4th of July ... and Then Some

Well, here I go, playing catch-up again. First things first--here is Owen's latest funny face. This kid is the king of silly faces. Check out those great big lips! (He gets those from his dad.)

Here is the Orem Owlz baseball game we attended on July 3rd. I had just enough battery in the camera to take these 2 pictures. We had great seats--front row right behind home plate. When the guys would warm up with 2 bats right there in front of us, Evan would say, "No, guy. Just one bat." His interest in the game only lasted so long. His patience barely lasted in the refreshment line. Before I knew it we were playing in the little playground for almost the rest of the game. After the game they put on a nice fireworks show, which Evan really enjoyed. Poor Owen went a little nuts. I'm sure he thought we were the meanest parents in the world, taking him to the baseball game with a burning fever from 2 ear infections (don't worry, it didn't last long), and then torturing him even more with super loud fireworks. He really clung to me, but he made it through them very bravely.

Here is Owen before we ventured out on the evening of the 4th of July to watch the PG fireworks (although it does look a little like he's celebrating Canada Day rather than the 4th of July). We try to work on his standing and walking skills, but he still just collapses in laughter. And this time, we sat a little further away from the fireworks (try 8 blocks further) so Owen was able to lay in my lap and enjoy them.

Evan loved the fireworks and loved doing his own fireworks even more.

I guess Casey let Owen drive a little before we left for the annual Xactware company mini golf tournament this past week. I think he enjoyed that way too much!

Here is Evan looking through his binoculars. He used them to spot fireworks all over the sky when we went out the night of the 4th.

Here we are heading out to mini golf ...

This is the hole Evan got a hole-in-one on. It's a good thing you couldn't write down any score over 6 because I'm pretty sure Evan's scores were consistently in the teens and maybe even twenties.

Kids are really great for retrieving balls.

Owen enjoyed a relaxing game of mini golf, as well.

Evan, checking his line.

How picturesque is that? The little golfer in front of the new Xactware building.

Almost got it in ...

and now for the celebration ...
I found out at the company party last night that I tied for 2nd place in the women's division with a score of 4 over par. This was the first time I didn't really try (I figured it would be ridiculous with 2 kids) and I actually ended up doing great. I got a $15 Target gift card (thank you, Xactware!), but the best reward ... beating Casey. :)

While Evan enjoyed the mini golf immensely, I think the highlight of the evening was the car wash. Cheap thrills.

Yesterday we enjoyed taking the kids to Thanksgiving Point (for the Xactware summer party) where we went to the dinosaur museum, saw "Kung Fu Panda" at the movie theater, and gawked at the farm animals. On the way home we drove through our new El Pollo Loco for a classic chicken burrito (YU-UM!) with their house salsa (YU-U-UM!). It was pure heaven. I can't believe it's finally here. Later that night, back at Thanksgiving Point, we had dinner, followed by awards (Casey was recognized for being at Xactware for 10 years and he also won Closest to the Pin in the regular golf tournament ... again, I tied for 2nd in mini golf, women's division), fun entertainment, and ... another round of fireworks. Poor Owen. He was a good sport, though. They were right above us, but this time, we didn't have a stadium around us to capture all the sound so it wasn't as bad as at the baseball game for Owen. He even fell asleep toward the end. Evan couldn't stop talking about the fireworks. I hope he doesn't turn into a little pyro.