Friday, July 31, 2009

Marysvale


This is only a few of the pictures that I took during the week that we were in Marysvale. I have hundreds of pictures to choose from and some of them I will post in groups in the next few days. We had a GREAT week hanging out with the cousins and living the small town life. We went 4-wheeling, on lot's of picnics, swimming, and just in general had a great time. We went to Tugs every day for a .25 cent ice cream cone and once we rode up to the cemetery and I showed my kids my dads grave. Then we walked over and looked at the old Pioneer cemetery. It was so sad to see all the baby graves. J.D. especially found the cemetery interesting.

We went to Richfield and went swimming with Linsey, Tyler & Parker. We had Happy Meals in the park and went for walks on the track. We enjoyed the mild weather so much! I pulled into St. George last night at 11 p.m. and it was still 93 degrees! Ugh!

I think I could live in Marysvale. The slower paced life is so nice and enjoyable. My kids thrive in that environment. It was just an awesome week. Thanks to Sherry for letting us stay!!
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This should be a pampers commercial

That's a lot of water batman!!
Holy Absorbent!
I should send this to Pampers???

Monday, July 27, 2009

Judge's Favorite

Nothing beats a small town parade!

Here we have the Fauntins .... An old pick up truck a cougar skin, some deer horns and some sage brush!! Wala, you have a float. A pretty cool one at that, if I must admit.
Here was our float. WE WON JUDGES CHOICE!! $50.00, BABY!! We used it to buy pizza and fireworks that night! It was pretty cute, it I do say so myself. We had 300 Otter Pops to throw out and they were gone before we had even done 1/3rd of the parade route!! The kids were throwing out 10 to 20 at a time, I swear..

I didn't get very many pictures because I was driving the truck. Here is a bunch of 4-wheelers that were in front of us.
My little nephew, Brannigan. He won in the best bike/walker division, which was a great thing, because later that night, he shout out Grandma's truck window with the BB gun. So much for prize money!!
Nothing beats a small town parade!! They are awesome. They are full of ATV's and horses and kids on bikes. The best ever!

Fireworks








Hanging out with the cousins on the 24th of July. We watched fireworks on Thursday night down at the park. Josh loves the 24th for the one reason that he gets to go and set off fireworks with the fire department. The kids were so noisy sitting in the bed of the truck. They had a blast. On Friday night, we watched fireworks at Sherry's house in the front yard. You get a lot of OOH's & AAH's no matter if they are big fireworks or little ones at home. It's always a good time!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Going Home

Cascade Falls in Marysvale Utah
I love going home. It rejuvenates me. Every year we go home for the Pioneer Day Celebrations. I love parades that consist mostly of 4-wheelers and horses. Oh, and kids on bikes with streamers coming out of the handle bars and cards in the spokes of their wheels. And a float or two! I love to see the American Legion, presenting the colors of this fabulous nation, in which we live. The Rodeo Princesses and the DUP float. Good times, good times!!
I love playing games with the kids in the park. Running foot races to win a a dollar and visiting in the shade with childhood friends and family. I love a good rodeo and a GOOD hamburger. Throw in a cotton Candy and a snow cone and the day is complete. I love being eaten to death by mosquitoes while we wait for the fireworks to start. I love that my husband fits in so completely and gets to help out with these events even though we don't live there.
I love watching hundreds of kids chase fish in the dance hall. I love watching the firetruck play it's part in making sure we all get soaked. I just love everything about the 24th of July in Marysvale. It makes me happy.
With that said, I hope you all have a great Pioneer Day and remember those brave pioneers who sacrificed so much to make a home in this great state.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I was bored

Your sitting in a parking lot, in a 105 degree weather with a ton of humidity. You have 20 minutes to wait, what do you do? You take self-portraits of yourself!!!






Okay, it's hot. Time to get back in the car and turn on the air conditioning!

This one looks kinda cool.



GOOD NIGHT!

