Pioneer Day

This year I broke tradition. Rather than sleep in while Mike takes the kids to the parade I actually got my butt out of bed and joined the fam. I will probably go back to tradition next year. I may be a party pooper but I DON'T LIKE PARADES. I never have. Mike's family saves us a place every year so we met up with them and our friends, the Randalls. I actually did have fun visiting with everyone.
This explains why Everett wouldn't take a nap that day. Thanks a lot Bubba!

We went swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's and then headed over to BUTLER DAYS! It is going to be our new tradition.
They had : Cars on display,
Helicopters,
Bouncy slides for the kids,
FREE watermelon for everyone,
and AMAZING fireworks!

You all need to seriously check it out next year.

Charity and I bought the girls matching oufits while we were on our romantic getaway in St. George.

Roller Babies

My Mother-in-Law sent me this and it was so hilarious I had to share it with all of you. It is funny and also a little creepy.

A day at the lake.

Unfortunately life has been so busy we rarely get out on the boat. Luckily we were able to make it up to Jordanelle for some boating and family fun. I love sleeping on the boat because it rocks me to sleep most of the time. It was a little crazy trying to get the boys to sleep. They pretended the cabin was everything from a fort to the Bat Cave.

We headed up Tuesday night so we could get in some fishing. I simply adore this picture of Mike teaching the boys how to cast off. Everett is like his momma and had more fun casting than actually trying to catch something. Tracy is just like daddy and was very impatient with the fact the fish weren't biting.
Summer sure enjoyed her Oreo cookies.
She did NOT enjoy wearing her life jacket. Sorry Summy!
Wednesday the water was smoothe but VERY COLD!!! Mike was brave and skied long before I did.
The kids loved this fun tube. Everett kept wanting to go faster and faster. It was cute watching him give the "thumbs up" signal to speed up.
My boys.
It finally started warming up enough for me to venture out into the water.....
...but not without my FULL WETSUIT! Everett asked if I was a Power Ranger. Of course I told him I was and busted out my best moves. He loved it! I hope he still loves it when I bust out those same moves when he's older and with his friends. Mwahahahahaha!
Summer is such a water baby. We had to physically restrain her from jumping in while the boat was moving.
Everett was so tuckered out he couldn't even finish his liquorish. Notice it in BOTH hands. Silly little guy.
I LOVE driving the boat. I dream of living somewhere on the water where you get around by boat.
We found the perfect beach for lunch. Tracy thought he was really sneaky camouflaged into the scenery.
Water, here I come!
Clean is overrated.
We had such a wonderful time. I really want to make more of an effort to get out. There is nothing like being in close quarters with the ones you love, on the water, in the sunshine, surrounded by BEAUTIFUL mountains......I loved it! Hooray for Utah!

Mystery solved

...So your Kid got a hold of your Camera...AGAIN!

Well, the title pretty much says it all, so I'm not going to say a lot, I'll let the pictures and video speak for themselves, but every time this happens I notice the lens is all smeared, and after seeing some of the pictures, I see why. Basically I found my camera the other day, but no case, and as I always keep my camera in I knew somebody'd been up to no good. based upon the pictures, I have concluded that it was Everett. But take a look. (this is only a small sample of the many, many videos and pictures he took.

Happy Birthday little Summy!

It all began last summer on a warm and sunny day.

Our family was excited to have a little girl come our way.

As autumn leaves began to fall her brothers doted still.
They hugged and kissed her day and night until they'd had their fill.
In winter her smile was so bright it could have melted snow.
Her sweet personality was already beginning to show.
By springtime she was on the move and babbling little sounds.
That tiny one we'd carried home was growing by leaps and bounds.
It's summer once again and so it's time to have some fun.
Our little SUMMER baby girl has finally turned ONE!

Has it really been a whole year? Yep, it sure has. Each one of my children has brought something special to our home. Summer is definitely the one to whom we are all drawn. She has such a peace about her and yet she is completely silly and keeps us all in laughter. I have loved watching the boys' love for her grow. Even Mike is more patient with her than he is with the boys. I love that she likes to fluff her tutu one minute and crawl around in the mud the next. She is very easy going yet knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to get it. Usually "it" is one of her brothers' cars.
Tracy and Oakley were good at helping Summer open presents. Tracy was hilarious and he would hold up the clothes as if to model them.
Mike's parents gave her this cute little horse. She looks so big getting on and off of it all by herself.
Now, I realize I went a little overboard on the cake. I have had fun making batman, car, monster truck, tool and Transformer cakes etc., but I was really excited to do a girl cake. It didn't turn out quite how I had pictured it in my head but it was worth all the HOURS of painstaking effort. At one point Tracy and Everett were walking around saying, fondant is mommy's nemesis."
Make a wish! Tracy is unhappy because he wanted to be in the picture with her. It is actually hard to do much without him "protecting" her.
I love that she looks like she is blowing out the candle. Lucky shot.
Yummmmmmy!
Summy was all partied out!
Happy Birthday Summer! Thanks to all the friends and family who came to her shin dig. She is so blessed to be loved and surrounded by the greatest people. As am I. :)

Independence Day

Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Happy Birthday BATMAN!!!!

