It started so well, and ended so badly!!

I'm talking about our last weekend. We FINALLY took the boat out and all I can say is it just hasn't been summer without getting out on the lake. The kids absolutely LOVE the boat and we love spending time together on it. The water was perfect for tubin when we hit the lake so the kids went crazy! All got dumped from the tube except Saxon and I swear it's because of his DEATH GRIP that he has on the handles. Vie tried wakeboarding for her first time and she got up on her 3rd try!!! I can't believe it! I swear it took me half a day to get up on that thing when I was a kid! She's amazing! It was a great day on the lake and we had plans for an even better next day!

No, I didn't bother to clean his face, this shows his true colors. He never stops eating therefore he ALWAYS has food on his face. That's just how he rolls!

K, these next two pics make me laugh. These boys look so tough, and I am loving K in his dad's shades chuggin a SHASTA!

Some great friends of our invited us crawdaddin' up at Strawberry Resevoir. We had never done it and we decided to make a camping trip out of it. We stuffed the car, threw the canoe on the top and headed up to the Lake. We found a perfect little camp site and put the canoe in and headed out. It was perfect! Later we met our friends and the kids had a blast catching crawdads! Little did we know the chaos the was lurking on the horizion! (I'm so not a writer!)

Our friend Tyson and a nice big CRAWDAD!
Saxon and a Red Ryder BB gun (no, he didn't shoot his eye out. Just a bunch of cans.) I love how his shirt is off and he totally looks trailer park (notice the background). Thats my boy!!

Well, a little storm was coming and it was getting pretty late so we thought we'd get back to camp. The storm beat us there and with it came microburst winds up to 70mph. Our tent, filled with our bedding, cooler, food, crib and chairs had blown away and was completely destroyed! B and I held on to what was left of it for dear life as the kids tried to round up whatever they could from the inside. The wind was intense, the rain was coming down and if losing our new "cabin" tent wasn't hard, just then a big gust of wind blew the canoe off the car and it took off our side mirror on our way down. There was not a lot of room to fit everything in the car and we piled gear on top of the kids (who were crying their heads off mind you) and we ended our disasterous camping attempt by driving home at 11:30pm. Definately a camping trip to remember, that's for sure. And the whole weekend started so well! Who Knew???

Here lies our 16-man Cabin Style tent that the kids picked out for dad for Father's day last year. May she rest in peace.

Summer ROCKS!

I seriouslly love summer! I love the BBQ's, get togethers, trips to the pool, and just hangin out! We've had a blast this summer so far. We didn't plan any trips or anything crazy like that, but just hangin out is what summer is all about. It's been a busy few weeks with the 4th and Kaels Birthday! My brother Scott and his fam came out and played for a few days and it was fun to catch up with them. For the 4th, we had a fun BBQ at grandma and grandpas house, then headed over to our house for fireworks. With neighbors, family, and friends, we accumulated over 60 people and it was so much fun. Stadium of Fire, WHATEVER! We rocked it!

Kael turned 7 this last Sunday and we celebrated as a family this year. It was a day of all of his favorite foods and playing with his new toys. What a great kid he is. I have no idea what I would do without him. He is most definately the calm one of the family. I love how inquisitive he is, always trying to figure things out. And most of all, I love his compassion and concern for others. He's pretty good at knowing when someone just needs a hug, or when being helpful is really needed. He's an amazing kid, and I'm glad he's mine! Happy Birthday buddy!

Great Father's Day!

So Father's Day was last week, I know, but I wanted to do a little post about the man I married and what an amazing father he is. I couldn't have picked a better man who loves his family more than anything in the whole world! He's such a fun dad. What dad runs to the toy aisle with his kids when you go shopping? He never says no when the kids want to play cars, throw the ball, or jump on the tramp. He's crazy about his kids, and they are crazy about him! So thanks babe! For being the coolest dad around!

I'm Back!

Oh yes, I know its been way too long! Things have been crazy here for sure. Recital was this past week (woo-h00) and now that it is over, summer really begins! We've been busy the past little while with dance, baseball, soccer, playing, hangin out, and all the usual summer stuff. I really don't have a lot of time to get on the computer anymore it seems. Having my phone makes it so I don't HAVE to get on my computer anymore, but I can't post on my blog from my phone, so I guess that is why I have been such a blog slacker. I'll try to be better.

So, recital was a complete success this year! We did Tarzan and Vienna was in 6 dances this year. She was absolutely beautiful! I'm so proud of her. She puts in so much hard work and every year I notice her get better and better because of it! That is my favorite thing about being a dance instructor, seeing the growth! I am getting to the point where I am seeing some of my dancers that I have taught since they were tiny graduate and move on. It is so rewarding to see what accomplished dancers they are becoming! It is such a satisfying feeling to see them move on in life! My nephey Hank was in town and he even came to the show! All 2 1/2 hours of it! Brownie points for you Hank! Good job!

Kael is real excited to be starting football this summer. Yesterday he got his gear and he is super stoked! He didn't take it off all day!! He is all about practicing and getting good at throwing for when practices start!

Sax is still going strong! He runs the neighborhood. So into anything creepy and crawlie. Him and his buddies are always catching things. The other day a neighborhood kid caught a garter snake and brought it over. Now Sax has made it his life long ambition to catch one for himself. He's absolutely CRAZY about reptiles and bugs. Our garage is filled with little homes for all his unassuming victims. (reminds me of his uncle Brian!) Here's a pic of him doing his favorite thing called "midgee". Him and his friends put thier knees up in their shirts and try all sorts of tricks and call themselves "midgees". Should I be worried??

That leaves us with baby! So much fun this kid is! Yesterday I left a jar of Nutella on the counter from when we had crepes and when I came back, well, lets just say, he's a real Nutella fan! The kid eats and eats like there's no tomorrow and he's heavy as a small truck. He's walking a little, but prefers to crawl because he's so much more efficient at it. Talk about a busy body. Keeping up with him is a daunting task! Thank goodness for older siblings!

I am loving this time of year!!

First of all, I am very impressed with myself for the updates I have done to this blog. I Thought I'd drop in one more post before I probably go dormant for awhile again. So, spring is "springing" and everything about it is beautiful, but its something else that I love about spring that gets me so excited. All the kids are comin out to play! And I don't just mean getting out of the house, but sports and dance. The past few weeks have been filled with dance competitions, soccer games and baseball/tball games, and it has been a blast! There is something about getting the whole family together, rain or shine, to cheer each other on. I love to see my kids get so proud of their brother or sister when they see them work hard at something and succeed. At Vie's last competition, Saxon was watching and looked over at me and said, "There's Vienna! She is AMAZING!" and a couple of weeks ago Kael made an awesome goal in soccer and he and his brother and sister were so excited that went out to celebrate (at the gas station of course). I love how sports gives my kids a chance to literally cheer each other on. I think you really get a sense of how a family is always there rain or shine, thick or thin, and I love it! So here's to spring, and ALL of the great games, and performances to come! Here are a few pics of my kids in action!