Monday, July 20, 2009

J.D.'s Family Party

This is the happiest Cowboy in the whole wide worlds. The boy made out like a bandit and got all his cowboy wants and wishes filled.


Maggie and Eric gave J.D. an Ipod shuffle for his birthday. He was so excited! They wrapped it in a box filled with Reeses. He was excited and went to set it aside and Kris said, "J.D. count how many reeses there are." So he started counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ( screams it)IPOD!, 6,7,8,9,10. He just kept right on counting. It was so funny. This was right when he saw the ipod. He listened to it all day today. It was frustrating me at the store because he couldn't hear me because he had it on. He also sings at the top of lungs to it. I don't think he realizes we can hear him, since he can't hear himself. A cowboy who sings High School Musical 3 songs all day!

Every year the boy gets boots and wranglers for his birthday. It started the year he turned 3. You think he would be sick of it, but nope. Every year, it's what he asks for.


Hope your day was the greatest, just like you. Love you J.D.

J.D.'s Friend Party

Birthdays are a big deal at our house. We do a friend party, a family party, a family dinner, and just pretty much make a big day of it. Since J.D.'s birthday fell on a Sunday this year, we had his friend party last Thursday at the Santa Clara Splashpad. Poor kid has had 3 splashpad parties in a row, but it such an easy party. Next year for #8, we'll have to make it a big one since it's a BIG deal to turn 8.

We had BBQ hot dogs and watermelon for lunch, an endless supply of Otter Pops and lot's of fun!
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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Happy Birthday J.D.

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Where does the time go? Seems like only yesterday he was a sweet little baby!! Let me tell ya about this kid. He's super sweet and the best helper when he wants to be. He loves baby's, but especially his little sister. He loves wolves and loves to watch Animal Planet. He loves to wear cowboy boots, wranglers, and a hat. Oh, and a great big belt buckle. He loves to eat and especially loves treats, a trait he inherited from his mom! He loves to go camping, fishing and shooting. He loves his Grandpa Doty probably the best in the whole world and he loves to snuggle. I told him yesterday that he better still give me hugs when he's 30!! I bet ya he will. He loves to antagonize Tyson and hates to go to Costco and D.I. He loves to play with friends and sings when he is in the bathroom. He also howls when we go to public restrooms, I think he likes the echo. It's rather embarrassing.

He told me the other day that he knew why he had a big head. He said Aunt Trina told him he had a big head because his brain was so big and that is why he is so smart. J.D. loves to read, especially Magic Treehouse books and loves to play on the computer. His best-friend is BayLee and has been for all his life. He has a HUGE crush on a girl named Holly he always pretends to be Edward Cullen when we make up bedtime stories. He says that if he wouldn't be able to choose between being a wizard or a vampire, so he'd be a wizard-vampire. They have those you know?? He tells the most amazing stories, tall tales that you can never believe and he is by far the coolest 7-year-old I know.

We love you J.D. You so rock and are so awesome!!!!! Hope you have a great birthday!!

J.D. was born on a great day! He shares it with his Grandparents anniversary and he also shares his birthday with his Great-Grandad Ward, who was his very special buddy! Miss you Grandad!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

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We just wanted you to know that we love you guys! You are the greatest and we appreciate all you guys do for our family. We love you and hope you have a great day!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

We So Need A Beach


THE BEACH...... what can I say? Kids love the beach. Living in a land-locked state, of course they love the beach. They love the warm sand, the abundance of pretty shells and the waves that crash around their ankles and sometimes over their heads!

We went to the Torey Pines State Park Beach. It was so crowded. When we went to Newport Beach in March, it was so pretty and deserted. This was a whole new experience. It was crowded and the water was full of of gross slimey plants and the sand was black when it stuck to your feet. And my kids loved it! Tyson and Piper weren't as excited to play in the water here, and I don't blame them. The current was pretty strong and the slimey things did little to help make the water enticing. They had a blast playing on the beach, however. Making sand castles and digging in the sand.

