Dunlop family update

I can't ever remember a time in my life when we were busier. Think of a mini tornado that never stops spinning or making noise, and that is what we have going on in our world. It's called the Piper/Quinn twister. It keeps us on our toes and encourages us to live to our fullest extent every day. 

Seth's health scare and getting older were and are mini blessings. Don't hesitate ever at the chance to do something wonderful, or travel somewhere fabulous. Take chances and make change in your life. If you are just a talker, STOP, and DO. 

Our summer so far has been amazing. Movies, water slides, and lots of ice cream in the evenings on our front porch. 

We are still trying to sell our house, and nothing has happened. I feel like every house around us has sold but ours. I think we have a problem. Not sure what it is. If we are here by Christmas, we are going to notify our family that any present they have for the kids can't exceed 2x2 inches. Seriously. 

Seth continues to heal and seems 100% to me. I know he gets tired, but you would never know it. He ran a 9 min mile the other night. He is incredible. 

Piper starts kindergarten next month. Holy cow. She is beginning to read and can pretty much swim all on her own without any help. Emily Cannon you are a miracle worker. Piper has discovered yoga this summer. A yoga studio at Trolley Square does a yoga camp. She loves it. It might be her favorite activity she has done thus far. She knows all these poses. My favorite she does is the warrior pose. She is a mini cop and lets Seth and I know when we have said a bad word. Piper went to her first rodeo, and decided she was ready to do the water slide at the pool. She loved it. 

Mr. Quinn turned 2 and graduated from his crib. He was fine with it, but I on the other hand had a good cry. He is wild and has a fabulous sense of humor. Quinn has started swimming lessons with Emily. He cries so much she makes me leave the room, and then I cry a bit.

Frankie is growing at an astronomical rate. Great idea. Buy a huge dog for our shoe box house that we were already busting out of. She is a great dog though. 

I can't site my kids for being tornados because I think they got it from me. I don't feel like I ever stop. I seriously try consciously sometimes, but it's not in my DNA. Poor Seth. He is the most understanding man in the world. 

Next week we are going to Idaho to ride the Hiawatha Rail Trail. So excited. Thanks you Jacbosen/Dunlop family for the inspiration for this trip. In September we are going to Maui, and I am trying to convince Seth to go to NY for a couple days in August to meet our favorite children's author, Oliver Jeffers. If you don't know his work, buy one of his books today. I live for traveling and adventure. I love being at home with my kids and not changing out of our PJs til noon, but I always have a bag packed and am ready to go anywhere just in case the opportunity arises. 

Refresh your soul and enrich your mind. Plan your next trip today and GO. I know I know $$$. Get rid of cable, eat out once a month, ride your bike. Get creative on ways to save. We can all do it and it will be so worth it. Your kids will be better because of the adventures they get to go on. 

Piper's first pair of cowboy boots

Quinns party was wild. Kids got naked. Our nephew Ronan. 

My Ragnar team and co-workers. Amazing women. So lucky I get to be one of them 

Murray City pool. SL treasure. Great pool. Not crowded and really clean. We love it.  

Ronan's 2nd birthday. Backyard pool party.  

My beautiful son

My beautiful daughter 

4th of July 

Piper and her daddy. Dog days of summer 

4th of July. Fireworks!!!!! 

Birthday thief. Ronan loves accessories 

 Cake and tools. Happy boy

My baby is 2 

 Oakley Rodeo. Another Utah treasure

Kids new furniture. 1950s dresser. Love!!!

Dunlop family update

Quinn is sleeping and Piper and Ronan are rearranging furniture, so I have a moment to update our family happenings. 
Piper had her first dance recital. It was a fun first dance experience. We liked Miss Julie. Sweet sweet lady. Fun little girls. Piper was incredible in her recital. She knew all the steps. She loves tap and ballet. We are going to try out Virginia Tanner this summer. Hoping they won't ask us about our religious preference in front of the whole group. That was my only complaint about Miss Julie. Totally inappropriate. But enough of that. 
Piper graduated from preschool. This was really hard. She has blossomed during preschool. She loves her teachers and friends. She will do her kindergarten at the U next fall, so we get to be there for one more year. I truly love the CFDC program. It is wonderful in every way. I am so grateful we get to be a part of that family. I highly recommend it. 
Quinn turns 2 in 3 weeks. Holy cow. How did this happen. Oh and he's finally sleeping thru the night and we are almost done with the binki. I feel fabulous and rested. 
We are listing our house this weekend. Houses are selling like hot cakes in our neighborhood and for a bundle, so even though we don't have something picked out we thought if we could sell our house and make some money we could afford to move into our next phase home. We are so out of room, and we need to move into a better school district. 
We are excited and nervous. If our house sells quick, which houses in our neighborhood are selling in days, we are going to be in a scramble. Hoping we don't have to move in with my mom while we find something, but if we do we will make the best of it. 
There is an element of excitement in the unknown. Life is about risk and change. Yikes!!!
I am loving my job more and more all the time. I am getting the hang of teaching my prenatal classes and absolutely love teaching. They just asked me to teach another class, hypnobirthing. IHC is going to pay for me to get certified in hypnobirthing. This is in my opinion the most effective method of natural childbirth. I can't wait to start doing this. 

