Michigan Beach

Just wanted to throw up an old pic of the kids. It is summertime and we have only been swimming once, so we need to get on the ball.

Emma the Landscaper

Emma decided she wanted to help the landscapers lay some sod this morning; and they willingly agreed. This is so like her - taking charge...in her Princess pajamas. She sort of convinced Brady to help. He's not a big fan of touching "dirty" stuff.

Little Mess Maker

Smelling all the good food my mom was cooking for Grandma's party made me a little hungry. So, I thought I'd just my get own snack this morning. There's always lots of choices in the diaper bag. I decided I was in a goldfish mood and it was much easier to take them out of the bag.

Girls gettin dirty...

Country Fun!

Gigantic Sandbox

Our Grandpa & Grandma Eccles built us the biggest sandbox you've ever seen! We spend countless hours building sandcastles, digging up hidden treasures and throwing sand on each other.

Western Art Anyone?

www.timcox.com is a great website for western art if anyone is interested. My Dad orders prints from him frequently. It is a good site to check out if you are interested.

You know you're a Redneck when...

you let your kid participate in a catch the "greased" pig contest!

See Emma - see the greased pig?!

The Filer, Idaho Stake had a huge Stake Pioneer activity and this was one of the children's events.

Jewelia's Quilt

Okay so my mom has this wonderfully huge sewing/project room and I've been finishing so many "projects." I made this baby quilt for my sister-in-law Jewelia (no they're not expecting). Last Christmas we did a Christmas Eve activity where you had to exchange a homemade gift and so mine was a coupon for 1 baby quilt. Well, it's July and finally finished! I really like it - I must say if she wasn't expecting it - I think I would've just kept it for myself. Ellie...on the other hand is very ready to give it away. She was not a happy model!

Clap for me!

Well, we might have a walker in the near future. Ellie just started standing up and clapping for herself yesterday. She doesn't stand by holding onto something either...she just bounces up from a sitting postion. Isn't she funny?

An Abundance of Hunting Tags

Just want to say congrats to my Dad and my brothers on their successful hunting tag draws in the beautiful state of Arizona. I'm sure nothing but hunting will get done this Fall, so I'll have to burn up the internet looking for a cheap ticket to come and join the fun.

Idaho

Grandpa & Grandma Eccles new house. (grass soon to come) Evening Sunset with a wildfire smoke enhanced view. The cows wandering into the yard - thank heavens for the electric fence. Country scenery from the Eccles house...and last but not least - "Brutus" the truck my brother and I took to seminary and high school. Any of you thinking your high school beater is looking better and better?... Pictures of the kids coming soon. Today was just a lazy, catch up on sleep, adjust to a new time zone day.

All Clean

Aunt Lindsey is a pro when it comes to giving kids baths. This kid is super clean, which is rare when dad is in charge.

He's a Jumper!!!!

Sharing the Time Out Chair

It has been great having the cousins up at uncle Kolter and aunt Lindsey's house. Needless to say Brady slept really well last night because of all the fun that was had yesterday.

Majestic Stone Trainyard

Brady loves uncle Kolter's office. All of the stone is very train friendly. He would use the grout as train tracks so it worked out great since we forgot his tracks at the house.

Summer Fun

The kids got to discover the joy of a slip n slide this week at their friend's house.

The Jones Family passing through

The Jones Family passed through Fairlawn enroute to Kirtland and Palmyra for a family vacay so they stopped and stayed the night. Matt and Brady were already out west in Utah, but the girls and I really enjoyed their visit. Emma, Caleb, and Amy had a blast catching fireflies (the girls dressed up as princesses - of course), and playing in the tents and tunnels in our playroom.
Little Ellie and Parker enjoyed playing side by side checking each other out. Simple fun was had by all...especially Natalie who slept in Brady's racecar bed. (Too bad I didn't get a picture of that :) ) Anyway, we were happy to have them and hope they can come back again.

I borrowed Hayley's (my neighbors camera - mine is in Utah with the boys) and at least captured a couple of the memories. Enjoy.


Okay...so maybe you won't get to see the pics. I can't seem to make this computer work and Matt's not here to fix it for me. SORRY!

Random Gratitude

It seems like lately I've really been noticing all the "extras" (materialistic speaking) in my life that I really seem to appreciate. So, I thought I'd make a list of all the things in our household that make my life more enjoyable.

Materialistic must haves according to Stacy...

mini-van
digital camera
DVR
on-line bill pay
bleach
household anti-bacterial wipes
hand sanitizer
baby magic original scent baby lotion
shower power
"ding" (live updates from Southwest airlines)
my potted flowers
wireless internet
blockbuster "total access" pass
homemade quilts & blankets
swiffer wet jet

I know have many more "favorites" but this is it for today.

Check it out...

Scroll down to the bottom of our blog to check out states we've visited....plus Ellie playing the harmonica. It's hillarious and quite cute!

Oldies but goodies...

