Happy 4th of July

We love the 4th of July and especially since we get to go to the White Mountains and spend time with my sister and her family. Every summer growing up our family camped in the White Mountains when my dad had vacation time. My grandparents stayed there all summer and we would go and camp with them and have a wonderful time. Lots and lots of great memories with Grandma and Grandpa teaching us how to fish and clean the fish as well.

Now, however, that times have changed it's time for us to start new traditions with our own families. It has been so much fun the past 3 years to go and spend a long weekend with my sisters family in the mountains. Sometimes it rains and sometimes we luck out. This year we really lucked out. It didn't rain on us not once. We had perfect weather. The first day we went to a place called Bog Tank. It was great. We got there towards late afternoon or early evening. We got out all our stuff and threw in the lines. We started catching fish just one right after another. Of course with 17 people in our group it wasn't hard to keep the fish comming in. Everyone had so much fun. The first picture of Kayla however, if you couldn't tell by her facial expression, is her dissatisfaction of not having caught a fish yet. She was being very patient but thought that her turn should be next. Thank heaven for small blessings and her turn did come soon enough.

All in all at the end of the evening between 17 people, we had caught over 46 fish. 46 is what we actually kept on the stringers, but there were still many more that were returned to the lake. You may be asking yourself....who cleaned all those fish. Well Kyle cleaned his "one" that was required to complete his fishing merit badge for scouts and then I along with my brother-in-law and his son-in-laws cleaned the rest. It made for a fun evening at the cabin.

Kayla much happier after having caught her first fish


Kyle learning from Uncle Steve how to remove a hook from a fish who has swallowed it. Not a pretty scene.



Nathan down at the river where we used to camp when I was little. For some reason he thought he could only fish from the middle of the stream. Somehow it just works better if your feet are wet and cold. It also helps a lot if you just fall completely in, but thankfully we managed to avoid that.



Kayla being patient once again on the 2nd return to the lake. The ice chest made a perfect little seat for her to wait patiently upon.


Then of course I had to have some of my own fun that wasn't fishing. Thanks to my neices and their hubbies for letting me take pictures. Some of my new favorites.

Then our course there's the group shot....what a gang!!

The ants go marching 1 by 1........

Well, okay, I'll give it to you that they go marching 1 by 1, but they march by the hundrends at a time. I woke up this morning to ants in our master bathroom. They were everywhere. In the tub, on the wall, in the sinks, on the counter, by the shower,and up the cabinets....I mean everywhere. So I spent probably an hour killing and cleaning and trying to figure out where they were coming from. I thought I had done a pretty good job of it too. So by 10:00 I had figured I had desimated them enough that they weren't returning. Well the joke was on me. This afternoon I took the kidos swimming at our local pool. When I got back home I went to put my clothes back on that were laying on top of my bed. I started getting dressed and things started stinging me. Yep....ants. All over my clothes, my bed, up the wall, on my dresser, yes and even in my dresser....all three drawers. AUGHHHHH!!!!!!! I HATE ANTS. So my bedroom is completely torn aparts from end to end. I hope Robert and I can get all the little beast tonight and be able to sleep in our bed.....that is without being eaten alive tonight.

Added Post:
9:30 p.m. The little buggers are now in our closet as well. Just when we had the room put back together I went to move something in the laundry basket in the closet and guess what....MORE ANTS. Those little things are completely through the laundry basket and in every nook and corner of the closet. I don't believe it. There will be no peace tonight at our house. I'm afraid that they've crossed the battle lines. This means WAR!

Hey Good Lookin'

Well yesterday was finally the big day of the dance recital for Kayla. She has been so excited for it to arrive. She loves getting all fixed up in her outfit and dancing around in it. It is even more adorable in person. And lucky for us....now she has her Halloween Costume for this year. What a bonus.

The song they danced to was "Hey Good Lookin', What you got cookin'? Even though I've probably watched it at least a hundred times at practice, I never get tired of watching her perform. However, on the same note, I don't think I'm cut out to be one of those moms that have their daughter in dance all week for two or three hours a day. There were some in Kayla's group who spend every moment at dance and had multiple dances they were in, and multiple costumes. I can't get over the expense of it first off and then all the glitz and glam they do to the kids. I dropped Kayla off backstage and they put on lipstick and glitter all over her hair and face. She glistened everywhere she went for the rest of the day. That spray on sparkle stuff was everywhere. My brother just kept laughing at the fact that everwhere Kayla went a cloud of sparkle dust followed her. I think even after a good scrub job last night in the shower that there's still a little in her hair today.

