Quick update

 Koen was very quiet one afternoon. Most makeup artists are quiet, I do think.

 We got to meet Neil Moore, creator of Simply Music, which is the piano program Caden is learning through. Neil is from Australia. It was fun, and he sat through Caden's long, random, on-the-spot composition and was very encouraging :)

It's been a month of falling asleep in strange positions! These are only 2 of about 5 or 6 incidences. We're struggling with naps - he won't fall asleep until about 2 or 3 pm, and then he's up until like 11 pm! So I tried to make him go without a nap, but this is what happens. I think the answer is to wake him up earlier ... but I never like that answer.

Americanized

It's been almost a year since I first brought this up, but the process is finally complete, and on Wednesday I took my Oath of Citizenship and am now a true-blue United Statesian (see, I was always American, since I have always lived in North America). (Although I guess it's technically called United States of Mexico, so we'd have to be United States of Americans. Oh. I get it.)

The ceremony was the first time I was treated with dignity by immigration officials, which I greatly relished. I thought it was really interesting and enjoyed it - there were 53 countries represented out of 144 people. They had a floating mike and asked people to share their stories and I thought that was very cool.

But can I just say: Glad. It's. Over!

Who knew?

You so rarely hear about the giraffe who visited the manger scene. Or Noah -- he was there, too. Good thing kids know this stuff.

I know, I'm so silly but happy

I didn't know if I should blog about this because it's somewhat personal, but I wanted to record it. And it's my blog, so ... I will :)
I've been feeling really humbly proud this last week. Is that even possible? Humble pride? It is, and here is how.

See, last year I was struggling over the whole Santa aspect of Christmas and how it seemed to usurp the celebration on the birth of our Savior. I mean, this is the Savior, of the whole wide world, and he was finally born! To start the work of saving us! And it's for real! And instead, the first thing we think about is a fat guy with a white beard bringing us junk! I had some dismaying conversations with my children about what Christmas was all about, and it was making me sad.

This was on my mind as I prayed and went to bed one night. I had been feeling like Santa was not good enough for my family. He was hiding what was really important and we needed to know better than that. I considered (somewhat - but I don't think Dave would have let me) spilling the beans completely so we could focus. And then as I got one leg under the covers, this idea came to my mind, and a list started forming. The covers were pretty enticing and I was content to snuggle down and ponder, but I just knew I would forget. So I grabbed a folder with paper that was on my nightstand and began to scribble. Literally. It was totally dark and I didn't want to walk to turn on a light (bugging a sleeping husband), so I just wrote blindly and hoped it would suffice. As I finally went to sleep I knew this was an answer to prayer and I felt very blessed and humbled to receive such guidance.

I used my idea in Family Home Evening and it turned out beautifully. Then I saw a request for guest writers on a blog I follow, and I was prompted to share our experience. You can read it here:

http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/2010/12/symbols-of-christmas.html

(OK, fine, if you don't want to read it, it was about Santa being a symbol of Jesus. They have so many similarities that I never connected. And I finally understood how to point that out to my kids and emphasize that it all goes back to Christ.)

So that was last year, and I kind of forgot about it. Then this year as I was perusing Pinterest (as I am wont to do), a familiar picture of Jesus knocking on a door (with no outer doorknob) showed up. I happened to notice the caption said, "Santa and Jesus." Curious, I clicked, and sure enough, it was a link to my post! Later that day I was on my Pinterest home page and noticed my very own aunt had posted it too! I was totally wondering if she pinned it on her own or if she had noticed that I wrote it and that's why she did it. And then it just kept popping up! Even my sister pinned it! (not sure if she knew or not)

I was amazed. Because it's not that well-written, which is a little embarassing. Because others were finding value in something I wrote. And because this little prompting not only helped me but was blessing others! I am so happy, because I feel like I have been a tool in the Lord's hands. You don't get that kind of validation every day, and I just feel joyous to have shared. I don't know. It's hard to explain, because I feel like it wasn't me, I just got to be involved. It's really touching. And that is wonderful.

I know, it's silly. It's a really little thing. (I know that every pin I post does not impact my life!) Except I saw this little thing, from someone I don't know, on a Facebook post of a friend I do know:
                       Tiffany H I should do that. :) We did the Christ/Santa FHE last night. It worked well. We have our 'door' with Christ behind it on display now.

