S'mores.....

For the first time I can remember, it was a wee bit chilly. A huge surprise for us, usually it is blistering hot and humid.....but we enjoyed it (even though it was a bit gloomy-sky) After all our fireworks were blown up and gone we started a fire to roast marshmallows to make S'mores. It was so fun just sitting around the fire, talking and having fun.

At 9:30pm we left to go back into Cameron to see the Big display the city puts on. It was a fantastic show. We had perfect seats (thanks Nat and Erinn) and was a perfect way to end the day. Happy Independence Day!

Annie had a BLAST!!!

For the first time, ever.....Annie got to shoot fireworks off with the guys. She had so much fun. It surprised me how unafraid of all the explosives she was. Crazy Girl!

Fireworks.....

Uncle Jake and Alan were the crazy uncles leading the way with all the fireworks for the rest of the afternoon/evening! We had a ton of parachute's, and the kids had a blast lining up and chasing them everywhere. Jason wanted to be a part of all the fun, but had to be held and he plugged his ears. He love the colors and booms, just not the really loud ones! :)

Seriously though, we did fireworks for hours. Not even kidding.

Basketball anyone?!!?

We came home after the parade and had some lunch. Yummy barbecued beef sandwiches, potato salad, fruit, chips....you know, the good stuff. After all the food settled, we went over to the park to play some basketball.....Now, Alan just got home from San Antonio, and he didn't have any basketball shorts. The only thing Seth had, were these amazing SILVER/shiny-very special (nasty in my opinion) athletic shorts, that he wears under his karate uniform. So....Alan decided he would wear them. NIICE! Can I just say that it was one of the most hysterical things I have seen in a long time. Disturbing, yes. I can't lie though and say I didn't laugh out loud several times while watching the game.

Also, i think he had an unfair advantage....who was gonna guard him very close? Couldn't think of anyone, could ya?


That's what I thought.

the Parade....

the kids love the parade and it has become quite a fun tradition on the 4th. That running Uncle Sam guy really cracked me up, so I couldn't help but snap a pic! Ashelyn was loving the clapping and the other kids loved the candy!! (Seth stayed home while Jason napped and Alan crashed out from getting home after a week of EFY) They missed a fabulous parade. :)

Independence Day.....

The Holiday weekend came upon us the day after we got home from North Carolina! We were all a little tired, a there wasn't any big plans, so we just kind of hung out and went with the flow. It was a nice relaxing day. It started off with Swedish pancakes for breakfast then some fireworks with Uncle Jake (the kids LOVED it) and then we went to Cameron for the Parade. The parade was hilarious as usual.....small towns are the best. Lots of tractors, horses, and atv's.

Pullen Park...

After the Battle Ship we were off to visit Seth's friend from his mission (our WHOLE reason for going there) James Phelps. James had a wonderful day planned for us at this great park. It was full of play equipment and lots of other rides......we went on the Merry-go-round, and the train. The kids had a blast. James was great and just sat there in the shade while we ran around in circles. It was a great day.

U.S.S North Carolina...

the kids were SO excited to see this battleship. It was huge ( small, for the size of ships we have today!) but the kids loved exploring every nook and cranny. We were able to go on all the different levels of the ship, we saw where they ate, where they cooked, slept, got there mail etc.etc. It was awesome.

It gave us such an understanding of life on a Navy Ship, and gave me such respect for the people who serve our country. We got lucky, as we ran into a Chief form the Navy who was retired and was there to help with the tour. He took us into his office and told us about how they kept records of each man on the boat, and how they earn time off the ship.....then he made each of the kids there own cards to get off the ship. They were able to pick there rank and what job they liked the best. It was really neat. Annie picked the lab, Jared picked the "big guns on deck", and Katie and Ella both picked the bakery.

Definitely worth the money to see. The kids are still talking about it.......

Diggin' the sand.....

Jason was tired when we got to the beach so he didn't enjoy it right off. But, eventually he warmed up to it and had a blast. His favorite had to be either when I was holding him in the waves and jumping him around or digging in the sand filling up the buckets. Ella and Annie also had fun making a castle.

We had a hard time getting Katie and Jared out of the water for any reason.....so that is where they stayed. :)

Ella....

has been saying she was a mermaid now for a while.....So we had that talk while we were playing in the waves. She said that I couldn't be a mermaid, because I was a mer-mom. (Okay, that makes sense, I guess.)

Seth held Jason a lot of the time cause he didn't like it at first, and Ella held on to my hand the whole time, so I could get her to go in deeper with me. It cracked me up though, so I was able to get a few pictures, she had to hang on to Daddy for dear life. Hahaha, I love that picture, it just makes me laugh.

The beach.....

This was the most crowded beach I had ever been to.....So, I was a little (extremely) nervous about the kids. The water was warm though and the waves were perfect. Just enough to feel the crash, but not enough to really knock you down. The kids just couldn't believe they were really there. They said Mom, I love it.....It's better than I thought. Oh, and they thought that the salt water was nasty. :)

more road trip....

We only had a little bit of attitude, see Ella's face above.....Not happy about getting back in the car. :) But, Katie had a little something planned for any tense moments.....Yup, that's right, my girls got a pair of "bubba teeth". (thanks grama jenny, for those little gift bags for the kids!) It really did make us laugh A LOT! Katie even put them in upside down, and that was hilarious. Good times at rest stops....this one happened to be around 8am, with 7 hours more to go.

Road trip....

