4 Jul 2012

We woke up WAAAAAY to early on a holiday to see the balloon launch. I say this every year we've done this. It's way too early. But it was fun to go.
Before the balloons launched, they raised a flag and the crowd sang the national anthem. I tried to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago, sending rockets over to the enemy and in their light seeing that our flag was still standing, that it had made it through the night. How grateful I am to live in this great country. How grateful I am for all the thousands men and women who fight for the freedoms we enjoy today and for the countless sacrifices made so we can still wave this beautiful flag.

 The was quite a crowd, as usual, and lots of balloons. It's amazing to watch the process from beginning to in-flight.

 Watching the sun come up is always a beautiful sight.

Of course the BEST balloon of all! This is the tallest balloon in the world. It gets inflated, but not flown.

After the balloon launch, we had breakfast and then just sorta hung out. We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to have cake and ice cream for Grandma's birthday. Then we went to Aunt Karen's for Carterville (not) On Fire! You may remember me posting about this fun party before. This year was a little bit different. Because we are so dry and have SO many fires burning in our state, there is a ban on any fireworks on Carterville Road. We chose to obey these guidelines. So we had fun dancing...

 

watching this year's "entertainment" from the "Belch Boys." (Stadium on Fire hosted the Beach Boys.)

Carterville On Fire moved their fireworks show out to Saratoga and we decided to enjoy fireworks with your neighborhood.

The fireworks didn't phase Maggie one bit.

All in all, we had a great fun filled, jam packed day and it was awesome!

Swim Party

On Friday, June 29, the bank where Nana works had their annual summer party and invited us to join them. The party was held at the Scera Pool.

Noodle is going down the vertical slide.

Buddy practiced his snorkeling skills.

Lewlew just had fun playing around.

There was also a karaoke contest. Surprise of all surprises, Noodle won! The prize was a beach bag, with a smaller one to match, 2 beach towels and 2 bottles of sunscreen. Noodle shared her prize with her friend. Noodle let her friend pick which bag she wanted. Noodle ended up with the bigger bag and they each got a towel and sunscreen. I was so happy she chose to share and not keep it for herself.



Pageant

On Thursday, June 28, 2012, my mom and I took the kids down to Manti to see the pageant. Even though we didn't get home until 1:15 A.M., it was still so much fun! On the way home, we went through Gunnison and was able to see on of the many forest fire's our state is battling. It was fairly far from the highway, but we could still see the flames. It was kinda eery.

It wasn't terribly hot, but we cooled off with shaved ice anyway.

On Friday, 6/29/2012 we saw "Brave" with our extended family as part of my niece's birthday. All three of our kids enjoyed the movie, as well as me. Because we saw a matinee, Bret was working and didn't get to see it.

Lewlew and Merida.

Camping 2012

On about June 18 I realized we had a short break in our schedules and that this would be the perfect time to go camping. So the next day, I made a menu and a packing list and got everything ready to go. The next day we went to our favorite campsite in Provo Canyon.

When we first arrived, we were the only ones in the campground. It was a little creepy for me. I've heard and seen too many scary stories.

Since we were the only ones there, we had our pick of the unreservable sites. There are some sites that you can reserve and then there are a few that are first come, first serve.

So we sat up camp in one of the largest camp sites. We were resting comfortably when a guy showed up. He said he had a lot of family coming in and would appreciated the big space that we had claimed. He said he would pay us if we moved. So we did. We moved to the second largest campsite and were completely content. We have camped at this one before and we love it!



 For a while, we just sorta hung out, listened to music, played games and went for walks. For Wednesday and Thursday it was just me and the kids.

Then Bestie came up and stayed Thursday night with us. We both had to leave camp on Friday afternoon to come into town so my mom (a.k.a. Nana) came up and stayed with the kids until Bret got there. I got back to camp about 9:30 pm and Nana went home.



Bret stayed with us Friday night and on Saturday, we packed up and came home.

Buddy is enjoying his gluten free S'more.

  Noodle takes a bite of her S'more.

Lewlew munches her version of S'more a.k.a. just the cookie.

Among the many chipmunks and squirrels, we also saw a lot of butterflies. We haven't ever seen butterflies up there. It was a real treat to see so many.

We had a great time and hope we can go again this season. But if not, there's always next year!