And then this from a dear sis-in-law:

Heather Lynne

• Just found this great blog post that I'm using for FHE tonight & commented on it to say thanks for the great idea, I'm using it! Then noticed YOU had commented on it a couple of times last year & this year! THEN I read that YOU wrote it! ha! You are good! Thanks for a great idea (I found it through Google, researching ideas for a talk Talia gave on Sunday, but pinned it to use for FHE tonight!) What a small little internet world! :)

Just ... YAY.

Because of Mr. Terupt

I've read a few books recently that just aren't worth mentioning. Nothing spectacular. But this one ...

LOVED it! So I'm not going to give a whole synopsis of the book because that's kinda boring. But I cried, and was really sad when it was over. It's about a 5th grade class and a great teacher and touches on important topics like acceptance, repentance, forgiveness, how to learn, getting along, etc. And can I just say, the description of how 5th-grade girls behave is spot on! Totally reminded me of myself and my little group and how horrible we were. Maybe a book like this would have helped me change sooner. Even though the majority of the story takes place at school (which is a pet peeve of mine as a homeschool mom), I still can't wait to have my oldest read this in a year or two. You should find out what happens because of Mr. Terupt!

I went to a Scholastic warehouse sale last week with my friend Jo. I had never been before, even though I get frequent emails about them. I had no idea they published so many of the books I see! Almost everything was half price (except the popular book sets, which was unfortunate) and I went crazy. Then I had to sort through and cut my crazy in half. And then cut a little bit more. And I still spent too much, but ... it was so great, and the prices were awesome! They had this book (Mr. Terupt) there, but I still hadn't read my library copy yet and didn't know how great it was. I may have to head back just to get it. I'm sure I could find another thing or two as well. Glad my husband doesn't read this blog :)

Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry

This has become our favorite poetry book! We have checked it out of the library three times; enough that it will be appearing under the Christmas tree, I do believe! A great mix of poetry styles organized by category (Animals, Nature, Times of the Year, People, Feelings, etc.). Funny, thought-provoking, or peaceful, this one has it all! We can find a suitable poem for most topics we can think of.

Here are some of the favorites my kids have picked out: (is it legal to type these up? If not I'll remove them...)

Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina G. Rossetti (we memorized this one)

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you;

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I;

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

I Am Running in a Circle by Jack Prelutsky

I am running in a circle

and my feet are getting sore,

and my head is

spinning

spinning

as it's never spun before,

I am

dizzy

dizzy

dizzy.

Oh! I cannot bear much more,

I am trapped in a

revolving

...volving

...volving

...volving door!

I Eat My Peas with Honey by Anonymous

I eat my peas with honey,

I've done it all my life.

It makes the peas taste funny,

But it keeps them on my knife.



The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck

Holy Hannah, I. LOVE. IT. I didn't think it would tickle my fancy - using drawings to tell part of a story. I like words, and making my own images. But it is AWESOME! The pencil drawings are detailed and gorgeous. It is the perfect combination of art and story and I have been enthralled. I can't wait to start reading it with my kids. All 500-whatever pages (the drawings make it less daunting, and the text pages are actually text centered in a frame and really more like half-paged). I know they will love it! They love all things orphan, after seeing the play "Annie". (T is actually an orphan for Halloween - us adults are seeing the humor as she shouts, "I am the best orphan EVERRR!") The history and culture in the story is very lovely, and I've enjoyed the glimpse of early-1900s Paris very much, and the images of clocks and mechanics of the period.

AND I am STOKED to find out there is a movie coming out next month! I didn't even know before I started reading it. And even better, it's going to be a 3D movie! Which for some childish reason I love. I think they're so fun. I'm a little silly about them, I admit.

I bought the second similar book by Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck, at Costco the other day but wanted to read them in the proper order, of course. The second book has 2 story lines, one told in words and one told in pictures, that eventually begin to interweave. Man, I can't wait.

(Please excuse the heavy use of caps in this post. A little enthusiastic.)

Southern Camping

I have discovered the greatest thing ever. It's called camping! More specifically, TRAILER camping.

I will never go back to tents again. True convert here.

We got a truck a couple months ago - old, beat-up Ford.

