4th of July

On July 2nd, I drove down to Orem for a cousin birthday lunch. Before we left, I took a picture of Emily modeling this cute festive outfit that Sister Larabee, a sweet lady in our ward, made for her.

Here's some of the kids enjoying their lunch. They loved those Cheetos...and they had orange faces to prove it!

Jon was cracking me up! He would growl every time he found a new dinosaur to play with. And here's Ems playing with dolls. Isn't that the cutest doll house you have ever seen?

On the 4th of July, my ward had their annual breakfast that my parents were able to attend with us, since they were in town. After breakfast, they have a Candy Cannon that shoots out candy to all the kids. Emily was really proud of her small bag of candy. She gets all excited when she sees this picture because it reminds her of that fun experience! Isn't my mom cool with her sunglasses and stylin' hat? I think she looks cute!

I brought out the parachute for the kids, and we had all sorts of fun with it!

My dad can always get my kids to smile. He was teasing Jon by taking his sippy cup and pretending to drink out of it. He's such a sweet grandpa!

That afternoon, we had a fun BBQ with both my sisters and their families, my cousin, Carolynn and her family, and my mom and dad. It's been a blast having the three sisters together again in the same town. I just wish we could see my three brothers and their families more often. Here's Emily jumping on the tramp at Margaret's house, where we had the BBQ. You can't keep this girl away from the trampoline every time we visit. She's also wearing another 4th of July outfit that Sister Larrabee made for her.

After the BBQ, we headed over to see Wade's mom and step-dad. She's a grandma that loves to snuggle with her grandkids and Emily is perfectly fine with that because she enjoys it too!

What a surprise! Jon has climbed on top of the couch again...hehehe...at least he's a happy boy!

hi, ho, hi, ho, it's off to the zoo we go...

It was another fun day at the Hogle Zoo, thanks to my friend, Michelle, who invited us to join her. We went at the best time of day, right when they open at 9am, before it gets too busy or too hot!

This was the first time I had Emily stand in front of the Gorilla to compare how much bigger he is than her. It was HILARIOUS to see and hear her make loud Gorilla noises!
Zach and Emily climbed up a small hill and started chasing each other around and around the bushes. They were so cute together!
Here's Zach and Ems saying hello to their favorite animal, the giraffe (it's my favorite too).


The Hogle Zoo has just added this great new carousel, with zoo animals to ride instead of horses. Emily chose a giraffe to ride and Zach changed his mind in the middle of the ride, so Michelle helped him climb off the giraffe and onto a lion. Silly guy! And here's Emily and Jonathan playing with the famous water ball to try to cool off.

family photo-Jon, Emily, and mommy

Memory Game

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. Come on, it'll be fun, just try it!

"Camping" with friends

The last weekend in June, we decided to go "camping" with our friends, Ben and Kelly Clegg and Aaron and Britni Lively. After church, we headed up the mountain, had an amazing dutch oven dinner, roasted marshmallows, ate s'mores, and then went back home to our comfy beds. That's right, the best parts of camping, but without having to sleep over with kids. Why we never thought of this before, I don't know, but we will for sure make it a tradition!

Here's Britni and Aaron holding little Kyle, Catherine holding Jon, Emily, and Wade. Check out Wade's awesome boy scout fire!

Ben, Ryan, and Kelly holding Ethan. Ben was the talent behind the dutch oven cooking. He did a great job!

I can never eat a smore without thinking of the movie, Sandlot, during their campout in the treehouse

chubby red-headed kid: Hey, you want a s'more?

Smalls: some more what?

chubby kid: No, no you want a s'more?

Smalls: I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?

chubby kid: you're killing me, Smalls!

(You may have heard me quote that last line because I do...a lot)

me: What the? Emily, why do you have dirt all over your face?