Never the less, we are so proud of our little girl. You did a wonderful job Kayla and we all had so much fun watching you.

And the name is.......

Well.....I spoke to Granny yesterday and she said that Ben's grandson came to visit and they tossed around some names. One of the names was "Hugs". I had actually told Granny last Wednesday at Justin's graduation in Tucson that Ben should name the little horse Hugs so the two of them could be "Hugs & Kisses". I thought that was cute. So when Granny told me that it's one of the names under consideration, I had to laugh. I think it's cute. We'll see if it sticks or not. But for now, we're going to call them both Hugs & Kisses.

A horse with no name

Yes, that's right....a horse with no name. This weekend we went and spent some time with Granny while Robert was working out of town. Granny's neighbor, Ben, has these minature horses. The white one is named Kisses. Well Kisses had a baby last Saturday and so we were able to see it while we were there. He is such a cutie. He doesn't have a name yet. Ben is waiting for his grandson to come visit next week from New York. He told him that when he got here he could name the new baby. We're all anxious to hear what its name is going to be. He sure was fun to be with and get to pet. As you can see in some of the pictures the size of the minature horse and then the baby. He was so tiny. So much fun. The mama horse was really good with all of us in the pen with her. She just wanted to be petted and the baby stayed right by it's mom. What a fun experience for the kids. They loved every minute they spent with him.









This is Ben the owner of the horses. He's really nice to let us all have so much fun with his horses. Kayla was quite shy of the horses until we'd been in the pen for a while, and then she relaxed a little.

Dance Recital

Kayla has been taking a Dance class since January and she finally has her recital comming up in June. She is so excited, especially now that she has her costume. She puts it on at least once a day and dances around in it. She loves it and the class as a whole is so cute when they've all got on their outfits. Just a few more weeks and they'll all be ready for the big day.

Weekend Visitor

Say hello to Earl. This is our weekend visitor from Nathan's 4th grade classroom. Nathan was lucky enough to be able to bring him home for the weekend. We sure have had a good time with him. We have the kids go in our bathroom and block him in. Then he can hop around and everyone can get lots of petting time in. We sure will miss him when he has to go back to class on Monday.







Kayla keeps a blanket on her lap to keep Earl from scratching her legs. He has really long and sharp nails.

Hip Hip HOORAY !!!!

Okay,it's only been 10 days since the pinewood derby, but I knew I'd get around to it eventually.

Yes, I will say it loud, I will say it proud. I will also shout it from the rooftop. This was our last CUB SCOUT PINEWOOD DERBY. Six years in the making between Kyle and Nathan. We have enjoyed them all, but glad to see them go at the same time.

Nathan did a great job this year. We actually ended up combining with the other ward in our building. There were so many boys and it was a lot of fun. Nathan ended up doing really well. He finished 4th overall and came in 3rd in just our ward.






This was Nathan's first race of the evening. He was so excited to have won his first race. He had a great time.



It's also been so nice that our wards have taken away the competition of the whole thing. They don't award prizes or trophies for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. Everyone who participates gets an award. The boys just love it. That's what it's all about anyway. Making fun memories with your friends.

Miracles do still happen

Yes this is proof that miracles do still happen. Today Collin and Emma came to see me and let me take some pictures of them. We had a blast at the temple. Well....I did. Collin's mom and dad had fun chasing him when he wasn't like this. He is just a ball of energy and is just so much fun. This is just a wonderful shot of him. Thought I'd put it on, he's just the sweetest thing and his sister Emmas is every bit as sweet.

To pierce or not to pierce?

Grandma & Grandpa Branch came to visit this weekend and they brought Kayla a kit to make Jewlery. Kayla had the wonderful idea this morning to make earrings. She told me exactly how to do it and she has just been delighted with them. She has worn them all day long. They would have driven me crazy 5 hours ago, but she's still got them on. I hope you can see the red string around her ears. It is just the cutest thing. Everytime I look at her I just smile. She is just so pleased with them. It's just so funny. I hope she doesn't start asking me to get her ears pierced. I'm not ready for that yet.

The Princess & the Pea

What's the old story about the Princess & the Pea? This is how I found Kayla yesterday watching TV. I had to hurry and get my camera to record it. I just kept thinking about the Princess & the Pea. She's our little princess for sure.

A great day for a picnic

Well, it's Spring Break here in Gilbert this week and that of course equals children who are bored. So we decided to head up to Granny's for the day and take a picnic lunch to Rosevelt Lake. I had not been out there in years. They have redone the road and it is so much better. I used to hate going out there because it was just another trip that ended up with me being car sick. Those days are happily gone now. The new road is absolutely wonderful and it seems to make the trip so much shorter.

