PEEK-A-BOO!!!

 

 

 

Preston's new favorite game...PEEK-A-BOO!! Even with food all over his hands and face!

Peanut Butter Face

This is how you get a peanut butter face!

BUSY!!

I thought the last couple of weeks of school were super busy and hectic, and I was thrilled when summer began. Sure, there are several summer activities and camps planned, but I thought we wouldn't be as busy as we had been during the last couple of weeks of school.

The last couple of weeks of school included:

The Preschool graduation for Brigham - (Naters will go to preschool for one more year, they just include all the children's in the performance and ceremony.)

The school carnival - I was helping with buying most of the food, some raffle stuff and selling tickets.


Jackson's 6th grade promotion - which I planned and was in charge of. The elementary schools here don't celebrate graduations, except for high school. That's lame! So, when Will was in the 6th grade I planned and put on a promotion for his class. Last year, no one stepped up. This year, I did it again for Jackson. Next year I will have a break and then the following year I will again do it for Tyler. Every other year you can count on me! I did have a lot of help and support and it turned out great!!

The school wide talent show - where Gavin performed on his violin.


Field Day for the entire elementary school - I helped with the 6th grade class a little. They played fun water games with each other. Scott and I bought over 300 Popsicles and handed them out to each student. Then, the kids ran through the sprinklers. THANKS to Mrs. West for paying for those Popsicles!!


On June 6th was the last day of school. Parties, goodbyes, and more parties. After school was let out, my kids went to different pool parties.

The summer officially begins. Here is our 50 FUN summer activities poster we made. We already have over 10 items marked off!!

Later that night, Scott drove Will, Tyler and Gavin halfway to Cedar City to meet up with Scott's parents. The big kids were invited to spend a couple of days working at their house for some extra money.

While they were in Cedar the Utah Summer games were going on. Will participated and received two medals (one Gold and one Bronze)! It'll be a new tradition for the boys to play in those games. THANKS Grandpa for setting all that up!!

During the time the big boys were gone, I planned fun activities for the little ones. We went to the zoo, a splash pad, made cookies, bought a blow-up pool for them and they played for hours in it.  Then I took them out for ice cream and McDonald's dinner.

On Sunday the 9th of June, it was a cousin's farewell. He's off to serve a 2 year mission for our church in Canada. I am thrilled for his faithfulness and desire to serve the Lord. Such a great example!!

On Wednesday of this last week, we met up with the big kids and headed to Yuba Lake for some quality family time. It was so beautiful and fun. I am glad we were able to squeeze that quick camping trip in.

Now we're totally into summer. There's been no sleeping in, no lazy summer days around the house. No boredom around here.
Tyler and Will have football camp all week long that starts at 7:30 IN THE MORNING!! Who plans that? Just typing 8 is so much better than 7:30! The boys are loving it, of course. They wear their gear around the house and get into ready position. They head outside with the little ones and show them how to catch and tackle. I am THRILLED football season is almost here! YEAH!!

Gavin has had Suzuki violin camp in Draper that starts at 9am until 6pm. It's his first year and we're enjoying it a lot. There are several people from our area that are attending as well. There are 500 kids participating in either the Violin, Viola or Cello groups. Gavin is focused and gaining a lot of experience. I am thrilled for him.

We purchased our Utah Pass of All Passes a while back and have already been busying utilizing them to the fullest. They offer so many discounts and free admissions to several attractions around the valley.

On this past Monday night, after camps, we headed to Orem to watch Tarzan the Musical as a family. It was an outdoor theatre and we had a blast. It was great weather, fun musical, and we had a good time together.

On Tuesday night, after camps, we were off to the SLC Bee's baseball game, my very first game ever. The boys all enjoyed themselves as well. They all brought their mitts hoping to catch a foul ball. I was a bit late to the game. I was invited to witness a sealing in the SLC temple with Brian and Ember. It was such a neat experience, truly. The spirit was so strong. I felt the warmth and love of family members on the other side of the veil. I felt the spirit confirm to me that temple ordinances are important and my attendance to the temple is needed more often.

Father's Day came and went and we spent the entire day together. The kids each wrote, drew or made something for Scott. We put together this tree picture for him and this: Every hour and half hour Scott opened an envelope up. There was either a coupon inside or a sweet message from one of the boys. After dinner, we hiked up to Donut Falls. It was a beautiful evening. It was a wonderful day spending with one another. 

YUBA LAKE

Here is our view from our campsite at Yuba Lake. We spent 3 wonderful days there. Our site was slightly elevated to give us a beautiful view of the green lake. What is not pictured here is the kitchen I set up on the opposite end of the picnic tables. Also, the large tent that Scott, I and some of the little ones slept in.

