A Little Slice Of Heaven!

This has been our view off our deck almost every evening this summer (when it's not raining). The kids eat Popsicles, Justin and I whip up a batch of frozen hot chocolate, and we try to savor the moment!

The Little Things...

I was at girls camp this week and it was the first time I've ever left my little guys. It was a blast but I can't explain the feeling I had sometimes. It was like I was physically craving to squish their little bodies, smell their hair, plaster them with millions of kisses, and I was DYING to hear their cute giggles!

I never knew how bad I would miss hearing Nathan belt out, "I Am A Naughty Child of God", or have a conversation that goes like this:

Nathan: Mom, my tummy hurts.
Me: What's wrong with it?
Nathan: I guess there must be lots of mustaches in it.
Me: eeewwwww! That's probably the sickest way I've ever heard a stomach ache being described. Are you going to be okay?
Nathan: Yea, but there's just lots in my tummy.

Justin's 30th!!!

We headed down to the Royal Gorge to do a little white water rafting and celebrate Justin's big 3-0! It surpassed all our expectations! I didn't expect it to be that beautiful!

At one point, we were going through class 4 and a class 5 rapid and an ex Guam fighter pilot, in his cherry red helicopter, was was loosing someones lunch in the canyon above us. Over to the left, a tram was coming down the world's steepest slope and the train full of passengers were going by on the tracks next to the river. Over to our right we almost slammed into a wall- peed our pants, died laughing, (when we knew we were going to be safe), and looked up to see the bridge hundreds of feet above us. It was breathtaking!

Half the fun was going with these guys! Brandon even made a great guide- who knew?! I've never seen anyone appreciate a gourmet sandwich the way Cody does and watch out- she 's got moves!

Nathan decided dad needed a tough crocodile cake but I think it turned out to be the worlds friendliest lizard!

Simple.

I forgot how fun it was to fly a kite! All you need is a little breeze- seriously, with the new "kite technology" you can get it up with very little effort, a beautiful evening, and lots of giggles!

The best part was watching Nathan "man" a kite for the first time! This is his mother speaking so of course I thought it was hilarious!

GOING:

GOING:GONE!!!

Busted!

This was fairly easy to clean up:

This entire bottle of suntan lotion however, was not!

Ridding Along In My Automobile!

Josh brought his go cart to the high school so that we could give the kids rides and laugh!

This was just way to much fun! I can't remember laughing so hard at Kami's stalls, mom not being able to find the brake, Aunt Jeri ripping over the speed bumps, and seeing the kids heads bobble back and forth when they rode with their dads.

GG and some of her Great Grandkiddos. They just love her and were loving spending the night at her house!

Mr. Kadden and his toothless smile!

Double Whammy!

It pays to have both sides of the family in one place! We got to see mom's side too! We had a birthday party for Doug in the middle of all the festivities at GG's house! These are all of the cousins that were there together!

Lovin' on Aunt Martha!

Look at that face!

Making up for lost time!

The three Amigos sipin' Lemonade in the back yard.

Makin' Us Laugh!

I was getting him situated on the floor and missed taking pictures of the synchronized swimming act! Shoot! He missed all of the annual Cardon talent show.

Singing "I looked out on Grandpa's FARM."
My pictures are dark because I was all the way in the back with Kendall.

Our talented Irish dancers wooed the crowd leaving us wanting more!

You will notice the cutest girls in the entire world doing their special number joined by none other than Tanner Cardon himself! One minute he was all the way in the back with me and the next I look up and he has joined the ladies on stage! Priceless! Or maybe his priceless moment was when he could not find the bathroom at the park and decided that the grass in front of everybody would just have to do! I love him!

Natalie and Mike doing a rendition of Phantom of the Opera that would have made the actual stars on Broadway very proud!

It was so fun to see everyone and their cute kids!

One ADORABLE Woman!

Happy 90th Birthday Granny!!!

I have so many amazing memories of you. The highlights:
Snuggling with you and Grandad in your bed. Playing office with Leah and Emily in the Apple tree and you bringing us all the supplies and apple slices we could ever dream of. Faking sick from school just so I could get the special treatment on the couch: Clean sheets, a steamed potato with milk and just the right amount of salt and pepper, a show, and you on the other couch for companionship checking on me every few minutes. The famous 7up floats, orange jello salad, toast with applesauce, and pork n beans with hamburger. Going out to Kirtland and spending the night with you while you took care of Aunt Peg. Talking me through an extremely hard time when I was in 7th grade. Holding my hand as I was going in for surgery. Stories all about the Aunts and Uncles- I made you tell me these over and over and you never acted like you minded. In fact I think I loved it so much because we would sit and laugh and laugh about all the "stupid" things they would do. Bringing us the Aunts clothes out of the closet so that we could pretend like we were going to all the dances. Getting our special poems for our Birthdays. Getting us the big floor pillows so that we could be comfy every time we watched a cartoon. A visit EVERY time I was sick accompanied with a mason jar full of homemade soup. Leah and I decorating the Christmas tree with you and Grandad right before Christmas. Leah and I standing in the back of the El Camino holding the new refrigerator all the way from Sears and you being so mad at Grandad for letting us do that. Helping us get ready for all the garage sales in the carport with Grandad (who would just end up giving all the stuff away and we made a $2.00 profit when we could sneak in a sale). Picking me up from all my basketball practices at McKinley. Helping me with my talks-this is when I would give them. Always knowing exactly what I needed to hear and telling me that some of my boyfriends were interesting.

I think the biggest lesson I have ever learned from you is service. You never pushed it on anyone but you were constantly doing something for someone. It wasn't always convenient, in fact it never was but you did it ever since I could remember. Fixing smashed dinners for Grandpa Tanner, Aunt Peg in the bedroom being moved every 30 minutes so that she would not get sores, Taking care of Aunt Elsie when she had alzhiemers, changing Grandpa Jones' dressings on his head when he had cancer, taking care of Gwen and all the hours spent over at their house, taking care of the Bloomfield's, Always making sure Deedo had a fresh tablet and sharp pencils, You truly knew how to make a person feel at home, comfortable, and loved. I could go on and on.

I guess the main thing is that I really love you and have such a deep respect for you and words will never be able to depict the effect you have had on my life.

My Dad!

What is your favorite thing to do with dad?
I like to go for rides and go to towns with him.

Best qualities of dad?
I like that he catches a big huge moth and gives me it for a pet! That is his good quality.

How much does dad weigh?
forty two hundred 562

How old is dad?
5200 point 2- He is old, like my grandpa!

Why does dad make you feel special?
He gives me all the things that I like... broccoli!

Where does dad work?
He works on his desk, he reads magazines, he pushes all the buttons to work- that's his job.

Why do you like dad?
I love him. I love something about dad. I like him to read stories.

Nathan- Age 4