4th of July

 The Elders Quorum were in charge of our ward Breakfast and Justin disappeared during the wee hours of the morning to set up and prepare the feast.

We walked through waving red, white, and blue flags that lined the path to the park.  The warm sun was streaming down penetrating our shoulders.  The smell of bacon cooking on the outdoor grills lead us directly to the pancake table.  We filled our plates with pancakes, syrup, and eggs, topped it off with fruit, poured our juice and settled into a big circle to visit with everyone.

After everyone was satisfied with an ample amount of pancakes we went home to change into our swim gear.

The party continued at Garrett and Stacey's pool.  We each brought a dish to compliment the grilled burgers.

An intense game of basketball ensued in one section of the pool while kids were being thrown around and splashing in another.

After hours of wearing out the littles, relaxing, and hanging out everyone went home to change and to get ready for the firework show.

We ended up at our secret spot at Pine Hurst Country club.

Lots of blankets and pillows laid at the foot of a row of camping chairs.  Justin's parents and Uncle Joel and Aunt Lisa were there also.

The kids checked out the ducks swimming in the lake, tossed around the balls, and raced until the show started.

It was amazing.  The sky burst into colors followed by loud booms you could feel in your heart.  It went on forever interrupted by clapping and cheering.  The finale was incredible and made you feel so grateful to be apart of something that celebrated this nation.

The Lazy Days of Summer...

Many of Mammy's puddin pops were consumed when the cousin's arrived.  It was non stop chocolaty cute faces and sticky fingers.

Lots of fun was had in the backyard.  Sprinklers, games, swinging, balls and squealing.

We ate lots of sandwiches, had breakfast for dinner, and managed to squeeze in a taco run.

Justin set up the tent and the boys slept under the stars.

Goodie bags were gathered and Rio 2 was watched at the theater.

The boys showed off their bowling skills and scarfed down pizza and pop.

They practiced skits and shows and had a sleepover.

Bonds were strengthened and these laughing cousins were transformed yet again into great friends.

Swim Day

 To kick off having the Arizona cousins in town we headed to the pool.  The boys were finishing off their swim lesson session with Kimi.  She made it really fun and let Nathan and Tanner race and then handed out suckers.

I loved seeing how much the boys improved this year with their swimming.  Going from doggy paddle to actual strokes has been a blast to watch the last few years.

Glue... Again!

This little man has kept us on our toes this year.  We have been into urgent care several times with him and his puncture wounds.

He recently had a scooter accident where he didn't make a sharp enough turn and scootered into our red Jimmy.  His head had an egg sized knot and a hole on the tippy top.  I knew it was deep but it wasn't until the swelling went down and a DENT appeared that we decided to take him in.

His muscle separated resulting in a soft mushy dent and he was able to be mended with some good ole super glue.  We will take that over stitches any day!

A month or so later I heard "the cry" and knew it wasn't good.

I ran into the boys bedroom and saw blood pouring out of Kendall's head.  He injured the exact spot of his last bump.

He and Nathan were messing around and he flew into his book shelf right by his bed.

I cleaned him up the best I could and took him right in.

The bleeding subsided and his prayers were answered with glue over stitches...again.

He was all smiles and and that made my heart happy.

Vikings

Sometimes you get a hold of a really good hat and you know that you are going to have some major fun with it.

And sometimes when you try on the hat it transforms you into a time period that is relevant and automatically you become a burly viking.

And then it ques the laughter and the entertainment.

That is my kind of hat.

In the Clouds...

I am blessed to have a mom that takes my hand and drags me on an airplane with hope and endurance seeping out her pores.

I have rode on her shirt tails more than I can keep track of on this journey.  She sees most things with rose colored glasses and I have had to borrow her certainty on several occasions.

I trust her feelings and motherly instinct and have felt a thick cloud of strength surround me on many occasions and I just know "mom's prayin' again."

Our trip to Utah was no exception.  It was full of anticipation and optimism.

 It was a little disheartening when we got a blow that there was some damage done to my brain (from when I fractured my skull at 2 years old and when they popped my sheath in my spine 6 times trying to administer my epidural with Kendall) but we slowly recovered with an incredible treatment plan.

I was able to get some pretty amazing treatments. One being a phospholine IV that took 5 hours and penetrated my blood brain barrier along with a visit from my sweet friend, Stephanie that really lifted my spirits.

Mom and I made the most of it and she lead me around the BYU bookstore, Cheesecake Factory, and let me sleep in the movie they show at the Joseph Smith Memorial building.

My Mom is a woman of great faith and a rock I lean upon daily.

I know it is not a coincidence that she is mine but an act of God.

And for that I will spend the rest of eternity being grateful.

A Nut we are Nuts About...

It was the Friday before Father's Day and Justin called me starving for a snack.  The kids shot over to his work and gave him an early Father's Day present.

A container of mixed nuts.

He deserves a new flat screen TV and a lobster dinner for being an amazing dad but instead he chose to be just as happy with his nuts.

There is a quote that goes, "I never knew how much I loved your dad until I saw how much he loves you" and boy is that ever true.  I love to watch him with the boys. I love to see him get emotional when we look at their baby pictures or when he sneaks them a kiss when they are asleep.

He's a good dad.

He is a good person.

Scout Camp BEAR Style

This was the second year for Nathan to attend Scout camp and let me tell you, he was excited!

We packed a delicious dinner for him everyday and sent him off at 2:00 pm anticipating his arrival at 8:00 pm so that we could hear everything.

Two days were cut short due to severe lightening but that didn't stop those cubs from having fun.  Nathan's highlights were getting tipped over in the canoe and having Justin there with him for one of the days.

Kindergarten Plays

The last day of school was Kindergarten plays and a picnic at the park.

Kendall's play was "Light Up the Night" and he played the Bee.  It was shear talent, I tell you.

It was fun to see all his little classmates but sad to say goodbye.

Cheers to a great year!

Nathan's Field Day...

 The day after Kendall's field day was Nathans' and let me tell you... he BROUGHT it!  

A perfect warm cloudy day for some fun competition.

When you are in third grade this special day is serious!  I was chuckling to myself at how competitive all these cute 9 year olds were.  And let me mention one more thing... You never and I mean never want to get beat by a girl or you just might have to fake an injury.  Maybe or maybe not half the third grade class of boys got beat by Violet and most of their ankles were suddenly sprained not to mention several pulled hamstrings.

I was very impressed with Nathan's hidden talent.... Limbo.  Who knew?

We sure loved watching him and once again, he was Kendall's hero.