in the fact that Meili thinks she needs to completely undress when she goes potty, and we have quite the situation on our hands in public bathrooms!)

Pioneer Day

Josh had to work on Pioneer Day, so Meili and I headed down to Bountiful for their Handcart Days extravaganza. We ate dinner and did fireworks at my sister Emily's house on Tuesday, and on Wednesday went to the fair.

What a difference a year makes! Last year, Meili wouldn't even ride on the little train. This year, she loved all the rides and couldn't get enough!

 This ride may have been made more fun just because of Gigi and Chloe laughing hysterically the whole time.

 I talked Meili into riding the train with Ruby instead of having her face painted, because it was a little expensive for my taste.

 Chloe said she was posing like a butterfly. She's such a ham!

 I don't know what Meili will do in the winter when there are no bounce houses.

 Then, to finish off, we had some yummy food!

 After the fair we headed to Honeyville for the Anderson family extravaganza-which, on the 24th, usually consists of a pinata.

 Kyle

 I told Jared that with Meili's coordination, he wouldn't even need to move the pinata-it would already be hard enough for her to hit it.

 Carson

 Alex

 Andrea

 And Bren saying "I did that!" He sure did.

There was barely enough left for Jensen to take a swing.

Meili was interested in the pinata exactly long enough to hit it. Kami had to gather some candy for her, because she was already back to playing with the ducks, and jumping on the tramp. Too many fun things to do to worry about treats!

Camping

Josh and I went camping this weekend with my college roomate, Hope, and her family. At this point, if we didn't have Hope and Dustin, I don't know if Josh and I would ever go camping. So this is a tradition that can never end :)

 This picture was not while we were camping. It's actually from a couple weeks ago when Hope stopped to see us. But don't her son Noah, and Meili look like they could be siblings?

We got to Montpelier Reservoir on Friday just in time to get a little fishing in.

 The fish were tiny, but I prefer it that way. Then the kids can have their fun, and no fish die in the process.

 Yes, it has been decided that Meili needs her own fishing pole, because she loves it.

 I think everyone caught at least one fish (even myself, because Josh wouldn't let me stop until I caught one) except Hope-but she was pretty occupied watching her 3 children.

 I should probably stop saying that Meili is not my child, because someone will believe me one of these days. But honestly, in all my 20+ years of life, I have never had the urge to touch a fish. And Meili couldn't get enough. So the game became: catch a fish, Meili slaps it around a few times, and then we throw it back, hoping that it learned its lesson.

 Meili was so excited to sleep in the tent, and we got her her own air mattress. 

 Dustin was excited about his new pontoon boat.

 Of course, smores are a must!

K, here's a little story that I hope to NEVER forget. Everyone always talks about how much work it is to go camping, and pack up all your stuff, and bring food, and set up a tent etc. etc. I say totally worth it-if for nothing else than just to have had this experience. 

On Friday night, after fishing, I took Meili in the tent to put her pajamas on. I thought she would never go to bed without eating marshmallows that we had talked about all day. When I tried to get her to leave the tent, she said no. Why? Because it was time for bed. (Her words). So she laid down, and five minutes later, she was out.

On Saturday, we were making our smores, and after Meili had one, I looked over and she was headed to the tent. Josh and I asked what she was doing, and again, she told me it was time for bed. She laid down and was out in five minutes again! Never... in...her...entire...life...has...she...told...me...she...was...ready...for...bed!

Like I said, totally worth it!

And look at how cute she was sleeping! I swear she didn't move all night.

Until next year Hansens!