Home

This last week, we spent some time at "home".  I know, it's not my home anymore.  Wherever I am with those I love the most, my own hubby and offspring, that is my home, but still, whenever I return to the place of my childhood, I feel like I'm going "home."  It was really nice.  We went with a mission - my mom is recovering from surgery (again - she fell, twice, and had to have her leg put back together, my poor momma) and we were there to give her a helping hand.  We had time to play a lot too, most of which looked like this:

That is a pool with a view.  I swear, my heart belongs in the country.

We spent some good quality time with Grandma:

Daisy would give Grandma the play-doh with the instructions to make something (usually a cow).  Grandma would do an amazing creation, hand it to Daisy, who would promptly smash it and give it back to Grandma with new instructions.  Now that is a fun game.

 Nick came down and joined us for a night too.  I got to go for a run, which was like running in heaven, except I'm thinking in heaven you don't have to run with a rock in your hand because you are afraid of dogs chasing you.

Later in the week, we had a get-together with cousins (mine) which was so much fun!  Thanks, Alicia, for putting it together!  I had a blast.  I haven't laughed hard enough to cry in a good long while.

Permission to beat up on each other:

Maren with a big dab of vaseline on her nose, waiting to attack those cotton balls.

Got one!

My dear cousin and I.  Let's get together and laugh again.  Very soon.

This little guy

 must be getting bored lately, because he has sure climbed to a new level of entertainment.  If you look close on the wall, you can see a tractor he drew there (he was in the process of scrubbing it off).  It was a mighty fine tractor!

And, you can see he's in his Sunday finest.  I have just a word to say about that.  My idea of "hell" has got to be an eternal sacrament meeting trying to keep many naughty, disobedient children quiet and happy (What?  My angels?).  Sacrament meeting is the worst hour of the week, hands down.  Although, taking my five kids to Walmart today is sure up there.

I love my kids, I really really do.  :)  And I love it when they do things that make me smile, like my morning workout today:

Love it.

And, more peas.  The last of them, hurray!  I've put my girls to work, and they are (mostly) pretty good helpers if I put on a movie and call it a "pea party".

Whatever works.

More Summer Stuff

 We love these lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer!

My kids are pretty entertained with some water in the backyard.  Hours of good fun.

 I know, she's adorable.  We can barely get over it ourselves.

Just readin'

Diggin' in the sand at the pond:

A jam session:

I took my kids to the Hill Aerospace Museum.  Um, not really worth the drive, in my opinion, but it was pretty cool to see planes up close.  My kids said it was a good time.

Chillin' in the shade of Gail Halverson's wing:

We spoiled ourselves and bought a paddle board and some kid kayaks.  We had to try them out, so we spent Saturday at the pond with good friends.  Four hours zoomed right on by, and I must say, that has got to be the best way to spend a Summer day.

So momma hasn't sunk the kid kayaks (yet):

The paddle board was a lot of fun.  It was surprisingly stable.  Ellie jumped right on and took off:

And, the first fish for our family:

The little guy got to live to see another day.

I hope there are many more days just like this in our future.

And then, there was Father's Day:

 We enjoyed sour cream pancakes. ribs, pork kabobs, grilled pineapple, and leige waffles.  It's all about the food, right?  We also enjoyed time with Nick's parents and brother.  It was a nice, relaxing day for all of us, but I hope especially for the best Dad around.

 We sure love the guy.

Just another cute photo:

Daisy thinks the tablet ("tabwet") belongs to her.  She is a whiz at puzzles.

And, once again, she is so super duperly adorable:

"Take a picture of me!"

 Adorable even on days that I don't do her hair.

And this, this is what my day amounted to:

Why, oh why do we plant so many peas?

Peaches

 Hey friends, I have good moments, and lots of bad moments as a mom, just like everyone else.  I know blogs seem to highlight all the peaches and cream and leave all the worms out, ya know?  The worms aren't near as appetizing as the peaches, though, so let's just cut them right out, as always.

Maren, my Maren.  I think she is more fashion-conscious than I am (not too difficult, facts be told):

She's been searching for a jean jacket for months now, and we finally found one at a good price.  Oh, and she had to have my scarf to complete the look.

The girls made aprons (ok, so most of the grunt work was done by mom, but they sewed it all together!):

 This project was a little ambitious for a momma-of-not-much-patience, but it was a summer-do item that we crossed off the list.  And, they turned out cute!

We made bread in a bag.  This actually was more enjoyable than I had anticipated, we'll be doing this one again.  We put the ingredients in a ziploc gallon bag and smoosh smoosh smooshed:

Then we kneaded and made loaves:

They were thrilled to have their own little loaf!

 This is the recipe and directions I used (which turned out great), but really, you could use any bread recipe and mix it up in a bag!

We hiked the Grotto with cousins, I'll let the photos do the talkin':

 Fun day!

A new addition to our home:

 I have been thinking of ideas for displaying artwork for kids since I pretty much gave birth to them, and this is the culmination of years of thought.  ;)  It turned out really bright and happy!  I love it!  And, I also love my husband who I tell all my dreams to, and he runs out and buys wood, cuts it, and then spends a couple hours with a level and a drill hanging it for me.  He basically enables all my crazy ideas.  Thanks, Honey Bunny! (by the way, I don't usually call him all these sappy names in real life, just in case you thought we were a couple of cheese balls)

And, lastly, I have to show off this amazing quilt that lucky dude Everett received yesterday from Grandma:

 Tilt your head a little and it helps.  Sorry for the crazy angle there.  Cool, huh?  I am blessed to be a part of a VERY talented family.

You need a closer look, right?

He's so excited to sleep with his tractor blanket.

Party All the Time

 It's Summer, which pretty much translates to "party all the time".  In fact, it's after 10pm and the girls are still giggling in bed.  It's a good thing I'm always up for a good party!

The first week of Summer has been pretty awesome.  We gathered with family, I gathered with friends (for a wedding - hip hip hooray!), we enjoyed fireworks, movies, played with cousins, plus this stuff:

Every week, I take my kids to a different park in the area, and usually, we meet up with friends, which is just fun for everyone.

These guys look like trouble, don't you think?

One park down, 10 more to go.  Only 10?  That's depressing.

We are cooking around here this Summer.  We attempted chocolate waffle iron cookies.

 They were delicious, but too crumbly for the kids to remove them from the iron, for future reference.

Friday is our "let's leave the house and do something fun and different" day, otherwise known as Fun Friday.  We went to BYU, and had a blast!  It was a great morning spent with my little ducklings.

First, the MOA.  They had an origami exhibit that was pretty amazing, and the kids enjoyed making their own (the girls are holding theirs in the above photo).  We wandered through the bookstore, and then had lunch at the Cougareat (is it still called the Cougareat?) and of course, the best part about BYU, the ice cream.

 That photo is ridiculous for many reasons, but I was there and I really, really enjoyed my Earnestly Chocolate.  It reminded me of many a late night run to the Creamery during my BYU days.

Saturday morning, a parade (the only one I've ever been to when I actually wished I had brought a jacket):

 I do my girls hair sometimes (this, obviously was not one of those times).

My Daisy babe is just getting so big, and more adorable by the day, I swear.

And this evening, we took the family for a little walk.

 I'd say that's a decent family selfie.

 Of course we have to go silly too.

And then the kids want to pose individually:

 Aw, me and my main squeeze.  :)

Some wisdom:  you can bring your kids to water, but you sure can't keep them from getting in, or something like that.  Oh well, party on, right?

Gorgeous views with soaking wet kids:

 I sure love this place I call home, and I sure love that bunch that comes with me.