My little Swimmers

I'm such a slacker mom. Now that summer is halfway over, I'm finally getting my kids into swimming lessons. My original plan was to have them take lessons the second week of summer break. Ha! Yeah...didn't quite make it did I?

Anyway...Last night was our first night of our two week course. I put Landon in a harder class this time. The stuff he did during Spring Break was too easy for him and I really want him to know how to swim. He's almost 9 for heaven's sake!

I asked him when lessons were over how it was..

"Mom..it was so hard! I had to swim all by myself with no help!"

Uh....yeah. That's kind of the point right? :0) He got to jump off the diving board too, which he loved. Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch much of his class to see his wicked awesome swimming skills because....

I had to don my own swimming suit for the mommy and me class I've got Kenzee in. I figured I'd better get a better start on lessons with my second child than I did with my first. You know...that whole "learning from past mistakes" thing. :0) Just not too thrilled to have to put on the swimming suit. Yuck!

She was scared at first and had a death grip on my neck, which was wierd because she was dying to jump in. I let her take it at her own pace and it wasn't long before she nudged off the first step onto the second one....and then stood up in the water. Of course, she was still tightly clinging to my hands, but still! Over the course of the next 40 minutes I was able to convince her to blow bubbles in the water {that took some coaxing}, and then to put her nose and then even her eyes in the water. She was so proud of herself. :0) She is sure she's a swimmer now and was so mad when class was over and we had to get out of the water.

So, if you are wondering...we'll be at the pool every night for the next two weeks....getting our swim "on". :0)

First Haircut

Yes, it's true.

Mackenzee had her first haircut on Saturday morning. She is 2 years and 9 months old.

I haven't wanted to do it. I wanted her hair to grow long and luxurious and beautiful. Unfortunately, she inherited some crazy hair genes. :0) Jaysen's mom tells me that Mackenzee gets it from her cousin, Rachel. I don't know if this is true or not, what I do know is that it is very thin, and likes to turn into a rats nest in the back. I use LOTS of detangling spray after bath time. Besides this, her hair has grown in weird. So, she had one section in the back that was longer than the sides. For those of you that remember, when she was a baby she was bald on top and had hair growing on the back. Kind of like her grandpa's {by that I talking both of them}. :0) Anyway...because of this she ended up with wierd multiple lengths. Jaysen has asked me several times when we were going to do it and I always told him the same thing. NEVER! But the other day as I was combing out the tangles, I knew it was time. Kenzee hates to have her hair brushed because of the tangles, so I asked her if she thought we should cut her hair.

She looked at me like I was crazy. I think she thought it was going to hurt. :0) I assured her there would be no pain and told her that I would take her to a salon to have it done all pretty. The mention of the sucker they give to kiddos getting their hair cut was brought up as a bribe as well. :0) She told me that she didn't want to go to a salon. She wanted me to do it.

She has seen me cut Landon's hair before. So, I assume this was why she thought I had hair cutting abilities. But, I thought...how hard could it be? Just a straight line across the back right?

Did I forget that my daughter doesn't like to hold still? Sigh. I don't know how stylists do it. I bet they curse every time some mom comes in with her kid for their first hair cut. Seriously! Landon cried through his. I bet that lady hated me! :0)

Anyway...Kenzee has a new 'do. I'm not sure if anyone can tell or not as it was just an inch off the bottom, but I think she looks adorable. I have now taken up the role of hair stylist amongst my many other job duties. :0) My mom did it for us when we were little too. I remember THE hair cutting scissors that were always kept in the bathroom. Maybe my little girl will have memories of ours. Yes, we've got our own special pair of black ones too. :0)

Out of the mouths of babes....

Lately Mackenzee has wanted me to read to her at bedtime. Not

children's bedtime stories...but whatever it is that I happen to be reading. My sister, Melanie, gave me the book 'The Five Love Languages' for my bday and I've just started reading it. In the very beginning of the book there is a conversation between a man who has been divorced three times and the author of this book. Now...picture me and Mackenzee snuggled in bed and me reading this aloud...

"...So my question is, What happens to love after the wedding? Is my experience common? Is that why we have so many divorces in our country? I can't believe that it happened to me three times. And those who don't divorce, do they learn to live the emptiness, or does love really stay alive in some marriages? If so, how?"

