Early anniversary gift!

I have been complaining for some time about needing/wanting a newer, bigger grill and up until now my husband has just dismissed it as another "thing" that we really don't need. I have been cooking on a little dinky, table-top gas grill for the past 10 years or so and with our growing family and extended family that lives nearby it just isn't cutting it anymore. Well, unbeknownst to me DH started asking around about grills and decided that he would get me one this year for an anniversary gift. At first he was just going to get one based off of some recommendations but then decided that he wanted to have my input on it since I am the one that will be using it. We checked in a couple of stores and found one that we liked but I really wanted to have a side burner with it and that was only available if we special ordered it or bought it online.

Our old grill
After looking around online we found that the grill was going to be the same price no matter where we bought it so we found a place online that was offering free shipping and no sales tax. The website is CSgrills.com and is based in Canada. The free shipping offer was going to end soon so we wanted to order it before that expired, but we were also going to be leaving on our family vacation soon and didn't want it to arrive while we were gone. The shipping estimate was about 2-3 weeks plus processing time (a few days). So we ordered it on the last day of the sale so that it would definitely arrive after we got home from our trip. (And wouldn't you know it, but the next day the free shipping promo had been extended another week. I hate it when places do that!)

We placed the order on Monday, July 6th and on Monday, July 13th I got an email from the company with the package tracking info. So I went to the website and entered the tracking info and it said that the grill had been shipped a few days before that and arrived in Salt Lake that morning! We were leaving for our trip on Wednesday - the shipment wasn't supposed to be in until the 24th at the earliest!! I got a call from the delivery company later that day asking if we could set up a delivery time for that week. I said that it would have to be Tuesday because we were going out of town on Wednesday (and initially we had planned on leaving on Tuesday but then bumped it back a day that Sunday). So DH stayed home from work on Tuesday and worked from home so he could be here for the delivery (the box the grill was in was VERY heavy). They delivered the grill in the early afternoon on Tuesday and we sent an hour or two putting it together so we could make some room in the garage.

The day after we arrived home from our trip we went out and bought some propane for the grill and I have used it several times since then. So far I am loving it! The grill is really easy to light and I am amazed at how quickly things cook on it (plus we don't have to heat up the house as much)! I also love that it is green and not the standard black! I haven't tried the side burner yet but plan to soon. If anyone has some great grilling recipes or tips, please send them my way! My goal is to cook at least once a week on it.

Leaving on our family vacation & a birthday

I always have a hard time blogging after we come back from family vacations because there is so much to blog about and I'm never sure where to start - plus it takes a while to get unpacked and settled back down after we get home - plus this time around the kids started school as soon as we got back!

My husband's family decided to have their first family reunion this summer. DH's mom rented a house near the Oregon coast and so we drove up a day early and spent the night at his parents' house before we headed to the coast. The drive takes our family about 13 hours with stops so it is a long drive - especially for Baby K who can't understand why she has to stay strapped in her car seat all day long! We ended up leaving on Blondie's birthday so I brought a few presents with us for her to open in the car and at Grandma's house and told her that we would be having a family party for her with a few more presents after we got home from the vacation. Blondie was really good about it and loved the toy dog that she got, as well as new sunglasses and a pack of gum. We let her pick where we would stop for lunch (McDonald's with a playplace) and she brought a happy birthday button with her that she put on first thing when we got in the car to leave for our trip. The button was given to her by her kindergarten teacher the last week of school since her birthday was in the summer. DH got a kick out of seeing her wear the button around and whenever we were around other people she tried to draw their attention to it!

DH's mom was kind enough to have dinner for us when we arrived at their house and she even made a cake for Blondie for her birthday. Blondie was able to open another gift from us there as well as the gifts from DH's parents. Then we broke out the sleeping bags and set up the kids on the floor in the family room for the night.

Stretching out the legs at a rest stop.

She can do it!!

