A Lotta Family Summer Fun!

Cousins!

Something is wrong when the kids can get on higher ground before (OLD) grown men!!

Nana & Kami Poo!

The cave where the kids found a "dead man" or so they were convinced!

Pool Time after a hot sticky hike

Talent Show.............

The Wiggles in concert!

Rock Band and chillin' to end a great day.....

HAPPY 4th of JULY

Baili got to ride *again* on the ambulance in the parade!

Lewis & Beverley

Mam & Scott
Baili & Kim

Sam & Kim

New Word

Baili used the funniest word the other day, that I love and think it should totally be added to Websters Dictionary!

SHORTINIZE.......as in abbreviate!

Her sentence was "I think I should shortinize my name from Baili to BB"

How cute does that sound?

Cowboy Up!

We had a 2nd annual rodeo at the singles ward. The kids loved it last year and knew what to expect this year so we donned our western wear and headed to the dusty "Stewart Ranch".

We had to lay some ground rules down for the kids because last year Ryan almost died when one of the horses took off across the corral bouncing Ryan up and down. Our friend Ray just barely caught Ryan before he fell off when the horse came to an abrupt halt and would have bucked Ryan off. Thankfully I had chosen that moment to visit the little girls room so saved myself the heart attack that everyone else had at the scene. They were still talking about it this year.

Night Swim

Sam is finally slowing down at work and gets home at a normal 6:30 in the evenings now. We had planned to have a late night swim last night so the kids could have the lights on in the pool because they love that! It was really fun. We were out there for almost 2 hrs, playing and swimming together. As it got darker the lights were more obvious and they loved how the pool changed color as the lights changed from green-red-blue-white. Kami is getting very confident in the water (maybe a little too confident) but she is hilarious as she swims around, holding her breath until she can touch something and pop out of the water. She likes to swim face in... :) After so long we started to shrivel up so Ryan and I got out first and wrapped up and lay on a lounge chair and watched the stars and clouds for a while. It was fun spending alone time with him talking about the moon and the stars and what the clouds looked like to us. We found a face in the clouds that was kinda freaky lookin'. Ryan is such a busy little guy that it's not too often that we just have quiet time together so I really enjoyed it. He needs that emotional connection too. It wasn't long before Kami realized that she wasn't the one snuggling with Mom, so out she came and Ryan was nice enough to scoot to another chair and all three of us looked at the sky and dried off.
It's always nice to spend time together as a family and we've missed Sam being with us so it was a great evening. Goes to show you that the important family times don't have to be extravagant or costly, it's being together that makes the memory!

SlipNSlide

Family Home Evening with the singles ward........tons 'o fun!

This is Baili Jacob and Kami in the blue shark!

King of Pop Dies

Im blogging minutes after hearing that the "King of Pop" Michael Jackson passed away. Wow..... Some of my memories as a kid (and because I can't remember much) are of him. I remember his songs, music videos and most of all the Michael Jackson doll I had....white glove and all. lol.....I loved it. I remember clearly his Billy Jean video....with the squares that lit up.....loved it! Also the Beat It video.....how could you forget how cool it was, and I cant believe I remember the 80's. Another personal favorite was "The Way You Make Me Feel" which makes me laugh now when I look at it, I think I still had a crush on him then. What a sad life.......he had everything and yet I cant help feeling he died a very lonely man. It makes me sick the price of fame! When I searched his name for images, it was interesting to me that at the end of the page it returned a bunch of other sad fame cases, example....Brittney Spears. Talent and brilliance Michael Jackson undoubtedly had but looking back on his life, something went terribly wrong. As for the claims of molesting young boys....who knows - somewhere inside me I want to believe he was just an innocent spirit and never really left his own boyhood. Another part of me thinks why would it be so shocking...........the world is crazy and he had a very sad, hard life. Funny how we attach ourselves to these famous figures and it feels like a distant relative has died when they pass away. My heart goes out to him and his family. I hope he finds peace in the next life. When I think of him, I wont see the plastic surgery face and the freakishness of his life but I'll remember the cute little boy - singing ABC's, and how he wanted the world to be a better place for you and for me!
If you want to watch this youtube video of Heal The World, click the link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W61Q-EZ8R7M

Ricks Reunion Take 2

We had a really fun weekend together hanging out by the pool, eating, singing, dancing and watching movies! All 12 - yes twelve kids got along great and enjoyed having each other to play with.

Trudi and Tyler had the "pleasure" of watching all the children on Saturday night and we went to the Silverton Buffet and walked around the strip for a couple of hours.

I just love that we've kept the friendships that we formed at Ricks College. These girls, including

Celeste and Mattie who couldn't come this year, are like sisters to me and I love them tons xo. Our friendship is based on our strong faiths and the similar things that we've gone through over the years. We enjoy a lot of the same things and I think we rely on each other (even if it's states away) for that female support that is so important. The guys on the other hand.......just like to eat and laugh at our silliness......lol!

It's been fun keeping in touch for almost 12 years now and I know that we will continue these lifelong friendships.

Preschool Grad

Ryan was so excited for preschool graduation. They had prepared the cutest little program and even walked in to the graduation theme song (which by the way I just found out is called "Pomp and Circumstance....is that wierd to anyone else besides me???). I can't believe our littlest guy is going to Kindergarten next year - CRAZY!

Here's some pictures of some of Ryans friends from class and his teacher Mrs. Sherrie. I think its cute how much the other kids loved Ryan. When we were late getting to class (which was pretty much everyday....not gonna lie) they would all yell his name when he walked through the door. Then when school would end - SURPRISE - I was usually late to pick him up and I would find him sitting in his circle just talking to Mrs. Sherrie or just sitting in silence (a moment that probably should have been recorded for proof that that actually does happen with this kid!).

We asked Ryan where he wanted to go for his graduation lunch so we took him to Panda Express (no surprise there) before the graduation. He asked specifically to sit by "Daddy" and drove from there to his school also with Sam. I know it was a fun day for him.