Hot Summer Days

I love that I've had time to weed the garden, but sad to see that not much is growing.

It was one of those hot, hot days where all you wanna do is lay around because it's too hot to do anything else.

I took the kids to the library to get new books.

The splash pad is next door, so we went to play.

But a half hour was all we could stand.

Then it was back home to munch and crunch on ice cubes.

Laying around and reading books isn't a bad way to spend the summer.

We Love to See the Temple

What a marvelous opportunity we had to go to the temple and see my brother, Paul, be sealed to his wife who died a year ago.

Now they will be together forever.

We took a tour of the Conference Center with our family while on Temple Square.

It was wonderful to have our family all together on this special occasion.

Lagoon Day and Camp Week

We had a Lagoon Day on Tuesday.

The day was hot so the kids loved playing in the fountains of water.

James and Grant had so much fun playing together.

I happened to run into my friend who has been my friend since Kindergarten.

Daddy camped all week in Yellowstone with the scouts and had some amazing experiences that helped him and the boys draw closer to Heavenly Father.

They read scriptures every morning.

Many gospel topics and teaching moments came about.

What an enjoyable and uplifting week Daddy had.

Cereal for Dinner

My kids are so easy to please.

Dad leaves to go on a high adventure scout camp, so what's for dinner?

Cereal!

It's actually cool and refreshing to have on a hot day, like today.

With the choice between leftovers and cereal, you can guess what was the obvious choice.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a great time with Daddy for the short time we were able to see him.

Daddy worked this morning for 6 hours, came home for just over an hour and then went back to work.

While he was home, the kids watched in anticipation as Daddy opened his gifts.

Daddy got 2 "Super Dad" shirts, 2 workout videos, a pull-up bar and a toaster.

Yeah, the toaster was more for me, but hey, it was something to open.

My Prince Charming is one of a kind Daddy.

He loves to play with his kids and be with them.

He would do anything for them.

His love is so genuine and sincere.

Happy Father's Day to my dad too.

I sure love him.

He tries to live a good life and is a good man.

He is great with words and shows his love.

I was so happy to have he and my mom come to my concert on Friday.

I love the men in my life who live such good, exemplary lives. 

Reflections Concert

I sang my heart out tonight with the Bear River Valley Reflections Choir.

We celebrated our 40th year of the choir.

I sang a duet with my friend, Elizabeth.

We sang "Sisters" from "White Christmas".

It turned out really cute.

I love to sing, and the gals in this choir are one of a kind.

I have realized that through this very busy week how much my family needs me.

Daddy was wonderful and was Mr. Mom, doing dishes and cooking meals.

I was grateful for the break and felt so appreciated for what I do.

Sometimes it's hard to be a Mom.

I look for projects and such to help with outside the home.

What I really need is to be inside the home.

That is my place.

While doing the dishes, the laundry, picking up, and helping and teaching my kids is sometimes hard, sometimes monotonous; my family needs me.

And I will find happiness in doing all the home stuff because that's where I am suppose to be.

HAPPY DAYS!

Can we say BUSY?

We've been busy, but a good busy.

Monday was Lagoon day for us and 3 cousins who are visiting.

We especially enjoyed Lagoon-a-beach.

No one got sunburned except me, and that was even with Daddy putting sunscreen on me.

Right before we were ready to leave, we looked around and Grant was missing.

We panicked a bit, and started searching for him.

Thankfully Joyanne spotted him by the games.

Tuesday was horrendously busy for me.

After exercising and breakfast, I went to practice with my friend for our duet for our Reflections Choir Concert.

I came home to nap, then I went to a chi i r rehearsal.

A meeting followed after and finally a hour and a half drive to Alpine to pick up my niece, who was working.

Then I drove back home, getting in at 1:45a.m.

I woke up this morning and got my hair cut and highlighted.

I woke up from a nap to the boys exercising with Daddy to a Jillian Michaels workout.

Twas fun to watch.

We all went to Aunt Carol's so Joyanne could have piano lessons.

For dinner, the kids were excited to go to Pizza Pie Cafe.

