Bowling

I decided we needed a fun family night last night before Jonah and I leave on our trip, so we blew off pack meeting and went bowling!  

Fat Cats had a great deal where we were able to bowl for an hour and get fries and drinks for only $5 a person.  The kids were having so much fun so we decided to add on another half hour.

I loved watching the kids get so excited.  Jonah is always in the middle of the action and cheering people on.

Hallee was hilarious to watch.  She got so excited every time she knocked down one pin.  

Wyatt was so excited when he got a spare a few different times.

Hallee and Caitlyn kept giving each other hugs.  We were still there when the cosmic bowling started.  The kids loved bowling in the dark and they loved the music.  Caitlyn and Hallee kept dancing.

The kid's faces were priceless!

Wyatt loved to hold his ball and stand next to the lane while he was waiting for his turn.

There were a lot of high fives going around last night!

Keith and I had fun bowling too.  I had a horrible first game, but at least I redeemed myself a little on the second game.  It has been a long time since I have been bowling.

They had a DJ during cosmic bowling and he did a few different contests.  One of the contests was guessing how many tokens were in a cup.  He would only take one guess per song.  The three oldest kids guessed wrong and then a guy came over and told Hallee to guess 27.  He was right and she won the tokens.  They kids had fun using those on the way out.  It didn't take long to spend the tokens!  It was a great family fun night!

Birthday with my bestie

Katie took me out to lunch today to celebrate my birthday.  It was so great to leave all of the kids at home and go spend the afternoon with Katie and Kenzie.  After lunch we went and got pedicures.  I have needed one for so long! 

They were fawning all over Kenzie because look at her, she is adorable.  They painted her nails and even painted little flowers on her big toes.  It looked adorable.

Kenzie was getting fussy and squirmy after a while so I took her and played with her for a few minutes to give her a little change of scenery.  After some play time she just laid on my shoulder, I loved it!

I sure love this cute girl!  After our pedicures we went to swig, talk about a perfect afternoon!  Thanks Katie, you are the best!

Father's Day

We had fun celebrating Father's Day yesterday.  Keith is the best father, he is so involved with the kids.  He loves to spend time with them and he hates to miss any of their activities.  We went shopping last week and got him new work clothes, but we still surprised him with some presents yesterday.  

Wyatt was so proud of the card/present he made Keith.  I love how he sounded out his name.  Wyatt loves to write notes and he is getting a lot better at sounding out the words.  Keith got a nap yesterday and I made his favorite dinner. It was a wonderful, relaxing day.

Alexys stayed with us for a couple of nights.  Hallee sure loved all of the attention that she gave her.  The kids put together a little play for Keith.  It was really cute.  

This girl, she always looks so cute!

Mel and Earl are on vacation so we are watching Pepper.  Caitlyn is in heaven with two dogs!  The kids have all liked having Pepper here, she is a lot more cuddly than Jackson.  Jackson and Pepper have had fun chasing each other around.  You can tell Jackson is jealous, if we are petting Pepper he will run over and jump on our lap.

Hallee said, "mom take my picture with me and Pepper."

This morning we met mom and Dante at Seven Peaks.  It has been so hot, so the water felt great.  We got there early to beat the crowds, but most of the stuff wasn't open.  The three younger kids only lasted a couple of hours, Caitlyn could swim all day, but the other kids are ready to go after a couple of hours.  It was fun to go and still be able to get home and get the house cleaned up and take it easy for a little bit before I took Hallee to dance.  I really needed some down time today!  

More Lagoon

On Friday night Keith and I went to Lagoon alone when he got home from work.  It was so nice to just walk in without a stroller, snacks, drinks and everything else we pack for the kids.  We only stayed for a few hours, but it was a lot of fun.  There were hardly any lines, so we were able to do a lot of rides.  We also realized that we are old and a few hours is enough for us!

I keep thinking that we don't need any more pictures of Lagoon, but every time we go we are with different people and I can't help snapping a few pictures.  We picked Alexys up and went to Lagoon Saturday afternoon.  We knew Allison and the kids were going to be there, but we didn't know if we would meet up with them.  They were standing at the gate right when we walked in. Grace went with the older kids on some big rides.  Max and Allison were able to go on Bombora while I watched Maelin.

Wyatt had fun riding some rides with Jack.  They were so cute together.

I love this picture of Hallee and Jack.  Allison didn't stay too long, but the kids were all able to ride a few rides with them.  It was so packed on Saturday, the lines were so long!

After Allison left Keith and I took the little two to Lagoon-A-Beach.  It felt so good because it was so hot!  Caitlyn, Jonah and Alexys went on rides together. 

Hallee and Wyatt didn't want to swim as long as we would have liked, they were excited to get back to the rides.  Wyatt tried three new rides this time.  This little tidal wave was one of them, he loved it.

He wanted to try Bombora.  He has been trying to ride this roller coaster, but he kept getting too nervous.  This time he went right on with me.  He looked a little nervous before it started.  He looked terrified the whole time the ride was going.  He leaned his head to the side and that didn't help!

He was proud of himself when it was over, but he said he didn't like it and he didn't want to go on it again.  Now he is saying it is his favorite ride, so I guess we will see next time we go if he wants to ride it again.  I'm so proud of him for trying it.

We were trying to get Hallee to try a new ride.  She decided at the last minute that she wanted to ride the swings with Wyatt. She looked terrified and started screaming as soon as it started.  Wyatt and the girl in front of her covered their ears during the ride!

