july holidays

we're having fun celebrating this month...


the 24th of july
we spent pioneer day in our town celebrating. the kids were in the parade... they were supposed to dress up as someone who has given a lifetime of service. for some reason, they interpreted that as... dress up like something you want to be when you grow up. well, we settled on cameron dressing as a scientist / inventor and barrett as a pilot... cameron didn't think it was very funny when i told them they looked like "cade & susie"..ha ha. ethan dressed up as a doctor. i don't really know why elmo was part of the parade, but i do know that it made ethan's day to meet him!




after the parade we spent the afternoon at the city park for the games, treats, entertainment and fun...



i love this day here in this small town. it is a lot of fun and really old-school which makes it all the better!


later that day, we went over to bbq at my parents and babysit cute mariah. savvy and mariah are becoming quite the little buddies. we went over to the owlz game to watch the fireworks... we had a great view! mariah and savanna were SO cute and so opposite during the fireworks. savanna was jumping up and down, laughing and squealing while mariah was quietly covering her eyes just waiting for them to end... wish i had had my camera with me.





the 4th of july




the boys participated in a great flag ceremony early morning on the 4th.
my dad is in charge of this every year and it is quite the ceremony!
we spent the rest of the day at my parent's relaxing, eating, playing with cousins, setting off fireworks and then going to watch the big fireworks... fun stuff. oh ya - and we went up to the mall the meet glenn beck... we ran into our friends there and it was totally fun... i really like glenn beck... i think he is hilarious... i feel old now that i know the talk radio guys so well...

june

so we waited quite a while, but summer did come after all!
we had a busy month in june...

here are a few highlights....


the summer buzz... except for barrett.
he didn't want a buzz and is refusing to have any haircut.



we went to the children's art festival with friends... the company was great but the festival was not quite as fun as we expected...crowded and hot! ethan and savanna weren't feeling well that day and just wanted to lie under a tree, but the older kids had a good time. can you tell it was baseball season?? crazy boys...


we were so excited to get visits from lots of family early in the summer this year! john, tamara and their kids came to visit... sorry, i didn't take any pics... but we did have a great time with them. it meant a lot to barrett that they came to one of his baseball games.

then, a few days later...

papa d and bev came to visit for a few days! the kids just love their grandparents and love to be around them. we were even able to spend fathers day with both our dads this year at a little bbq at my parents house.



savanna spent the afternoon playing tetherball... ethan was given lessons in monkey bars by grandpa steve. i think all the fun wore everyone out!


and a few days after that...



the smalls came to stay a few days! ahhh- i really slacked on the picture taking!-
every summer we look forward to our time with the smalls since we know it is the only time all year we get to see them. we always have so much fun when they are here...
wish they lived closer.



beating the heat at the pool and with popsicles or watermelon in hand... does anything say summer louder??

oh and i can't forget my birthday... yes, i turned another year older. clint made the day extra special and suprised me with an ipod, and i found myself some genuine dr. pepper from dublin texas (thanks hansens! i found this stuff through you!...) which i had clint order for me...(really isn't it just easier to get your own presents sometimes?) and he took the boys to the flower shop and let them each pick out flowers for me to make a beautiful bouquet! that night we went to dinner without the kids... it was a great birthday...although i really can't believe how old we are getting... time flies faster all the time!





and pretty much the only other thing we have been doing is working on our landscaping...
pictures will be coming shortly!!

the last few months... in a nutshell

i am copying a brilliant friend of mine and starting the "in a nutshell" series... blogging can be a vicious cycle and this is my attempt to break that cycle... and get caught up once again.

so here are some moments from the last few months... in a nutshell...


school's out for the summer!
the last day of school came and went and we are all excited for the summer! the boys both loved their teachers this year and will be excited to visit them again in the fall.






my darling and talented little sister, samantha, was in a little production where she played snow white... doesn't she look exactly like her??? we had fun watching her and clint always has fun in buildings with really tall ceilings... he scares me.




ethan and clint spent an afternoon making a few minor repairs on their cars. ethan LOVES to work alongside clint, no matter what the job!



one week night in may, the boys had just gotten out of the shower when i heard "that" scream... you know the one that makes you say "that'll need stitches"... in the bathroom i found ethan gushing blood from his chin and crying. he had slipped and hit his chin on the toilet seat. well, it was 9:30 pm and clint was out of town, so i had to load up all 4 tired kids and head somewhere to get stitches. i didn't even know where i was going, just got them in the car and started driving and making phone calls. luckily, the after-hours doctor was still there and told us to come in... so beats going to the ER. well, major trauma for ethan and 3 hours later we were headed back home with a stitched up chin. that kid is so strong and HATES to be bugged by doctors ... it took 3 of us to hold him down so the doc could stitch him up (while ethan held his breath and turned purple multiple times) and another nurse to take care of my other 3 kids in the hall. they were the nicest nurses and made me feel better, because it was one of those times i was pretty sure i didn't want to be the mom. luckily, those times pass...
why do these things always seem to happen when the the dad is out of town???






we FINALLY got to go outside and play! we had such a long winter, spring seemed like it would never come...but it did and we enjoyed every minute!









barrett participated in his first hershey track meet. he chose to do the 50 meter dash, long jump, and the softball throw... because "running just isn't his thing"...




looking cute in green for st. patty's day!

we got to play with a few of my life-long friends, emily and mindy, one afternoon. we asked ethan to take our picture and this is what we got! i always love hanging out with good friends. i have known emily for 29 years and mindy for 17 years! yes, that makes them lifelong friends! love these girls and they have the cutest kids too.



cameron and the entire first grade took us on a "jungle safari" with a cute little program... for a small minute i actually missed teaching...



the boys were in chess club and jump club after school. they are really enjoying the game of chess... thanks to grandpa scott for teaching them how to play! i was roped into helping out with jump club and each day of it i definitely did NOT miss teaching! the boys had a great time, but I was SO glad when it was over!



we met our new cousin tanner and had a sleepover with his big brother landon. clint built a really cool fort for the kids to sleep in... only the best around here when you're our guest! we also loved playing with sara, richie and macy while they were in town, although i can't seem to find any pictures of it...

bermuda, bahama without his pretty mama...



clint spent a few days in bermuda for work... and no, i didn't go with him... he owes me.





and lastly, we finally got started on our yard this spring! yeah - there is an end to all the dirt in sight! i can hardly wait!