 

We ate like kings while camping. First night for dinner we BBQ'ed some steaks, roasted corn on the cob and had sliced watermelon. Another night was grilled chicken and baked potatoes. Desserts were peach cobbler one night and smores with hot chocolate another night. For breakfast I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Another breakfast was egg and sausage burritos with OJ.  There were also plenty of snacks to keep those kids full and going all day.

 We took turns on the wave runners and everyone had a blast on them. Will rode by himself and the other boys drove with either Scott or myself with them. One time, I had Tyler and Brigham and we tipped over. It was totally my fault. They were scared and mad and refused to ride with me again! No one was hurt; we were just dumped into the cold water of Yuba Lake.

On the second afternoon, it was super windy and really choppy out there. Will and Scott took the wave runners out and were jumping the waves, racing each other and making donuts. They had a blast. It was fun to watch them!





It was a very fun 3 day's with the family at Yuba Lake. I am so glad we were able to head out of town together before the crazy busy summer schedule starts. BUT, there are prickers everywhere!! And, very, very windy. I wish someone would've told me that. I'm getting chills just typing about the prickers. Everyone stepped on them several times. With shoes on. OUCHY!!!

One afternoon a man across from our spot found a snake and carried it to the cliff and let it go. Umm, snakes? I don't like snakes. I don't like that I saw him carrying it, like it was no big deal. I don't like that he let it go. Aren't we suppose to kill those disgusting creatures? Yuck!

20th High School Reunion

 A couple weekends ago was my 20th High School Reunion from San Marcos High School. Our first one, ever! 20 years does seem way too long ago... and I don't feel or look like I graduated 20 years ago. Weird. When I was in high school 38-40 year olds seemed OLD to me. Now, that's me! Weird.

Jennica, Preston and I hopped a plane and headed for beautiful Santa Barbara. Preston was pretty good on the flight. It was so fun flying with Jennica, we talked and gabbed the entire time. Such a wonderful friend!

When my mom picked us up from the airport, she hadn't put in the car seat, and I didn't bring one. So, my big boy Preston, sat like this all the way to Nana's house. Thank goodness it wasn't too far!

On Friday night a bunch of the girls headed downtown to eat at a Mexican restaurant and catch up. It was so neat seeing these wonderful women again. Most are married. Most have children. It was really neat to see some of my childhood friends as mothers now. Great mothers nonetheless! It was so fun chatting and catching up on their lives, their occupations, their families. I headed home first, at around 11pm. The rest of the gang hung out for a couple of more hours!

The next afternoon we headed to the beach for a family BBQ where several other wonderful classmates were. Again, it was great to see so many familiar faces and to catch up with all of them.

Here we all are looking through our Senior class book. It was fun reminiscing of the good 'ol days. There were several people I haven't seen since I graduated.

Later that night we headed to Harry's Plaza, an awesome restaurant in Santa Barbara. More people were there that hadn't made it to the beach BBQ earlier that day. It was great to see so many people. Everyone looked great! There was one guy and another girl I had no idea who they were. (oops!) Other than that, I spoke with everyone. The picture above is of Jody, Minda, myself and Natalie. Jody, Minda and I went to school from Kindergarten all the way to high school!! All 3 of our parents are still in Santa Barbara, in the same house!

More CUTE, CUTE ladies!!

I am so glad I went to the reunion and can't wait for the next one.

It was very strange being around so many people drinking. Drinking before dinner. After dinner. Drinking at the beach. Drinking as we're chatting. Unfortunately, most of my friends were drunk by the time I headed out. It was so weird.

And, there were many of my friends going through a divorce. Divorce sucks!! It was sad to see such wonderful people having such problems and hardships. 

 Here I am with Liz and Mindy, ladies from my basketball team! Go Royals!!

 Of course I went to Pascucci's, my MOST favorite Italian restaurant in SB with my dear friend, Minda.

On a random stop to get a coke at Chevron I ran into Flavor Flav!! I was robbed in this photo though because he wasn't even wearing his clock!!

On Sunday we headed to church. Back to my home ward full of so many friendly faces. Then, to the airport to head on home. The Santa Barbara airport is gorgeous. The tile work, artwork, land-scaping, aritecture...Beautiful!

On the flight home, Preston spilled an entire cup of cranberry juice on Jennica. Moments after we had it all cleaned up, she spilled her beverage all over herself! We must of looked drunk or something! The stewardess brought her another drink, in a cup with a lid and straw! It was so funny!!