Special Moments

So this weekend was my cousin Kenny's wedding. On Friday night they did a party in Alamo and of course we went. The kids had a blast! Neil played in the backyard all night I don't think we saw him except for food. But Ember wanted to dance all night. She begged everyone to dance! She even got great grandpa to dance with her. Mom got these great pictures of them. I couldn't help but almost cry thinking how lucky we are to be so close to them and to get to see them everyday! Grandpa and Grandma are such a great influence in my life and I am so glad my kids will have the opportunity to know them and have special memories with them!

Neil turns 6!

Neil and Ember

Dad and Jessie- she loves the water.
The sweet Ben 10 cake Michija made.
The birthday boy!

I can't believe it. Neil has turned 6! For his birthday we had a pool party at the rec. center. It was a lot of fun. We had lots of family and friends to share his special day with. His party was on Saturday and his real birthday was Monday so we had a little get together with grandma Janet and grandpa Darryll and the girls on his real day too. Spoiled kid! But thats what happens when you have so much great family around. He got lots of fun presents... DS games, art stuff, new clothes, and a trampoline. What more can a kid ask for? Happy Birthday Neil!

Casey's Garden

The Garden!
Can you see the squash?
Ya baby!
One of the five tomatoes...
And the winner is?

So Casey has been very good about the garden this summer. It's his baby. I would try to claim some glory in the growing process but watering the garden twice all summer doesn't really justify claiming any part. He planted tomatoes, squash, zucchini, peppers, carrots, radish's, cucumbers, corn, and WATERMELON!
The squash, and zucchini grew well as always and made some yummy zucchini bread, but the corn (which never got bigger than a foot) carrots ( I don't think I saw a carrot?) tomatoes (maybe 5 grew?) cucumbers (bitter blah!) peppers (burnt before ever picking) radishes (I ate one before needing the fire hose) all had their issues. BUT the watermelon has found its glory growing days in our backyard. We have watermelons growing like crazy. Just today Casey picked three and there are several more coming. They taste so sweet and delicious.
I can't be too disappointed, it is our first garden in the backyard and the ground needed some nourishment, but next year I can't wait to see the produce appear! Good job babe! You have a watermelon growing thumb! (Stay posted...I think pumpkins are in the growing schedule soon so be watching for them around Halloween!)

Summer Backpacking

This past week Casey went on a backpacking hunting trip with one of his friends Kameron. They went to the Ruby Mountains in northern Nevada close to Elko (i think?). The hunt was unsuccessful but everyone had a great time and they got away from the heat for a few days so I would call it a success. Casey said the hike up kicked his butt and he barely made it. He had been kinda sick the week before so he was worried that he might not survive. But he did! Here are some pictures of what heaven in Casey's eyes will be! (Except maybe a deer or two in the pictures!)

Cake Time!

Jalee is the up and coming new cake boss. She let me play with her Saturday and we made a awesome creation. We made a tie dye cake. We named it flower power. It was kinda for Dad and BettyJo's birthday but we just took some ideas and ran with it. Sorry dad it was a little girly but the size was manly and the taste was delicious. Jalee decided when she moves home and is done with school she wants to make cakes for fun. She will do awesome at it! Thanks for letting me create with you Jalee! I can't wait till you move home for good we will have a blast!

Family Home Love Hour

It's not fun unless your dirty.

Casey won!

Our big kids.

Soappy fun!

Casey & Neil raced Paige & Ember who do you think won?

For FHLH our ward did a water slide up at the ball fields. We all had a lot of fun. Words can't explain so just check out the pictures and videos!

Family Time!

Look at Neil go!

Lark and Emma have skills!

He was trying push me over. I was holding on for dear life.

Grandpa was trying to see if no skates on his feet helped her balance. I'm not sure?

So this blogging thing isn't good to me. I just deleted a whole post! Blah! But I'm gonna try again but only once. So Saturday I wanted to do something fun with the kids so I made Mom, Dad, BettyJo, Lark and Emma come skating with us at Pirates Paradise. We had a great time. Casey has some great moves and managed to stay on his feet most the time. I didn't fall but I'm still not confident in my skating skills. Neil was awsome! He fell time after time but kept getting up and refused to hold my hand or anyones for that matter. Ember was a recking ball. She just let her legs relax and let whoever would pull her around. She almost had me on my face a few times. Casey and Emma had only one collision in their teasing endeavors. Emma forgets Casey can't stop as fast as she can. Opps! I think we all had a pretty good time. After skating Emma and Lark watched the kids so we could go to the movie. BettyJo's choice: Charlie St. Cloud it was pretty good. Thanks everyone for playing with us! Love ya!