June 2011: School's Out for Summer!

I realize I have been a giant slacker in the family blogging department for the past six months.  I still haven't blogged about our wonderful trip to Virginia.  I'll get to work on that.  In the meantime, we have SO many things scheduled for the summer that I am going to have to blog almost daily to make sure I don't get behind, so be ready....I think I have one reader left. 

School got out June 3rd so right after the final bell we had a picnic at the park with our Summer Adventure Society.  My fabulous friend, Melissa, created a group on Facebook and we have weekly adventures planned throughout the summer.  We sat at the park while the kids ran around and talked about the school year and how glad we were that it was summer.  Then we all went home with sunburns because we all forgot that sitting in the sun means we need sunscreen. 

July 9, 2010: Cabin Fever

Today we met Melissa at the park, but the wind was blowing hard and then it started raining so we gave up and came home. Still - I will always take 30 minutes of time spent with Melissa. She's amazing, beautiful, funny, etc. etc. I'll stop gushing now.

I picked up Dave from work and we headed up to the cabin for the evening. My aunt and uncle are here from California so we wanted to visit. We ate spaghetti, salad, texas toast, and brownies and can you believe I didn't take any pictures?! The cabin is beautiful this time of year - nice and cool and smells heavenly with all of the wildflowers. We will be going up again soon. Dave and the kids went on a little hike down the road to see the beaver dam and the kids discovered a dirt slide that they loved (and I didn't). Next time I will take pictures so that my posts aren't so boring.

July 4, 2010: Independence Day

It was a quiet Independence Day for me - I spent the day in bed with my leg up reading because the cellulitis kicked in. I took some antibiotics and put heat on it. Determined not to let it ruin our weekend plans, we headed down to Springville for First Sunday Dinner at my dad and step-mom's house. We grilled a variety of meat, had a variety of salad, fruit, chips, dips, homemade ice cream, etc. etc. It was a food fest! We ate outside on the deck, which was lovely.

Maggie, Sam and Ellen went swimming in the hot tub

We didn't let our kids swim, but they stood by the side and splashed and threw beach balls at their cousins' heads for fun.

That's Kacy in the background. She's a famous blogger. I like to name drop.

Georgia and Glenda - we love having Glenda around. She has been coming for the past few years and it has been wonderful spending time with her and getting to know her.

Believe it or not - it was cold outside (and I don't get cold) so Georgia went and got me a blanket. I loved this blanket. I want one.

I don't think we wear our kids out enough. I mean, it's only 10:30 pm and they were only up until 11:00 pm last night. Geez - life of the party these two. (And yes, that is the bathroom floor. They were supposed to be brushing their teeth, but didn't get that far.)

July 3, 2010: Independence Day Preview

Since I live in a state that celebrates all Sunday holidays the Saturday before, we decided to go ahead and join in the fun. I slept in a bit, and then went out to weed, where I was bit by a spider of some sort. As a rash spread throughout my lower leg, we realized that I would need to go to instacare to get a round of antibiotics. We were supposed to be at a baptism at 1pm in Bountiful, and it was noon. So my mom came and got the kids and took them with her, while Dave and I went to the hospital. After resting a bit, we drove up and met everyone at a park for a picnic. I didn't take a single picture of it. Sad. But, I repented when I got home. I had made Nat's sugar cookie dough the day before and stuck it in the fridge. I rolled it out and baked it and decorated a few cookies before all of the kids arrived to decorate the rest. I used a different frosting recipe because I haven't been able to master Nat's yet, but I added her super secret ingredient and so it tasted about the same and everyone raved so there you go.

All of the shapes cut out were stars and flags

Clara was anxious to get started. I had to tell her no less than 20 times to wait until her cousins arrived!

Jubilee when she finally got to eat one. This girl has a sweet tooth to rival mine.

The older kids played a game while the younger kids frosted. Then the older kids reaped the benefits and just ate them all.

Cute, Sassy G! Who looks a little bit like the brunette version of another G that I know.