In the truck on the way home

Well, once you have a truck you need something to pull behind it. No way was it going to be a boat. My ever-researching husband found the perfect deal on the perfect tailgate accessory: a beauty 1978 camper trailer, complete with brown and avacado-green stripes. And who can forget the ruffly curtains imprinted with roosters? It's only proper.

I'm too lazy to go take a picture of ours, but this helps you get the idea.

We got to take it for a spin the very next week! Sure, we were only doing 30-35 mph on those 2-lane mountain passes, which might have caused a little road-rage and some life-risking, illegal passes on the part of other cars behind us, but we made it! We stayed at Green River campground with 7 other families from our ward.

I have never, ever, had so much fun on a camping trip. I had heat at night. I had a fabulous mattress (possibly better than my own). I had a toilet, if I needed it! (We didn't, we used the flush toilets across the road from us, but next time we'll give the potty a whirl!) I had a stove and oven and I freakin' baked cookies. And hubby might have only taken 3 work calls the whole time! It was amazing!

We walked a trail of exposed dinosaur bone fossils. They were for-real fossils, still embedded in rock. It was cool! It's hard to see but the gray streak to the left of Davin's head is one fossil.

 Then we went to Arches National Park. I can't believe no one has ever told me that we need to go there. It was phenomenal! Amazing creations of nature. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and vowed to take Gummy and Poppy there next time they come! We know they'd love it too!

 That's Dave and Caden on top of the arch. Yeah, I need a better camera.

 Busted eating Cheetos for breakfast. Another perk of camping life. Especially when you're the only kid who doesn't get to go on the early-morning fishing trip (never mind that it's because you scream and throw rocks in the water). Davin reeled in a fish that morning ... he was horrified, terrified, and oh-so-proud, all at once!

The kids in the camping group. What a great bunch! They were so fun and were very considerate and helpful to each other. It was a great group.

 We hiked through a slot canyon called Little Wild Horse. I think it was my favorite thing of all. Beautiful rock formations and fun little climbing parts.

 Caden being Spiderman.

 Then we went to Goblin Valley, so named for these crazy little rocks that look like fat little creatures. This was the kids' favorite spot - they could climb all over and pretend certain clusters were their own castles. Dave got a cute video of Davin giving a castle tour, but video doesn't seem to upload well on my blog. The funniest part was when he said, "This is my pillow, but it's locked up so no one can get it."

Palace Beautiful

I still really like reading juvenile/young adult fiction. I read them to screen books I think my kids would like, but they're also cleaner, quicker reads that I find enjoyable. Palace Beautiful was a precious book! Darling story line of a girl and her sister who move to Utah and become friends with their neighbor -- gloomy, creative, self-named "Bella" whose family life is less than ideal. Together they discover an old diary in their attic, written by a child who lived in their home years ago. As they read through the journal they explore similarities between their lives and the life of the author, and many sweet lessons are shared about death, life, and family.

My favorite things were how the artistic main character never used plain names for colors, but rather "Far-Far-Away Blue" and "Wide-Awake Red". Also the friend Bella was very imaginitive and creative, and had I been 9 years old I would have totally spent a week trying to be as melodramatic as she. (I was able to restrain myself at my current mature age.) There was no direct reference to the LDS church through the modern characters, but the journal contained several references to "the Bishop" and going to church, giving blessings, etc. Which is OK in my book!

The only things that would, in my mind, limit the audience for this book were the several references to where babies come from (never saying it out loud, only mentioning an understanding) because the mom is expecting. We haven't quite had that talk yet with my kids and I'm sure they'd wonder about those parts. I can just see it now - "What is she talking about mom?" Bella also has a fascination with spirits/ghosts and a few parts were kinda spooky, but nothing too bad.

I felt that internal swelling of joy/sadness as I finished reading and know I'm going to miss these characters.  Enchanting book by Sarah DeFord Williams.

Reading

I really like to read. A lot. If I could do anything, it would be reading, pretty much all day. Every day.

Sometimes I don't get much reading done, like when I have a new baby. But other times, I do.

I've been reading a lot lately.

Both with my kids and alone.

Problem is, I don't have good retention. I can look at a cover and know I read it, but forget what the story was about until I have a little refresher. One time my friend recommended a book, so I bought it, and was on page, like, 24 when I realized -- oh, I know what's going to happen next! I've read this before! DUH! (This happens to me with movies too. My hubby is always saying, "You have SO seen it!" Sorry.)

