Blondie is 10!

Monday, July 15

Blondie is a cute 10 year old who wishes she was older than she is.  Unfortunately that meant that she was a little disappointed in her presents because she really wanted something that we have decided to not give our children until they are at least 12.  She managed to be okay in the end and be happy with her presents regardless.  Since all the kids were home this day I took Blondie out to some stores to do some clothes shopping - one of her favorite things to do.  She was able to pick out a couple of outfits and I was able to quickly run to another store afterwards to find a cute shirt to match some shorts that she had picked out.  Blondie also requested an ice cream cake which has become a very popular recipe since I started making it!

Super cute outfit for her doll.

One of the outfits Blondie picked out.

It's raining, it's pouring!

Saturday, July 13

This is what happens when your kids grow up in Utah:

It is such a phenomenon when it rains that they have to go outside and play in it!  It was absolutely pouring this day!  And there were a couple of times where it slowed down and looked like it was going to stop and then it would start up again really hard.  I think it rained for a good 20 minutes or so which is unusual for a July day in Utah.

Luke goes to Scout Camp

Wednesday, July 10

Luke missed the 11-year old camp last year so we did everything we could to make sure that he was here for the Scout camp this year.  We were able to schedule our activities such that he went and then a couple of days later we left for our trip to Washington/N family reunion.

Here is a picture of Luke and some of the group right before they left:

They left on Wednesday and stayed 3 nights.  They went to a campground called Wolf Creek which is in the Uintahs.  They worked on the wood carving, geocaching, and shotgun shooting merit badges.  Kyle really enjoyed shooting the shotguns (surprise, surprise).  To earn that merit badge, they have to hit at least 24 out of 50 targets (in this case they used clay pigeons shot into the air).  Apparently Luke was doing really poorly at the beginning and everyone thought that he wasn't going to be able to get the 24 targets, but amazingly he was able to get it together in the end and pulled it off.  Luke was really happy about that!

Hairdresser

M&M loves to learn new, fun hairstyles to try on herself and her sisters.  Here are a couple of recent ones that I have taken pictures of:

Hairstyle #1

Hairstyle #2 - This one is supposed to look like a bow.

Hairstyle #3

Hairstyle #4

Pool time!

Saturday, July 6

We met up with my sister-in-law and her two boys up at the Draper Pool near my parents' house.  We were amazed with how empty the pool was on a Saturday!  I'm not sure if everyone was out of town or what but I have never seen that pool so empty!  We had a lot of fun playing around there and then headed to my parents' house for dinner.  It kept threatening to storm that afternoon/evening and DH had brought his bike to ride back to our house.  I think he got rained on a little but most of it came after he got home.

Happy Pancakes!

Friday, July 5

I had some fun making pancakes with some leftover strawberries and blueberries!

Independence Day 2013

Thursday, July 4

We started out our day with the neighborhood parade again.  This year Luke, Blondie, Kitty and Kay all rode their bikes and M&M pushed MJ in the stroller.  I walked alongside to help Kay out since she still has training wheels.  I was a bit nervous with Kitty riding her bike since she had just learned to ride a two wheeler, but she did just fine.  It turns out that Blondie took a spill and scraped up her knee - which you can see in the picture!

After the parade and pancake breakfast, we came home and filled up the pools for some afternoon water fun. 

After dinner we were debating whether to try and go to a fireworks show or not.  With the way that MJ reacted to our home fireworks, I was not sure if she could handle a professional show.  After some deliberating we decided to try the Sandy City fireworks.  I brought some activities and treats for the kids and some earplugs and some ear protection headphones that DH uses when he does some of the yard work.  I was also prepared to make a quick escape to the car if needed.

After we got to the fireworks location we found a place to sit and the kids were playing some games when all of a sudden we recognized a group of people walking our direction.  It was two families from our ward that we are good friends with.  We ended up moving our blankets closer together to make room for them.  It turned out really nicely because one of the families has two kids that are good friends with M&M and Luke.

Kay posing for the camera with the headphones on.

MJ decked out with her glow sticks and headphones on.  Ready (or not) for the show to begin.

When they turned the lights off to prepare for the show to begin, I grabbed MJ and put her on my lap.  She was not excited at all about the fireworks but with the headphones on and my hands over top of them, I think she was surprised when the first fireworks were shot off and she hardly heard anything!  She sat there calmly on my lap the whole time and about halfway through the show she fell asleep!  Yea!!!

Afterwards it was pretty quick getting out of the parking lot and a short drive home!  Success!!

Cousin fun!

July 2 & 3
My brother from Missouri came with his family to visit for a few days at the beginning of July.  We had some fun with them playing on the slip-n-slide Tuesday afternoon and then on Wednesday we met up at Bridal Veil Falls to have a picnic lunch and play in the water.  DH was also able to meet up with us for the lunch.  That evening we had some dinner at our house followed by a home fireworks show.

 The water was freezing and some of the girls did not like playing in it for very long.

The water at the falls was FREEZING.  I'm not sure how some of the kids kept their feet in for so long.  The younger kids had a blast throwing rocks into the water and making it splash.  A couple of the kids had a little too strong of a throw though and we almost had a couple of hits - there were a lot of people around...

Sparklers!

Fountains!

MJ was absolutely terrified of the fireworks!  Even when sitting with me with my hands over her ears she was completely freaking out so I finally took her inside and let her watch a movie while we were outside.  Kay on the other hand - after the last fireworks were finished (the aerials) she said that she loved it and the last ones were her favorites!

Aerial