I Want To Sing and Dance

My girls started practicing with a local choir group in February. It was the same one my older daughter sang with last year. This time my younger daughter joined the fun. They had 4 performances the first part of June and loved every minute of them!

My older dauther (Noodle) is on the far left. My younder daughter (Lewlew) in two girls to the right of my older daughter.

Noodle had a solo. She was nervous but did so well!

The Crash of 2012

A few weeks ago, our computer crashed. I took it in to a computer repair place and they determined our computer had a "nasty virus." Nasty? Wow! So 10 days later we got our computer back. They were able to save all of our pictures, videos, and files. But we lost our programs. With all the stuff we lost, I can't complain because we have the important stuff.
Moral of this story: Back up your stuff! I had all of our photos (until a couple months ago) saved on another server but all of our videos were not saved. It would have been tragic if we'd lost all of that! Thankfully the computer guys were miracle workers that day!

BOYS!

Last Tuesday, I cleaned the bathroom, like I do most Tuesday's. And like most Tuesday's it was in it's normal state - it needed to be cleaned but not overly gross. My son left on Thursday on a road trip and will be back tonight. So today, Tuesday, I cleaned the bathroom again. I was amazed at how much cleaner the toilet was. Needless to say, my son and I will be having a very long and serious talk about potty etiquette when he gets home. He is well past the age to be practicing toilet etiquette.  BOYS!!!

Field Day 2012

On 29 May 2012 was the first field day at the kids' new school. They had a blast! There was about 8-10 different stations of games - most of them used water of some sort. The day was nice and hot and the water games provided a perfect opportunity to cool off.

 Here, Lewlew is playing Over/Under. You soak a sponge and the first person passes to the person behind him going over his head, like Lewlew. The next person passes it between their legs. The last person squeezes the water into a bucket and runs to the front of the line to dip the sponge and start the process over. This game insures everyone playing to get a little wet.

 For this game, you partner up. The partner that is blind folded holds the squirt bottle while the unblind folded one directs her to shoot. This game ensures everyone playing to get a little wet.

For this game each member of the team must use any part of their body to plug the holes in the pipe while another team member fills the pipe up. One the rubber ducky inside reaches the top, you win! This game ensures everyone playing to get a little wet.

Then the fire truck came and sprayed everyone in it's way. This ensures everyone in the general vicinity to get a little wet.

All in all, it was a great day! Thanks OES! We had a blast!

Graduation

Lewlew graduated from Kindergarten on 10 May 2012.

She was so excited for the big day. She had her outfit picked out several day in advance!

It was fun to watch their performance. She knew all of the songs so well and sang her little heart out!

This is Lew with her teacher, Miss. Funk. She was an amazing teacher. She moved up to 2nd grade and I hope Lewlew can have her again.

New Skirts

Last year I bought the material to make these skirts, but I never got around to it. So this year, I quickly made them for the girls to wear this year and then found cute tops to go with them. After this picture, Lewlew found a purple "Victorious" top that she declared looked much better with her skirt.

Cheese!

We had a few nice days in April so we got our back yard summer ready. The kids helped and Nana supervised. Then we sat down for a break...

Field Trip

The end of April, Lewlew went on a field trip to the zoo. Imagine sixty 6 year olds at the zoo! C.R.A.Z.Y. But she was excited and had so much fun! She told me all about the animals and how LONG the bus ride was.

Spring

     It rained yesterday probably because I fetilized my lawn Monday. Why didn't I check the weather forecast first? I am constanstantly looking at the forecast, why didn't I Monday? Because I got too excited about mowing and fertilizing the lawn! Anyway - hopefully it won't ALL be washed away. You're supposed to wait 24 hours before watering. It waited 20 hours on the back lawn and 15 hours on the front before it started raining. We'll see what happens.
     Spring is nothing if not unpredictable. It was a beautful day Monday and yesterday it rained all day. Not that I'm complaining - I'm not. I do really like the rain! And I really love spring!
     I lost my cell phone Monday evening. And now I'm sure it was taken. I've looked all over my house and yard and have called it approxtimatly 47 times and have not located it. This really bums me out.
    I had went out to lunch with a great friend yesterday. We got out kids a kids' meal at Wendy's and then we enjoyed Cafe Rio. It was so yummy! And fun too! We haven't been in a long time and it was just what I needed. Thanks so much "J".