It was hilarious to watch her.  She was screaming the whole time, but every time she passed us she would stop and wave at us.  She is such a funny girl.  She told us she hates the swings and she will not be going on them again.  We only stayed about 5 hours, but I was ready to go home.  We have been spoiled with short lines and small crowds, so I was not loving the long lines and crowds.  It was also crazy hot.  We still had fun, but I think we will stick to weekdays from now on.

Camp Big Springs

Caitlyn had a blast at camp. We missed her like crazy, but I was so happy to hear that she had so much fun. 

Camp Big Springs is associated with Provo School District.  It is only for 5th graders and it is located in Provo Canyon.  Caitlyn was so excited to go.  Here she is in the river with her friends.  She said it was a contest to see who would dunk themselves in the water.

Caitlyn loved it.  She said it felt great because it was so hot.  I got these pictures off their facebook page. I still need to go through the camera that she took and get some more pictures, but most of those are just of wildlife!

Caitlyn said her favorite thing was the campfire every night.  They had skits and sang songs and she loved it.  Her tent got to put on a play, it was Igor and she was the mad scientist!

Caitlyn loved everything about camp except for the seven mile hike!  She said the food was great, the activities were fun and she loved seeing friends from school and making new friends. It didn't surprise me to hear Caitlyn tell me about all of the kids she worried about and helped at camp, she is always helping others.   She carried kid's backpacks on the hike and helped the kids who didn't feel good or were homesick.  She said she was worried about a boy who was homesick so she told him, "don't think about the whole week, lets just take it one day at a time."  She told him to find something fun to do and not worry about anything else, just have fun right now and don't worry about later. She is a wise girl.  Caitlyn has always been a sweet, loving girl, but I think her anxiety has made her even more empathetic for what other people are going through.  She really is an amazing girl.

We were so excited to pick her up on Friday.  I took Hallee and Wyatt with me because Jonah was playing with Kyle.  Hallee and Wyatt were so excited to see Caitlyn.  Caitlyn gave me the biggest hug and told me that she didn't get homesick, but she missed me!

I was so happy to have her home.  We got straight to work on her laundry and getting her in the shower.

I'm so glad that Caitlyn had so much fun and made so many wonderful memories, but I'm sure happy to have her home!

We do lots of fun things

We were getting ready to go swimming last week and Wyatt said, "we do lots of fun things."  Yes, we do!  

It is hard to find a balance of getting out and having fun and having down time so I don't go crazy!  Last week we needed a day out so we went to the rec center to swim.  Wyatt was so proud of  himself for going down both water slides.  I love to see him push himself and overcome fears. The kids haven't been lasting very long when we go swimming lately.  It is fun to get out, but it is a lot of work for an hour or two in the water!

Jonah invited Ky and then Christian called to see if he could come too.  Jonah had fun with them, but he ended up getting left out part of the time.   He is still looking for that good friend that he can hang out with and invite places.  Jonah has been having a lot of fun with Kyle, Jonah knew him from school and soccer and they were just put in our ward with a boundary change.  Kyle has had him over and invited him places and we have had Kyle over here and they seem to be a good match.   

Katie came over for the afternoon last week.  Jonah was so cute with Kenzie.  

Katie was watching Critter's twins so she brought them to play with Hallee.  They had a great time playing together. 

I got a free meal at Golden Corral for my birthday so we ate there last week.  Jonah loves salad.  Every time we go somewhere like this he makes a huge salad first.

Hallee asked me to take a picture of her and Jackson the other day.  I love that my kids always want their picture taken.  She sure is a beauty!

Fun with Friends

Allison and the kids came down and went swimming with us at the rec center on Friday.  We were excited to see them!

Hallee and Jack had a great time playing together.  Wyatt played with them too.  Wyatt was brave and went on the water slide by himself.  He was so proud of himself.  Everyone had a great time swimming and playing together.

They came over after and Keith stayed with the kids so Allison and I could go out to dinner.  He is so great, he is always encouraging me to get out and he is so good with the kids and genuinely loves spending time with them.  It was so great for me and Allison to get a break. 

Jonah was excited to have Ryelin over last week.  He spent the whole day since they don't get to see each other very often.

I don't know how I got talked into this, but we signed Caitlyn up for camp with her school.  She was so excited.  She got everything all packed up this weekend.  I'm so proud of her for wanting to go even though she doesn't have any good friends going.  She said she is excited to make new friends and see her friends from school.  She is friendly with the kids at school, but she hasn't made any close connections yet, I'm sure this week will be good for her.  I love how outgoing and friendly she is.  When she was asking us if she could go to camp my immediate response was no.  While we were discussing it I asked her what she would do if she was a mom and her girl wanted to go to camp, she said, "If she was responsible I would pray about it and if I felt good I would let her go."  She sealed the deal with that answer, she is a wise girl.  She is a very responsible girl and she has earned our trust and I know she will have a great time.

On Monday morning I dropped Caitlyn off.  I had a hard time saying goodbye, she finally had to tell me to leave.  We have missed her this week, especially at night.  I like all of my kids to be in their beds at night!  She comes home Friday at noon, I can't wait to see her and hear about camp!

Monday was Keith's birthday.  I still wasn't feeling great from the nasty flu bug I had, so I didn't do as much for him as I would have liked.  We did take him balloons and treats to work.  We took him out to lunch and that night we gave him presents and watched a movie together that night.  I'm so grateful for Keith.  I can't even put into words how wonderful he is.  He is the most loving, selfless, generous person I know.  Happy Birthday Keith.