J.D. loved being out in the waves. He kept wandering out farther and father. I eventually ended up going in, clothes and all because he was getting way to far out. My mom was FREAKING out because he was so far out. That is why I went in after him. It's that fine line of giving them Independence while at the same time keeping them safe.

The beach was the highlight of our trip for my kids. I love watching the joy and sometimes terrified expressions that the beach brings!
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Monday, July 13, 2009

Birch Aquarium


While we were in California we went to the Birch Aquarium. The kids had a lot of fun looking at the fish and especially the sharks. It's definitely not as cool as Sea World, but we are saving that for a time when Daddy goes with us. I especially love the one of them in the shark cage. The only thing was, they rushed us through it. They were so excited to get to the next tank that they didn't really take time to look and do all the interactive activities. Definitely worth visiting if your in San Diego and want a cheaper activity than Sea World.
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My Grandma & Grandpa

While I was in California, I was able to see all of my mom's family. I saw my Uncle David & Aunt Mary who live in New Mexico and I saw my Uncle Bill & my Aunt Gladys. We wanted to get pictures of everyone all together, but Uncle Bill only stopped by the once. We figured that it had been about 30 years since they had all been together!!!!! It's funny how life just gets in the way. So we got pictures of all of them together minus Uncle Bill. Aunt Gladys said she'll photo shop him in!!

J.D. is so awnry. I cropped the picture, so he is hidden behind the date, but he has an awnry scowl on his face. We never could get a picture with everyone looking.

Back Row: Aunt Gladys, mom, and Uncle David.

Front Row: Grandpa John & Grandma Phyllis

I asked my mom quite a few questions about how she grew up and how my grandparents met. As you get older, it's funny how all the details start to matter to you. My grandma is from San Ysabel, California. She met my grandfather when he was stationed at a local military base. Her brother who was called Did, took my grandma to a dance the night of his high school graduation at the Julian City Town Hall. My grandpa came up and asked my grandma to dance and the rest is history. He was from Indiana. They had to postpone their wedding date by 2 day's because his leave was late happening by 2 days.

They moved around a lot when they were growing up. My grandfather was in the Air Force and they lived in New York, Ohio, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, and California. They moved to Washington so that my grandpa could work for Boeing. My mom graduated in Washington, but decided to move with them when they returned to California.

Checking out spiderwebs in the front yard.

Being tickled by Great-Grandma.

Coming back from feeding the chickens. My Grandma has always had chickens and dogs for as long as I remember. She still does. My kids loved going down to check on the chickens. It was neat to be able to see my kids enjoy all the things I did when I visited their house.

Things I remembered about California

We got home from California last night! And I'm tired, but I have a ton of really cool pictures to post in the next few days! These are just a few cool things that I remembered from when I was a kid. Things are exactly the same as when I was a kid at my Grandma's house.

The trusty flag pole in the front yard. I thought the clouds looked so cool behind the flag, I had to snap a pictures.
This has been on my grandma's wall for a long time. It's so the truth!

The lemon tree!! I came home with tons of lemons. Tyson had a blast knocking them out of the tree! We always brought home fresh lemons from Grandma's house.

These pink flowers have always been all over the yard. They are so pretty!!
It's funny how time goes by, but some things just stay the same. It's been 5 years since I had been to their house and it was still the same. I loved getting to share it with my kids. I will post more fun pictures later today!



Sunday, July 5, 2009

A Zillion Pictures

I've been on a marathon of blog posting. I think I could win for the most posts posted in one day! If you have time, scroll down and check them out. We had one heck of a weekend. It will leave you plenty to look at for the next week. My kids and I are going to California with my mom to see my grandparents. So have a very HAPPY week and know that I will miss you all and I'll see you next week with more pictures. I'll think of you when I am on the beach!!!

Fireworks

We didn't even make it to watch the big fireworks in town. Instead, we opted to hang out and do a few of them at grandma & granpa's house. It was such a long day and we were just done by that point. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.