Tis' the Season

     Yesterday, after I got all the kids off to school my friend and I had an "outing." OK, fine, I'll tell you. We went to the gym. I love going with her!
     When I got home, I mowed, watered and fertilized the lawn. 'Tis the Season for yard work. I really don't mind mowing the lawn. I actually kinda enjoy it - especially when it's not so hot. But once again, I have a fear of our edger. I had over come it slightly by the end of last summer, but this spring my fear is back in full force. So I didn't edge and it doesn't look as good as it could, but my fear doesn't care. It looks as good as it's going to until I edge.
     Then we went up the canyon for Bret's sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Gina!!! We had a great time with our family!
     It's a great time of year. The earth comes to life again after a long winter (even though we didn't have much of a winter.) The trees are budding, the flowers are blooming and my allergies are killing me! I think, I'm not sure, but I think spring is my favorite time of year.

Sleeping Giants

On the way home from the cabin, the kids slept.

We took Nana's car so it was a bit crowded.

But that didn't stop the sleeping action.

Spring Break in a Nutshell

Last week was Spring Break. (Apr 9-13) and boy were we ready for it! On Monday, the kids and I got up and cleaned up our house. I call it "the after the weekend cleanup." I don't know about you but it seems like over the weekend we get a little lazy when it comes to picking up. So every Monday I do the usual after the weekend cleanup. Then we just sorta hung out for a little while. Then we packed to spend the night at our family's cabin. We were completely ready to go as soon as Bret go home. We stopped for gas and an ice cream cone and were on our way. We ended up being the first ones there, so after we unloaded, Bret turned on the power (heat) and water and I built a fire to speed up the heating process. Then we played around for about an hour til Bret's sisters and parents arrived. For my girls and I, we hadn't been to the cabin since August of 2009 so it was great to finally be there again.The driveway is a pretty steep incline and it was muddy and partially covered in snow and Bret's sister got stuck. With the angle of her van and the rocks that line the driveway, she was stuck pretty good. But thanks to a lot of thought, work, effort and fancy maneuvering, we got her out. That was fun and I'm not being sarcastic. It was kinda fun.
     On Tuesday, we got up and had a yummy breakfast and then played games, watched movies, visited - just hung out. Our family came home that afternoon. Everyone else stayed up there. After we unloaded and showered we just played around as a family.
     On Wednesday, Bret went back to work, but my mom didn't. So after doing a few loads of laundry and the kids doing their chores, we went to the Discovery Park. We LOVE that park. The girls had a blast. Buddy didn't play - he still wasn't feeling well. (He missed 4 days of school last week with some virus or something. I took him to the doc on Thursday (April 5) and his fever was 102 and he had a terrible cough. Strep was negative and the urine test was fine. Since there was obviously something wrong, his doc put him on an antibiotic.) After the park, we dropped Lewlew off at a birthday party and then we came home and did some more laundry. Then we went to pick her up, we stopped off at the store to pick up a few things. Then we came home and made dinner.
    On Thursday after chores, we went to the Bean Museum. Buddy loves this place. He practically gave us a tour - he's that knowledgeable about those animals. The museum has changed a little bit since the last time we were there. It was fun - especially for the kids. Then we got lunch and brought it home for the kids and then my mom and I went to Olive Garden. It's been a really long time since I've had lunch with just me and my mom. It was...quiet! :) Then we picked up the kids and went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few necessities. Then we came home fixed dinner for Bret and the kids (I was still way too full from Olive Garden.)
     On Friday after chores, we tried to see a 1:00 movie - it was sold out. So we bought tickets for the 3:00 movie and ran some errands. I picked up some printed scrapbook pages (like 60 of them) then we went to Barnes and Noble to get a book for Bret. We felt bad he was missing out on all this "fun." Then we got a snack for the kids and headed back to the movie. We saw Journey 2. The kids liked it. For me? It was ok. Then we came home and grilled hamburgers. After dinner, I scrubbed the grill down. It was getting pretty gross. Now it's pretty again!
     On Saturday, we pretty much hung out at home and finished up some odds and ends. I cut out most of Buddy's quilt - I hoped to get it started this week.
     Through this whole we, wanna know how many pictures I took? None. Zero. Zip. Why? I have no idea? It completely slipped my mind! I'm really starting to lose it!
     So tomorrow it's back to school for seven weeks and then summer break. For the first time ever, Noodle isn't excited to go back. In the past she didn't really have an opinion. If it was school she went. Whatever. But she has actually voiced that she doesn't want spring break to end. Lewlew doesn't care. She's like Noodle was in years past. Buddy? He absolutely doesn't want to go back. But whether they want to or not, they are.

