Good Times

Mom and Dad Owens were in town over the weekend.

We love having them here to spend time with Hayden and of course to spend time with us. They are always so willing to watch Hayden for us so we can go out on the town and party, and by party I mean go see 2 movies in one day. It was really fun.

Hayden is at the age right now where even though she is really cute, she is really good at throwing tantrums, so my parents were able to witness a couple of them. Good times. I wish I had a picture of that, but I'm sure you can imagine. Instead I'll put a picture of her being a perfect angel.

It's always so fun to have my folks in town. One of my favorite moments this weekend was this:

It made me tear up watching these 3. I love you guys. Thanks for everything you do for us!

Smiley Happy

What does a week of good friends, swimming, rug doctor carpet cleaning and birthday parties equal?

A perfect Sunday afternoon where everyone can take 3 hour naps after church to catch up on sleep and be happy.

Hayden will demonstrate how to smile below:

Doesn't everyone have this photo of their kids?

We are teaching Hayden to "smile" for the camera, instead of having her ever so famous blank stare. What do you think?

She looks so happy.

This is her saying "please" but it comes out more like "deeeeeeeeeee".

I guess I better start brushing my teeth more.

Good times, good times.

Also, you may note that for the past couple of posts my child has been missing her clothing and I do apologize for that. She just happens to be more funny when she is free from restrictive clothes. Plus, it's been over 100 degrees here, so I'm guessing she doesn't mind too much. If only my life wasn't as restrictive.....

Attention, Please

If the only way this dog will get attention is by acting like a baby.....well then she is doing a pretty good job of it.



For the past couple of days, Ella has been extremely attached to Hayden's binky. But since Hayden never really used it to begin with, we might as well get some use out of it, right?
Sleeping like a....baby?How can you resist that face? We love you, Ella! Even if you are a little stinky.

My New Toy

Welcome to the world of Roomba. What is a Roomba, you ask? It's the marvelous piece of machinery that my father has ever so kindly given us as one of his "random" gifts. And I love it.
It's a mini, robotic vacuum cleaner, so it does the work for you. Call me lazy, but I call it genius.

It will even get into the corners and under beds and couches.

Hayden is still trying to get used to it. She'll get there.

I find myself just watching it go all over the place and waiting for it to pick up little pieces of dirt and trash, and it does. It's pure entertainment.

I love you, my little Roomba. Keep working your magic.

Reunion Time!

It's family reunion time! That means I get to put an obscene amount of pictures up and YOU get to enjoy them. Oh boy, here we go.

So we took a nice drive up to Island Park, ID to stay in a big house with Carl's (almost) whole family, minus two siblings. But on the way there I had to stop by a place I once called home. That's right, Rexburg, ID. I must say, I never thought I would be excited to be in that town again, but it was kind of fun driving through with my hubby and baby and showing them where mama used to live and go to school. A lot has changed in the last 10 years(yikes, it really has been that long).They now have a temple and it is beautiful!
What better place to let my naked child run free than on the temple lawn.

I spy with my little eye.....(if you blow up the picture below, it really is funny.)



What kind of person would I be if I didn't visit my old stomping grounds. Say hello to Dorm 6 and Royal Crest #116.



So, we made it up to the house to spend some time with the family. Aren't our nieces and nephews so cute?
We spent a lot of time in Yellowstone National Park admiring the beauty of this country, and what better way to be welcomed than by this bald eagle. God Bless the U.S.A.

This little beauty was about 5 feet from our car. I really wanted to pet it, but Carl wouldn't let me.

Old Faithful. This is after she went off. We were so busy filming it that we didn't get a picture while she was blowing!

If I were famous, this would be my paparazzi shot. Lovely, isn't it?
I just like this shot of Mom and Dad McCain. And yes, we did all have family reunion shirts on. Adults in brown and kids in green. Awesome. However, we failed to get a picture of everyone together in our shirts. Way to go.

These hot pots are all over the place and they are incredible. This one is called Morning Glory.

It may look like she is pooping, but she isn't. She's just silly.
Happy kid.

Artists Paint Pots. A bunch of mud/clay bubbling like water.

This is what happens when there is too much excitement.

One of the highlights of Yellowstone, the waterfalls. These were spectacular!

From the top of the falls.

Happy 4th of July!

Hayden is so excited about America's birthday, as seen in these next 3 photos.



Our view of the sunset before the firework show. I was very impressed with this little town's firework performance.

"I love my land, America!"

What a wonderful time we had as a family. I loved seeing all of them and spending time together. I can't wait for the next reunion!