Another Sweet Week of Summer

Well, things are not boring. I guess that's the way it is from here on out. I'll be sad when I have nothing to do and my house is always clean. As it is now, we have lots to do and my house doesn't remember what clean means. Here is another addition of Summer Fun!

Sean started piano lessons today and is pretty excited about learning to play. Jason swam the length of the pool and Kyle can jump off the side of the pool and turn around and swim almost all the way back. Riley made a calculated move for my cell phone today and went from sitting to his tummy (a big deal for him). So, life is good.

We had the funnest '30 Going on 13' 30th birthday party for my friend Katie. We dressed up in 80's clothes, listened to Cindy Lauper, went to dinner and then bowling. It was a riot! We even did the chinese firedrill at the stoplight. We really thought we were 13 again. And, yeah, we still got it!:) I wish I had better pictures, but these will have to do.

For Family Home Evening on Monday, we took the boys fishing at the lake. We were there 2 hours, ate several chocolate cupcakes and caught 4 white bass (Sean 1, Jason 1, Kyle 2). We all had a great time, even with a little rain.

This was tonight's activity...motorcycles in the field. What awesome boys I have! And they couldn't have a better dad.

The Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer

We have started the summer break off with a bang! What a fun time of year. I love when school is out and we get to do whatever we want all day long. In the past week we have played on the slip and slide with Uncle Bryan in town, climbed trees, trained for a triathlon (Erin), gone to work (poor Ben), had a mud fight with friends (Sean and Jason), taken swimming lessons (Sean, Jason and Kyle), taken some serious naps (Kyle and Riley), had picnics, painted the bathroom (Erin, since she had to paint the area where she started the fire), started potty training (Erin and, occasionally, Kyle), eaten food from the garden, BBQ'd with friends, etc. Wow, that's a busy week! I hope we have more just like this one!!! Here are some pictures of our fun...

Sean and Jason just came in a few minutes ago looking like this...

Riley got a little tired after swimming in the pool this morning (best baby EVER!)...

Sean, Jason and Kyle have been taking swimming lessons from my friend Katie. Kyle wakes up every morning ready to go. They all love it. They each had their 4th lesson today and I can't believe the progress! Thanks so much Katie!

My brother, Bryan, came to visit on Friday so we had a picnic/water party. I wasn't intending to get wet, but how can you resist a slip-n-slide?!

Jason took the slip-n-slide to a whole new level...

My cute monkeys!

Riley loves the water, as long as it's warm:)

Jason with some sweet moves into the pool...

Hogle Zoo

The kids had a day off school last week, so we made the trek to the Hogle Zoo with our friends. Kyle is used to going to the animal museum, so I was anxious to see how he would react when he found out these animals were real. We all had a great time!

On the train...

What a good lookin' group of boys!

If you count, we've got 6 boys here and 1 girl. Someday she will appreciate those odds:)

I love this shot. I promise I didn't pose them, this was just how they were standing.

Riley was awesome, as usual. He even took a nap in the stroller. What a champ!


This is the end of the day. I think Kyle had had his fill of the zoo. Notice the "army hat." It's his hat of choice these days. He didn't take it off the entire day. I love 2 year olds, especially this one!!!!!

Family Reunion

This post is way late in coming, but here it is nonetheless. We had the greatest family reunion with the May Family. We stayed at Hidden Springs Ranch (http://www.hiddenspringsranch.biz/) and had a BLAST! We rode motorcycles and 4 wheelers, swam in the pool and hot tub, climbed the climbing wall, played volleyball, ate YUMMY food, shot clay pigeons, fished, had s'mores around the campfire, and so many other things. The place is amazing! I didn't get many photos because I was too busy playing, but here's a couple I scrounged up.

Okay, this may be my favorite picture of Riley, ever! He's chillin' by the pool.



Jason and his cousins hangin' out in the hot tub.


A reunion isn't complete without a day of shooting targets and clay pigeons.

San Diego Sibling Trip

I have a disclaimer before I post these next pictures...