Easter 2012

 Easter was normal this year. We dyed Easter eggs. The "Easter Bunny" came. We had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's and participated in the annual Easter Egg hunt. It was great....

Newness

Captain Muscles got a new car!!

Yea for you!!! We love it and are excited for you. Now, when did you say I could drive it?

Air Head 101

Tuesday was kind of a hectic afternoon. At 2:15 I picked up my older 2 kids from school. We stopped by a store on the way home. We got home close to 3:00. At 3:35 we left to drop the birthday girl off at her dad's office. (He was in charge of the "party" at Nickel City.) I then left to pick up a friend of the girls to drop her and my youngest off at choir at 4:00. Then I came home and frosted the cupcakes. *Then about 4:40 I loaded up the van and my son and I left, again. I stopped at the library, then went to choir to pick up my youngest. Then we met the birthday girl at Nickel City. It was about this time that I realized I forgot my son's gluten free donut at home. (He needed a gluten free substitute for birthday cake that we were going to eat a little bit later with the rest of the family.) We reached Nickel City and my oldest and youngest went off to play. I found Bret, told him about the forgotten donut. We agreed that when I took the party goers home, he would go back to our house and get the gluten free donut. Cupcakes were dispersed and I left to take the girls home. Then we met up with the rest of the family at Arby's for dinner, cake and presents. Here's the part I left out:
*In my hurry to leave the house at 4:40, I put the gift to my daughter from my mom on the top of the van while I unloaded my arms. Then I went back inside the house to get another load - which I put in the van, shut the door and we were off. As soon as I turned on to Center Street (a busy street with 2 lanes on each side and a turning lane in the middle and NO one driving the speed limit of 40 mph) I heard this noise. When I looked in the rear view mirror, I realized the noise was the present I left on the top of the van being blown off the van. I stopped in the middle lane and waited for the other lanes to be clear enough for me to get the package. In the mean time, a car or 12 hit and/or ran over the box, obliterating the box. There were only clothes inside so nothing broke, but still. Finally I reached the clothes and scooped them up and hurried to get back in the van - all done without 1 single person honking at me. Upon inspection, I saw that only the pair of pink capri's had a tire mark on them - not the white shirt that coordinated with them. Whew! Dodged a bullet there! Seriously, where is my brain?

Happy 9th Birthday

Today is my amazing daughter's 9th birthday. Wow, has 9 years flown by! I say that with every one of my kids' birthdays. I just cannot believe how fast time has gone!

 For her birthday, she has opted for me to NOT take her to lunch like we did last year, but rather wants me to bring donuts for her class. She has invited 3 friends to join her at Nickel City for games and laser tag. After that, we'll meet the family at Arby's for dinner, cake and gifts. This whole day was her plan!

 My daughter is:

*Adventurous - she wants a rip stick for her birthday. Her favorite ride at Disney was Splash Mountain.

*Daring - she'll try almost anything. We went roller skating last night and there was this guy there who was incredible on his skates. She went right up to him and told him so!

*Beautiful - I have NO idea where she got her looks from :)

*Kind - She looks around to see who doesn't have a friend and she tries to befriend them.

*Responsible - I trust her to watch her little sister (and big brother, for that matter) for an hour or so.

*Funny - she makes me laugh all the time!

*Polite - She calls me her best friend.

*Considerate - My son lost his bouncy ball so she tried to make him - just to make him feel better.

*A Singer - She won a karaoke contest when she was younger and now she's in a choir group and loves it!

*Thoughtful - She is constantly making cards and notes for us

*Babysitter - She is naturally drawn to kids and likes to inner act with them.

*A Dancer - She watched "Footloose" and immediately got on You Tube to see if she could learn how to do the line dance in that movie.

*A Great Sister - Her sister wants to come to her "friend party" tonight. I'm sure Noodle will give in and let her come - just so Lewlew doesn't feel sad.

*Creative - She made a Barbie dress out of a sock!

*Accessorizes - She's a true girl!
*Smart - She's getting great grades!

*An all around amazing person and everyday I'm thankful she's mine!

I put her to bed one night and she looked like this (about 1 yr old). But the next morning when we got up something happened. Something like 8 years had passed...