Ode to Summer

Summer 2009
"Oh what do you do in the summer time, when all the world is green?"

Do you sit in mud pools...to keep your pa-toot cool?

(warm water mud holes at Bear Lake that Gib and Miles loved...along with all the leeches)

Go camping in a tent...sell Lindee signs for 500 cents

Gib was Grandpa's sidekick at Cherry Hills. Grandma's dog Lindee got lost the the kids made homemade signs and distributed them along with a $5 reward.

Is that what you do?

So do I.

The 3 person bunkbed we love... Picking anything is always fun from Grandma's garden.

Do you play at the park?


We had a picnic at the park with Great Grandma. Brinley feeding Maddy grapes...oh the life!

Make plans to join the dark...

Gib and Miles and their undying love to join the forces.

"Is that what you do?

These girls love to match...EVERYTHING! They wanted to play beauty salon and have their hair done the same.

So do I.

JY loves his cousins...especially little Jaxton. Gib has even begun calling himself Jaxton around the house since we have been home and won't answer unless you call him by Jaxton.

Do you get breakfast in bed?

Maddy's 7th Birthday....we gave her breakfast in bed.

Or swim like your dead?

Gib has a fascination with swimming like this?? He being completely under water. He makes me FEAR! We took swim lessons and he sat yelling from the side..."Hey Teacher, I can do this by myself!" I threatened him to not move off the steps. The week we got home we swam with friends and I heard him floating around to all the kids in the pool asking them if they wouldn't mind taking off his floaties???

Is that what you do?

Becca had a great idea to take the kids to see thier grandparents graves. It was so cool for JY to see all those he is named after. They loved visiting the cemetary and finding thier ancestors. Very COOL!

So do I.

Driving a boat around Newport Harbor. Erik even gave each kid a chance to steer...made us fear for some of the boats we got close to, but they LOVED it!

Do you go on a hike?


Johnny took us all on a great hike up at Bear Lake.

For a ride on a bike?



Do you get to eat cake?


Birthdays!! Mads turned 7 and two weeks later JY turned 5!! The only thing he wanted was to celebrate his birthday with his Grandpa's, Grandma's, cousins, aunts and uncles. NO PARTY...he just asked to have everyone he mentioned sing to him!

Or play at the lake...

I don't remember where JY even got this bag?? Maybe in the mud pool Miles and Gib found. It was his version of a beach in a bag. They all wanted to take them back to the cabin.

Is that what you do?

So do I...


Visiting the touch tanks at Newport Harbor

Did you go visit a cave?


Visiting Minetonka Caves at Bear Lake.

And have to be brave?

Is that what you do?

So have I!

Bangs!!

So Mads has been begging for bangs for about a year now. I think that my own experience with bangs had slowed me down on letting her have some. She has asked at least once a month and longingly admires ANY girl that has bangs. It may have been that seeing pictures of myself with MY bangs makes me cringe because my bangs must have skimmed the ceilings to any room I once entered, but I finally gave in. They turned out cute. Thanks Shalon for a cute do!

Fun Cousin Times

Going to the Griffeth Observatory. We watched a neat star show that GIb was terrible at...I think we was worried I had taken him on some fast, dark, spooky Disneyland ride. He wouldn't sit in the seat the entire time and clung to my neck like I was going to feed him to crocodiles.

Watching airplanes with pizza. We first were on the ground...until my Dad spotted ticks on our blankets. Nothing like watching them fly over you from the roof of the car. (All the kids on my sister's car that is. Don't worry only me and Ang read this and so she may never know)

We had so much fun visiting Oak Glen. We visited a little one room school house and the kids played at a fun park. Then we topped it all off with strawberry picking and playing in the tree. It was fun to have all the kids together. They can never get enough and the time goes too quick. Nate even made us yummy strawberry shakes...it must be the Peach City touch.

Rock Climbing...this beats the climbing they did on our extra LONG bike ride. Of course Angie and I didn't participate in either of the rescue efforts of the children, but at least we didn't have to worry about snakes getting the kids at this climbing event...RIGHT ANG?

The Ferry Bed and Breakfast...this would be the children's room...minus a few heads.

We have had some non stop fun with cousins lately and LOVE IT! We have great rates and meals for anyone up for some fun Southern California times!!! Can't promise the sleeping arrangements, but they might be comfortable. Poor Hannah doesn't seem to mind the laundry room and kids get to bunk together. One night we held 8 adults and 10 kids and I could have kept lit our vacancy sign out front. The trampoline hadn't been used yet!! We love our family and we LOVE visitors. Plan that trip!!

Happy 10 Years to US!!

A Romantic Dinner Cruise we took...I think all the boat besides us was a little tipsy. They would come around and say romantically with accents..."You want more...water??" Gratefully we made it back to shore safely. We had missed the bus from our hotel and ran for blocks trying to make the boat before it sailed. We paid for it with blisters the next day!

This was a really cool cenote. It is a giant hole in the ground filled with water. They just let you dive on in. There is actually large (like 6 to 12 inches) black fish swimming with you...NICE! You dove from the top ledges in. Needless to say, I am a bit of a chicken and so I didn't test my diving skills. I jumped from the sides, but Johnny enjoyed the large, very long fall and the fish nibling at his toes while I got to be the photographer.

Some ruins we went to see. VERY cool but our guide was SO long winded. Imagine...HOT HOT HOT weather, walking around looking at stones for like 3 HOURS while he wouldn't be quiet. He was determined to teach us every bit of history from how a pebble was formed to how these people created the city. Interesting the first hour...or maybe i just need to appreciate history more.

It was so beautiful! The water was the prettiest blue and the sand was perfect! I could have taken walks every night!! AMAZING!

Johnny and I have officially been married 10 YEARS! I can't believe how fast time goes by and how much it all seems just like we have always been together. I can't imagine life without him! I am one LUCKY girl. This year we celebrated without kids...a first for us! Our families were so wonderful to take the kids on so we could go vacationing together. As much as we thought they would miss us, they actually asked why we didn't stay longer!

We went to Cancun...The trip started out a little shaky because I had forgotten to sign my passport, then Johnny forgot to forge my name mailed it blank and it got sent back to me. The passport agency reassured me it would get to us in time but...THE LAST DAY before we were suppose to leave it still hadn't come. I went to pack up all the kids into the car to drive down to LA to some downtown agency that had to see me in a matter of minutes and just thought I would check our mail ONE LAST TIME to see if it arrived....IT DID! It had come from Alabama in two days SNAIL MAILED! It must have been all the prayers on our behalfs or at least my kids prayers to get a chance to stay with cousins and not mom and dad!! We had SO much fun! THANKS GUYS!!

Little Prayers

JY has always had the cutest little prayers. About a year ago at Christmas time he began blessing the Grinch and then that the Grinch would be nice. We always laugh about that one. Recently, he has really grown up and adds other little thoughtful comments. This week he always says...Help us to do EVERYTHING (with emphasis) you say. He is so sincere as he says it everytime. I just think kid prayers are the best and help me remember to be better.

JY Has Open House

JY waited all day to take us to his open house and show off all his projects. I can't believe it is his last year...how SAD!!! My little boy is growing up. They get a chance to show off all they have been learning. This year his theme was Nursery Rhymes. After a walk through the class they get to go outside and build boats...this is always a favorite part of the afternoon.

He was particularily proud of his Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree. Gib loves the movie and knows it by heart so JY felt pretty cool showing it off.