To which my Kenzee immediately piped up saying, "In the TEMPLE!"

We are so excited to be able to go through the new Twin Falls Temple this next week. To be able to go through with family will be such an amazing and wonderful experience. We get to go through twice before the dedication, as we will be going through with Jaysen's parents on August 9th as well. What an awesome opportunity for my children. We are so excited...especially Kenzee. She is sure that the golden statue on the top of the temple is her daddy. :0) It doesn't matter how many times I try to explain to her otherwise, she emphatically declares that it is her dad up there!

Eight is great!

On Saturday my nephew, Jesse, got baptized. We were so glad we were able to attend this special day of his. He was really excited and looked so handsome in his suit and tie. His mom, Beckie, said that Jesse wanted to know if you had to pay to get baptized. He also wanted to know if he lived in China if he would still be getting baptized. Good questions..he is a thinker, this kid. :0)

We are so proud of you Jesse! What a great choice you have made in getting baptized. I hope you can stick with your goal of staying clean for a WHOLE year. :0)

A girl after my own heart!

Conversation between me and my Mackenzee this morning...

Me: How about you go and get dressed?

Kenzee: Where are we going?

Because apparently she's learned from her lazy mommy that you only get dressed if you are going somewhere! Sigh.

Me: Do you think we should go somewhere?

Kenzee: Yeah. Two stores.

Me: What are we going to buy?

Kenzee: Uuuuummmmm.....two Lella shoes. And Dora shoes.

First of all....thanks so much little Maggie, for teaching my daughter all about 'Lella' {Cinderella}. And secondly....yes, she is my daughter. We love shoes. It's a beautiful thing. :0)

Independence Day

We had such a great holiday this year. Normally we are pretty fuddy duddy and don't do much. In fact, a couple of years ago we even went to bed before the fireworks even started. True, Mackenzee was still a baby...but still! How boring of us. We've just never really gotten into the holiday. This year we decided to MAKE ourselves get into the spirit of this wonderful day we have to celebrate our freedoms.
So, what else do the Burnham's do? We invite people over and feed them of course! It's my specialty. :0) It's also genetic....so I can't help it! :0)
We borrowed a ginormous blow up waterslide from Jaysen's brother, Steve {THANKS SO MUCH GUYS! IT WAS A HIT!} and let the kids slide down it. We had the little slip and slide out for the smaller children, and of course, the trampoline and swingset. Jaysen got his BBQ skills going and we all had so much fun! Sadly, Landon was gone for this holiday, so he wasn't able to share in the fun. But, Mackenzee was in her element and loved every minute. She was sure it was a party just for her. :0)
The night before I took her to pick out some fireworks. She had specific instructions for the girl behind the counter at the sales booth. She needed a pink firework that was SCARY. Sigh. I think the girl thought I was crazy. Yes, I let my two year old pick out the fireworks. Is there something wrong with that? :0) Anyway, she found one for Kenzee that she thought would work and little Mackenzee would not let go of it. She actually slept with it the night before. {She takes after Jaysen, I swear!} And when it came time to light it, she had a hard time parting with her tube o' fire. But, the sales lady picked perfectly for Kenzee. It had big showers of purple, pink, and green with snapping lights that were "scary".
It really was a great day for us. We got to be in the company of some great friends at our home, and then we all went over to Lowe's to watch the big CSI fireworks show. They coordinate the fireworks with patriotic music and sitting there with people I have grown to really appreciate having in my life, along with Jaysen and little Mackenzee...I truly felt grateful. I remember looking around and seeing Jaysen holding Ellie who was staring adoringly at his face, and Mackenzee snuggled up to Montay's mom {Kenzee's new grandma}, and Nick and Rhett gazing longingly at the batch of fireworks to be lit, and even cute little Mollie who cried out of fear from the big fireworks......and with the song 'I'm Proud to Be An American' playing in the background....my heart felt very full.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I hope everyone had a great holiday and were able to remember what we really celebrate on this great day.

Blessed

Sometimes....

every now and again....

I get a warm and fuzzy mommy moment like this.....

See? They DO like each other! :0)

BTW...please ignore the really dirty floor they are snuggling on. They watched a movie and ate popcorn the night before, which inevitably means the popcorn gets scattered across the floor. :0)