This summer we are going to take it easy. We are going to swim as much as possible, eat lots of popsicles, go on long bike rides and enjoy every day like it's our last. 
We are taking a trip to northern Idaho to ride the Hiawatha trail in July. Look it up. It looks amazing. Great family trip idea. Seth's brothers family did it a while back. Seth has always talked about doing it so I booked a trip and we are going in July. 
The older I get the more I realize how important it is to just have fun. People that have that figured out have it made. 

 Quinn napping with his best friend

 Piper ready for her first dance recital

 Piper wanted to celebrate with pancakes at Blue Plate diner after. 

Our regular Friday night family date spot

 Best date ever. Vampire Weekend at Red Butte

 Lunch meeting with daddy at the Pie Hole

 My favorite flower and plant in our yard

 Miss Tammy. We love you

 Miss Mary. We love you

 U of U Preschool graduation party at Laird Park. Treats, water balloons and tons of kids and awesome parents!!

 P, Bears and Christine. Our family

Thank you Sugar House construction for making my son's day. We came home and found this machine in front of our house. Quinn though he had died and gone to heaven. 

Canyonlands 2013

You know when you have an idea in your head of how you want something to go. It is usually a replication of some event or memory from the past that just went perfectly. Well you want it to have that perfect feeling again. It's a bit dangerous because you can be setting yourself up for failure. 

That's what happened this weekend. I planned a camping trip for Seth's 38th birthday. It was everything I hoped for and more. It set the high bar. For now on I will forever try to replicate this trip. 

I love camping but I don't LOVE it like some people. Seth could probably live in a tent full time. The guy really loves the outdoors. That's one of the many things I love about him. He is rugged and loves nature. 

I had been to Canyonlands once before in high school. I absolutely love the place. It is the Beverly Hills of camping. I don't know why I love it so much. Its the rock, the colors, the nostalgia of being young and carefree, I'm not quite sure what it is but I'm in love and I can't wait to go back. 

When I went last Seth had moved to Zion and I was a senior in high school in Salt Lake. I missed him so much while I was there I cried. 

We spent this weekend there with our children, who I am pretty sure loved the place as much as their parents. Friends who we have grown up with were there as well. We hiked in areas that were so remote that it can be a bit unnerving. Piper and Quinn played non-stop all day. They were full of dirt and totally carefree. 

Seth and I sat back with our feet in the dirt, the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze flowing and loved every moment of our time together. Everyone forgot about their jobs and homes and neglected yard work. We laughed and played and had a weekend never to forget. 

Thank you Earth for creating such an amazing gift. Til next time.

We have a new family member

We are so pleased to welcome the newest member of our family. 

Francesca Dunlop, aka, Frankie. 

It has been a long time since we lost Bucket, Farley, and Honey. To be honest my heart is not quite healed, but does it ever. 

I cry for my Farley all the time. I think he would have really loved Frankie. 

Our Piper girl is allergic to dogs, so our hands have been a bit tied.  

I have searched Pet Finder and haven't found anything. I hate the idea of breeders. Our dogs have always come from the pound, as they should. 

I did not want a puppy, and Seth did not want a big dog, so what did we do, yep, we got a puppy who will be about 50-60 lbs. Life is funny that way. 

Frankie is a labradoodle. Her birthday is February 18, 2013. Her mom is a standard poodle, and her dad is a meaty lab. I love labs. I don't know much about poodles other than I hear they are very smart. 

She is fabulous. 

We got her at 9 weeks. She is already potty trained. She is so sweet. She is very calm. I honestly forget that she is a puppy. 

We have waited a long time for a dog. We hope to give her a wonderful life. 

We love you Frankie. Welcome!