We left for North Carolina at 6pm (Friday, June 26th) Seth drove till 1am and I took the 1am-8am shift. We drove straight through, getting to Wrightsville Beach around4pm. It was such a long drive...but the kids did pretty awesome.

It was raining, off and on and we were able to get out for a few minutes, to see the beach. The kids were in Heaven. They were so excited. Then we were off to find a Hotel. That was quite a challenge.....but we eventually found a nice Comfort Suites to stay at, and it had only been open for a week. (bonus) SO the rooms were nice, clean and everything was brand new! (love that) That first night we settled in, went out to dinner and went swimming. Ahhhh, tomorrow we had the beach.

Oh My....

I just love this little Girl! She is so full of life and is as silly as ever. It is hard for me to believe that she will be 5 in a few short months. It's amazing how fast time goes! She is constantly making me laugh. Today she kept asking if she could read. I said yes, of course. 10 minutes later I found her outside in the flower garden weeding. Apparently, she said weed and I heard read. (if you have ever talked to her, you know she has a strange accent) So, you might understand. :) Either way, it's fine by me, as long as she leaves my flowers alone! :)

Bart's Electric Family Fun Day...

We went to Bart and Lisa's house for the annual family fun day, last Friday June19. It was so much fun. The kids look forward to it every year.

This year they had a carnival theme, and had cotton candy (yup, a real machine. you stood in line for it and everything!!) popcorn, ice cream, games, a balloon guy (you know, the kind that makes animals and balloon hats) a mechanical bull and a blow up obstacle course. Jason thought he had died and gone to heaven. He LOVES to bounce! All the kids had a blast, the entire time! Ella helped herself to all the yummy food and pop. (She loved the popcorn best.) Katie got a huge balloon hat. Jared just ran and ran that obstacle course, and Annie was a sweetheart hanging out with Gid-man and Jason. (she is such a good helper)

Once it got dark they ended the night with an awesome fireworks show. It really was a blast. (oh, and Jake did the t-shirts again.....and they are awesome. The kids wore them to school yesterday. I will post pics later!)

Man, we are lucky employees! Thanks Bart's Electric.

Sometimes....

I just can't get enough of this little (giant) boy. It's true, he has my heart. (not that he can't drive me crazy at times, but still) I just love him to pieces. I am so glad he is a part of us.....

A few weeks ago....

Jake and Misty came over. We ate food and the kids played.....then we got the 4-wheeler out for Gideon. He LOVED it. Annie was the chosen chauffeur and loved every minute of that too. (although her legs are extremely long to still be riding that thing) The point is, that we had fun.
Sometimes it is just nice to sit on the driveway, talk and let the kids do there thing! Ahhhh, summer really is here!

Staying busy...

Jason and Ella are pretty inseparable lately. Jason loves to follow her and torment her. (when the timing is just perfect) It is actually quite funny how he does it. Right now the big thing around here is bubbles....So, I give Ella a bottle of bubbles and Jason screams
"bubb-oes" and chases them wherever they might go. Jason is getting really good at talking.....he says the kids names, and tries to repeat anything you ask him to! It gives us all a good laugh. We just love him to pieces around here.

Ella is a darling herself. She is big into "projects" and that includes anything she can color or paint or glue. She takes helping around the house very seriously as well. (on her terms, of course) She thinks she is a mermaid-princess, and who am I to disagree? Erin (my sis-in law, Caleb's wife) has been babysitting for us, and Ella has been in Heaven. Erin lets Ella cook with her, and do the dishes. The kids really enjoy her....and I am hoping that her calm nature will rub off on them. (we all know, I DON'T have that nature) Darn.

Our summer is shaping up to be another busy one. (who's isn't, right?) The older kids are in summer school till June 26th and then plan on a lot of days at the pool.

Beana to the rescue....

After all the "Doggie Drama" my Mom and Beana showed up. They were unaware of what was going on. Beana (a friend of Al's, but I am claiming her as my own BFF, now) came in and got the kids all excited and played tag with them. Like a million different versions of tag.....the kids had a blast. It was the perfect thing to get them out of their funk. Of course she followed up the games with a bed time story.....(perfect) Thank you Beana for having fun with the kids and getting their mind off of things.

*In case you haven't noticed, Missouri is a great place to live. You should totally move out here.

A sad day....

Today we had to let Coco go. The kids are devastated. I am devastated. Coming from a NON-animal person, that is huge. I am heartbroken for my kids. When they are all little it is easy to gloss over things, and they can be distracted. They are way beyond that now. I feel so bad that we can't keep her (Coco.) She was a wonderful Dog, great with kids and very mellow.

There is a leash law in Kidder, (we live out of the City limits) but she has been going in to town. Seth refuses to tie her up. He figures, we own 10 acres, our dog shouldn't have to be tied up. ( I agree) We are very frustrated, and if money wasn't so tight we would definitely be fighting this.
Seth's parents knew another family that was looking for a Dog, (a chocolate lab) and the fit was perfect.

(I didn't expect it to hurt this bad.) It is one thing, when you are looking to get rid of your animal, and a different story when you feel forced.

Our last hours with the dog the kids played and played.....she knew something was up, though. But I got lots of pictures with them.

Jason's first words were "Coco"(after Dada, of course) ....the way he yells it is hilarious. Jason loves that dog and Coco was so patient with him. Jason would pinch his face, and pull on his ears and Coco would just lay there.
Katie wrote Coco a note on a chew toy....They are all so sad.

We will miss her for sure.