....Summer Vacation

This past Summer we spent a month in Utah visiting our family.We had an AWESOME time. Being there for so long meant that I would dump my pictures onto my mother's computer. I received these pics recently and wanted to post some of our fun memories.

We spent quite a bit of time at my Dad and Mom's. Hopefully they will want us back again. We had a great time. Cousins came over for a Fathers Day Celebration and played games out back with water and sponges, always great to get one in the face. My sister Cristy came over all the time with her three little ones and my little Claire loved her two big girl cousins Alli and Morgi. They all couldn't get enough of holding baby Corbin. We enjoyed playing games with Grandma and Grandpa too!

The Ross Family Reunion was a real highlight. Brad and Corine and their ever growing family filled our days with fun and family. The first day we made these humanitarian kits. I thought this was such a extraordinary opportunity to really serve with those we love to help those in need. Service really binds people together and what better people to bond with then our family.

We were able to see Ty play football in a tournament at BYU, which my boys thought was awesome. The Hannay kids are something of a wonder to my kids. They are just in awe of their stature and abilities. Come to think of it so am I. We love hearing about them on the family Blog. After football it was off to the BYU bowling ally and the book store. Bowling is always fun with little ones. Blake had a blast trying to match his real world skills against his Wii bowling skills. He decided reality is a little harder. Ain't it the truth!

We spent the better part of a day at the "This is the Place Pioneer Village" . I thought the whole village was done pretty well . The kids enjoyed it. We made arrowhead necklaces, rode ponies and wagons, we made rope, learned about the stars, had a train ride and carded wool. The kids also tried there hands at some pioneer games. I loved seeing the Monument and reading about the history. There is just something about our church history that moves me; frequently to tears.

We also went to Seven Peaks water park. I hung out with Blake and Claire in the kiddie pool for most of the time. Towards the end of the day I was able to go on some of the fast slides and crazy slides with Sam and Jack. It was so fun to go with them and see the fright mixed with joy on their faces. There is nothing like dropping off a ledge, on a float, straight down, staring at your eight year old across from you, seeing the horror and excitement in his face, knowing or thinking you know this is going to be fun. I loved It!

On Sunday we went to the Salt Lake Temple to take pictures and enjoy the sweet Spirit that resides there. Both Sam and Jack were touched by the Spirit as they gazed up at the Temple.

Beach..again

Just a couple more things about our week at the beach...

History behind the pictures....

My sister Maryann used to live in DC with her family. She had a group of friends that has been going to the Outer Banks for about ten years. Well, in the past couple years several families have moved out west. Maryann's family is one of those families, but loved going to the beach with their friends so much that they have continued to go. They have been flying out to VA from UT for the past five years. Last year a family cancelled and left a slot open. We live close, so Maryann invited us to spend a week in a beach house with four other families that were strangers to us. Being the adventurous types that we are and knowing Shane and Maryann, we said,"Sounds like fun."

My children had never even seen the ocean. We were not sure how they would respond. How would the other families respond to us? Maryann is fun, interesting, and hilarious. Allot to live up to. We found out quickly that everyone one was great. All the kids get along. We share the house with 22 kids and twelve adults. Everyone shares food and chores. No one has to tell anyone what to do , we all just pitch in and get it done. Each family takes one night to make dinner for the whole group. We spend all day at the beach. The house is about 2 minutes from the beach so you can walk back and forth pretty easy. Each family goes home in 15 minute increments to use the showers. Sometimes your shower is a little cool, but it is also 90 degrees outside, so you don't seem to mind. We pack a lunch together with drinks, snacks and take that to the beach. The awnings provide great shade.

The beach is a private beach. This is wonderful as there are only about two to four other groups in our area. The water is warm. Skip says 75-80 degrees. I am not sure. It is nice to get into and very refreshing. Last year you could surf some what and defiantly boogie board. This year the waves were minuscule and the boogie boarding wasn't that great. This worked well for my kids. The fear they had last year left and they enjoyed the easy waves.

Sadly, this year Maryann's family did not make the trip. She was missed, they were all missed. A new family was invited and once again the group dynamic worked beautifully. I am not sure if being the same faith makes a difference or that we don't know all the little intricacies of each others life that you would if it were family that makes it works, but it is fun. Thank you to all that go and make it so memorable.

All these people in one house. Wish you could have been there with us.

driving down the highway

We are on are way home from the beach. I am typing this as Skip is driving down the highway. Seriously, modern technology is awesome. I have a wireless device which allows me to surf the web as we drive down the highway. Why on earth would I need to use this? Couldn't I just enjoy the view? Am I missing something as the road passes me by? Probably. I tell my kids constantly to sit back enjoy the ride and the view. They might see something that they have never seen before. In fact when I do see something, like an animal or cool structure and I point it out to them, they miss it because they can't get their heads up from their DS games fast enough. Then they are mad because they missed it. Most of the time now, I don't even bother. Sad.

Loving the Beach Life

I can't believe it has been almost a week. The boys are a toasty brown. Claire is a bathing beauty. She likes to go out on the boogie board. We have had soooo much fun.

