Pioneer Day

Had a nice and simple Pioneer Day this year. Every summer we try to get together with all the little cousins and have a water day. Thankfully, it doesn't take much to entertain these little ones. Kiddie pool, tiny little slip and slide, water balloons and sprinklers under the tramp was seriously all it took for hours and hours of fun. I was a little worried when we first woke up cause the skies were dark and we were getting some serious rain. My boys got up early and went to breakfast with their dad and Vovo and Vovo. I stayed home hoping to get things ready but spent my entire time staring out the window, worrying we were going to have to call the whole thing off. Yet, come 11:00 the skies cleared, the sunshine came out and all was well for a hot day of water fun. Yay!

Ash and I had the grand idea of water balloons. Didn't stop to think how time consuming filling those things up could be. We did it the night before but still, it took awhile. They blew through those things like madness. 100 water balloons, gone, just like that. Then I got the joy of walking around the yard later that night, picking up all the burst pieces. Fun. Oh well, all work considered we would still do it again. Pretty sure that was the highlight for them. They loved it.

Oh dads..they can be so annoying. Thiago was ridiculous with this hose, poor kids. He was relentless. Even when they were screaming in pure agony for him to stop spraying them, do you think he listened?? No, he did not. So annoying.

Lunch...you can never have enough Costa Vida and Mcdonalds. All were happy.

That was about it. We went and got some shaved ice. With cream. Best shaved ice's ever. And then everyone went their seperate ways, and I headed home to clean up after 9 little kids. It wasn't too bad though. Totally worth all the fun they had, and the nice chance to visit that us moms had. Great Pioneer Day.

Earning his keep...

We were busy bees this past Wednesday. Carson had big plans to spread his wings and make his own way in the world. Of course this required a little help from his mom being as he is only seven. So me being the wonderful mother I am threw together 5 dozen chocolate chips cookies the night before, loaded me and the kids up bright and early the next day and we headed up to Logan.

First we needed to build up our nourishment. Its hard being a working boy, needed to make sure he had a full belly. We met my sisters for Firehouse pizza. Margherita pizza. Yum.

With a P'zookie for dessert. White chocolate chip and macadamian nut of course.

Then we headed to our place of employment...Granny O's. Don't let this cute, little cheerful face fool ya. She runs a tight ship. Ha.

Love Grans little white house. Its classic. So quaint and sweet.

The boys got right to work. Laying out cookies on decorative plates.

And here we go...first ever lemonade stand. Are you wowed by this stand. That would be Jenny, all Jenny. My only contribution was the cookies. Jen takes lemonade stands super serious, she doesn't miss one single detail.

Let the fun begin. My grandma lives in a cute, little area with lots of her older friends. Whom she had called to inform them of some entrepreneurs visiting the area. Sure enough, quite a few of Gran's little "friends" showed up, and they just happened to be pretty thirsty. Thanks for that Gran. She also lives on the corner of a pretty busy road, so we set up shop right on the corner. You wouldn't believe the response these kids got. Not bad, not bad at all.

Clearly these kids had things under control, they were doing just fine. No help needed from me...

So I just parked it in the shade with this cute kid.

Lance, Carson and Elle were die hards. They stayed out in that hot sun the entire time. They took turns standing on the edge with the sign, taking the money, and filling the orders. They were awesome. The others did this. Played with Brevin's new Cars carwash. They didn't help whatsoever.

Then again neither did I. Jen, Ash, Cars, Lance and Elle you did great. I continued to sit with a now, very sleepy Drake.

What a little sweetheart.

In the end they made about $38.00. I think a few people tipped very generously. Still though, not bad, not bad at all. Thiago called to check in for the day while i was there and he asked what we were doing. I said "oh, just doing my part to provide for our family". haha, I laughed at myself. It was funny I promise. Its okay, Thiago only politely chuckled also. haha. All in all the day was a success, super fun and I loved seeing Carson and Lance's little work ethic come shining through. They made us super proud and it was a fun little experience for them. Good day!

Since we've been home...

Where to start...these vacation posts have been taking so long for me to put together that my pictures since we have been home just keep adding up. Maybe would have liked to do them in separate posts but in order to save time I think I shall just lump em' together. You don't mind...do ya?

