Mommy Fails....

....to bring her camera anywhere this week.  Yep - we had lots of fun - went lots of fun places - and I forgot my camera every time..... sigh... 

Monday we headed off (I did manage to bring my camera to Texas though)  So here we are packed into the car and ready to go!  The drive went well.  It was nice having my mom to help out - especially at rest stops!  We started early and made good time and got in at a reasonable hour!  

We spent most of the first 2 days getting settled and playing in the pool (and getting a bit sun burnt despite putting sunscreen on since we were out there for 4 hours!!!)

Wednesday, the Tolberts came over and hung out with us most of the day - the Lori and I went out to dinner together after I got the kids to bed.  It was so nice to see her and the kids - and hopefully they will stop in and hang out with us for a few days on their way back to Texas from Utah.

Thursday morning, we went out hiking - had a lot of fun walking around and the kids had fun getting wet.  James and Eileen were the only ones who stayed mostly dry.  After a morning of walking, we headed back for lunch, then spent the afternoon in the pool.

Friday, we headed to a place called Kid Mania and the kids had a blast running around and goofing off.  Taz and Anna ran amok together and Taz is calling Anna his best friend again.  James just wandered the whole climbing area himself - he especially loved the slide.  We went and put James and Kai down for naps - then Sandi and I took the older kids out on the boat

We forgot the tube, but the kids still had fun swimming.  Sandi and I had some fun wakeboarding - but it was windy, and a bit choppy.  Eileen tried waterskiing and did a great job - but when she fell, she forgot to let go and had a bit of a scary experience.  Scared us all a bit - but otherwise she did great.

Saturday was mostly a hang out and swim kind of day - when Sandi came to pick up Taz and Kai after work, we all went with her to her house and checked out the big 4th of July party put on by her town near her house.  Then came back to her place for dinner.

Sunday, we went to Sandi's ward and she and I sang a musical number - then Sandi asked  if I wanted to just come and help out in nursery - so I did and we all had a blast playing and singing songs!

Next week is going to be rather crazy - but Dan gets in Tuesday - so all is well!

Busy Busy Busy!

This last week has been nuts!  We've been helping keep Heather entertained after her surgery - the girls have been hanging out with her and playing games with her most days.  I spent most of the rest of the time trying to get ready for our upcoming trip to Texas.  Saturday morning, my mom arrived for all the family stuff this week.  She promptly threw her back out and spent most of our Saturday evening at Jill's house sitting in pain.  We had a really nice evening with family - some family that we don't get to see nearly enough - it was a blast.  My cute little kids charmed everyone (LOL - yeah they were on their best behavior)  Sunday after church, we got some more packing up done, then headed out to Aunt Joan's Funeral Service.  It was a really nice service and after we had a nice time at the reception.  It was so nice to get to spend time with family.  I really am blessed to be related to such awesome people.  We stay up late finishing packing up the car and getting ready to go.  Texas here we come!!!

More Sleep Please....

Dan was home on Monday - a one day break between trips.  Instead of being with him, Eileen and I spent most of the day at the hospital while a friend had surgery.  Dan watched the other kids and we read, crocheted and chatted.  After my friend had gotten checked into the hospital, Eileen and I went and ran some errands together - we got hair cuts and got her some much needed new church shoes.  It was nice to have some one on one time with Eileen. 

Tuesday, Dan left for another trip bright and early.  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent visiting Heather at the hospital and keeping her company.  Thursday she got to leave the hospital.  I had to go run some errands for her, and then we headed over to piano lessons and then had to drop stuff off for Heather before heading home for dinner and bed.  Dan got home late Thursday night!  

Friday, was errands and stuff again.  Eileen went to hang out with Heather for a bit to keep her company and then I packed up an overnight bag and some crafts and left the kids with Dan to go hang out with Becky.  Every year she escapes to a hotel room for a night with some projects to work on and this year she invited me to come along.  We quilted, crocheted and watched Pride and Prejudice (yes the LONG one!) and ate junk.  Really - I hit the jackpot when I married Dan - not only did I get an amazing husband and father for my kids, but I married into an awesome family.  Becky and I had no shortage of good fun conversation and even got some stuff done!  :)  

Saturday was normal Saturday insanity, with the addition of me having my final choir concert for this season.  The concert went well and after I grabbed some dinner with some friends from the group as well as some former choir members that I miss!  As usual, I managed to get on one of my favorite topics - books and what books to read next!  