The amazing thing is the people. Six families in one house, twenty two kids and twelve adults, and some of us are strangers. Crazy how it works, but it does. We share food cost{thanks Allison.}We share a house{thanks Linda.} We share community beach property{thanks everybody.}

There has been no fighting. All the kids have bonded and so have the adults.

Claire has been wearing swimming shoes the whole week, so when we went down to the beach to take pictures and we set them down in the sand , she cried because she didn't like the feel of sand on her feet. All the pictures have her crying.

Beach Fun

The Beach has turned out pretty good this year. Jack, Sam and Blake have all decided that the ocean is awesome. I think the absence of big water has tempered their fears. Claire has even been lulled in by the rippling water. It is, however, disappointing to those: die hard, boogie boarding, body slamming,Sand sucking, Bathing beauties. We did get a couple of mediocre waves.

Life Continues...

I knew the first week home would be tough. I was right. First of all Claire has been sleeping right beside me for the past month and while I love Claire, it is time to cut the cord. Skip has the unending job of running up and down the stairs to a weeping child that continues to scream. "I want my MOOOOOOOM." She doesn't want me to leave her side. Tonight she said,"YOU stay with me, Daddy will take Sam to scouts, okay?" OK. . . I think we will get her back to normal. It will just take a while.

The boys are fighting quite a bit {I am yelling quite a bit} and having a hard time going to sleep at the right time and waking before 9:30 am. Weird. They are usually early risers. Chores and piano, not to mention any school work is like pulling teeth. Any sense of order is gone. I've given up on the school work for right now.

I jumped right back into life by teaching RS on Sunday and making sure our July enrichment is going to come off well. I messed up times on a meeting yesterday and was late, but it all worked out.I also went out with a good friend for her birthday and had a great kid free time. I didn't get home till midnight, good times!

Skip and I went out on a date and saw " The Incredible Hulk" I loved it. I saw "Iron Man" too, loved it. What can I say I love super hero's. Look any guy that can fly, pick me up, and save the world. . . I like it. I don't know maybe it's the plot and all the irony in the story line. . . .nope!I also saw WAll-E with my kids and Maryann's kids and I have to say, I loved it. That is more movies than I have seen in three years at the theater. I don't go much. Kind of fun though, to go.

Now my focus is on School plans for next year and figuring out a way for my kids to make money and how we can save the world. I am trying to raise super hero's you know!

Trip Vignette

The Clark Family; AKA Aunt Maryann's Family, graciously opened their home to us for a little over a week. Shane, the MAN{as in "THE MAN"} Made it possible for us to eat , sleep, and generally be well taken care of. The flowers at the top were displayed in our luxury digs, by the side of our bed, Beautiful! Thank you Shane.

Although many hours{WAY MORE THAN I LIKE} were spent by my children and Maryann's playing the Wii, I loved playing cards and joking around. Maryann's kids are super funny in a ironic sort of way.

This is where I should have laid down the law with my sister.{She is just so insistent and does it with a big smile and doesn't take no for an answer} Maryann decided to start Claire on her potty training path to enlightenment. This is kind of a pain if you're not ready for it. {I mean ME!} Claire loved it and now as we are home, it is so fun....NOT! Curse you Maryann.....Just kidding, I know it is what should happen, but every two minutes...."you're killing me Smalls"

We wanted to get to the mountains, which lasted about an hour. We were doing great Painting the scenery and looking at birds and chipmunks, when Blake fell and that ended the fun time. Blake is OK. It was beautiful and we had a small snow ball fight. All in all a good outing.

Our last day we went to Thanksgiving Point. Grandpa and Grandma went a got a grandparents Pkg from there and brought a whole slue of us. THANK YOU! We went through a dinosaur museum {always a hit} and saw a three-D movie.{which Claire was scared out of her mind and crawled all over me through the entire movie} Then we went out to the animal farm that was on the property. The boys loved this , Claire not so much. She cried and was scared of all the animals. I am not sure where this comes from....?
We said good- bye to all. We loved our trip. We love our family. We miss them so much.Four weeks really flies when you have such an awesome family. Come and see us!

Was It A Dream?

We arrived home about 11:30 Friday night. I thought the kids would surly fall into bed and go to sleep. I was wrong. They tossed and turned and talked. They were just so excited to be back at their house after a month of vacation. My migraine that started on the plane progressed into a full blown PARTY!!!!!

The Plane ride was a little stressful. Claire and Blake were over everything. I couldn't do anything right. The whining was incessant. They did not relent. It was like a battle of wills and I had no defense.{What can you do on a plane to get your point across to a tired and weary two year old? NOTHING! That is unless you want to get turned in for child abuse.}

Sam and Jack watched movies and were pacified nicely.

I can tell you we had a wonderful time and now that we are back is does feel like a dream. More to come on the trip..........

Reunion Time

I have so many things to post I don't know where to start. I had a great weekend with my husband, Skip's family at their reunion. We were able to play, talk, eat, serve, and learn about history and each other. It is so wonderful to have a family that loves one another and enjoys being with each other. We missed Skip's sister Deb and also his parents that are in the West Indies, serving the Lord.