You are invited to a gathering of all secret super heroes...................


Up until a couple of months ago Tracy wanted a Star Wars theme for his birthday party. When he suddenly decided he would rather have Batman I WAS ECSTATIC! That meant we could all wear our Halloween costumes again and ya'll know how I love any excuse to wear a costume. But, this is not about me it is about Tracy.
I let him write his own guest list and when it reached 20 I said, "what the heck?" It is summer and most people will probably be out of town. Boy was I wrong! We had about 20 kids in our bat cave, I mean backyard. and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I decided that old rule of inviting the amount of kids as the child's age was bunk. When have I been a rule follower anyway.
Mike was still sexy as the Joker but to the kids he was a little scary. He even TONED DOWN the makeup. I guess our kids are so used to seeing us in makeup and costumes we forget most kids have normal parents. Thanks for indulging me babe. I know you were roasting in the costume.

I wasn't quite as scary as Harley Quinn but many kids avoided me anyway.

You can't really tell but this is supposed to be a bat cave. The kids (mostly Jami actually) made batplanes and we took turns trying to fly them into the cave. Thanks for your sweet airplane skills Jam. Then it was time for "Batman Says" and our favorite tradition -the pinata!

Aren't these the cutest little super heroes you have ever seen? I loved that everyone dressed up. My cute friend even made her girls princess hero capes. Not long into the party the costumes came off piece by piece. It was pretty darn hot. I filled the pinata a little too much so with one smack it ripped down and we just bashed it. I had drawn the Joker inside his "escape car" and let everyone beat on him. I hope none of your children have anger issues now. Sorry.

Time for singing and cake!!!! Trace was very excited about his cake and I was excited to attempt fondant for the first time. I want to post some pics of Trace through the years but that will have to come later.

Now, to get the right shades of yellow and blue I used A LOT of gel coloring. Everett ate spoon fulls of both and if you are wondering, the answer is: YES! Blue and Yellow frosting make very bright GREEN poop. Luckily Ev pooped it in the potty.
Thanks to everyone who came to the friend and/family parties. It is great to see so many little ones that have grown up with Trace. I have made some dear friends through Tracy and he has gained some cool buddies from the fabulous friends I have. It is such an enjoyable time of life.
Oh, Tracy. You are such a wonderful ball of energy and emotion. You are our firstborn and have always made us proud. You are so entertaining and animated whether you are singing in primary, putting on a school show or just playing in your room. Your use of hyperbole makes you a great story teller. Just try not to elaborate on the truth so much. :) You are the best big brother to Summy. She lights up when she sees you and I know you will always look out for her. Even though you get sick of Ev shadowing you it is only because he looks up to you. I love that you two have become buddies and I appreciate you always helping him put on his shoes and getting him band aids for his owies. We love you Trace and all that you are. Your interest, no, obsession , with cars, transformers shoes and now legos. Your strong testimony amazes me. You are just like your father and have faith in whatever the Lord asks of you. You sweet prayers over the last year worked and you were so humble. "Well, yeah, I asked Heavenly Father for help and he helps us if we believe him". You put me in my place Trace. Now every night when you pray for Melody and her baby (and even Uncle Mike) to grow healthy and strong I see the sincerity in your voice and I know you are truly such a loving person. Tracy, you are a special kid. I am amazed at all you learn and remember. You are so friendly and make new friends wherever we go. You are non-judgmental and I hope that quality always follows you. Always see the good in others Trace because there is so much good for them to see in you. I love you bug! MWWWWAAAA (kiss)
Everett was put in time out and in the process he showed us his dejected face from the window. The funny thing was that it looks like he was using the quote bubble stuck to the window. I made a bunch of cheesy comic book signs that read:BAM, and KABLAB, "To the Batmobile", and CRASH..etc....

No party is complete without an appearance from Bat Girl!