(Evie dressed James up as a princess....) 

It was so nice to be able to be at church as a whole family again!!  I had a nice chat with my dad for Father's Day - but I was an awful wife - I really should have done more for the best Husband and Dad ever - but I've been trying to get something done for him for the last 3 weeks and just couldn't ever seem to find the time to run out (sans kiddos) and grab what I wanted for him....  Well - anniversary is coming up and I'm all ready for that at least.... 

Summer Fun

We've been keeping busy while Dan's been out of town.  I let the kids paint themselves pet rocks - Eileen's is a hampster, Anna's is a mouse, Aaron's is an alien.  (Evie's changes depending on who she last talked to)  

Eileen and Anna also built lego houses for their pet rocks.  

I was taking pictures of the kids rocks - and James wanted in on the fun - but all he could find was play-doh.   So here he is showing off his lump of play-doh.

Wednesday was our last choir rehearsal of the season and it went long - even for a tech-rehearsal!
Thursday was piano lessons as usual - it's really neat to listen to them play - it's amazing how quickly they are getting good!

Friday, the kids finally managed to get piano lessons done so that they could go to the zoo.  We got there around 1 and somehow managed to hit perfect timing to watch all the fun shows.  The kids even got to pet a snake and a little alligator.  We had fun wandering the zoo and looking at all the animals - Eileen had fun showing off how much she knows about animals!

Here are the kids pretending to hide in a penguin hole.

Friday night, we had Eric and Lydia come over and play while their parents went on a date - we all had a blast playing, eating hamburgers, and making (and eating) cupcakes.  I got paid in funnel cake!  mmmmmm

Saturday, we picked up Heather and headed out to Kid Spree - we bumped into lots of other friends there too.  The kids had a blast - we were there from 10:30 to 3:30 and still didn't do everything - but the kids had a great time doing what we did have time for!

They built bird houses

Played musical instruments (I was amazed at how well they did - they were able to get good sounds on all the instruments!)

Rode Ponies

Climbed all over emergency vehicles and other big trucks

Got to meet some animals including this bearded lizard and some birds of prey.

 And tons of other stuff - they made slime, won prizes, ate junk, played in sand, painted paper chickens, petted animals, went on big slides and such.  I took tons more pictures - but really this is big enough already!!!

Dan got back home and met us at church - the kids all really missed him and had a blast climbing all over him and playing with him.  Poor Dan was exhausted after a long trip working 16 hour days - but the kids cut him no slack!  James really missed him.  During church, I had to change his diaper and after I said - "ok lets go back to nursery!"  Even though he really likes nursery - his answer way "no i go find daddy!"  He wasn't whining or fussing - but he wanted to be with daddy.

James' vocabulary is growing rapidly - earlier this week I asked him to go to his room so we could get him dressed he said "no, I'd rather go downstairs"  LOL - how many 2 year olds talk like that!  Also after asking him if he wanted to go outside, he said "I wanna go outside any thousand times"

Summer Craziness!!

Monday was Labor Day.  With Dan home - we got ourselves a new grill, (Thanks mom and dad!) and invited a bunch of friends over to hang out and eat and get wet!  Heather provided the slip n slide and pool and water balloons, I provided sponge water bombs, the Putnams brought water guns, and we all had a blast!!  

As we were getting everything ready - the kids were playing outside, I was mowing the lawn and Dan was working on the Macaroni Salad when Anna (who was swinging) fell and got her arm twisted in the chain.  It looked bad enough that I wanted to take her to get it checked.  We headed to the ER where they were very kind and mercifully quick.  Thankfully, her arm was just bruised and all she needed was a bandage and ice pack - thankfully no broken bones.  She made sure before we left that she was still going to be able to get wet at the party.  

The day was hot and beautiful - perfect weather for a water party - the food was good, the company was GREAT and we all had a great time!  

Tuesday and Wednesday passed in the normal manner - choir, fun around the house.  Thursday, all insanity broke loose!!!  We had an extra kid - we were babysitting a little girl and the kids all loved her and played with her making it easier for me.  As we were leaving the house to go to the little preschool-graduation party for Evie's preschool group, I found that the van had a flat tire - not just a little low - totally flat.  Dan came home and put on the spare and took us to the park for the party, then took the van to get the tire fixed.  After it got fixed, we headed over to piano lessons.