Em: I play in the dirt and make a cake for you.

me: Wade! Go get the camera! :) We could not stop him, I swear. Jon was so filthy...and happy I might add, that we just shook our heads and laughed...
... and the laughing continues!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

After Jon's friend, Gibby, had his 1st birthday party, we were invited to join them to the Bee's baseball game. I had never been to a Bee's game, so I wasn't sure if it was going to be another "welcome to hick-ville" like the Blaze football game we had recently attended. To my surprise, it was a lot more family-friendly than I had expected, and maybe that's because the game was on a Monday night so many were there for their Family Home Evening activity. There were just tons of families. It was great! Cute little boys: Ashton, Jonathan, Gibby, and Chase

The nice thing about watching the game from the grassy area rather than up in the stands is that the kids had more freedom to play. Emily and the girls had fun rolling down the hill, playing ring around the rosies, and dancing, while Gibby and Jon were crawling everywhere trying to escape! Traci and I even took the girls for a little while and let them play in the bounce houses and on the playground.

Family photo in front of the baseball field. Go Bees!

Water Fun

We have had so much fun playing in the water this summer! Here's Emily kicking back and relaxing when we went swimming with my sister-in-law, Diana. It was a blast!

Jon was so tired, almost falling asleep in my arms in the water so he was more cuddly than usual. It was really sweet!

After swimming, Diana's mom brought out the donuts and the kids were in heaven. Ramsi is such a cutie! This picture cracks me up because it looks like she is saying, "Please...No pictures!"

The next week, we met up with Traci and her kids at the Murray Pool. Etta and Emily were quite the little fishies in the water.

Jonathan's favorite thing was to crawl out of the pool and kneel right next to it, and just splash, splash, splash! He thought it was pretty funny...and so did we.
Although we didn't see our favorite American Idol, David Archuletta, we did have a fun day at the Murray Pool and will definitely be back.

The next day, on Saturday, we were invited to a nice luncheon at Thanksgiving Point with the commercial real estate company, Commerce CRG, that Wade is doing an internship for. Afterwards, we stopped by Wade's aunt and uncle's house for a quick visit. We were pleasantly surprised to find that his Grandpa and Grandma Maughan were there as well, visiting from St. George. Then we headed over to spend time with Wade's brother, Jeff and his family.
We had a really nice visit with Jeff and Elizabeth while Emily, Jon, Caleb and Jake all played together in the pool, in the sandbox, and on the swingset. It was fun to watch my kids play with their cousins.
These two boys are dangerous together because they're both fearless! Jake would climb on top of the pool wall and jump right in and Jon would follow right after him.

Jon just being silly

Emily saying, "Push me higher Daddy!"

Brazilian Party

I got together with three of my good friends for a Brazilian Party, hosted by Janese and her Brazilian hubby, Carlos. We had an amazing evening together, talking and laughing and wondering why our husbands weren't talking as loud as we were??? haha Has anyone else figured out WHY girls get together and all of a sudden talk a few decibels louder than usual? ;)

the girls L to R: Janese Botelho (5 months pregnant), me, Kim Williams, and Caralee Baker Before the party, Janese and Caralee watched our kids so that Wade and I could attend the Provo Temple. They took the kids for a walk to go feed the ducks, and Jon was just enjoying cuddle time with Syndey, Caralee's little girl.
Jon and Sydney sittin' in a tree...k-i-s-s-i-n-g! Well, okay, it's a stroller, not a tree, but aren't they cute together?
After the yummy Brazilian dinner, we all hung out in the famous orange living room to talk. Check out the carpet and furniture...classic, eh? Wade and Emily played "airplane," which makes her happier than anything. I love to watch them play together.
Cute kids! L to R: Jonathan, Sydney, Bentley, and Emily

Random Photos

I promise I did not set this up. I was on the computer and heard a cute little, "Hi mommy!" So I turned around, and this is what I saw. This girl is crazy! She likes to wear princess panties over her diaper, put her hat and sunglasses on and call daddy on the Buzz Lightyear phone. She makes me laugh, even when I'm having a hard day!
Emily is always kissin' on her brother, but he likes it though! You can see the scab on her cheek from taking a hard dive into the pavement the day before. What a brave girl!
This was just a sweet photo of Emily with her friend, Niki Michie, after spending the morning at Wheeler Farm.
Jon lives on top of the kitchen table. He climbs up there so much, I've thought about making a bed for him there, too! Jon was all smiles playing in the pop-up tunnels at my cousin, Karen's house. He just loved chasing Ethan!