So how to help this little problem. I was thinking, notebook? Nah, I'll never do it. Book club? Hit and miss. Goodreads? Haven't gotten into it. A-ha! Blog! Maybe if I blog. You know, write a little summary and post a picture. Maybe then I'll actually remember! AND maybe I'll get to pass along some good recommendations! (I am always looking for recommendations, by the way.)

So ya. That's what I'm going to do. At least this week ;)

Wonderful weekend!

What a nice weekend we had last week!

Friday night: Aunt Ruthie + family came to stay with us on their Mormon trek vacation (which ended in Las Vegas ... hmmm ;)). So fun to catch up with them! My aunt is awesome!

Saturday morning: Made a delish crock-pot breakfast casserole. Holy Hannah, I'll never go back to doing it in a pan Christmas morning! Overnight cooking is the answer - hot and ready when you are! (Don't even go there with the "That's what she said" joke, K? :)) Then all watched conference together.

Such a great conference! The best part was how much the kids loved it. Seriously, I was hearing "When is conference starting? WHAT? 2 whole hours? Nooooo..." and "Oh, it's over. Now we have to wait 2 more hours again!" Such words have never been spoken in this house. Did my kids suddenly become spiritual child prodigies? Or did it maybe have something to do with this ...

(This is not my picture, but we did a similar thing.) Each treat or activity has a picture of one of the 12/First Presidency on it, and when they spoke they got to do or have that thing. Last year we memorized the order of the 12 apostles by learning this song, and we have a poster of the general authorities by the TV, so they did a great job of recognizing the apostles before their names flashed on the screen. I remember doing that as a kid too! Anyway, it was really fun and positive and awesome.

Saturday afternoon: Watched conference again, then went to ladies night (yes, all of us) at Roberts Craft where they had everything 50% off and the kids got to make some crafts. I slipped in a few things I've had my eye on for Christmas, so I was pleased! It got a little hairy with antsy kids at the end and I was glad to get home, but an overall success.

Sunday Morning: Got up bright and early to take Caden to his first conference session in the Conference Center! You have to be 8 to attend so this was his first opportunity, and he was very excited. The other kids went to Grandma and Grandpa Greene's house, which they were also thrilled about (except for Koen, little crybaby).

We had to drive around a bit to figure out where the parking entrance is for the Joseph Smith Memorial building now, and as we were entering I said, "Hey, is that Deiter? Nah..." Dave looked over on the sidewalk and said, "Yeah, that is! And he's talking to Bob Bennett! (Utah Senator)" We were in a line that was standing still, so a few seconds later I was like, "Caden, should we go meet President Uchtdorf?" We grabbed our tickets and scrambled out of the car and raced over. He was just going up the steps of the Relief Society building, so we called to him and he turned around and said hello. I said, "This is Caden's first conference! He just turned 8," and he said, "Welcome! Nice to see you!" and then was scuttled inside. We didn't have time to take a picture, but it was really awesome! Caden was thrilled.

So we headed up to the Conference Center, weaving through throngs of people holding signs begging for tickets (it was quite a sight and made you feel horrible for not giving yours up) and got in line. As we neared the doors they were scanning the tickets with little machines that were going "bong, bong, bong." Caden gave them his ticket and it went "uh uh uh." She scanned it again, and again the noise was not affirmative. I said, "Caden you have a fake ticket!" and he looked at me in horror (oops, sorry kid, just kidding.) After several moments she pointed out, "Oh, this ticket is for the afternoon session." WHAT???? Crud. I quickly realized there would be no mercy, with the throngs of people wanting to get in, so we made our hasty exit. We saw Dave in line and ran up, saying, "Hey, did you ever look at these tickets?" Caden was devastated. We hustled over to the standby line but the guy there said our chances were definitely not good.

We decided to watch the session in the Tabernacle, pointing out that this was where both Dave and I had also seen our first session of conference. As we sat in the Tabernacle, Caden said, "We can stay here now but we're going to the conference center for the next one." Dave said yes, we could try to come back in April for another session. Caden said, "No, I mean today!" We explained that we were about to watch 2 hours of conference, then we'd have to wait 2 more hours, then sit for the 2 hours of the last session! That was a long time, and the other kids were at Grandma's and we weren't planning on being gone all day. Caden did not budge in his opinions. I pointed out that we didn't bring lunch so it would be like he was fasting and he'd be really hungry, and he said, "That's fine. I'll do that. I really want to go to a live session!"
Well, what can you say to that. I was so proud of my boy. Grandma and Grandpa said it would be fine if we stayed, so Caden got his wish!