I cannot be held responsible for any actions taken while in the presence of my brother and sisters. As individuals, we are calm and reasonable people. However, when combined we become a scary and not-so-mentally-stable beast.

Now that we have that out of the way, I'll tell you a little (though not all) about our recent trip to San Diego. We were in an Urban Adventure Race, which is like the Amazing Race. We had to solve clues to find places and take our pictures there. We could walk/run or use public transportation. Note: Riley is currently nursing, so he joined us on this road trip and adventure via the front pack:)

The race has prizes, which we really wanted to win something. Remember, not responsible for actions and/or appearance. Since we are not familiar with the area and do not possess an i-phone to help us solve the clues, we decided to try for the costume contest. Yup, we won! A $50 gift certificate to a bar, no less:)

Don't judge me--we had a blast! Thanks Bryan, Christie, Amy and Kari for a super fun weekend!

I love Riley's face on this one...yes, public transportation means the bus!

Did I mention that we all had superhero names?

Bryan: Heat Stroke

Erin: Empress Marsupial

Christie: Elusive Butterfly

Amy: Rainbow Raider

Kari: She Cat

This was one of the clues we had to solve and take our picture in front of (it's at Balboa Park)

Riley was amazing! He never fussed, took a nap in the front pack, and by the end of the day he had cut his first tooth. WOW!!!! (Yes, he has a costume and mask too)

Kyle Quotes

Kyle is at the funnest age. He is 2 1/2. He talks non-stop and has something to say about everything. Here are a few conversations we've had recently...

I had a ribbon in my hair, which apparently I don't do very often.
Kyle: Why you have a girl...? Why you have a girl...?
Me: Why do I have a girl bow?
Kyle: Yeah.
Me: Because I'm a girl.
Kyle (in his deep growly voice): Nooooo.
Me: Yes I am a girl.
Kyle: Noooo.

Then, a couple of weeks later...

Kyle: Mom, you a girl?
Me: Yup.
Kyle: No, you a boy.
Me: No, I'm a girl.
Kyle: Where your girl feathers?
Me (stumped): My girl feathers?
Kyle: Yeah, in your hair.
Me: Oh, I'm not wearing girl feathers today, but I'm still a girl.
Kyle: Noooo.

Also, in primary we've been learning the 4th Article of Faith this month. It talks about the principles of the gospel that we believe in.
So one day I sit down at the piano and start to play and sing it for Jason and Kyle. Kyle yells out, so excited, "Like American Pie, HOLY GHOST!" I guess we need to play more primary songs in the car and less Madonna.
(If you don't know the lyrics to American Pie, then you obviously didn't grow up in my family. It says "and the 3 men I admire the most; the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.")

Spring is in the Air!

Ahhhh... it was warm enough this week to break out the jogging stroller, play football in short sleeves, ride bikes, and take the cozy cover off the baby carseat. YES, spring is here...well, almost. While I'm writing this, the boys are outside riding bikes with their shirts on their heads. No, it's not that warm, but don't try to tell them that.

Ben took a Sunday nap out in the sunshine today. Life must be good.

I'll be keeping my parents up to speed on the family through this blog while they're in Hawaii on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are serving in the Kona temple and doing some teaching and reactivating as well. They are so excited to be back "home." We are already missing them, but are sure they are right where they are needed.

Riley is growing and changing all the time, it seems. He loves to interact with the big brothers and see what they're doing at all times.

Kyle is the comedian of the family. I took this video not knowing that our camera doesn't do sound. You can still get the idea though:)

Jason is the ultimate big brother. He plays with Kyle and Riley and is my right-hand man when I need an extra one.

Sean is the next Heisman candidate. He dreams, reads, plays and talks football non-stop. His highlight each day from school is the type of play he made that day at recess. One day it was a "total Rothlisberger play. I fell as I threw it and didn't see where it was going. I looked up and my friend had caught it. It was like backyard ball." He's so fun.

Here I am reading the boys a bedtime story.