Busy Week

Since I plan on printing our blog as our family scrapbook, I didn't want to leave this out. These pictures are from a fun, busy week we had a month ago. I'm still trying to play catch-up so you'll have to bare with me! I promise I'll post the camping pictures soon, Kelly and the 4th of July pics for you mom!

Before our friends, Jared and Kathy Allen, moved to St. Louis, we invited them over for Sunday dinner. We had a really nice visit with them, and afterwards the kids had a blast playing with our water table. Look closely at Jonathan's face and you'll crack up laughing! He's an intense little guy!

Spencer thought Jon was his personal pet or something as he kept pouring water on him and then creating a Mohawk with his wet hair. : ) It was hilarious!

That Wednesday, we celebrated the birthday of my nephew, Alex. As always, when we are at my sister Margaret's house, the kids (including Wade, who's really just a big kid himself) just love to jump on the trampoline! Taylor is holding Jon and Wade is holding Hailey and Emily. Next time, I'll post pictures of Wade showing off his sky high back flips and other tricks on the tramp. He's such a dare devil! You should see him on the slopes. He knows I freak out when he does anything risky like that because I don't like to pay hospital bills! (and I don't like to see him get hurt, of course)

Here's Taylor and Jon playing "crack the egg" on the tramp. And here's a picture of the kids at the big kid table. Although he's only 6 years-old, Alex got to sit with the adults because it was his birthday. :) This was the first time that Jonathan sat at the big kid table. It was so cute, but I'm not sure how I feel about my baby growing up so fast!

On Thursday, I watched Bentley while my friend, Kim, went to the dentist. Bentley and Jon are just a month a part and they really get along well. They played peek-a-boo with a blanket for like a half hour! Whoever said kids aren't entertained easily?!

The boys also enjoyed just staring at the window, pointing (and yelling) at each truck and car that passed by. Their favorite activity, however, had to be the Magnadoodle. When I told Kim about it, she was thrilled to discover that her 1 year-old was a little Picasso and of course bought him a mini-Magnadoodle the next day! They sure come in handy at church and long car-rides!

On Friday, I drove down to Orem with Austin and Ruthanne to my Aunt Grace's house so we could visit with my Grandpa Callister, who was staying there for a few days. I'm always impressed at how caring and personable he is when we talk. He seems genuinely interested in my life, and that means the world to me. He acted pleasant and cheerful, but a little tired.

Yesterday when Wade and I went to visit Uncle Roy and Aunt Arba, who's my grandma's sister, she said she's really concerned about my Grandpa's health and how long he's going to be "here." I thought about it on the way home and how much my Grandpa misses my Grandma. When He does pass away, I know it will be a wonderful reunion for my grandparents to be together again. I truly am grateful for the knowledge I have about Heavenly Father's plan for us. It sure eases the pain when life is hard, especially in losing a loved one.

When my parents were in town that weekend to sing with the Southern Utah Heritage Choir, we all got together at our house for a yummy dinner. We discovered that night that Jon LOVES to eat salad. Weird, but cool, eh? And he was also making us laugh when he was tromping around wearing a Davy Crockett hat. What a silly boy!

I was so proud of my parents as they sang with the Heritage Choir in the Salt Lake Capital building. The acoustics in that building are amazing! The choir sounded beautiful! Emily kept waving to them in the middle of their performance and saying, "Hi Grandma. Hi Grandpa. You singing? Okay. You come to my house for a party? Okay. Hi." That girl sure loves her grandparents!