Pioneer Day

While Curtis and Gracie were here we went to the Church Pioneer Day celebration. The kids had TONS of fun. The Stake really put a fun family day together! Darby won the first hula hoop contest and won a medal! That girl can really hula hoop! The medal made all the kids want to compete in EVERYTHING so they could win one too! Max didn't want to color with the rest of the kids, but he sure is cute.
There was no medal for coloring but it was something to do while they set up the other events.
They did a Pioneer Children Parade. Dash thought it was SUPER cool. Curtis wouldn't let me take his picture in it. He was a good sport though and did it along side Dash!
They had potato sack races and 3 legged races. Darby and Gracie won a couple of the 3 legged races.
It was super hard to stay up in the potato sack race but Gracie never quit!
Dash REALLY wanted to win! He was concentrating hard on the finish line!
There was a tug of war. One for the kids. One for the EQ's from each ward and one for the RS of each ward.
I had to jump in because Dash was getting smashed, but not before I got the picture!
Ice Cream cones are always a gig hit and Max really know how to get in and enjoy a cone!
One of the favorites was the pie eating contest. Curtis won the first round and went on to the finals where he won 1st place in the entire primary for our Stake!
I loved his face here because you can tell he is really pleased that he won but he is still trying to play it off as "Cool"!
They both really liked this contest!
Here they are at the end when they had all one a medal!
Dash had a turn but didn't have a chance against Curtis! He still had fun and I think he won a medal for crying the hardest that he didn't get to do the pie eating contest over and over and over again!
Darby and Gracie had a great time here and Gracie actually took first place in the corn eating contest but I didn't get over there fast enough to get a picture of her! Good Job Gracie Bell!

Juliet's first ice cream cone all by her self!
They also let the mommy have a turn. I thought this would be super easy but it was REALLY hard. I can't believe that Curtis did it more than once! Before we left they also had a seed spitting contest. All and all it was tons of fun and I am glad we got to share with Curtis and Gracie!

lost and found.

I have been cleaning and editing my blog this morning. I found this in a lost post. He was so little and sweet. I had to post this lost little gem. I have to go shower and cry now.

Cousin Fun

While the kids were here we had tons of fun just hangin' out at home. This was a commen scene in the living room. (Thanks Mr. Ford for the PlayStation 2!) The best way to play video games is in your undies! Another FUN past time is to play dress up! I have almost thrown these away a dozen times then the kids pull them out and have tons of fun and I just can't bring myself to do it. Now they are doing musical shows with them! I LOVE the color combinations and I have to say that Dash is by far the BEST poser! I like it much more when he is playing video games in his undies but what are you gonna do!
Love the dangles in the center of the face!
Oh my! is all I can say.
Again, Oh my!

G-FORCE!

When Curtis and Gracie came to visit, Uncle Brandon got us tickets to the Premier of G-Force. That is one of the GREAT perks of working for Sony. If they have anything to do with the movie they give employees (and immediate family) a chance to screen the movie. Brandon went out of town for the weekend so I took all the kids by myself! It worked out just fine cause the kids were GREAT! The movie was super cute and I liked it even more cause it was free! The movie was in 3-D! The glasses were super cool. Way better than the paper ones we got when we were kids.

The Petting Zoo!

While my parents were here my mom took us all to a petting zoo that is down the street. I think this was the best petting zoo I had ever been to! One of the reasons for my parents to come out was to drop off my niece and nephew to spend a few days with us. A summer tradition I hope to keep going for a long time! When the kids were done with the animals they got to play on some old farm equipment. The fun thing about that was that the animals were still all around them!


My mom was AMAZING with the animals! She was like Dr. Doolittle. They loved her! I swear I have never seen anything like it!
You have to have the funny faces! (Darby and Gracie realized that morning that they had the exact same outfits. My brother and I must have the same taste. Everyone asked if I had twins the whole time they were out here and it was even more so when they dressed the same! They loved it and finally just started telling people they were twins!)
Juliet LOVED the animals! You can't really tell but she has one of the baby goats ears in her hand and she was not about to let go.
So cute!


Darby was a little tentative to give the animals the food at first because the animals were sooo bold, but she warmed up to the idea.
Curtis had no problem with any of the animals!
We had to keep this Llama busy or he would follow/chase us for the food! He was very very pesky!
This goat kept trying to get into our purses! My mom/Dr. Doolittle was giving him a little talking to!
They seriously flocked to her and I was the one with the big bucket of food. Maybe they knew she was Nana and all great things come from Nana or Santa!
This goat just hopped up on the stump to get some food!
You can't tell but this is a big ol' pig. Max didn't care for the animals so much. I think he would have been ok but they were really bold!
Dash and the Donkey! (Sounds like a book!)

Happy Happy Birthday Daddy Dear!

Brandon's birthday was July 11th! (7-11...you get free slurpees every year on that day!) We had a big pool party BBQ so he could use his new gift! (A BBQ) We have had soooo much fun having a pool in the back yard. Happy Birthday to one of the coolest daddies/hubbies in the world! Don't splash Aunt Marilynn!

Juliet LOVES the pool!
Brandon with his 2 brothers after a swim! (Nice hair B...or should I say Farrah?)
All the boys in the pool. (Max and Darby have both learned how to swim...one of the perks of a back yard pool!)

I love these next 3 pictures because you can see the boys laughing really hard. B does a thing called "The Eliminator". It's like a ride and it has a whole bunch of settings but it malfunctions a lot so you never really know what you are gonna get. The speed boat, ejected, flushed, etc.

SUPER PAPA!

A few weeks ago my mom and dad came to visit. I know! You don't have to adjust your computer, I said my DAD came too! It was so fun to have them both come and see our house and play with the kids. My kids love both my parents. They think anything wonderful that they get either came from Santa, or Nana and Papa! The kids all thought it was HILARIOUS when Papa put on Dash's Bat-Man cape! What a cool dude! We love you papa! (Thanks for fixin' my car too...just another perk of having your dad come visit:)