No More Teachers!

 One of the much anticipated school events of the year is the Dance Festival.  So fun!

Maren, our little hula girl:

The mountains are also showing off.

Ellie, dancing with a BOY for the traditional 4th grade square dance:

And the kindergarten, preparing to do the Mexican Hat Dance:

And then, the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!  HOO-LAH!  I'm excited to have my kids to myself and to not wake up to alarms in the morning.  Plus, shaved ice, mountain hikes, family gatherings, bbqs, hot dog roasts, s'mores, camping, the list goes on and on!  Bring on summer!

This school year got a big thumbs up from the boy:

Side note:  Maren's class had a pajama party this morning, hence her outfit.

It has been a good year for my kids!  They've worked hard and learned and grown so much.  Now to soak them all in before they grow anymore!

Our neighborhood is pretty fun.  I love where we live!  We have neighbor moms who welcome all the kids as they walk home from school.  Silly string is involved.  The kids love it.

Then, our neighbor hosts an "Otter Pop n Dance Party" in front of her home.  Another fun tradition!  My girls were taking their time walking home from school, but they eventually got there too.

As a side note, our family has reached a new milestone.  Otter pops no longer require assistance from mom.  This is a big one, folks!

Neighborhood friends are having a big picnic this afternoon as well.  What a great way to kick off summer!

And my kids waste no time getting into this summer business.  Right now they are in swimsuits running around the backyard with their friends squirting each other with water blasters.  Let the non-stop summer party begin!

Party

 For Dad's 80th, we threw a big birthday bash.  It was such a fun afternoon!

The Dude, not wanting a photo taken:

There was yummy food, of course!  We don't do celebrations any other way!

There are 12 children in my family.  11 of us were there.  That is not too shabby!  Brian, we missed you whole bunches!  Also in attendance were my parents' siblings and their spouses as well as long-time friends and neighbors.  Quite the gathering!

Mom requested we sing one of Dad's favorite songs from way back when, "Sweet Violets."  

We did our best.

 We also had Dad's history and a short video of everyone in the family wishing dad a happy birthday.  Dad ended with  his testimony.  Such a perfect way to celebrate 80 years of a life well lived!

Dad's cake:

 My favorite part is the little cow poops in the cow corral.  Poop happens.

Me and my Daddy:

All the siblings with Mom and Dad (missing one):

All of the girls:

Most of the boys:

My Mom and sister are extremely talented seamstresses and quilters.  They been working hard on this amazing quilt:

 That's my Daddy checking it out.  Those blocks are not photos printed on material, that is pieces of material.  All the colors are different pieces appliqued together.  Um, amazing!  The plaid strips are my dad's work shirts.  That is my daddy's whole life all in one quilt.  What a gift of love.  I love it that they included Daddy's favorite saying, "It's just fine."  He really does say that all the time.

Cute kids:

Cousins are fun!

My awesome sister Belinda hooked the kids up with entertainment:

 Ok, so it wasn't just for the kids.  Nick flung me around the gym a time or two as well.  :)

I think my favorite part of the day was when we all gathered back at Mom and Dad's after the party.  I very much enjoyed spending time with my siblings, some I don't see very often.  There was much laughing and I didn't want to go home.  I love these people and am so grateful they belong to me!

Thanks for having a birthday so we could have a reason to get together and celebrate, Daddy!

And next up on the calendar?  End of school!  2.5 more days!  Yee-haw!

80 Years

 My Dear Daddy,

Happy Birthday!  Today you are 80 years old!  That is definitely worth celebrating!  It is an honor and a privilege to be your daughter.  I am so proud to be yours!  When I think back of my memories with you two things stand out in my mind.  First, we worked along side you.  We were normal kids and had plenty of time to daydream and play and use our imaginations, but we were also expected to help carry the load of a family farm.  I fed calves, hauled hay, helped corral cows that had got loose, cared for a garden, rolled hay bales, moved water and any other tasks that needed completed on a farm.  You were a gentle task master and worked right along side of us.   At 80 years old, you are still out there working!  You don't know what "retirement" means!  I'm so grateful that you taught me to work!

