4th OF JULY FUN

Another year, another 4th of July... although we always do the same things, we still have just as much fun as the last year (kind of like the show "Survivor" - after 18 seasons of the same situation etc, I still love it)! We wake up early on the 4th to catch our Ward 4th of July breakfast. Next, we hurry on over to the parade to sit with my parents and siblings. I really enjoyed this years parade because we actually saw FLOATS and not just big trucks with a banner on the side advertising the local chiropractor or law firm! Take a look:

Saw the old alma mater' s float and had to yell out, "GO KNIGHTS!" hard to imagine I was ever that young...

Others reasons I love the parade -

time with grandpa

anxiously waiting for the next candy-throwing float (notice the PINK tie-dye shirts....grrrr!)

more time with grandpa and grandma

Next we are off to: Adam head to the annual volleyball tournament at the Petty's - Adam and his best friend, Josh, started this tradition more the a decade ago and it's still going strong!! Jennie and the kids head over for the BBQ at grandma/grandpa Beans house for swimming and food!!

We met up later in the afternoon to go to Adam's parents for an evening BBQ (after reading through this blog, I can see why I weigh what I do...I am a social eater?!?) The kids had a great time getting rides from grandpa on his newest contraption!

And lastly, we race down to the river for fireworks....and they are GREAT fireworks!!

Whew...

STEPH THE CHEF

This is my sister's (Stephanie) boyfriend, Brandon, on his birthday. And that cake in front of him is his birthday cake....that my sister MADE and DECORATED for him!! Are you all as amazed and impressed as I am?!? That cake puts my cake pops to SHAME!

She even put the John Deere logo and a customized license plate ?!? Brandon is one lucky guy!!

FAMILY REUNION 2009

The last weekend in June we had our annual siblings reunion. Beck and Sherm hosted it this year out at their place. We started out on Friday afternoon with a way fun scavenger hunt for the kids. First off, we divided into teams and had to do various activities before we could get the next clue to the treasure:

"Egg Baseball" - round all the bases without breaking your egg

Balloon shaving (with the clue written on the balloon)

Scavenger hunt within a scavenger hunt - had to find all the items before receiving the final clue!

Treasure found!! A huge box full of treat bags for everyone!

After a short break for dinner, we tie-tyed shirts to use as our 4th of July shirts. Our family was in charge of this craft - sounds fun huh?!? Well, we tried to tie-dye with regular RIT dye....didn't work at all!! All the shirts came out pink after washing - I think only the girls ended up wearing their shirts on the 4th...but it was fun to see the designs that came out of our efforts! (sorry everyone)

You can't have a late night get together, in the country, without roasting marshmallows and making smores!!

Saturday: we loaded up and went to the water park! The kids had a blast (as did everyone I hope) the weather was nice and hot, so the water didn't feel quite so cold!

It was a great reunion and can't wait to see what Aaron and Megan have in store for us next year! (I promise I won't try to be crafty)

LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

It has always been a struggle to find things for our children to do on Sunday. We are done with church at 2:30p and have the whole afternoon. A lot of the times we go on a bikeride over to my parents home and visit them, but this last Sunday, McKenna and Harrison came up with their own idea - have a Candy party. They grabbed all our candy (minus the good stuff that I keep hidden) and set up their booth in the backyard:

(notice the candy canes from Christmas?!? they still didn't sell even at the candy booths discounted prices)

Then we were invited out to buy some treats - as you can see from the sign above, candy is not free at their candy store!! It says: "Everything you take costs a 1c (cents), 5c, 1D (dollar), 10c

Although not the best photo, you can tell by Tyler's shirt, this is one satisfied customer!!

McKenna and Harrison even entertained us by doing tricks on the trampoline while we ate our treats! It was a great Sunday afternoon!

I just had to add this picture...everyone drools over Tyler's eyelashes and I saw the shot and took it - while he still has the lush lashes!!

BEAR LAKE HIGHLIGHTS - JUNE 2009

Every summer we go to Adam's family cabin at Bear Lake - beautiful views!!

The annual fireworks display -

Plenty of time to play with cousins -

There's always a few days of rain and cold, but still plenty of fun -

When the sun comes out, we all flock to the water, of course, not without the wetsuits and drysuits!!

Water not smooth enough for skiing?!? Get out the tube!!

A little bit of "surfing the waves" on the tube -

It seems to be tradition that the last day (cleaning day) is always one of the nicest, if not THE nicest days?!? Almost all the kids had a chance to "ski" on the kid-friendly, U-SKI -

stay tuned for our next installment of Bear Lake 2009...coming in August!!