My Birthday

I just had to let everyone know how cute my kids and husband were on my Birthday. They sure made it special. Emma and Brady each thought of what to get me on their very own. I mean they really know me...and were so excited to purchase, wrap, and give me my presents. Emma picked me out a jewelry box because I don't have one and she doesn't want me to lose my earrings (which has happened). She also put a new pair of earrings - she calls them pearl earrings (even though they are little diamond studs). It's really cute. Brady knows I like to read and so he wanted to get me a book. Well, when Matt took him to the book section at the store, he spyed a Rachael Ray Cookbook and yelled "Mommy loves Rachael Ray" - that's what I want to get her. It was the perfect present. Plus, he wrapped it in a 101 Dalmations gift bag that he thought was just as good if not better than the cookbook. Then, they helped Matt make me my favorite Lemon cake and we had a wonderful little family party. It sure warmed my heart counting my blessings this Birthday. It made getting older this year much easier. Family really is everything and mine is the best.

Trip to Kentucky Gap Clearance Center

This place was AMAZING! My friend Rachel and I were there when they opened at 9AM and it was almost 1PM when we left. We left no racks or bins unturned. I have no idea why Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy chose the middle of nowhere in Kentucky to set up their Warehouse...but I sure had a ton of fun. I just have to share with everybody what I purchased for a total of $74.00

Matt - 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of dress pants, 4 dress shirts, and 4 everyday shirts.
Stacy - 1 pair of pants, 4 everyday shirts.
Emma - 3 everyday shirts, and 1 pair of knee high socks.
Brady - 1 dress shirt, and 8 everyday shirts.
Ellie - 1 pair pjs, 1 pair of capris, and 9 everyday shirts.
Nieces - 4 everyday shirts.

44 items for $74.00 - Isn't that great?!... I will definitely have to make more trips there! :)
Anyway, just had to share my great deals.

More New Tricks

She is getting very daring and is even starting to go up stairs now, so I will be installing a few more gates I can tell.

Eccles Family

For those of you who don't know my family...well, here they are. They were fortunate to spend the 4th all together in Kansas and I thought this was a really nice picture...so I wanted to show it off. These are my parents, 2 brothers and their families...

COLUMBUS TEMPLE

This is our Temple! It was fun to stop and show the kids their Temple on the way home from Cincinatti. Check out the sunny Ohio skies ( a true rarity).

Cincinatti Afternoon

I love our museum pass. I took the kids including their little friend Leah to the Museum of Natural History in downtown Cincinatti on Friday afternoon. It was just one six museums located in the Museum Center which is still Union Terminal where the Amtrak Station still resides. It was a pretty spectacular building. Anyway, the Natural History Museum had a whole hands-on level for the kids. As you can tell, they had a lot of fun and I enjoyed chasing them around with the camera. Aren't water fountains fascinating? Plus a nice little shot of the Cincy skyline. Well, I was the glad the kids were brave enough to touch the snake because there's no way I was gonna! The magnifying glasses and gigantic sandbox were also a huge hit! I tried to educate them somewhat, but we mostly just played. We followed it up with a meal from the Cincinatti renowned restaurant Skyline. It's famous Cincy chili with unusual spices such as cinnamon and cocoa, a layer of cream cheese and grated cheese served over spaghetti noodles with diced onions sprinkled on top. It sounds a little weird, but it actually tasted quite good.

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Happy 4th of July!

We had to use mom's free Birthday Burger coupon at Red Robin (redeemed for the Bleu Ribbon - yum -o) in Columbus on the way to Cincinatti.



Getting braver - should pass swim lessons this year




Playing beside the pool is just as fun as actually getting in the water

She is definitely our water lover!

Well...at least we saw some blue smoke from a smoke bomb....

We've arrived at Hotel Hopkins

My new pet peeve with where we live is that they change the dates of Holidays. Halloween is always celebrated with Trick-or-Treating only allowed on the Sunday night prior to Halloween. As parents, this always puts us in an awkward position. As if that isn't bad enough, the fireworks, parade and town celebration for Independence Day are on July 1st (yes - Sunday again) Now, c'mon you can't change America's Birthday - I am really steamed about this. It doesn't make any sense to me. By the time the 4th gets here, the party is over. Stupid if you ask me. Plus, it doesn't make any sense to Emma who has been learning about the 4th of July (not the 1st of July)! So, we packed up and headed down to Cincinatti to spend the Holiday with some friends. They have a pool and so that is fun for the kids, but the 4th just passed and my kids didn't get to attend a parade or watch fireworks. I find it really sad. Summer as a kid is all about sparklers and parades as far as I'm concerned...

Anyway, tomorrow should be fun. My friend Rachel and I are going to Kentucky tomorrow to the Gap (not outlet) Clearance Center. It's the only one in the country and sells Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy items for 97 cents to $4.00 per item. Needless to say the 5th should be better than the 4th. Also, Matt and David are going to a D'Backs game here in Cincy so that should be fun for them. Well, thanks for reading my chit chat. Enjoy the pics.