Summer time blues?

We are well into our fourth week of summer vacation and the kids are already driving me bonkers. If we are not busy every minute of every day they are bored and they fight. It's not like we've sat home the last few weeks! We've done lots of fun things like...

 fishing

 several splash pads

 lagoon

 parks

 pond

 more fishing

 parade

and today we made a water blob. There  has also been sleep overs, movies, late nights, BBQ's, library trips and slip n slides. Still, they complain. I love summer but loathe it at the same time. Too many hours to fill with useful entertainment . It doesn't help that we don't have any dance this summer. If Millie had her way she'd sit in front of the t.v. all day. I have to really limit the time spent with electronics and really harp them about their chores! Cousins from Texas arrive this Saturday and I'm really looking forward for someone else to entertain these little stinkers!!

Be on the look out for new posts! If you're interested...

I've decided to go ahead and back track a little and get caught up on some of the things I've missed. I intend to start printing my blog to books again and want them to be fairly complete. Feel free to scroll through the blog and look for posts you may not have seen! I'll be posting them as close to the date they happened as possible!

Clear Creek

We were able to keep the tradition going and send Millie for a week long camp at clear creek. She was extra lucky because she got to go with two of her best friends and her most favorite uncle John Jay was the director that week. She had a blast and didn't want to come home. I went crazy without another female presence in the house and missed her like crazy!

2012-2013 dance year

 This year was such an amazing year for the beautiful girl. She grew tremendously and became a beautiful little dancer.

 Her love, her passion and her talent radiate on stage. She really puts her heart into dance and you can tell that is where she belongs; on stage.

 Her acting skills need some work :) she didn't really enjoy playing the part of a pirate cause she had to act like a mean boy!

 Her team was amazing. Best friends always surrounding her. We love each and everyone of them.

It was a hard year too. I knew early on we couldn't continue at her current studio. They had become like second family to us and so it was hard saying good bye but at the end of the competition season we did just that. Right now she is not dancing but I have found a good, affordable studio nearby and hope to have her start in the fall. It's been hard watching her struggle through all the change but she is such a sweet girl and has taken everything with stride. I know she is counting down the days until she can dance again and so is her mama!

I've missed my blog

I remember the days that I would get up each day and blog. I remember the time the hubs banned me from blogging until the taxes were done. There was something so cathartic about blogging. It gave me an outlet, I could say what I wanted to say. I think I gave it up because I felt like no one cared, no one was reading, my words were not being heard.

The other day I was thinking about my memories of my childhood and how differently I remember them than my mom or my sister remembers them. I wonder if that will be the same for my kids? Already my kids remember things that have totally slipped my mind, little details of their lives so important for them to hold onto yet so unimportant for me to remember.

My kids are growing so quickly. Two years and I'll be sending my oldest on his mission. Two, short years. Then what? He will have flown the nest and slowly they all will start to leave. What are the things I want to remember? What are the things I want to hold onto? Time is so precious. Once a moment is over it's gone. Only the memory remains and these are the things I want to hold onto.

Memorial Day trip to St. George

With the three day weekend we decided to take a quick trip to St. George. John Jay, his boys, Hannah, Jordan and Braxton decided to join us. It was a lot of fun to have a fun little get away down there!

 Millie jumping off the cliffs at Sand Hollow

 Cousins

 Our family at one of our favorite St. George places; Pioneer Park.

 The whole group of us at the St. George temple

Not long after this picture was taken Ian took off on this bike. We were in a strange city, in a strange neighborhood and we were scared. Luckily we found him pretty quickly but we were all very thankful for answered prayers as that could have been a lot worse.

We're thankful for uncle John Jay and all the great pictures he took! We love when he comes and brings his camera and the kids just love him period.

Authors fair

 I love the tradition that our Elementary school does each year called the authors fair. Each child in the school writes and illustrates their own book. These have become a real treasure for us! Owen's was a cute story about a cat and dog named Bingo and Poppy. Millie's was also about a cat and a dog but hers was an action story. It's so fun to read their stories and see what their imaginations create!

Louis Graduates

 One of my baby brothers, Louis, graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Economics. I was happy I was able to attend and cheer him on! It's been really fun being so much older than some of my siblings and watching them grow up before my eyes. I have a special place in my heart for my littles!

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Sometimes you are just so proud of your kids that you can't even put your thoughts into words. That is how I feel about Matthais. Sure he is a typical, know-it-all teenager who only cares about himself. He is also a talented, smart and very funny kid! I really enjoyed watching him play Jimmy in the Jr. High production of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

It was a lot of work and a lot of days spent after school and by the end of it his voice was shot but he was amazing and I am one proud mom! Way to go Tater bug!