Florida

Our trip to Florida was full of fun, family, record-breaking heat and did I mention FUN? From the time we got on the plane to the time we landed back in Utah we were continually on the move. After meeting up with Mike and his family in Orlando for dinner at yummy Giardanno's we made the two hour drive to Gainesville. Early the next morning my niece, Aubree, was baptized by my brother. She is the first grandchild to be baptized and I am grateful we were able to be there to participate.
Tracy and Everett had never been to a baptism and were engulfed by the amazing spirit present. The rest of the weekend they played "baptism" with their stuffed animals. It was pretty funny but it also provided an opportunity to discuss baptism with them.
This is the closest we've gotten to a family picture since my wedding. The only ones not pictured are my sister and her family. I never thought we were that close as a family but getting together made me appreciate the time we were able to share. I know my mom would be happy to see us all gathered. She was always the "glue".
Mike, Miles, Me and my Father. Where did Mike get that height?

Father's Day was Sunday and before we left SLC, the kids made crowns for all of the Dad's. I made them wear them all through dinner.
We spent the rest of the weekend swimming, playing and even went panning for alligator teeth. While there I found an AWESOME spider so if you get squeamish don't enlarge the pictures above. It was seriously HUGE and so cool. Everett shares my love of the creepy crawlies and I had to physically restrain him to prevent him from touching it. We did find several teeth but rather than gator teeth I think they are shark teeth. Either way they are unique souvenirs.
Sunday we made the journey back to Orlando. Monday we spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios in RECORD BREAKING HEAT! I love heat and humidity but even I was roasting! Poor Summy was so hot we stripped her down to her diaper for most of the day. One of our favorite attractions here is the Extreme Stunt Show. Trace was only two last time we saw it yet he remembers minute details and couldn't wait to see it again. He was also THRILLED to see Mater and Lightning McQueen.
Some of our most fun moments occurred while hanging out at the condo. The kids were all drawn to Uncle Mike.
Abbie and Trace are just a month apart and sooooo alike. They have great times together and have more energy than the rest of us combined.
Tuesday, Mike, Melody, Lisa, Abbie and Aubree joined us at the Animal Kindgdom where it was another hot and sunny day. I still say it is better than shoveling snow and being cold, but that is just me. The boys loved the safari because it was like "off-roading with animals". Tracy's favorite animal was the Land Rover. That boy and his autos.
Wednesday we took a break from the parks and spent the day at Daytona Beach. It was the BEST beach! The water was warm. You heard it right folks. I, the girl who thinks Lake Powell and the Caribbean are cold, thought the water was warm. The water was shallow a long way out so the kids splashed around and swam all day. Another nice surprise was that the water wasn't overly salty. We were in the water all day and our eyes weren't burning! I am sad to say the Atlantic took hold of my favorite sunglasses but it was worth it. I love beaches and Daytona is my new favorite. If you are ever in Florida, check it out. Unless, of course, it is Spring Break and in that case I would probably avoid it. Unless of course you like loud, obnoxious, scantily clad drunk college kids. At least that is how MTV portrays it.
It was Summy's first time meeting the ocean and she LOVED it! She is such a water baby. Her name is incredibly fitting. She loved the sun, the sand, the waves ALL OF IT! Unfortunately we got waaaay too much vitamin D that day. Even though we thought we had been good about sunscreen we were all a little red the next day.
We couldn't pass through Daytona without taking a picture in front of the speedway.
Thursday it was back to the parks for a little Epcot action. GM had a showroom at the end of the Test Track ride and I think Trace enjoyed it more than the actual ride. He was really sweet about buckling Everett in first and then going to the driver's side where he was all too happy to be the "driver".

Friday and Saturday it was on to Magic Kingdom. The temperature had fallen a bit and we were ready.
We were laughing hysterically when we noticed Summer's leg just chillin' on Tracy. We set Ev loose in "Ariel's Grotto" where he ran, splashed and laughed his little heart out. At one moment he started leaning against one of the speakers. I thought he was tired so I asked him if he wanted to sit in the stroller. His reply was, "No, I'm listening to mine music." Just like Daddy.
Tracy is never impressed by costumed characters so I was SHOCKED to see his enthusiasm when we came across the different characters. Maybe it was the magic of Disney. He was sorely disappointed he never got a chance to meet Daisy Duck, but I think Minnie made up for it. Always the little ladies man. Everett LOVES stuffed animals and couldn't wait to give all of the characters big hugs.

I am proud to say we totally stuck it to the mouse and didn't buy a SINGLE meal at the parks. We packed lunches and dinners and I am sure we saved hundreds of dollars. Not just that, but we didn't have to wait in lines and we felt better because we were eating healthy. We bought a few treats, of course, but other than that we ate out of a bag or back at the condo. I will say, however, I am a little sick of sandwiches.

Everett was all about the Mickey ears. Tracy was NOT. By the end of the week we were all pooped. It was even more wonderful than we imagined and I am grateful we had the opportunity to spend time with our family.