Sunday, August 1, 2010

Pictures

As I pulled these pictures off of my camera for the week, I was reminded of life's little lessons. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Each picture deserves just a few. . .
Justin learned how to cut his own steak while listening to music. Doesn't music seem to make any task easier? Nothing else can inspire, touch, reveal, or motivate more. A plugged in tactic, he has most likely learned from his brother.
The lessons we learn from work are lifelong. The kids helped Ryan cut down and dig up the peach tree. (The squirrels were winning). Merit badges are fabulous. (Mostly)
Summer thunderstorms were discovered to be warm and fun, so what better time to go dancing in the streets with bathing suits and rainboots? The kids wanted me to do the same. Tempting.

At a water park day, the kids learned that rolling down the big, grassy hill in their bathing suits can make for itchy skin. My brothers and I used to do this at the golf course near my grandparents house. Yes itchy, but no we didn't stop.
This weekend, we learned that soccer tournaments aren't that bad when you can squeeze a movie in between games. Despicable me was really cute.
The kids learned that the ice cream from the ice cream truck is actually not poisoned, however the ice cream man might be.
Thursday - Beach day. These days are not necessarily lazy days. There is some serious building going on.

A few more summer pics . . .
Ryan packing up early to head out from scout camp and up to Bass Lake.
A great week at Fiesta Island.
Alie and Presley at Ashley's wedding.
Nana and Hoho with all ten grandkids.
And lastly, $1 Jamba Juice day. The yumberry - yummy!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Bass Lake 2010

Our Annual Bass Lake Trip. I love this tradition. I love that Alan loves it too. We are always sad when the week is over.

We relaxed. Laughed. Talked. Read. Swam. Ate. Floated. Tubed. Fished. Wake boarded. Ate some more. Fed ducks. Slept in. Held babies. Built mud volcanos. Befriended "Moose", the puppy. Played games. Had Movie nights and boat rides to Millers. The "Bass Lake Fairy" made her nightly visit to sleeping children, and we are already counting down the days until next year . . .

Baby Ford



The tree trunk was new this year.
They balanced, jumped, and sat on the trunk, and it never got old.

They also took jumping to a new height. They did this over and over again. Justin loved this. What a brave little guy! No picture, just the one in my head.
The relaxation station below.


Grandma and Grandpa. Super cute!

One of the pirate ships.
We kind of go a little crazy with all of the rafts and floating toys.

The Hoho
The Red Rocket
Some of the cousins ( minus 6 ) with their bags on a scavenger hunt Sunday afternoon.


Ryan with Cart Cart. (We are still singing Yo Gabba Gabba songs.)



Ahhh, sucking down a Rootbeer Freeze. My fave.

Every night as the sun went down, the kids would fish. Lindsay, Grams, and the boys baited the worms and crickets. Kids hooked fish left and right. The bucket would fill up with a family of fish and then we would dump them back in. Good to know we weren't swimming alone.

Ryan designed the T shirts for this year and Grams had them made.
Nice job Ry!


Love these memories.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The RV

Days 9-10. Zion National Park. The RV's last official stop. We drove the beast through Zion tunnel (a mile long), past Checkerboard Mesa, and into our campsite right outside the park.
We spent one day here, then a day to travel home . . . Goodbye Hoo Doo Doo Doo, Thanks for the ride.
We stayed cool during the day by tubing down the river. The guy without his shirt on got pretty toasty. We kept our bums up to avoid rocks, but occasionally got stuck, or bumped off from rapids. I took a few photos on the mellow parts. Yikes. The kids loved this, little J was really brave. He did not exactly meet the age requirement, but they made an exception for us. So nice! He had his hands behind his head most of the time and just enjoyed the ride! Daddy did all the work.






We also stayed cool with ice cream and hikes as the sun began to go down. It was pleasant at this time of night and we were able to see turkeys nesting up in the trees. Quite a sight to see so many large birds up in the trees at night.
Ice Cream
Sunset hikes
Our favorite was Weeping Rock.




Love you babe, Thanks for the adventure!!