It was the perfect weather for a picnic. In the shade it was just a little bit cool and the sun was just nice and warm. The water level is really high. It's nice to see the lake so full. Last time I was there, you couldn't even see the lake, it was just all dried up. But as you can see from the pictures, the Dam is nearly at capacity.

We headed to the picnic area first and had a wonderful lunch with Granny. The kids has so much fun just throwing rocks and boulders in the lake. Why is it that they can spend literally hours and hours doing just that. Picking up a rock and throwing it as far as they can into the lake. Just so much fun and best yet, there was no cost for the rocks. They were all free. HA HA.

Of course you have to do the "Tourist" shots. We had a group ask us to take their picture for them. They asked us where we were all from. We said Gilbert, Az. They looked at us a little odd and said....Oh, so not very far. We said no, where are you from? They told us there were from Atlanta, Georgia. I guess they win for having come the farthest to see the lake.

And last, but not least, Granny pointed out his cactus on the side of the rock cliff. There it is, all by itself hanging on for its life. Who would think that a cacuts could grow and thrive in such harsh conditions. I mean, I know it's a desert plant, and they grow in harsh conditions all the time, but in solid rock. Wow !!

Look really close, it's kind of in the shade right in the middle.



Here's a closer look.



Thanks so much for letting us spend the day with you Granny. The kids had a blast and all was quiet on the ride home.

It's official

Yes....it's official. We have our first teenager living at our house. Kyle turned 13 on Wednesday. That went by rather fast. Kyle started the day, first thing in the morning with opening his gift. He had been not so patiently waiting for his birthday to arrive and the anticipation of his gift turned out to be almost more than he could stand. He tried everything in his power to get us to give him his birthday and gifts early, but being the loving parents that we are....we said "NO, YOU MUST WAIT" !!

Kyle got a PSP for his birthday and that was sufficient for him. As well is should be. The gifts for these kids get smaller and more expensive with each passing year. He was thrilled none the less.





After gifts then it was time for him to head off to school and face a Social Studies Test. He didn't think that was quite fair....especially since it was his birthday and all. However we must all learn those life lessons somewhere.

Kyle did survive his day at school, dreaming about his PSP and wishing that the school day would come to an end. Once home we had a nice dinner at home and then off to Scouts. After scouts then we had time to do ice cream cake. That was what he requested for his birthday.

I think you will see the same reaction on his face as he lights the candles as was on Nathan's face in his pictures. I think my boys really like lighting the candles way more than actually blowing them out.






Happy Birthday Kyle.

Happy Birthday Nathan

This is my small disclaimer on this post. I have been working on this post for about 30 minutes now, loaded and reloaded pictures to try to get them in the right order. Had it completely dissaper. Re-did it, time after time. Something is just up with Blogger today. I give up. So just enjoy the pictures, sorry they're not in the right order, but if this crashes again and I loose my post I'll just scream.




HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY NATHAN

The 24th was Nathan's 10th Birthday. I still can't believe how fast time is going by. The years just seem to keep going faster and faster. I can't believe that I have two children that are in the double digits of age. I can't be that old....right? Don't answer that. :)

Anyway, Nathan had a wonderful birthday. The only thing he asked for was a DS Lite. That was fine with us. Something that wouldn't be crammed under his bed two weeks after his birthday.

I did take the liberty of having fun with his present though. Since it came in such a small box I wrapped the original DS Lite box then put it in a slightly larger box filled with tissue paper. Wrapped that bos and put it in yet another larger box filled with tissue paper and wrapped it. He was so cute when he opened the first box. He just knew it was going to be his DS. But no, it was just another wrapped box. We had a lot of fun watching him open his presents. We also bought him 1 game for his DS so he'd have something to play with. I wrapped it in the same manner. Nathan is such a good sport about things like that. He had a lot of fun and was so pleased and excited about his gifts.

The other part to his birthday that he was really looking forward to was the "Magic relighting candles". He really wanted those this year. I think however that he had just as much fun lighting them with the lighter. Just something about my boys and fire. They get a wonderful ( or should I say frightening) twinkle in their eye when the have a lighter in their hands. Nathan was just so pleased to be able to light his own candles. Thankfully, because they did just relite on their own we didn't have to continue to use the lighter. Nathan blew out candles and blew out candles and blew out candles until the entire house was filled with a wonderfly smokey haze. He finally realized that the smoke detectors might go off at any moment and decided to end the candles. We had to open the doors to try to air out the house. I'm sure if you asked Nathan he would say it was all worth it. I think he had a lot of fun for his birthday.