Summertime!!!

One of our favorite things to do during summer break is swimming in Grandpa & Grandmas pool. It's so nice that it's just a few blocks away, and we can use it when ever we want. The kids always have so much fun, especially when all of the cousins are there too...

After swimming, the little girls, (and sometimes the cute little boy's) play dress up with Grandma's fun outfits... There's always a dance or play to perform.

It's also fun just hanging out and chillin with Grandma!

And it wouldn't be summer without the chance to sit around a play video games, which is what Austin does best!

Our 2 Week Summer Vacation!! *Week 1*

Because of my kids going to year round school, our summers are a little different. We have a 2 week summer vacation between grade levels. So we decided to spend both weekends in Utah visiting Grandpa & Grandma. We hadn't been there since Memorial day, so it was definitely time for a visit.

The first weekend was spent at the County fair, which kept our days full & fun. We started our weekend off by going to a very small rodeo. The kids had a lot of fun cheering for the cowboys & cowgirls, and Maddy dreamed of being down there in the action.

The following day we woke up early to attend the "fish grab", which was so much fun to watch. Austin worked very hard and caught 5 fish. Maddy was not as lucky, and they kept slipping through her fingers. Ally and Logan wouldn't even try to catch the fish. Ally walked in the water for a minute, but was freaked out when a fish touched her feet, so she stood by the side and watched.

After catching the fish comes the best part. Gutting & cleaning the fish. Jeremy is an expert at this, but felt it was time the kids learned to do it themselves, so they layed the fish out on the lawn, and started in with their first lesson.

The rest of the day consisted of lunch at the park, a talent show (where my cute niece Kodee performed, and did an amazing job,) and a ping pong drop (they drop ping pong balls and some of them are marked and are exchanged for $). Austin was the only one that attended the ping pong drop, because my girls decided they wanted to go to the farm and ride the horse.

Watching for the airplane

Running to find the ping pong balls

Searching in the tall grass.

Unfortunately, he didn't find one with a cash reward.

It was a fun weekend, and a well needed break from the heat. We are happy to have spent it with our family!

Weekend Away

Since the kids had a 3 day weekend, we decided to head to cooler weather. On Saturday, we took the kids to Bryce Canyon. I grew up in this area, so this is nothing new to me, but my kids had never been before. We have taken them to Red Canyon, and Mossy Cave, but never taken them inside the park to look off, and hike. Grandma and Kodee went with us, the kids thought Bryce Canyon was so cool, and we had so much fun.

Isn't this a beautiful site!!



The kids loved hiking, and finding rocks. Even Logan was a trooper. We just fastened him up with his Monkey leash, and off he went. He had more energy than any of us, he made mom and dad nervous a few times.



We spent most of the day hiking, and admiring Bryce Canyon. We even drove to the far end of Bryce (about 15 miles), something I had never done before. I never knew it was so big.





After lunch we went to Mossy Cave. This is one of the kids favorite hikes. We take them on it every year. They love the water fall, and there was a lot of water flowing this time of year. So that made it so much better. They were throwing sticks in the water, and then running to watch them fall off the edge. Then they had to play in the water, and find beautiful rocks, which the stuffed in their pocket's to bring home.



They loved the cave, and kept trying to play in the moss. They also wanted to take some home, but we wouldn't let them.

This is a picture of all of us, except Grandma on the bridge on the way to Mossy Cave. Isn't the scenery breath taking!!!! It was such a perfect day, and we are so glad that we got to enjoy this beautiful country.



Of course, a trip to Grandma & Grandpa's wouldn't be complete without some time at the farm. Grandpa had some new colt's that the kids loved feeding.



After church on Sunday, we went to Circleville to visit my Grandparents who are not in the best of health. Grandma is dying of Breast cancer, and it was so heartbreaking to see her. I really missed seeing my fun, loving, perky Grandma. But at least I got to see her for a minute, and lay with her while we listened to her favorite music. I know that she may only be on this earth for a short while longer, but I will always remember the time that I got to spend with her. Below is a picture of Grandpa Grandma on their 60th wedding anniversary 2 years ago. Yesterday, was their 62nd anniversary.


This is kind of dark, because I took a picture of a picture.


We had such a fun weekend. The kids always have so much fun when we go to Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Fun Time With Our Cousin's

We had a fun week with some of our cousin's. Lainey, Ross, and Kyle have been staying at Grandpa & Grandma's house this week. We had a fun and crazy weekend. Scroll down for just a few of the details.

We started out at a Carnival at the mall. The kids enjoyed cotton candy, a Ferris wheel ride, and carnival games.

After the Carnival, Karen, Amanda, and I attempted a really good sale at The Children's Place with 11 kids under the age of 11. I think the employee's were very happy to see us leave. But hey, we didn't care, we all came out with great deals, and cute clothes.

Friday night Grandpa & Grandma had a giant sleep over at their house. They put the boy's in one room, and the girls slept in a tent in the front room. They had fun swimming, and watching movies. Jeremy and I enjoyed a fun night out at the movies watching The Dark Night. Jeremy's choice of course (I couldn't talk him into Mama Mia).

On Saturday, we celebrated Colby's birthday at the water park. The kids had so much fun playing in the water with their cousins.

After a while, the girls decided they were cold and made a bed on the sidewalk. Silly girls.

Logan decided to plop down in the puddle of water as we were leaving the water park. There is never a dull moment with him.

Later that evening we went to Bass Pro Shop/Silverton Casino to see the mermaid swim. If you haven't been there it's quite an amazing fish tank. I took some pictures of all of the kids in front of the fish tank, but they didn't turn out because it was so dark in the Casino. After watching the mermaid show, grandma gave the kids each a dollar to spend at the shooting arcade in Bass Pro Shop. Thanks Grandpa & Grandma. The kids had a really fun week.

HOT! HOT! HOT!

The summer heat has arrived, and I am really not ready for it. Tonight we took the kids to Grandmas house to cool off in their pool. On the way there, the thermostate in the car read 107. That's HOT!! The kids had a lot of fun taking turns doing tricks, and diving into the pool. We are very lucky that Grandma & Grandpa are so close, and that we can borrow their pool any time we want. It's the best way to cool off in this summer heat. Only 3 more hot months to go.