All the older siblings were out of school, so the kids all had a lot of fun - Aaron had a blast with his long-time friend Brigg - whom he doesn't get to see as often as we would like - but they still are best buds when they get together!

It was another hot, sunny day - so we played some games with water and sponges.

Friday, we had the little girl again - for the afternoon only this time.  I went visiting teaching in the afternoon to Amanda Clarke - I'm looking forward to getting to be her visiting teacher!  And again in the evening to finish up.  Ashley wasn't feeling well so we brought her some soup and rolls and ice cream.  :(  

Saturday, the lawn needed mowing again - Anna decided that she wanted to help :)  She found that it's a bit harder than it looks when mommy does it.... She managed to finish a 4' x 4' section before she was too hot to go on. 

We also had another little girl come and play at our house while a friend was packing and moving.  I sent Dan to help with the moving and then I watched their little girl to keep her out from underfoot.  She was a total sweetie and we all had fun together!  

That evening, Dwayne and Nicole came over to make jelly!!  We had a fun evening together (we always have fun with them) and made a TON of jelly - and we have a long ways to go before we are done!!

Dan left for the airport again as I hustled the kids off to church.  He's going to be gone the better part of the next 2 weeks :(  We survived today though - only 13 more to go...

Free at Last

For some strange reason, the school district decided to give the kids Monday off for a teacher work day - 2 days before the end of the school year.... So we took the chance afforded and went to the Museum of Nature and Science.  The kids never seem to tire of that place - there is always an old favorite to visit or an exhibit they haven't seen but want to.  They had a blast as usual.  Our friend Heather came with us to help out with the kids and to have something to do out of the house.  My little scientists loved doing experiments! 

Tuesday morning, Aaron had his Kindergarten graduation ceremony - he was once again on the academic honor roll.  He had a blast and then he got to come home with us after - since that was the end of school for him.

We then dropped Evie off at preschool and then I took the boys to the park to say goodbye to a friend.  They are moving out to California and we will miss them!!!  We all had fun playing together one last time.

Wednesday was nuts.  I went to go pick up Eileen and Anna from their last day of school and was sitting in my car in a hail storm/tornado warning waiting to pick up the girls (who they thankfully would not let out of the school until the tornado warning was over)  for over 45 minutes.  All that white stuff on the grass behind Eileen in the picture is hail....

After the last day of school - the kids came home and had a blast splashing in the puddles and getting soaked!!

Anna was especially goofy....

Dan got back late Wednesday night and stayed home Thursday and Friday - we worked on cleaning up the house and having fun together.  There was supposed to be a Daddy-Daughter camp out on Friday night, but the weather was so bad that it was cancelled - so we set up a tent in the front room for the girls to camp out in.

Saturday, we went to a graduation celebration that Aaron's friend Ethan was having at his house - we had a fun time hanging out and chatting with them - and they live really close which is nice, so hopefully the boys can still hang out even though they won't be at the same school next year.

Countdown

Well the kids are counting down to the end of school - they are in the midst of all the fun things to be done at the end of the school year.  Projects, Field Day, field trips, and parties.

Anna had a class project on Michigan due this week, Eileen had her science project due this week and Aaron had a field trip.  The girls had field day on Friday, Anna had a poetry reading on a poem she won an award for.

It snowed on Mother's day and the whole next day too - I can't believe that there was 3 inches of snow on the ground less than 2 weeks from the end of the school year.....

Monday we made cookies for Family Home Evening.  The kids had a blast cooking with Daddy!

Like I promised before - a pic from our prom last weekend!  

Dan took off on another trip this week :(  we all miss him, but we have had our friend Heather over here hanging out and keeping us busy.  The kids had a blast chatting with him on Skype tonight - James kept wanting to put his face right into the screen near daddy's face.... and they were all trying to talk over each other - it was kind a insane, but fun!  