These are all of the kids we had hanging out last night. 14 in all from 3 moms. And only 2 are mine. That's some serious reproducing, eh?

We started off with sparklers and then moved on to street fireworks.

Eric, Sean and Jack enjoying home made ice cream.

Clara just wanted to ride her scooter. She didn't care that much about the fireworks.

Josh - smack in the middle of all of the girls...again. He says that they take turns hitting him or kissing him.

Jack and Kristen getting kid snuggles

And, as always, I have to include a picture of Charlie!

After we finished the street fireworks, we headed over to the cemetery to watch the big ones that the city sets off in conjunction with their festival. We discovered this location a few years ago and while word has spread, it's still a great place to watch - even if it is a little spooky. We took care to sit in an area where there weren't headstones.

Believe it or not, it was actually chilly! Our high for the day was about 82 so by 10:00 pm it was down to about 60 and we all bundled up in coats and blankets.

Clara was about done for the day.

Sean couldn't stop talking about Tutti Fruitti ice cream all night. We hope he gets some soon.

July 1, 2010: Swimming, Lunch, and Harry Potter

This morning I contacted a friend of mine in my ward about hanging out. We decided to meet at the clubhouse at her apartment complex to go swimming with the kids. I got some stuff done and headed over. The kids LOVED her pool, because it wasn't crowded and they could wear their floatie things and swim to their hearts' content. They are both red faced now. I got burnt in a very strange line on my thigh, which I can't figure out unless it was the sunscreen. Oh well. We had a great time and it was very relaxing.

After swimming I took a catnap, put the kids down for naps, and then got up and headed to Blue Lemon Bistro to meet my dad for lunch. We had a good visit and good food. I went home and started reading Harry Potter 7 again because I really read it in a rush last time and don't remember a dadgum thing about it. Since the new movie is coming out in November, I figure that gives me time to read it and then forget again. I also got some cleaning done and made some ice cream that didn't set up so I have to start over. Darn.

Tomorrow starts the Holiday Weekend - and next to Christmas, Independence Day is my favorite holiday. We've got lots of stuff planned - water games, a baptism, a picnic, fireworks, dinners, etc. etc. so I may not be blogging until Monday or Tuesday. Try not to miss me too much.

July 26, 2010: The Round-Up

I love the three weeks of the summer that my cousins come from Fargo to visit. I spent five years of college hanging out with the people in the first picture below, except that Ellen was a baby. We spent every Sunday dinner together, and Eric and Kristen and I hung out on campus at BYU almost daily during lunch in my Uncle Jack's graduate student lab. The first time I met Kristen was at my cousin Mark's funeral almost 20 years ago. A week later she got engaged to my cousin, Sean. But the first time I really talked to her was on a street corner in front of Heritage Halls shortly after school started my Freshman year at BYU. I saw her from about 10 feet away and said, "Um....are you....Kristen?" We stood there on that corner talking for three hours. I'm pretty sure I missed class. We haven't stopped talking since.

When I heard that today was going to be the Round-Up when they bring the cows out to Strawberry to graze, I said, "I'm THERE!" I haven't been out there often, but my kids, especially Clara, are nuts about horses and cows. We packed up a picnic lunch and headed up after saying bye to Ben (we will miss him). It was a gorgeous day, a beautiful drive up the canyon, with cool breezes and sunny skies.

After eating, the kids all hopped in the back of the trucks and headed down to the corral to see the cows. Then they went up to the lake, to the meadow, to the top of the mountain, etc. I didn't want to go, so I made up an excuse that I had to stay behind and keep Kristen company. Kristen made up the excuse that she had to stay behind to keep me company. As a result, Kristen and I had about two solid hours of uninterrupted time to sit and talk....in a grove of aspen trees. If that isn't heaven, I don't know what is. With 9 kids between us, that hasn't happened in years. It was peaceful, and made better by the fact that we were left with half a pan of texas sheet cake in our midst.