I had brought some grapes and animal crackers for the ride home, so we headed back to the car between sessions to eat some of that. On our way we passed a room in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with cooking smells wafting out. Turned out there were several vending machines stocked with sandwiches, frozen dinners, drinks, and microwaves. After briefly considering whether it was breaking the Sabbath to purchase from a vending machine, then realizing the blessing being presented to us, we had a much nicer lunch than we had supposed! :)

Sunday Afternoon: It was wonderful to sit in our lovely seats for the afternoon session and be in that magnificent space. It was touching to see Caden stand and watch the prophet enter the room, and as it became completely silent, he whispered, "Wow." He later said you could feel the Holy Ghost at that moment when the prophet came into the room. He did so great, staying reverent and listening. It was a joy to be there with him and feel so proud of his righteous desires. What a special boy! I am blessed beyond belief to have him as my son. Sometimes I can't help but think, "How do you parent a child who is your superior in so many ways?"

Great weekend.

More birthday stuff

I like 2-year-olds because they don't actually know when it's their birthday, so if you happen to not be prepared and celebrate a day late, they don't even notice! Not that I would know ...

 Rainbow pancakes for breakfast. They mostly just ate their favorite colors ... 7 pancakes is a bit much for anyone.

The cake was a huge success. Koen is an absolute Barney addict. We're scheduling an intervention in the near future. It's out of control.

 He decided just to dig in again - why wait for a slice?

All present were a go, too - especially the cars. And the kiddie shopping cart. And the Elmo book. And ... everything. And the other kids were happy because he let them open everything.



PS - This monkey has a new smile.

The baby is 2!

This video isn't nearly as cool as last year's ... you know, because there is no 911 recording in it. But he's still something to celebrate! Can't believe Koen is 2!

(OK, my video isn't showing up so here is the YouTube link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c9Wt0AHHRE

Rooster reflections

***WARNING: This post is probably gross to most others. I wrote it so I can remember. But we warned that it's about killing.

This weekend we slaughtered 5 of our 26 meat birds. They are full grown, enough that the roosters are finding their cocka-doodle-ergs and getting a little frisky with the females. We figures that some all-out cock fights may soon be happening if we didn't do something, so 5 lucky winners met their doom on Saturday.

Killing an animal for food is an interesting experience. I think that if you eat meat, you should be required to participate in its demise. In high school I went to a turkey farm with my mom and aunts and we processed several thanksgiving turkeys, so it wasn't my first time seeing this happen. But I didn't partake of the actual killing then. This time, Dave did all the throat cutting but a second set of hands was required to hold the chicken in the cone because it wasn't big enough (we'll fix that for next time). It was sobering to see this once-fluffly little peeping chick come full circle. He trusted us to feed him and keep him safe and warm as a baby, and he trusted us right up to the end. Most of the time they were calm through the process, with a few jolts and jerks as death overcame them.

Before we began we said a prayer of thanks for the chickens who would be losing their lives for us, and wishing them well on their journey to chicken heaven. The kids were given the option of being there or not, and they all chose to watch the process (Caden watched but did not participate much, except when we inspected the chicken brain - he was fascinated by that. The other two had arguments over who would get to pluck this one and help gut it). There was sadness in the air for sure as we watched the life flow out of the first chicken, until we could see the change come over him and knew he was surely gone. We discussed how although we couldn't see it, the chicken's spirit had separated from its body and was now going to the place that Heavenly Father designed for His animals. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that there was such a place, even for chickens. We know it is true.

When you kill something in order to eat it, you suddenly realize something: It's not funny. It's incredibly serious. I had decided that my life is more important than theirs, and I am going to take theirs in order to sustain mine. That is a sobering decision. We raised these birds for meat with the purpose that we would know what they ate, know they had a good and happy life, and know that they were treated as well as they should be. They would be healthy and the healthiest for us.

