Must...finish...summer...blogposts...

The kids earned a campout in our backyard by reading their scriptures every night for the month of June.  Since we didn't have to drive 2 hours to the campsite and race to put up the tent before dark, Randall let the kids help out a little bit.

 The great thing about backyard camping is you can wear WHATEVER you want.  Even Meleah's triple-patterned ensemble and Lydia's nightie and boots are acceptable.

 What campout is complete without smores? 

Backyard camping is MY KIND of camping.  Minimal dirt, a nice fence to keep all the bears out, a private shower and flushing toilets... It was a little bit hard to make myself stay in the cold tent on a bouncy air mattress when my warm comfy bed was less than 50 feet away, but other than that I had no complaints.

We also had Cari's family stay with us for a little over a week.  I wish I would have taken more pictures, but we had tons of fun  going to Trafalga, catcing bugs, swimming in the back yard, and going to the Drive-In. 

 Yep, that's as high as Carter would go. :)

We had season passes to Seven Peaks and Trafalga this year, so we went several times.  Once again, I wish I would have taken more pictures, but it's hard enough to make sure that my kids aren't drowning at a water park.  I don't need the added distraction of picture-taking.  As a matter of fact, Cameron tipped over his tube and was saved by another Mom while I was getting this adorable shot of Savanna -

You can see that Randall was REALLY excited to be the one to accompany the kids on the "some-punk-kid-spraying-you-right-in-the-face-with-a-constant-stream-of-water-while-your-kids-cry-because-they're-getting-soaked ride."  Lydia remembered the ride from when we went with the Jones family and opted to stay dry on the sidelines with me. :)

We also had a really fun end-of-summer backyard swimming party at Grandma and Grandpa Stewart's house.

Bob is such a good sport and he hopped right into the pool with the kids.  He's hard to see in the second picture because he created the "wave ride" and let ALL the kids have a turn. 

I know I say this every year, but I just can't say it enough - I LOVE SUMMER!  I'm starting to feel a chill in the air and it's SO depressing.  There's just nothing like summer.  When else can you go on a week long vacation? When else can you let your kids wear the same outfit for 3 days in a row?  When else can you shove your kids out to the backyard with a bag of popsicles and leave them there for HOURS?

Hmm, I think I might need to listen to the #1 sentence I say to my kids every single day without fail - "STOP WHINING!"

Goodbye summer!  Bring on the Halloween Candy, Thanksgiving turkey,  Christmas cheer, and even...(gulp) snow.

Potty Training

No wonder I'm having such a hard time potty training this kid. THIS is what he thinks Pullups are for!

Teeth!

Piggie Tails!

 AND she's crawling!  *sigh*

Bad Day

So I woke up this morning feeling energized and motivated to finish EVERYTHING on my to-do list.  (Yes, I make lists.)  It's pretty long right now because my house is a sty and we're going camping this weekend.  Well, I spent the day cleaning up unexpected messes, removing a cup that was stuck in my disposal, and taking care of a sneezy/runny nose/teething baby. Therefore, when it was time to go pick up the kids from school I had only crossed about 1 1/2 things off my list.  At this point I'm feeling a little stressed and admittedly a bit grumpy.
   I arrived at the school and discovered that Lydia had fallen on her way around the school and was bleeding from her nose and mouth.  The bleeding stopped and I calmed her down by telling her we were going to stop by the library to pick up a book for Carter's book report.  Carter rode his bike to the school so he followed me to the library (which is not far from the school or my house.)  We got some books and as I was waiting in line to check out I noticed that Carter had gone outside.  I wasn't too worried since he's ridden home from school tons of times and it's pretty much on the same route. I checked out my books, then went home.  Once I arrived, I realized that Carter wasn't there yet.  I started driving around the neighborhoods and after about twenty minutes I frantically called in the troops (my father- and sister-in-law.)  I went home to wait for him and they started searching.  After another thirty minutes of searching my father-in-law talked to the sheriff and they started looking for him also.  I posted it on facebook and many of our sweet neighbors joined the search.  One of them finally found him and brought him home to us.  Apparently Carter has my sense of direction because he was in a totally different area than we thought he would be.

     During the chaos I found out that President Hughes, a wonderful man that Randall worked with in the Stake Presidency, lost his battle with cancer today.  It reminded me of the day I found out that Lydia had spina bifida.  We were driving home from our doctor's appointment and saw someone getting pulled over.  I remember thinking, "I bet they think THEY'RE having a bad day."  I bet the Hughes family would think the same thing about me today.  We are extremely grateful to have known President Hughes.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and children and we hope they feel comforted during this difficult time.
     So, I only finished 1 1/2 of the  things on my list today, but I'm going to bed feeling very blessed.  Blessed to have all my kids home safe in their beds.  Blessed to have such amazing family and friends.  And most of all blessed to have the gospel in my life to help me realize what's REALLY important, and to get me through bad days.

YIKES!

Randall went by my sis-in-law's house last night (who lives only a few blocks away from me) and found THIS on her porch -

Yeah, that's a QUARTER!

Fortunately Jen was able to find a loving home for it relatively quickly.  So...I realize that I live in the boonies, but TARANTULAS?  Really?!  I don't live in Vegas anymore!  No me gusta.

Back to School

So, I've been putting off posting first day of school pics since I haven't finished our summer posts.  However, the weather's been great and we are still doing summer activities.  Therefore, I will wait no longer.  One of my friends showed the previous year next to the current year.  I thought it was pretty cool so I'm going to copy her, but I'm adding a few more years -

I can't believe how much they've changed - even just since last year!  They both really love their teachers this year, so I'm really happy.  I was seriously DREADING the beginning of school, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  For the last 3 years, I've been doing the Kindergarten schedule since Lydia's preschool was pretty much the same hours. It's amazing how much easier my day is just by not having that middle-of-the-day drop off.  I still would rather have them home, but I sure enjoy my afternoon when the littles are napping and I can fold laundry uninterrupted.  Now if I can just remember to have them do their homework...

BEDHEAD

Gotta love it!

Aaaand my job is done.

 And if he's not available...

And if she's busy...

If it's #1- 

Carter making his favorite chili casserole. 

(Back in my day, we had to grate the cheese ourselves!)

Now if I could just teach them how to potty train Cameron...

Girlfriends

There seemed to be a girl trend going on when I was pregnant with Savanna, so she has LOTS of girlfriends.

 Savanna and Emma

(and Emma's cute Mommy Kim)

Savanna and Courtney

Savanna and Bella

Savanna and Olivia

What a lucky girl she is!