Birthday Girl

At last, the highly anticipated birthday arrived. (Dalanie was afraid she might have missed it because we didn't have an official FHE the night before. I had been telling her that her birthday was after FHE day.) She woke up in our bed and asked, "When's my birthday?" Once we told her, it didn't take her long to find the stack of presents.

A birthday on a hot summer day meant several ice cream cones a trip out in the boat, and a worn out birthday girl.

She's already started asking "When's my next birthday?"

It's going to be a long year.

As a side note, Mom, Dad, Tameka, and Ty all witnessed the kangaroo birthday cake. She wanted something silly, it turned out kind of spooky.

Pioneer Party

Our family was given the assignment to provide a "float" for the ward 24th Party. The missionaries rode on the Unimog and the kids and I played the part of a pioneer family. Hudson's only request was to ride Duke. The kids loved throwing candy and the girls made pretty cute pioneers in the bonnets I sewed up.



We introduced the ward to my Dad's creations: the slippery slide and merry-go-round swing. They were a huge hit. We had nonstop lines the entire evening. Brent operated the swing and I don't know how many people commented on him being a carny.



Forget the rides and the water, the girls just enjoyed the watermelon.

Air Show

We joined some friends for the air show featuring the Blue Angels. We had some great seats overlooking the river right across from the airport. As we suspected the kids played, ate junk, and occasionally looked at the planes. We created a shade fort and they loved eating Cheetos and playing with sticks. The Blue Angels captured their attention though. They performed maneuvers right above our heads. It was exhilarating to watch and fun to be there. By the end though, Dalanie was packing up the chairs and ready to go. She was tired and it was hot.

Reverse Psychology

We have a girl in our house that is quite defiant. She goes out of her way to do the opposite of what you tell her.

When putting on her shoes or shorts, she'll ask "this way?" When she finally has them arranged and situated the right way and I tell her okay, she reverses it and puts them on.
Take for example the other night. We were out in garden eating peas. In her taunting way she says, "Mom, look." I immediately tell her not to put the peas in her nose, just as she manages to push one out of sight with her finger. It was lost and she was crying. I couldn't get her to blow her nose until I had a tissue in my hand.Her brother is the self-appointed hand washing police. He freaks if she doesn't wash her hands, so she resists and will usually chase him around the house before getting them wet.

The only way her dad can coax kisses out of her is by telling her that he doesn't want any, same with a backrub too.

What a girl.

Hats

My Hudson loves hats. He's amassing quite a collection and has one for just about any occasion. There are only a few times a week that you'll find him without one: at the dinner table and at church.

They have become his trademark.

He has work hats, play hats, going to town hats, and now (thanks to Grandpa) he's even got a bright orange hard hat. No matter how much sweat drips down his face, he insists on keeping his hat on. One thing about it though, he sure is handsome in hats.

Create

I have two of the most talented parents.
My dad is a welder and inventor (think Meet The Robinsons.) He is very mechanical and has a great knack for making things work. Add to the fact that he likes to make jigs and you've got yourself a guy that can create just about anything with metal.

Nothing like a trailer of scrap metal to get the creative juices flowing.

My tool of choice, the plasma.

My mom on the other hand is more artistic. She paints, sews, wood works and gardens. She's not afraid of tackling any project and always ready for a new challenge. The artistic touch doesn't limit her to "feminine" activities. Her fearless approach has helped her complete the wiring in their house, recover furniture, and clip and groom 4-H steers. My children and I have been beneficiaries of her talents on many occasions.

So it's no wonder that I love going home to create. I go with a few ideas and they help me make it happen. We crossed several projects off my list. I vow that next time there will be more playing and less projects. . . they've heard it all before.

Our team work yielded a new clothesline, butterfly and flower garden art, a few fun hats, and a ruffled gray jacket.

Thanks for helping me create: both projects and memories.

Only Child

The potty trained grandkids spent the weekend at Grandma's Camp.

It made for a quite house.

Ruby experienced life as an only child. It's not as great as you'd think. The back seat of the car gets awful lonely.

Aargh Matey

After much anticipation, Hudson and Dalanie set sail for a weekend of Grandma Camp. Besides being dressed for the part, they followed treasure maps to a new bounty of loot each day. They took to the high seas and paddled around in the blue lagoon of Pirate's Cove and even caught sea creatures (polliwogs) and walked the plank. There were glow in the dark sword fights and kid friendly food from the galley. That Grandma sure knows how to have fun!

Happy Birthday America

(Notice the orange tie? Definitely not the blue and white striped one I picked out. He thinks he has a say in what he wears.)

The kids didn't seem to mind our low-key holiday spent close to home. The community breakfast was a cold start to the weekend. It felt more like an Easter breakfast than 4th of July. The weather remained cool, ruling out any sort of water activities.

We enjoyed a family reunion and fireworks at the Falls.