But meat is LIFE! To eat meat means to take life. I am not against eating meat, but I am changed. Meat will not be taken for grated any more, and it doesn't just "come from the store" like my Sunbeams think. I am dreading the meat counter at the store because I know next time I will not be able to help but think how many animals are represented in that one little space. And I'll wonder if they got a prayer before dying (another good reason for a blessing on the food!).

I will never be wasteful again. Wasting meat is a horrible, thoughtless thing! A life given should be used completely and with gratitude. And to say that you only eat white meat ... well, that is no longer acceptable in my book. A chicken is more than just its breast meat and you better darn eat the whole chicken if you're gonna kill it!

I don't need meat every day. That's too much! It's completely unnecessary ... there are so many other things out there that won't be gasping for breath before I can eat it. The phrase, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants" is ringing truer and truer to me. The cost (paid by others) is too dear to take flippantly any more. I realize that plants are also living things, but it is different. A beating heart and a brain are a huge dividing line in life.

We will be butchering most of our other 21 chickens in the weeks to come. And we will preserve them and eat them and appreciate them. But I am really thankful for the change in perspective -- for the REALITY check -- I have been given. We eat meat at a price. We should be careful.

And if you want to come help ... PLEASE DO! Two sets of hands is not enough.

(many other fabulous atonement connections have been made in our family over this weekend. It's been a wonderful experience.)

Curriculum connundrum

After our crazy, full-of-problems summer, I have been feeling guilty reading all my homeschooling blogs and seeing all the exciting things people have planned for the upcoming school year. For the past 3 years we have been using the k12 homeschool program through our school system, so that didn't take much prep on my part! But I wanted to be on my own this year. It was annoying to have to log attendance and progress and keep in contact with our "teacher". It was a great starting point and gave me the confidence I was lacking when Caden was in kindergarten, but I am ready to break free.

So I've been somewhat frantically searching through curriculum options, trying to decide what we need and what we can afford and what Davin will need to stay busy and what level everyone is at in each subject. It's kind of a nightmare. And then yesterday, the answer for what I need to do hit me:

Nothing.


I don't need anything.

OK, that's not totally true. I need a math program for Caden and maybe Tessa (but I have one that's we'll try on her first and see if she likes it). But everything else, I have. I have 2 separate Apologia science books that we haven't completed yet. I have anatomy books and bug books and dinosaur books and several astronomy-type books, all complete with craft ideas and experiments and fun stuff. I have 2 collections of awesome science experiments. I have early American history books, and a book on the U.S. presidents, and art books and writing books and spelling, not to mention several hundred internet bookmarks of cool stuff to do, and I  ... and I have everything I need!! At least for now.

So I'm not stressing any more. We're starting school Sept. 2 because we can. (The first day of public school we will be at the water park - ha ha ha.) I'll sort through my stuff and organize a bit, and then we're good to go!

Hallelujah.

Except I still just have to decide on math. Ugh.

Our summer

It feels like this summer has not even begun! With a month of whooping cough we have not been a very energetic bunch and have had a hard time getting into a good rhythm.  We've managed to have a little fun, though.



 My birthday cake! Yes, I made it myself, thank you. (Kids decorated)

 Messes and more messes. As always. (He's holding an egg shell. Cracked several eggs into a cup, dropped several more on the floor. Dave took these pictures, then woke me up so I could clean it up and he could go to work. THANKS.)

 Swimming lessons! All the kids have improved a lot.

 Tessa got 11 inches of hair cut off and donated it to Locks of Love. No more curls :(

 We went camping and geode hunting with Uncle Sean, Aunt Tiffany, Kilee and Raya. The geode digging was pretty cool. Using the poop bucket? Not so cool.

Our take on the Fourth

After a late, late night at sleepovers the day before, we gathered for family photos before most of the family went to Stadium of Fire. Uncle Mike grabbed our camera and captured some of the joy the holiday brings.

Tessa is getting her hair done but is pretty much out.

Aunt Tiffany's feeling it ;) (sorry Tiff but it fits so well with my post's theme)

Aunt Becca and Miley ... a little delerious, a little angry, I'd say.

Koen just thinks the whole thing was crappy!

Dave's not thrilled. Amber's just sunburned.

Dash and Davin are happy, though. The boys did get more sleep.

 Cousins playing before the photos. Which will come later.