Micah's Birthday

This year Micah wanted a Peppa Pig party.  Decorating ended up being very fun.  We put up some pictures and books.  I found these stuffed animals on Amazon for $5/ pair.  And then a friend brought us back a Peppa Pig magazine from England.  I cut out the pictures and hung them around the kitchen.

Table centerpiece

I loved his cake!  We ordered it from a lady whose business in called "Patty Cakes."  Grandma Debbi orders cakes from her often and can get a good deal, so she ordered it for me.

Micah was lucky to have many family members visit Europe this summer, so he got lots of Peppa Pig items that crossed a wide blue ocean to get to this little silly boy.

Peppa pig dolls

Peppa pig dough

And Kinder eggs!!!

I accidentally bought trick candles!

Playing with dough at the end of the night.

What a great party!!!

Phonenix

Meet Phoenix!

Phoenix is a 3 year old Dachshund/ Chihuahua mix (like Griffin) that we adopted from the local shelter a week ago.  We actually picked him out 3 weeks ago, but Phoenix had kennel cough and couldn't come home until he finished treatments.  He is a great play-mate for Griffin.  They are about the same size-- Phoenix is about 2 pounds lighter than Griff.  

Phoenix is a great dog!  We didn't know much about him when we adopted him because he had been found on the street, so the shelter didn't have any history on him.  We brought Griffin with us to the shelter to pick out his friend, so we knew Phoenix and Griff played well together, and we knew that Phoenix would be good with the boys, but that's all we knew.  It turns out that Phoenix is house trained, walks well on the leash, and doesn't scratch at doors!  He does have one flaw, and that is that he has separation anxiety.  If I leave the room he whines.  But even that is getting lots better.  The first 2 nights he cried and whined in his crate.  It was awful!  But he hasn't cried at night since.  He has also started cuddling up in his crate if I leave the room, so he isn't whining as much.  I think soon he won't whine at all.  He is a great addition to our family.

Griffin's Birthday

Griffin turned 1 on August 6.  The boys wanted to acknowledge his birthday in some way.  Actually THEY wanted to have a big party for Griffin with cake and everything and invite all the neighbor's dogs.  Instead we got Griffin a can of wet dog food and 2 new toys.  Luke and Micah were excited to give Griffin his toys.

Touching the Temple

One Saturday at the very end of July or the very beginning of August we drove the boys to the Houston Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The week before, we had a family home evening about the temple.  Now we wanted the boys to see it and touch it.

The front of the Houston temple

The side gardens

Touching the Temple:

We may have hyped it up a little bit too much.  We told the boys that when they touch the temple, they will feel something special in their hearts.  That is the Holy Spirit telling them that the temple is a special place.  Luke had his face scrunched in concentration trying to feel something special.  He said (in total confusion,) "It just feels like a rock!"  But, bless his heart, he kept trying to feel that something special.  

Then we went into the bride's garden on the side (where bride's often take pictures.)  The boys had a lot of fun playing with the fountain.  Micah actually climbed inside.  Oops!

Even if the boys didn't understand the special feeling yet, I think they do understand that the temple is a special place.