New Office Update

Things are starting to take shape....!!!!

 

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July!!!

We celebrated in style, as usual!! :-)  We had some fabulous friends over, the Van Buskirks and the Cooks...although I didn't get any pictures.  They were here, I promise!!  I made my traditional cake and found this cute idea for a fun red, white and blue drink.  Barrett preferred his bottle!  I'll let it slide this one time! 

 

 

Our kiddos woke up SUPER early this morning, so by the time we were done eating some yummy food and visiting...Kevin and I were beat.  The girls were even ASKING to go to bed.  So no fireworks for us this year.  It was rainy anyways so we'll look forward to next year!

Canada Day 2012

 

To celebrate Canada Day, we went up to Phoenix for the blessing of Kevin's oldest brother's new baby girl, McKinley.  It also happens to be Kevin's mom's birthday today, so Happy Birthday Grandma Marial!!  I know my kiddos look more 4th of July-ish but they requested to wear their "July clothes" after church.  Barrett IS wearing his Canada shirt though! 

Happy Canada Day, eh!!!

Last Day of Swim Lessons

Today was the kids' last day of swim lessons!  The girls loved it.  And they had their good friends Logan and Allison in their classes, so that made it all the more fun!  Barrett and I basically just hung out in the water.  He was still on the young side for being able to follow instructions and so he really just wanted to do his own thing.  But by the end, he was putting his face down to the water to "blow" bubbles.  He's not afraid of the water at all, in fact, he LOVES being the water and is maybe a little too brave for my liking...but it was cute to see him understand that he was blowing bubbles, or at least trying to.  The girls favorite part was being able to go down the waterslide!

LOVE

I think I could post pictures of Bubba all day long.  He makes my heart melt on a very consistent basis!  I sure am grateful he chose our family to be a part of!

Camping with Daddy

Kevin took the girls camping this weekend.  They went with Kevin's brother and his family too.  The girls L.O.V.E. looooooooove to go camping and were sooooo excited!  Kevin said they did great too. Even though I'm not much of a camper, I'd have to say that once kids are 3+, it's MUCH easier. Which is why Barrett and I stayed home!

 



Summertime = Swim Lessons

 

We started swim lessons today for the kids.  Even Barrett is doing a mom/tot class.  Alexa has taken private lessons from a girl at church the past couple of summers, but with Payton being old enough now AND having a 3rd very active little boy...the most practical choice was to do it through Pima Parks & Rec, where I can get all 3 in the water at the same time.  Today went well...hopefully the whole two weeks will too!

First Monsoon of 2012

 

Oh. My. Goodness....the kids LOVED playing out in the rain today!  There were soaked to the bone and muddy as all get out (we even had to spray them down with a hose before going inside for tubs), but they had a BLAST!  Barrett was soooo mad when we made him come inside.  Hopefully this will keep up and we'll have a good monsoon season this summer!

 

 

BOXES

Why are boxes so much fun???

..::It's How They Roll::..

Gangsta Style!

Be afraid...be VERY afraid!!

But they do have a softer side every now and then...albeit a louder side!

Our girls LOVE to sing!

[Hot Dayz of Summer]

::Off to Elfrida::

We went down to Elfrida this weekend to visit Kevin's parents.  Kevin and his dad took the girls up to The Granets right after we got there on Friday.  They were so excited to ride in the back of Grandpa's truck like big kids!

Just hangin' out back at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

The kids LOVE the swings!

And they had a great time checking out Grandpa's garden.

Barrett especially liked the can of water he found...and then so did the girls!

Yesterday morning, Kevin and I went shooting with his dad.  I have to admit...I quite enjoy the power of having a gun in my hands!  And I am a pretty good marksman, if I do say so myself! :-)

 We, of course, cannot go to Grandma and Grandpa's without riding horses.  Their neighbors are so kind to let us do so each and every time we go! And the kids love it.  This time was especially exciting because the white horse had had a baby since the last time we visited and so the girls were THRILLED to see the foal.

Decorating cookies with Grandma...I won't even try to guess how many cookies were consumed during this process!!  But we all had fun, and that's what matters!

I had to put all 4 of these pictures...it just makes me laugh to see the evidence of how difficult it is to get all kids looking at the camera and smiling at the camera at the same time.  Pretty much impossible in our family!!

My hottie Mister with our handsome Bubba!

I sure love these men of mine!

I caught this tender moment where Grandpa was reading Payton a story!  I'm so glad my kids are close with both sets of Grandparents and that they look forward to each time they get to see them!

Thanks Dale & Marial for a fun visit!

Crazy Girls

After a fun day in the pool yesterday, with hair all secured in pigtails, and then subsequently drying again before bath time....the girls thought they had "CRAZY HAIR" when I pulled all of the elastics out and shook their hair up a bit!  As you can see...there is never a shortage of drama in our house!

Love. These. Girls.

Memorial Day 2012

It's officially SUMMER!!!

(okay, so living in Arizona means summer weather really started 2 months ago, but still...)

We kicked off the actual summer season with a pool party and BBQ at Kevin's brother, Duane's house.  The kids love going to swim with their cousins!

And they LOVE the water slide!

Even Barrett enjoyed it!  Not surprising though as he's a bit of a crazy, want-to-do-everything-his-big-sister's-do kind of kid!

Payton is totally a daredevil!

My handsome boys!

And this is what a long day of fun in the sun will do to you!! :-)

Happy Memorial Day!

Lesson Learned

I will NOT add in the extra 10 Rhodes rolls that were left in the package after the 18 that the recipe called for were put in the pan...JUST because I can't leave only 10, that would be a waste!  Hahahahaha...good thing it still tasted heavenly!!