This week has also been rather rough for another reason.  My great aunt has been battling cancer for over 3 years now and at the end of last week she went into hospice and we all began waiting.  I went out to see her Monday evening - she was already past the point of consciousness - but it was really nice to spend time talking to her kids and remembering her and saying goodbye.  She was like another grandma to me - she and my grandpa (her brother) had been close and she was always a fun smiling face at family events.  She was also a kindred crafter - it had been so much fun living near her and talking about projects and seeing what she was working on and showing her what I was working on.  The kids loved her - she had an amazing doll collection and would organize a "Dolly and Me Tea Party" that the girls and I went to last year and LOVED.  She passed away on Friday and it's hard to imagine what it will be like to not see her at the cabin and at Bagna Caulda and to chat with her about what she is working on next.  But this is the Aunt Joan that I will always remember and love.   

We've had a fun week - at least we did once everyone got healthy again.  Eileen was home sick for a day and a half but thankfully got well just in time for "Immersion" a fun couple of days at school where they get to pick a fun subject and study it for a couple days with kids from all different grades.  Aaron was home sick on Monday and James was iffy for a couple days - but we seem to have finally beat the sickies....  Eileen spent most of her days at home reading and resting - she is happy for hours with a book - I had to twist her arm to do anything else.  

One of the other things i had to twist her arm into doing was her science project.... sigh... she and I are going to have to have a long talk before her next science project about how to to science projects....  Or maybe I'll just have grandpa come out here and help her.... :)

This pic is just in here because it's so darn cute!!!!  

Saturday evening, our ward Young Women hosted a grown-up prom.  They set up a fancy dinner and dancing and pictures and fun - lol - we haven't gotten our pictures yet - but i'll post them when I do - until they you'll have to be satisfied with a pic of the friends we doubled with - Dwayne and Nicole.  We had a blast goofing off and turning it into everything i remember church dances being when i was a teenage - except I got to have a guaranteed cute dance partner for every slow song!  Now we are recovering - lol - i'm a bit out of shape for dancing all night (or even just until 9:30....)

Today was a kinda momentous occasion for me - I have looked forward to getting to sing with my kids since the day Eileen was born.  Today for Mother's Day, Eileen and I sang a musical number at church.  Anna was supposed to sing too, but she grumped out at the last minute.  But it was still a wonderful occasion - It was wonderful to sing with my beautiful and talented daughter!  

Home Sweet Home

Well, we are finally home!  The kids had a blast with Aunt Tina (and were well behaved enough to not scare Tina off forever)  They went to a Skate City night and had a blast, they got to go to the library, jump on Aunt Tina's trampoline and hang out at her house.  

Evie got to roll the dice for a game at Skate City and even won a prize - she was so excited about it!

This weeks pictures are more interesting (meaning that they have people in them)   I don't do selfies :)  Weather was mostly overcast and a bit drizzly - but we grabbed our umbrella - snuggled up together under it and enjoyed Paris anyway!  Monday we moved out of the hotel and into a little flat just south of Sacre Coeur, then we set off to Notre Dame followed by the Pantheon, We saw the cutest little family of ducklings wandering around behind Notre Dame!  The Cathedral is just amazing!  Dan's favorite part of the Pantheon was the crypts.....

The next day we went back to the Notre Dame area to visit the Archaeological Crypts - it was really neat to see the beginnings of Paris - and humbling to think that that was over a 1000 years ago.  After we headed over to the Eiffel Tower - Dan and I waited in line to go to the top (took 3 hours and most of that was waiting)  the view is just incredible!  Then we took a little boat tour on the Seine.  That night we went to a production at the Hotel des Invalides.  It was an incredible light show about the history of France shown on the facade of the building.

Wednesday we went to Versailles.  We walked around the gardens then after another LONG wait, we went inside and were herded like sheep around the palace.  It was stunning - but the crowds were rather overwhelming.  After, Dan and I went back to the Hotel des Invalides to check out the museums there.

Thursday was a national holiday (May Day) which meant that a lot of things were closed - we took it easy in the morning, then headed over to Trocadero in the afternoon and wandered around - we hit a Chocolate Museum and then met up with the rest of the guys from Dan's work and did a Boat/Dinner trip on the Seine.

It was a fun close to an amazing trip!  The next morning, we started home.  A lot of hours later (lol - i lost count) we arrived home to some very excited kids who just about stampeded us as we walked in.

Dan and I spent yesterday working in the yard, and unpacking.  And dealing with some sick kiddos - James was sick in the morning, but seemed to mostly be feeling better in the evening.  Aaron woke up last night throwing up, but once again, seemed to be feeling better by this evening.

Now it's back to the normal - at least for a few more weeks until school gets out....