I have a ton of pictures. Many will have to be posted from home where I can arrange them in a more convenient way. Posting off site has its challenges. {having access to a computer would help} Thank you Mom for your computer time loan! Thank you Michelle for this great picture.

Vacation sickness

Monday was a little hard. Blake got the stomach flu. I was tied down for the day. My Mom and Dad helped out so much. Let's hear it for parents! I was able to take Jack and Sam to swimming lessons, while my Mom took care of a miserable Blake. My Dad went to the store late for more Gatorade and saltine crackers. Then he gave Blake a blessing. I prayed all night that he would get well and that no one else would get sick. Claire was booted out of my bed to the floor, so she was a little miffed. Life is cruel.

Blake is doing better. He is a little tired and weak. His fever is gone so I will cross my fingers .

Creating a Princess.... By Aunt Maryann

1.Buy pink, white and black{Goes with everything} purses

2 White Gloves a must.

3.Bracelets and necklaces

4.Sparkly head bands

5.Sparkly shoes

6.Pink plush bunny ears {optional}

7.Lessons on what a princess carries in her bag {Pen,pad of paper,Polly pockets,blue Clues figures, and a snack just in case}

Maryann is picking up where I fail. She knows just what to buy for little girls. In fact Claire has taken these lessons as gospel. She will now not go anywhere with out her black purse. If I even hint that we should leave it in the car, she weeps. ALL GIRL.

Uncle John....SO FUN

Uncle John and Aunt Jade invited us to go to the Orem Summer fest with them. Uncle Rich and Aunt Libby joined us with their brude, the vivacious Grace, the unlimited Kate, and the dynamic duo of Miles and James. We had so much fun.

We started with the rock wall, it was a little difficult for both boys and Jack was pretty disappointed with himself. We will have to work on building his muscles.

While the boys struggled with the rock wall, Uncle John took Blake to play some games and ride on the kiddie rides. Blake had never been on any type of ride before, John told him it would be fun and these were just he little rides, plus he was getting so big he would be fine. Blake agreed and thought it was fun.

We caught up with John and Jade. I suggested that we might try some of the bigger rides for Jack and Sam {this after I told Rich that my kids might be a little nervous to go on the Ferris wheel}

We went over to the big carnival rides. Uncle John asked the boys if they wanted to ride on the ride called the 'Tornado', they hemmed and hawed and John pushed a little, I pushed a little, and they finally relented....They LOVED IT!!!

They went on three different rides. When they came out of the third one Jack and Sam were a little woosie. Blake was willing to go again. John asked him if he wanted to ride this ride that takes you forward and then backwards and spins ferociously. Jack and Sam watched two women get sick after getting off and was so worried about Blake. They kept telling me,"Don't let him go!" It is not a good ride." Blake did not care he wanted to go with Uncle John. They went and they did just fine. Blake said, "That was the best thing ever... and why don't we have these rides at our house instead of a tramp!" I don't know Blake.

Sleepy weeding

We arrived at my Mom's house and just wanted to veg. We were all tired, even Grandma and Grandpa. We toured around the yard and saw all the pretty flowers. The grass was green and lush, perfect for playing on and the kids could tell. They were excited to be in UT where you could see forever and have the mountains ever present.

After a much needed nap and with Claire still sleeping, I looked out the back window to see the boys at work weeding with my Mom. The were having a grand time, each weed with it's long root was a triumph and they showed grandma everyone

Flying Aces

After a very long night and early morning we arrived in Utah. We Drove to DC Thursday night and stayed in a hotel.{thank you Greg and Suzi for the help} We checked in at 10:30pm and checked out at 4:00am. We all got about 4 hours of sleep. Because the kids were so excited they didn't seem to mind the lack of sleep. We got through security fine, the shoe thing was a little bit of a hassle, specially when your kids think they need to remove their sweaty socks too. Imagine me carrying most of the bags and holding Claire's hand ready to go through the machine and turn around to see two of them taking off their socks, while the line gets longer behind us.

The tram ride to the gate was fun for them, Blake and Claire couldn't wait to get on the plane. Blake as constantly asking me.Once on, Claire fell asleep, Blake did not. He kept grabbing me to look out the window at every cloud, farm, road, or town, he was loving it.

Sam and Jack sat together. They mostly played their hand held games. As we flew over Denver and then landed, they all wanted to stay in Denver. I too wish we could have visited. Never enough time.

Blake and Claire were bummed to know that we would be getting on another plane. They were tired and done with travel. One quick story;Claire heard the noise the landing gear makes as the plane gets ready to land, and she said"Oh, Mom .... There are elephants on the plane. They are in the back."...... We made it. My mom and Dad were there to help us,big hugs all around.

Looking backward....Lookng Forward!

We are packing and cleaning like crazy. We can't wait for the Ross Family Reunion. Here are a few Pics from the past few years, that we were able to go. There are a few pictures from visits, but each visit is a reunion. WE LOVE OUR FAMILY!!! {aren't they a good looking group?}OH YEA!