Obviously the first matter of business was some serious laundry. I have told you I am far from a light packer. I am pretty picky when it comes to my laundry. I will not wear anything twice. Meaning this....if I throw a hoodie on over my outfit, even for a short hour at the end of the night I will not wear it again until it has been washed. Same goes for my kids. If I wear some pajama pants, they must be washed before I wear them again. Same for my kids. I will not wear jeans two days in a row, nor will I hang dry a towel and use it the next day. Call me nutso, I know I am. However, if you had a nose like mine you would be the same way. I can smell when things aren't clean and straight from the laundry pile. My nose knows. And it makes me want to throw up. That being said, I had ALOT of laundry.

The kids all caught a bug. We passed it from kid to kid up at the cabin. Lucky for us it lasted less than 24 hours and all it really was, was a fever and chills. Thats it. Drake had it super mild, he felt slightly warm one night, I gave him some medicine and that was it. Lincoln's lasted the full 24 hours. Luckily my cousin was thinking with the Ibuprofen and Motrin, we rotated the two and he was just fine. Carson didn't get it til the day after we got home. Felt a little crummy. Nothing a dum-dum sucker wouldn't fix.

My mom threw together a little picnic the night after we got home. She missed us all while we were gone, and she herself was headed to Alaska the following day so she thought it would be fun if we met up at a park near her house and had dinner and let the kids play. We had a little KFC. And chips and watermelon and a few sweets.

Like my sister says..you either love KFC or you hate it. We all love it.

After about two minutes we noticed the children's table looked a little like this. Full plates, yet no children. The toys were calling to them...

While the kids played the night away, us adults just sat around and did exactly this. Ate watermelon, sipped our cokes, took pictures, and talked. With hardly no interuptions. Love.

Lincoln kept picking fights with pretty much every single cousin and had to join me on the blanket for a bit. He passed the time with a can of sprite.

And oh my holy heavens, was Drake ever loving the watermelon. I had to limit him to 3 pieces, was afraid he would get a belly ache.

It was a perfect summer night.

Lets see...what else. Working on a few projects. I am currently redoing my entire bedroom and bathroom. I am so sick of my entire everything, had it all since we first got married and it is just yuck! I can't show you most of it cause I want it to be complete first, but here is a little sneak peak of a new knick knack I bought. I just thought it was a clever little picture frame and had fun picking out a few snapshots of our family.

This is the little item I picked up in West Yellowstone. Don't ya just love it. I saw it and immediately knew I had to have it. I also knew the perfect spot to hang it.

It makes me all kinds of happy everytime I walk into my downstairs and see it hanging there. Love all the pictures of my sweet little family.

Before the picture board, I used to have this wreath hanging above that desk. I thought it would look nice in my laundry room instead. Yes?

Now lets talk about food. My work had a patriotic luncheon the other day, and I thought it would be fun to make my oreos and color the frosting red, white, and blue. Kinda cute.

Trying out a few new recipes...chicken carbonara. Oh, this one was sooo good.

Oh yeah and its corn season did you know. I have been going to my local produce stand and picking up fresh corn each week. So yummy.

Served it with grilled chicken one night. Not just any chicken, tried out a new Hawaiian homemade marinade. Kinda a bit of work, but totally worth it. It was sooo good.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, this is what happens when you give a baby a golden oreo...

Oh my messy Drake!

A few nights ago I snapped this picture. Carson had slept over at his cousin's house, Drake was asleep and I had just gotten back from my run. Found these two just like this. One reading, the other playing his Mobigo. Cute.

Last but not least. The Weber State fireworks. Quite possibly the lamest firework show out there. Seriously all that waiting and the show lasts like 5 minutes. Oh well..we just enjoy the chance to be with family and friends. And the kids love it so we will continue to go.

Drake and his Vovo.

I am pretty sure he was happy when I took this picture. I think its just the flash that he is wincing at.

Weirdo Cars. He was on an expedition. Sat next to this tree, by himself with about 80 glow wands draped on his body and a whole collection of sticks. Talking to the sticks might I add. Oh heck, what a kid.

Favorite moment of the night. Lincoln tries his best to be brave but the fireworks do make him a little nervous. He was all snuggled up in my lap when a loud one went off and Lincoln kinda whimpered. "Whats wrong" I asked "are you scared". His little head drops and he says "yes". He then quickly starts to shake his hand and pops back up and in a happy little voice he says "no I not, I not scared...cause I with you". Oh Lincoln boy. Make my night. Mama loves you. And there you go...you are caught up. For now :)