The Big 7

Samantha turns 7 years old today! She actually celebrated with her friends on Friday and had a great birthday party. It was a Hawaiian beach party (her attempt to be just like Veronica and have the same party as her and my attempt to make it a little different for Veronica's sake!). The girls had fun doing the hula-hoop, playing beach ball volleyball and playing water games. She chose a sand-pail cake as her birthday cake.
Speaking of cake, it is funny how things come full circle. When Sam was about two years old, Veronica had her birthday cake and with us coming in and out of the house saying goodbye to the guests and cleaning up the ice cream and presents, etc. the cake was still outside for a few minutes and when I went back outside to get it I caught Samantha shoveling cake into her mouth just as fast as she could. The same thing happened on Friday but with Braelynn doing the cake shoving. We all had a good laugh about that.
This was an especially fun birthday for Sam because she lost four teeth in two days, and that means that the tooth fairy comes to visit, which she is all excited about.
Here are some things about our Sam:
1. She finds so much joy in the little things in life.
2. It is so much fun to have her tell you a story with all of her facial expressions.
3. She is a girly girl but will still go outside and play with the boys and get all dirty
4. Exuberance! Enough said.
5. Her cute smile.
6. She loves to do hair and wants to be a hairdresser when she grows up. She will go the the bathroom and practice doing her hair different ways.
7. She is very easy-going and is a peacemaker.
Happy Birthday Sam!

I love running across forgotten pictures! As I was uploading our camping pictures I saw these pictures that I had taken but didn't do anything about. I thought they were cute and decided to post them.

While Veronica was in Minnesota Tyler and Samantha decided to do a koolaid and treat stand. They had a great time, they set up everything by themselves and made the posters on thier own and actually sold a lot of their goods.


Brenna and Braelynn just being them.

Duck Creek Camping

We took another family camping trip Thursday and Friday. We decided to try Duck Creek Campground because it is only a few miles up the canyon (very little gas used!) and it is just beautiful!
We had a great time relaxing and enjoying being a family. On our way up there we found out that on Friday they were actually having Duck Creek Days in the nearby town so after we packed up camp we stopped and wandered around the town a little bit then stopped on the way home for a little more fishing at Kids Pond.

Veronica's Big Adventure

Veronica got back home yesterday from her first extended vacation away from home. My mom had a family reunion in Minnesota and had purchased airline tickets for her and my dad but through the course of their travels this summer he decided he would rather not go so they offered to let Veronica go with my mom.
They left on Saturday, July 5th to fly from Las Vegas to Minnesota. She got to take her first airplane ride, which was "awesome", go canoeing, river tubing, learned some new games and stay in a cabin. She had a great time and came home with a lot of fun stories. She didn't get home until Friday the 11th so she was gone almost a week. It only took us a few hours to start really missing her, though. It is amazing how one person missing from your family can make such a difference. We are grateful to my mom for taking her on this adventure, it is a trip she will remember forever, I think.

Veroncia always seems to attract things that bite. This is what her legs looked like during her trip. Some of the bites would fester, pop, and ooze. At one point her feet were so swollen she couldn't even wear her tennis shoes.

Ten of my mom's twelve siblings (including my mom) and her mom and dad.

Small Town Celebration

The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays because it is a reminder of the things we should remember every day, about the freedoms that we have and how blessed we are to live in the country that we live in-good and bad. And it is also a good time to re-learn and teach others about the history of our country and how it came to be.
Another reason I love the Fourth of July is because growing up there was so much fun to be had around the holiday and I still love to go back and participate in the fun, especially because now my kids can enjoy the things that I did as child. The celebration has not changed much over the years, these are the things I did every Independence Day for as long as I can remember.
First, those that choose to (usually those too young to appreciate a nice, cozy bed) sleep outside so that at 6:oo am on the fourth you can hear the "booms" made by dynamite followed by the fire sirens signaling the start of the day. (Even though inside the house, you really can't miss either of those.)

Then we go to the park for the fireman's breakfast where they load your plate full of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, and ham.
After that is the parade, which my brother and sister-in-law, Cory and Melissa, let us hang out with them at their house post and pre-parade and watched it in front of their house.

Then, my favorite part now that I have kids old enough to participate is the games at the park. They have sack races, wheelbarrow races, and three-legged races and a money scramble for all different age groups. Every person that participates gets money, no matter if they win or loose and a watermelon bust. Brenna and Braelynn each got $2.50 and the other kids racked in anywhere between $7-9 dollars.

Anyone can participate.


Beating those boys even if it means cheating just a little!






Of course you have to finish off the day with fireworks. The local fire department do all this every year and this year the local businesses donated over $1300 for the days festivities. Now, if that is not small-town pride I don't know what is!

Happy Happy Birthday

Veronica turned 11 years old yesterday! She celebrated by have a Luau party with a few of her friends. They had Hawaiian haystacks, made hemp bracelets, played a few games and then, of course, ate cake and opened presents.
Here are a few things (past and present) that make Veronica the person that she is.
1. She is a very determined girl. When presented with a task, she will work and work tirelessly until she accomplishes it. For instance, when she entered elementary school, monkey bars was the thing to do and she couldn't do it so after coming home with blisters every day and many trips to the park after school she finally mastered the monkey bars.
2. She is an amazing violinist and an avid reader.
3. She is very forgiving and quick to apologise
4. She loves to make things (whether it is baking, crafting or whatever)
5. She is a generous person and sh. When she was in kindergarten, on Fridays she would receive five skittles. She would eat two and then put three into her pocket (eeew!). As soon as she got home, she would pull out these three lint-covered skittles that had been sitting in her pocket and give them to Tyler.
6. When she grows up she wants to be an optometrist.
7. She is eagerly awaiting the day that she is old enough to babysit.
8. She loves to help people and is eager to help whenever needed.