Summer in July! 2012

July this year was not our normal July! We couldn't really do any of the normal things. Because of all the fires happening... and it wasn't just ours, they have been everywhere! We didn't light off many fireworks. We had a few at Nancy's house, the little ones in front of the house. We had Brandon and Shaylah in town so we had a "stay-cation" which was a lot of fun with all the cousins.

 I'm amazed at how big our little family has gotten on Brett's side of the family!!!

Over the 4th we took some cute pictures of the kids in their red, white and blue!!!

Here's the current pictures of the Dansie Grand kids. Aren't they adorable?

And my two little boys! Brett buzzed Isaac's head for him because Rachel was out on baby leave.

And I don't like to post too  many pics of prego, but I thought our little 4th of July family picture turned out pretty cute!

The kids eating their pop cycles... we ate a lot of them this summer!

Thanks to Pinterest, we made some sidewalk paint for the kids to play with.

They seemed to enjoy it!

We went swimming with all of Brett's family at Cord and Janine's pool. It was so fun. Brett talked me into taking Dax down their slide. I was so worried Brett wouldn't catch him, we slid down, I was trying to touch the bottom (which I couldn't), I pushed him up into the air realizing I couldn't see because my maternity skirt went up over my head! Ah! Brett talks me into the strangest things.

 Mona days fell over the same time Brett and Isaac went to Lagoon, so we didn't get to do that this year. But over the 24th we had a few restrictions lifted and did get to enjoy some fireworks in our backyard. Rach and Gord brought some over, we had treats, watched Bob's big firework show and almost watched Dax get burned by being to close to an out of control firework... ah! It was still fun though.

We made sticky popcorn balls... mmm! A favorite around here!

The 3 boys were crazy. Dax was laughing so hard at the fireworks!

Rach stayed snuggled up with Kazden!

Why I take scary pictures of myself 8 months pregnant is beyond me... but there ya go. Proof I am very pregnant and swollen from this HOT summer heat!

Gordon gave the kids sparklers. Dax was so cute. He would stand there with the cutest expression and watch his little sparkler flicker. It was the sweetest thing!

Isaac and Zander were insane bouncing around with their sparklers. But that is to be expected of a 6 and 7 year old boy!

Happy 4th! 2011

Its almost impossible for me to take a smiling picture of Dax. He usually scowls at me or big time cheeses it! Isaac has always smiled on demand. He poses for me. Dax, not so much. I jump around like a monkey so when he giggled, I was thrilled I got a 4th of July picture of the boys in their shirts! 

He was happiest driving in the Jeep but still didn't care for the fact I had my camera.  

This year we decided to stay home for the 4th. It was so fun! We invited anyone and everyone from our neighborhood to come watch fireworks and have treats. The word got out, cause it was a success! There were so many people!

Everyone made yummy treats like colored popcorn, brownies, fruit, veges, cookies, and Tania made this darling jello flag cake.

I was worried Dax would hate the fireworks, but he loved them. He clapped and cheered and starred in amazement at them.

 Cute Natalie and Jake came, though her kids hated the fireworks and Jake didn't want his picture taken.

This is a scary picture of me and the boys were chopping on licorish, but I still liked the reminder that we sat and watched the fireworks together.

It was a great night! Yay for the 4th! 

Stadium of Fire!!!! Presents: Carrie Underwood!

As always, our 4th of July weekend was crazy as ever! Brett found out Carrie Underwood was coming to Stadium of Fire and he knew I would want to go - a perfect combination for me! My sister Rachel, and her husband, Gordon came with us. We were up pretty high, but I don't think it matters. (However, later we found out a friend had front row tickets they didn't use...that might have made a difference!)

I absolutely love Carrie Underwood. I voted her from the first time I saw her on Idol. Rachel is new to country music and really took a liking to it, so it was fun to be there with her. We also got to see The 5 Browns and the New Osmond Generation... but nothing beat Carrie! 

I was so thirsty as we were waiting for Carrie to come on so Gordon and I ran down to get slushies. Brett warned me not to go and I should have listened. While Gord and I were trying to pay I started singing one of my favorite songs, Cowboy Casanova. Then in dawned on me, I was missing Carrie Underwood! I was so dumb for leaving! I threw my money at Gordon and ran around the corner to watch the screen while he payed for us. (Since he's not a country fan, I knew he wouldn't care. If anything I knew he was making fun of me!) Then we added our flavor and I made Gordon run like the wind. (He was a trooper for dealing with my craziness! Especially since he said, "Carrie who?") Before hiking the steps, Gordon looked down. He said when he looked up I was gone and almost to the top! He had no idea I could go so fast. I made it back right as the second song was starting and enjoyed the rest of the show. It was so much fun. I didn't always like country, but my roommates got he hooked on it and it's something Brett and I have always had in common, so it was a ball! Thanks babe for getting me the tickets!

I thought it was kind of mean of me to leave my kiddo's on the 4th, but I knew they were in good hands. Daxton was with Brett's parents and we had a BBQ with them before we left. And Isaac was with his BFF, Trevan. He was a part of their family for the night, BBQing, sliding down water hills and playing in a pool. My friend Tineka told me he was an angel and her whole family liked him. I'm so glad he had fun and was on his best behavior!

The next night we had a dessert feast with our neighbors and lit off fireworks!

And the day after that, my family went to my brothers house for some family and water fun. My parents even came! It's so fun to have them apart of things again!

Cord and Janine got a pool this year and Isaac enjoyed showing off his new swimming skills (which he is fearless) and playing on their  blowup water-slide.

Uncle Casey was a barrel of fun and took turns throwing the kids high up in the air. 

We finished off the night with a million fireworks - the color smoke bombs being the kids favorite! July is always such a busy month, but I enjoy every minute of it!

Happy 4th of July! 2009

One year ago on the 4th, Brett's parents came home from their 3 year mission. It has been so great to have them back with us. I feel like this year flew by, but I am grateful for them, for their example, and how they are constantly willing to help our little family. I don't think Isaac could imagine life without them anymore, he adores them both too much!

We celebrated the 4th with Nancy, LaMonte, Emilee, Rob and their kids. We had a yummy BBQ and finished with some fireworks. Isaac liked the fireworks last year and he's enjoyed his "snaps" so I figured he would be pretty excited to see them again.

He never got overly excited... he pretty much stared at them this year, until...

Rob lit the "bees.'" This is one of their kids favorite fireworks. It's a high pitched, screeching sound that apparently didn't settle well with Isaac. He immediately covered his ears every time they would light one. He wouldn't take his hands down when then firework looked like it was dying down. He would slowly move his hands outward and take a quick listen to see what he could hear. It really was quite funny to watch his reaction this year!

When it got a bit later, Brett and I took Isaac over to Thanksgiving Point and met up with my sister, Rachel, her husband, and son. We watched the fireworks, but at the point I think Isaac was getting a little sleepy. He stared at them and was happy with some of the colors, but he closed his little eyes the second we put him in the car. 

Today he saw another box of fireworks at my moms house that they are planning on lighting off on the 24th and surprisingly, he was very excited about them, so hopefully he will enjoy them more the 2nd time around!