Gage & Bryson playing outside. Gage rarely wore pants or shoes. The weather was amazing. It clouded up and rained every afternoon!
We spent an evening at Brandy & Trent's friends cabin, and the kids went a little wild. Gage almost got that head stand down!
Brandy's friends had 5 boys! They were very creative and rigged up this zip-line. Katlyn braved it, and we were pretty proud!
Carter tried out Papa's whip that he brought home from Africa. I was just waiting for an eye to get popped out!
Here's everyone just relaxing. Carters legos were a hit. They all made guns and chased eachother around for hours. All in all it was a very fun weekend. I love the weather up there this time of year, and there is nothing like being able to relax, let the kids run and play and not worry about them, and visit with our family.

Cousin Camp '08!

It's Cousin Camp time! The kids left on Wednesday morning to the mountain with Granpa George and Grandma Colleen. Gage got to go this year and so we were childless for 4 days!
On Saturday afternoon we drove up to pick them up. The parents are banned from coming until then. They did a whole flag ceremony for us! It was so cute. Carter did such a good job folding the flag.
This is them singing "God Bless the U.S.A." It was awesome. Carter and Gage even sang the chorus. Katlyn did amazing! She missed us a lot. She takes after her mother in being a "Mama's Girl" but she had a blast. The boys' clothes were awefully dirty, but they are still talking about the things that they did.
"The Cook!" How considerate of her to wash before cooking our food. She did a great job! Grandpa George had a whole kitchen set up, and even a place with wood floor and tarps all around it to take a bath. The major highlight for me was the port-a-potty!
After dark they did a little program on the theme for camp that year which was Book of Mormon heroes. They sang "Book of Mormon Stories" and "The Wise Man & The Foolish Man" (I'm not sure of the real name of that one.) I was so proud of all of them. They did all the actions and sang so good. They also each told a story from the Book of Mormon. They each even made a journal that looks like the Gold Plates. It was so cute. I was almost in tears. I can't belive how fast they are all growing up. Thanks George and Colleen for all the work that you put into this each year.

Katlyn's Baptism!

Saturday was such an exciting day for us. Katlyn was baptized! She was so excited, and a little bit nervous. (Her dad was too!) They both did awesome. I can't belive that this day has come and gone in our lives. It seems like just yesterday she was a baby! We could not be prouder of her. She is amazing. She loves the gospel, and always wants to do what is right. I often wish I could be more like her. I love this picture. I think it will always be one of my favorites!
This is Katlyn's primary teacher Sis. Heap. She is amazing, and so much of the reason that Katlyn knows as much as she does about the gospel. Katlyn adores her, and I hope that she will always follow the example that Sis. Heap sets for her.
Thanks to all of you for coming, and for all of the gifts! She definatley did not need them, but loved all of them. When we left the church she said, "I can't belive all those people came just for me!" It really meant so much to her and to us. I know that most of you drove a long way and gas is so expensive, and so thank you so much. It's awesome to know that we have such great families! Thanks to everyone that talked, prayed, played, led, and whitnessed. You were all amazing!
The weekend was a little crazy, hence Gage's wild hair-do. This was the best family pic we could get! Looks natural though! I feel so blessed to have the kids and the husband that I do. We all make mistakes and get on eachothers nerves a lot, but I love all of them! As long as we keep plugging along doing the best that we can I know that we will always be happy!

The Reunion in Colorado!

The reunion was such a hit! The drive was long, but well worth it. Thanks so much to Courtney & Jared for putting it all together, and to John & Debbie for the house and all the good food. You guys are awesome. There's not much of anything that's better than hanging out with your family and having a good time. Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park was such a hit with the kids, and Mike loved the swing ride, and taking the kids on the roller coaster, which we did numerous times. Mike also went whitewater rafting with all the adults minus the 3 pregnant ladies, and me "the chicken." He loved it! Such a dare devil. Katlyn was really brave and did the zip line with Debbie. We played lots of games, and ate lots of good food. The kids had a blast playing outside and just hanging out with eachother. So much fun! I can't wait til' next year!

Daddy Daughter "Hobo" Dinner

Katlyn had her first Achievement Days activity tonight. It was a Daddy Daughter "Hobo" Dinner. She was really excited until she had to get dressed up, and then she got a little nervous.
Mike was a big sport too. He cheered her on and got just as dirty and "hobo" looking and she did. I thought they both looked pretty good. I love this picture. It makes me so sad to think of how fast she is growing up. She will be eight next week, and the time has flown by. We are so proud of her!
This was how Mike thought they should get to the church. Totally cute I admit, but someone would have come home with a broken bone I am sure. They had so much fun, and Katlyn was really glad that she got dressed up once she got there.I love days like these, when you feel like things are just the way they should be, and you wish that the bad things in the world would never find their way to you!

Summer, what to do.......

Since the kids are out of school I have been trying to come up with things for them to do. Misty gave me this idea, and it was a little messy but tons of fun. I bought a bunch of cars, birdhouses, and planes at Michael's for $1, and the kids glued them together and painted them.
Swimming is also a highlight! Don't you love the goggles? Gage did not leave that ladder for more than a few seconds the whole time.
Mike brought this little contraption home from work. I am not sure what those crazy guys used it for, but the kids love riding on it. I am just waiting for the moment we have to visit the emergency room. Things get a little fast and squirlly when you go down hill.
This is at Nana & Papa's house on Saturday. They just got home from a hunting trip to Africa, so we all had to grace them with our presence and our many children, because we missed them so much. This is right before we ate dutch oven dinner, which was delicious! That's what we do best when we go up there. Eat! (Lisa was not at all happy for me to take a pic of her angelic face!)
The kids love it there! They play outside all day, and beg to ride the 4-wheelers. There is a fence around the lot thank heaven, because I would be one child short if there wasn't one.

A Relaxing Weekend! For Me At Least!

Mike had fire training in Mesa this weekend for work. So, I could not of course pass up the chance to go along and do a little relaxing!Every mom needs a few days away from the CRYING, Fighting, and the Whining!It was wonderful!For me at least! This first picture is just a glimpse of what I did for the 3, yes 3 whole days!Lots of shopping.I also spent a not so small amount of time lying at the pool reading The Host.Thanks so much to Amy and Colleen for watching the kidos for us.They had a blast!
This is what my poor husband had to endure for the 3 days!HOT!HOT!HOT!I do think that he had fun too!

They fire this house up and the temp. rises to 1300 degrees!That is hot enough on it's own, but when you come outside and the temp. is still 90 degrees it's not that fun.Some of these guys are not that young either.I was a little worried that they would have to bring one out in a stretcher!!!They have never gone this late before so Mike was not too excited!
Doesn't he look so hot in his turnouts?Literally!I am so glad that he is willing to do this kind of thing in order to make life easier for us.I do think that he likes it most of the time,but you couldn't pay me enough $$$$ to do it!
So, the weekend was a success.We did get to go out with John & Jill, and Kylie & Andrew.That is always fun. I also played a little Guitar Hero at Misty's, which I will not be doing again any time soon.People like me should just leave that kind of thing to the pros.Brandy and I also did a little shopping, and I ran into some friends from Snowflake.I am now ready to be such a fun mom again!I know it's sad, but a little break is just what I need to remember how much I love being a mom!Which I do.Most of the time.(Especially when they cry all the way home after you pick them up from Grandma's house, and you are wondering why you came home.)