We've had a few busy days, but fun ones.

Farmland and Dinos

We started off, yesterday, heading to Thanksgiving Point in a 15 passenger can with 9 kids.

Farmland was our first adventure for the day.

All kids under 12 could ride the ponies for free.

All the kids loved riding them.

Hiram was patient and waited till the end to ride.

The dinosaur museum was pretty neat.

We even liked it better than the one in Vernal.

Daddy, Joyanne and I stuck stickers on Noah's back without him noticing.

He ripped them off when he realized they were there.

The Erosion Table was entertaining, even for Daddy, as they played with sand, water and Dinosaurs.

Don't get eaten by the gigantic shark!

Chillin'

We took it easy at home.

The kids played on the bounce house with water.

Joyanne, Jaden and James tried out for a play.

And, the kids got some electronic time on the Wii.

It's nice to have a day at home after enjoying 2 days at the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

But, tomorrow we will go back to Thanksgiving Point and enjoy the other places to see.

Elevator Ride

We went again to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

For about 20 minutes all Grant wanted to do was ride the elevator.

An exhausting day, sleep will hopefully be refreshing, if it's not too hot.

The M.O.N. C.

The M.O.N.C. stands for the Museum Of Natural Curiosity.
That is where we spent a good part of our day.

While I followed Grant around, everybody else went their own way.
We met up for some snacks and ice cream.
My eldest brother and wife took their 2 senior boys to Hawaii.
So I am the lucky aunt who gets to spend time with my nieces and nephews.
We are having fun being with a different set of cousins.
These next 10 days are gonna be fun!

Summer Time is Here

For the 1st day of no school, we headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Daddy took some of the boys up Logan canyon on a short hike of fun and adventure.

In the afternoon, the kids checked out books from the library and then enjoyed playing on the splash pad next door.

Hiram took a bit to get wet, but then he was all in to get soaked.

Grant loves his black swim shirt and shorts.

He ran around everywhere.

Jaden and James would stick their toes over the waterholes and get sprayed all over.

Noah say up in a tree, reading the entire time.

Joyanne went home and stayed home most of the day, reading and relaxing.

Grandpa Time

We came to Idaho to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma Bills.

Grandpa just loves to fish, and Noah and Hiram liked fishing with Grandpa even though they didn't catch anything.

The day was fun as we spent a good majority of it at the Rexburg Nature Park.

Noah caught a wild rabbit.

His cousin, Marissa, took it home as a pet.

Daddy played Disc Golf.

Jaden and James went exploring and found a bird home with eggs in it.

Joyanne read a bit.

I followed Grant around as he went here, there and everywhere.

The evening was relaxing and enjoyable as we ate, talked and shared our talents.

It's always great to see and hear Grandpa play his accordion.

What fun memories! 

Yay! Last Day of School

Yay!!! The kids all loved their last day of school and are ready for summer break.

Jaden prayed in family prayer that it would be the best summer ever.

The kids were excited to get their yearbooks and have them signed.

At the Elementary they had an awards assembly.

Jaden received an award for doing well in math.

Noah received a few awards.

He did well in math, in typing, and the received the Cougar Award for best overall classroom performance.

You go, Noah!

We visited cousins, playing with them in the afternoon, sent Noah off to Father and Sons with a neighbor dad, sent Daddy off to work, and ate a birthday dinner with my brother.

Now off to bed late to start enjoying summer!

Appreciation

The boys have gotten into this game lately of taking their cars and dropping them through the metal shoe rack.

I'm not sure how this game goes, but they will play for hours at it.

It's fun to see the creativity.

I love my family and am so grateful for each of them.

I'm grateful for my Prince Charming and for all his hard work on the job and at home.

He is so dedicated and devoted to his family.

Each of my children bring a sparkle to my eye and make me a better mother and a better person.

They truly make my heart beat and overflow with a deep, abiding love for them.

5Th Grade Graduation

Noah had his 5th Grade Graduation.

Now he is ready to enter into the Intermediate School and be a 6th grader.

I'm so glad the school year is winding down.

We're looking forward to a fun summer break with lots of family time.