The Tangrens

This week was my work's summer party, the Super Summer Shindig (S³ 2007). They held it at Seven Peaks Water Park and it was a lot of fun!



They even had matching t-shirts for all of us (even a little matching onesie for Hy!) and we made authentic Hawaiian leis.



Hy even got to try out his new sunglasses before heading off to Michigan. We were afraid that he might try to eat his lei, but he didn't.



However, he wasn't to fond of going for a dip. He's got his sad face down pretty good these days. I think he's slowly starting to figure out that we will do whatever he wants if he makes that face. ;-)



Originally, I wasn't going to do any of the slides at the park. Then, I saw they had "The Boomerang." "The Boomerang" is the mother of all rides at Seven Peaks. It's a giant, 3-story-tall half-pipe perfect for an adrenaline rush (or if you haven't had a good cry for a while). Two of my friends from work and I decided to go down it all together and it was INSANE!!! When they first let you go over the edge and and you're heading down you catch some air and you start thinking thoughts like "How much life insurance do I have again?" With the three of us on there we shot up the other side fast enough that we though we were going to shoot off the other side...but we didn't. (WHEW!) If you are ever at Seven Peaks in Provo, I recommend you don't pass this one up.

Hyrum continues to be SO MUCH FUN! Here is a video of him playing with his bouncy chair toys. They just crack him up!



Today, Sunny and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! It's been the best 5 years of my life and it just keeps getting better and better. We celebrated by going to one of our favorite restaurants (Olive Garden) and here is a photo of Sunny with her anniversary flowers.







We've been trying to enjoy the summer as much as you can when it's over 100 degrees. One way to escape the heat is to head up the canyon, so we went and drove through the Alpine Loop last week. It's so great to live with places like this in your backyard.

This last week was also the annual American Fork Steel Days celebration. On Saturday, we had the yearly parade which goes right past our apartment complex. We thought Hy would enjoy some time outside and so we set out our blanket the night before and went out early to ensure we got a good spot.

We sat under a tree to have some shade, so we weren't in the sun (or the front row). This ended up being a source of frustration since no one had enough muscle to get the candy back to where we were. Finally, a group who must have sensed our frustration, walked by throwing candy to the back row. However, much to our dismay, a hail of candy was thrown right at us (maybe due to my waving arms or something....hmmmm...), showering down on us. One piece made it through and pegged our sleeping little Hyrum right in the cheek! He was so mad, but otherwise enjoyed the parade.

As we approach Hy's 2 month old mark, he continues to make life more and more fun. His little personality just keeps developing and really is "daddy's little firecracker." He also continues to be be daddy's little automatic sprinkler and, inasmuch as we are back into a drought here in Utah, utilizes every opportunity to sprinkle on dad.



Hy is also doing all kinds of fun new tricks. He's getting better at holding his head up and LOVES to be able to look around. He just wants to take everything in. And if he doesn't think he's in the best position to do that (i.e. being held upright by mom or dad), then he has learned that by putting up a fit, he can get his parents to do pretty much whatever he wants. :-)

Another fun trick he seems to enjoy now is blowing bubbles. I don't know if it feels nice on his lips since it is so dry here or if it is just something all the kids are doing these days, but sometimes he's just be content to sit in his bouncy chair and blow bubbles.



He seems much more interested in listening to what we are saying. He'll even watch out mouths and it seems sometimes that he is trying to imitate what our mouths do. He also likes it when we read to him, although there is something about dad's voice that will sometimes send him into a tirade of crying. Most of the time, though, he just likes to sit back and enjoy the show.



Our dapper little man...



Hy also made his first friend his own age recently. Last Sunday we went over to some friends of ours who had a girl about a month before Hyrum was born named Sadie. They are both getting to the chubby stage (like having fat rolls behind their knees, etc.) and looked so cute next to each other.



Hy let us know that he isn't quite girl crazy yet and it doesn't look like Sadie was all that interested at that point anyway. :-)

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. When I was a kid I think it was because of the fireworks. But it is really nice to have a day to reflect on the establishment of the nation which I believe was under divine providence and direction (See 1 Nephi 13:19). Too often I think we take for granted the freedoms and the liberties which so many sacrificed so much to preserve. I also do not believe it coincidence that God the Father and the Savior appeared to the boy Joseph relatively soon after this nation was established. Truly the establishment of this nation played an important role in the Restoration of the Gospel.

I'd highly recommend to anyone who has never seen it a film entitled, A More Perfect Union. It relates the account of how the Constitution of the United States was created and is perfect to watch as a family around this time of year.



Our Fourth of July was a little different in years' past as we decided that with Hyrum we wouldn't do any fireworks. But we got together with some of our neighbors and had a big barbeque that was a lot of fun. We just have some of the best neighbors and as has happened in the past on extremely warm days (it was right around 100°F on the 4th), we ended up having a large water fight to take the edge off the heat. One of the things that I have learned in this life is that there are few things better than a good water fight on a hot day. :-)



We ended the day going over to one of our neighbors (I was still a little drenched as you can tell) and picked raspberries until it was too dark to make out the ripe ones. All in all it was a great 4th of July.