Baby K has finally figured out how to walk! We came home from our vacation late Thursday night and Baby K was so ecstatic to be out of the car. She started walking a little here and there and then on Saturday things seemed to finally click for her and she is walking everywhere now! It is fun to walk into the room and she her standing there or toddling around trying to get across the room. I can't believe that my little baby is getting so big! She looks so much older now that she is walking around!

Updated title image

We were given a newer computer a couple of months ago and gave the old computer to my husband's brother. It wasn't until after using the new one for a little while that I realized that it didn't have the same imaging software on it and so I wasn't going to be able to easily update my title image anymore. So today I finally sat down and figured out how to do a similar image using the new computer software and I updated all of the kid pictures and ages on it. So it is now current - at least until Thursday when M&M turns 11! Then I'll see how easy it is (or not) to update the new one!

Another school year begins...

After only 3 weeks off for the summer, the kids are back in school already! M&M and Luke started yesterday and Blondie started today. Yesterday they just had the first graders go to the school to meet their teacher and figure out where their classroom is. I can't believe that Blondie is going to be gone for a whole day of school now and eat lunch there! I know that Kitty will miss her. Blondie was a little nervous because she only knows one of the kids in her class, but I'm sure she'll do fine after a few days and her teacher seems really nice.

I also can't believe that M&M is in 6th grade this year - her last year of elementary school! When we first moved into our house she was just starting kindergarten!

Family pictures

We finally went last Wednesday evening to get some family pictures taken. This is our first set of professional pictures since Baby K was born - it has been about a year and a half since our last pictures. After DH got home from work we drove over to J.C. Penney's and actually got a decent picture - no tears and for the most part everyone cooperated. I definitely like more of the traditional look for our family pictures with everyone dressed up and sitting close together as a family. I'm excited to get the prints back next week. We also got a few taken of just the kids together - there was one that was okay that we got but I think I will take them back before school starts up again to just focus on a kids picture - and M&M wants to do this one in casual clothes. I think we can get some cute ones of just the kids in casual clothes - I just have to work up the energy and patience to take them all there again!

July 4th Activities

We started out the 4th with our neighborhood parade again. This is a really enjoyable activity for the kids - they love decorating their bikes and helmets and dressing up in red, white and blue. My parents came over for the parade and the neighborhood pancake breakfast immediately following. It was perfect weather with a slight breeze and cloudy skies. We were wondering if it would rain, but it didn't.
After breakfast I set up 2 wading pools in the backyard and let the kids play in them in the afternoon. This was Baby K's first experience with the pools this season and she had a blast. I filled up a smaller pool for her so she could play without the older kids splashing her. I was a little worried about whether she would like it or not because lately she has not enjoyed taking baths - she has been trying to stand up in the tub lately and has taken a couple of spills that have traumatized her... So I introduced Baby K to the pool slowly and she finally just climbed in and sat down. She had fun splashing and throwing toys in the water. At one point, DH came out to watch and when Baby K decided that she had had enough she reached up for him and gave him a big, wet hug.
After the swimming we had dinner with my parents at our house and then had homemade strawberry ice cream and my annual flag cake. Then we left for the fireworks show. Unfortunately the show started really, really, really late and we were exhausted by the time we got home. Baby K stayed awake for the whole show and didn't complain once about the loud noises or bright lights. She's such a trooper!I let Baby K eat some of my corn on the cob, but she wanted to hold it and feed it to herself!

Waiting for the fireworks show to start...
Did I mention that the show started really, really , really late??? 4 of the 5 kids were asleep by the time we got home - I'm not sure how Blondie could sleep like that!!

Last day of school!

Today was finally the last day of the school year for my kids. It has been a good year for them all and they have all done well in their classes. M&M and Blondie had awesome, incredibly caring teachers that I know they will miss. Luke's teacher just finished up her first year of teaching and did a good job for her first year. She is headed off to teach in Texas for the next school year. We will be switching back to 'A' track next year so my kids only get 3 weeks off for their summer (and we will be on vacation for a good portion of that) and then they head back for their new classes. The good thing about 'A' track though is that they will get out of school in early June instead of going until July again...