The second thing that stands out to me is our family vacations.  Every summer we would plan and go somewhere.  Some of our trips included:  Disneyland, Black Hills of South Dakota, Nauvoo, Texas, Montana, Seattle, Oregon, San Diego, St. George, Yellowstone, Colorado, Mesa Verde, Branson, and others I'm sure that I'm missing.  The point is that we went and spent quality time together, which was usually a hard thing to come by on a Dairy Farm.  I remember swimming in the ocean with you, having picnics, telling us to turn off movies in the car and look out the windows!  I remember many a hotel room with kids wherever we could find a flat surface (two chairs pushed together was a favorite) and Dad snoring away.  :)  You always wanted to go out to a nice sit-down restaurant while us kids just wanted Happy Meals from McDonalds and a swim at the hotel pool.  You taught me to swim on these trips and would usually get in the pool with us, tossing us in the water and playing games with us and letting us hang around your neck.  These are sweet memories to me.

Daddy, I love you!  I'm so grateful for your example.  You love the gospel and live it.  I love your motto, "it's just fine" and I think of that often as I'm worrying and things that don't really matter in the end.  You have always been there to support me and my family and I'm so grateful for your gentle influence as I raise my own children.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!  Here's to many more!

Love,
Your #10

Daddy, I'm loving your pant/shirt combo in this one!

Daddy with 11 kids (one more to come):

Me and my Daddy:

See Grandpa's tie?  I got it for him while on my mission in Australia (see the kangaroos?) and he dutifully wears it to every "Wendy event".  I love it!

 Love you, Daddy!

From the Phone

 These photos are all from my phone, I don't want you to be thinking that my "real" camera takes such lousy photos.  ;)

These last few weeks, I've been working on some projects.  Project #1, refinish this dresser we got off of ksl classifieds for the little girls.

Before:

And after:

 These photos don't give the blue color justice.  I really love it, and I love the crystal knobs I got off of Amazon for a steal.  So girly and pretty!  

Project #2, put some of the boy's baby clothes into a quilt:

It was REALLY  hard for me to make that first cut into those sweet onesies and sleepers, but I figured I'd get to see and enjoy them forever in a quilt, otherwise they'd just end up at DI or in a box somewhere.  It turned out just darling!

Some close-ups:

The little fuzzies will come off eventually.  It's soft and snuggly, too.  :)  I plan to do ones for the girls as well, but it'll be awhile, I only have the drive for so long.  It'll come back, I hope.

Other happenings?

Everett had his kindergarten program.  He's learned and grown so much this year!  We sure love the guy (despite it looking like I'm choking him in this photo)!

 Thumbs up from the dude.

Nick and Everett went to Fathers & Sons Friday night.  It has been a much anticipated event for the one boy in the house!  He made his own chart and has been counting down for quite awhile.  They had a good time.

Meanwhile, me and the girls had fun of our own.  First stop, dinner:

And then we went to my nephew's wedding reception.  They looked so happy!  I'm so happy for them!  It was great to be with family.  M is always a favorite:

 My parents just looked so nice in that photo.  Love you, Mom and Dad!

We had our own little campout at my parent's house.  Well, not really a campout.  We were indoors, with real mattresses and everything.  The girls had great fun with their cousins and watching movies and roaming the farm.  It's always a treat to spend the night at Grandma's house.

And, then, more celebrations!  It was Nick's mom's 70th birthday, and we had to celebrate that!

We took her out to eat: 

 That is a fuzzy photo, but I love mom's smile in that one.

Then, we joined the cousins and sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and presents:

All 11 grandkids:

Where it started:

 It was a great night, reminiscing about Mom's years gone by.  She is a special lady and I'm so grateful I can claim her as mine!

Funny boys:

I know, this is a long post, huh?  Almost there!

Are we done with school yet?  Ellie working on her county presentation board:

 Found out about that one the day before it was due.  Communication, people!!

I read somewhere that only 6% of kids choose to play outside these days.  Sad, huh?  Not my kids, though.  They are outside a good portion of the day, especially when it's not too hot and not too cold.  I encourage them to use their creativity and imagination, and uh, sometimes they come up with some pretty crazy things.  Like this, taken from my kitchen window:

 Homemade zipline out of a garden hose.  Yep, great idea, guys!  I'm sure that one's going to work.  :)

8 more days!