Backyard Camping

The kids were totally excited when Brad started setting up the tent. He wanted to try out our new tent and last night was the perfect night. Nobody got too cold and I think everyone slept pretty well. I slept great....inside, with the whole bed to myself. Well, really, somebody had to sleep inside with Ellie! What a fun daddy Brad is. Thanks hon!

Oh What Do You Do In The Summertime...

Just a couple of weeks into "summer" and it seems we haven't stopped. Our June calendar has been filled with lots of stuff to do, but we've had a fun time. Swimming lessons (even amidst the rain and cold temps...and a pool heated to 90) have been so fun for the kids. We signed Tanner up for the first time this year and he's hilarious. The first day he was giggling like a little girl as he was getting in the water, he was so excited! They love their teacher!

This week Brad is in St. George for a basketball camp at Dixie State.....did I mention it was for a WHOLE WEEK!!! So far, so good....that is to say that my kids are still in one piece! We can't wait until Friday night!

Meagan has been playing machine pitch this summer and is loving it (and why wouldn't she? she's a sports fanatic!!) Apparently I haven't taken my camera to any of the games, so no pictures for this post, but she's got a couple games left and hopefully I'll remember to grab the camera. Brad holds a basketball camp every summer and this year Meagan was old enough to go. What a fun time! She was a little disappointed because she thought she was going to be sleeping over at the school..."camping". She's really improving and absolutely LOVES basketball.

Lindsay is Mrs. Friendly! She's lucky enough to have a lot of fun girls her age to play with, so she's constantly on the go, either here or there with her buddies! She loves her swimming lessons and is doing really well.

Tanner is Tanner, getting rougher all the time. Obviously I'm not going to let him drag Ellie around the room (or down the stairs for that matter) by her feet, even if he says he's being nice. He is a cutie though, and loves that his sisters are home all day....his personal entertainment!

Ellie still isn't walking; such a wimp. She'll take one step and then drop to her hands and crawl. Oh Ellie! She is definitely a momma's girl! It's nice that she loves me so much, but at the same time, I can't get anything done with her pulling on my pants or wanting to be held all day.

That's it from us for now!

Pure joy written across his face!

Linds at swim lessons

I found her this way...I think she was pretty proud of herself too.

What a cutie!

I wish I had a better picture of Meag at bball camp, but the others were blurry.

Oh boy! I promise you we DID NOT touch his hair after he got out of the pool....it just stuck up in all directions, so funny! (We gave him a haircut the next afternoon!)

Talent Show

Lindsay's 1st grade class had a talent show today. Her teacher sent a note home last week letting parents know and to have the kids get something ready if they wanted to. Linds had decided to show a picture that she'd colored, but over the weekend (lots of girl cousins.....playing High School Musical....yada yada yada, etc. etc.) she changed her mind and wanted to sing and dance. Linds chose a song that "Gabriella" (her favorite) sings and even asked her teacher if she could wear a dress to the talent show. She was very specific when it came to hairstyle too..."I want it to look just like Gabriella's, its all the way down, and has little curls all over." She was really shy about practicing in front of me, but I finally got her to do it a couple of times. Linds also told me that she didn't want me to come and watch, "it would make me more nervous Mom." "That's okay," I told her. BUT how can you not watch your little first grader at her very first talent show?! I stood outside the door where she couldn't see me, and listened to her. She did great! When she came home from school she felt a little sad because she didn't think she'd done very well and she'd forgotten a little bit of the song. Then I told her that I had been there and I KNEW she'd been fabulous! She wasn't mad....well, maybe kinda sorta. What's a Mom to do?

This is a video of her practicing the night before:

Ellie's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Ellie! I can't believe she's 1!!!! Her first year has just flown by so quickly...cliche, I know, but it is so true! We love our little Ellie to pieces! I really think she enjoyed her first birthday party and all the attention she got!

Despite the "deer in headlights" look, she really did love her stuffed animal. She really loves soft things, and kept hugging the elephant and laying her head on him. So cute! (I just looked at this photo after I posted, and noticed that Brad looks like he's asleep...he's really not, the party wasn't that boring! :)

This pic was taken the next morning, but it was so cute how much she was loving her elephant.

Ellie and Rian checking out the new toy. It was a hit!

Like I've said before, she loves soft things, and the new pajamas were no exception!

Also taken the next morning. Don't you just love the new jammies! (I'm a sucker for new jammies!)

Wanting to play with her new toy, but having to get her soft blankie out of bed with her!

Make a wish sweetie!

I loved all the "faces" we got while she figured out what exactly she was supposed to do with her cake.

"Uh, seriously Mom...you want me to put my hands in it?"

"I'm not so sure I want to get that dirty."

"Well, I guess it is soft...it couldn't hurt to try just a little."

The next photo/video is supposed to be of Ellie FINALLY getting into her cake, but since I'm techie-challenged, I didn't get the video on this post...but scroll down, it's there. Along with a cute video of Ellie walking with her new toy.

Syrup as the newest hair product...it's great for conditioning!

I turned my back for 2 seconds and this is what I found...Ellie wearing her breakfast! She had mooshed her hands in the pancakes and syrup and then proceeded to gently massage the new product into her hair. I must say, she did a great job of distributing it evenly too. Then she put the plate on her head as her new hat...I guess she didn't feel complete without a new spring hat...what a fashionable lady!