Gateway, Friends, and Babysitting

So yesterday we were supposed to go up to Brigham City and go boating with some friends. Luke, Ava, and I left at 3:00 pm which on any other day would have been perfect timing. Luke had heard on the radio an hour before that Center Street in Bountiful was in bad shape due to a semi rollover (you probably saw it on the news) so we decided to head north and get off downtown Salt Lake and head up HWY 89. Well..... what a disaster- both freeways were so packed that it took us an hour to go a normal 15 minutes. When we got onto HWY 89 and saw how backed up it also was we decided to cut ur losses and turn around. We went to the Gateway and let Ava play in the fountain since she was already in her swimsuit and kept saying "boat, boat" and we felt bad. She was hesitant at first, but then loved it. Then we went to our friends, the Tanners, and had delicious Papa Murphey veggie pizza on honey whole wheat bread (highly recommend it and it's healthy!) and let the girls play in their little pool. It was such a fun night.
Today I am watching my nephew Jonah and it has been a very eventful day. I took both kids to Costco and they were great, feeling optimistic and brave- I decided to take them to Albertson's to get some yummy sugar free ice cream I had last night (also highly recommend it!) and it was a disaster! Against all my sanitizing thoughts, I let them ride in one of those carts with cars attached because I new it would occupy them. It went well for a while until Ava started climbing all over, sitting on Jonah, and pushing him! Then Jonah wanted to be held to I had to manuever that gigantic thing with one hand, keep telling Ava to sit down, and finally took her out of it because I thought she was going to fall and she started screaming!!! Everyone was looking at me, but I had to keep telling myself "it's just because you love her and don't want her to get hurt!" So after Albertson's I came home, fed the kids and put them down for a nap. It all went well until I realized Jonah didn't have his binky and Ava was still awake. So I gave Jonah his binky and I think he went to sleep. An hour later I went in to check on him and he smelled very stinky and was awake (booooo!!!) not to mention Ava still wasn't asleep! So finally I broke down, decided Ava wouldn't have a nap today and Luke (bless his heart!) got Jonah, changed his diaper and now they are happy as little clams playing with the ball popper. I am stressed due to the lack of a nap and hoping that Ava will ever nap again. It doesn't help that my brother Jeff gets home from his mission tomorrow (hooray!!) and so it's going to be a late nap day anyway, I am stressed!!!! This day will go down in history as the first day Ava has not had a nap (sniffle, sniffle). But on a brighter note- Jeff is getting home tomorrow, yay!!!

Funny story: Ava has started to get in the top drawer of our bathroom and get my bobby pins out and.....

She takes them over to the shower and slides them through the slit at the bottom

Here they are!

Ella taking care of Ava

The girls sitting on the cute cute lawn chairs just their size

Ava at Gateway

Playing in the water with daddy

"holy water!"

not sure about all the screaming kids

Ava and Jonah crawling

They seriously fight over this chair the whole time. I think this is classic of Jonah being a little overwhelmed by Aves and her giving her sinister little laugh!

Ava riding Jonah like a cow.....

Bonus picture of Ava at the Gateway