Kristen, Rachel, Ellen and Eric

Karen and Mason - this was a funny moment. Karen was quizzing Mason on all things Geography. It was quite astonishing how brilliant he was. Ellen made the comment that she is the dumb one of the family and I said, "Well, I've always been that myself so we can hang out together and be the dumb ones."

Clara, Lucy, and Ava sit in their diva chairs and watch the horses in the corral

I can't believe I got this shot of Charlotte between Erin's legs. Too cute.

Ethan and Charlotte - I remember vividly when Ethan was Charlotte's age

Erin and Maile (who reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Lovely grown up Ellen

The boys - and by that I mean, literally, the THREE boy cousins. The rest of the kids there were girls and there were 13 of them.

Watching the cows

The crazy kids - notice the one boy

Charlotte fell asleep on the blanket in the sun

I don't know this horse's name, but he/she was sure gorgeous

The old cabin - my cousins, Sean and Mark, lived here during the summers when they were teenagers and worked on the ranch. It's an ideal spot with beautiful views for a picnic.

June 15, 2010: Rockpainting

Today was dawning a bright and sunny day, so I decided to go to the gym, put the kids in the daycare (which they love), and sit by the pool reading a book. I had every intention of swimming, but, didn't get around to it. After I was done baking, I called my cousin to see where she was and what she was doing. She was headed to Gardner Village to get a Father's Day present. Score! I wasn't too far away. So I met her there and the kids spent time talking to the ducks.

I could take pictures of this baby girl for hours. She is so stinkin' cute!

Poor Josh - flanked by all of those girls. He will definitely know how to treat them when he grows up!

Every picture that I take of Maile and Josh this summer will probably involve them climbing something.

After Gardner Village we went over to Erin's to sit in the shade while the kids played. They decided to paint rocks, so Erin got out her paint and extra t-shirts, and they each chose a rock from her garden to paint. It was pretty darn cool. Then we decided to paint part of the fence. Just for fun. We are going to have regular fence painting days this summer.





Eventually we left to go home so that I could hang out with the Scouts, but what a fun day! I could spend the whole summer in all of these backyards and be perfectly content.

June 11-13, 2010: Grand Junction, CO

Our dear friends invited us for a weekend getaway to Grand Junction. They actually live near Aspen, but have a house in Grand Junction that serves as a perfect "mid-way" point for us to congregate for the weekend. It's about a five hour drive for us, so not terrible.

We took off Friday at around 1pm and arrived at 6pm just in time to all go out for some very yummy Mexican food. That restaurant is going to be a permanent fixture in our GJ weekends from now on. After dinner we came home and the kids ran around while we got their pop up tent trailer set up. Dave and the kids camped out in there, while Ginny and I had our own rooms in the house. Very decadent.

Our plan for Saturday was to sit in the yard all day long while the kids ran around in their swimsuits. Waking up to a constant drizzle changed those plans quickly. Instead, we headed to a movie for the afternoon. When we got out, there was a lull in the storms so the kids quickly got their swimming suits on. Ginny and I put Dave in charge and headed out the door to go shopping. I found some great, comfortable summer clothes at Kohl's. Not remotely stylish. I was just going for comfort for places like the splash park.

When we got back from shopping, Dave was prepping our grilled chicken. Bill was almost to GJ from Aspen and once he arrived we ate a fabulous dinner of grilled chicken, ramen noodle salad, green salad, corn, chips and salsa, and for dessert we lit a fire in the outdoor pit and roasted marshmallows. It was the perfect evening for a fire because it was rather cold.

Sunday morning we woke up and ate breakfast and then got ready to leave. After talking for a while, we finally headed out. It was a short vacation, but a nice break. Now we will tackle getting the house ready for our next house guest, who arrives on Friday.

Ginny and William (born the same day as Josh)

Bill snuggling with Clara - she fell asleep in his lap

William and Josh being silly

Josh on the slip and slide in about 55 degree weather

Clara freezing, but having fun anyway