Boating at Jordanelle

While we were in Utah we were able to go boating. Here are all the little girl cousins having a good ol' time tubing. (Brooky, Kendri, Lexi, and Abby) They had a blast on the inner tube. We told them to gives a thumbs up for faster and thumbs down for slower. Needless to say at least one of them had a thumb up the whole time! Those little dare-devils........... Here is Lexi knee boarding. This was her first time on a knee board and she did us proud! Whooo hoooooo, Lex-ay!

Brooklyn and Lexi watching Abby knee board.

And here is Kendri being the flag girl. She wasn't really into getting into the lake so when she learned she could climb into the tube without jumping into the water she was quite willing!

And where am I, you ask? Oh yes, I was there too. I have proof. I'm just not showing it. You can thank me later. You know. For saving your retinas from burning. (Unfortunately those of you who are facebook friends with my husband suffered a far more horrific fate........hmmmm. So sorry!)

Always Greener on the Other Side

This is what I came home to after our week in Utah......

I think it missed me.

Oh, all right. Our sprinklers tripped.

Wedding Bells

We just returned from a very fun filled vacation.....lots of family, activities, food. Oh, and a wedding! Here are some pics of my youngest sister, Breanna, getting married. Of course she looked beautiful. And if you look close you can find the twin bridesmaids in the background. (I know. It's every brides dream ;)

So here are Bre and Skip right after they tied the knot. If it looks like Skip is half carrying Bre it's because he prolly is. She was wearing 5 inch purple stilettos. And that ground was not solid people!

Right before the wedding. Here is Breanna with the cutest flower girls you could ask for! Kendri and Brooklyn tossed the flower petals while Lexi and Abby held the train of the dress for the walk down the aisle.

And the wedding party in all our glory! Kyson was the ring bearer. Let's just say we're lucky the rings made it to their proper places. There was a bit of confusion when the pillow went soaring to the ground three feet to the left. After that I clutched the pillow and Kyson's hand and half dragged him down the aisle. (Don't worry.....I'm sure I still pulled off the elegant bridesmaid look ;)

But I must say his cuteness totally outweighs the fact that he would rather throw all those little rocks instead of delivering the symbolic tokens.

And our little prima donnas....Lexi, Abby, Brooky and Kendri. They entertained themselves by building "rock castles". I'm actually really surprised that they didn't ruin their dresses while they were waiting for all those pictures to finish. There was definitely ample opportunity for that!

And our little family dressed to the hilt! By this time we were lucky to even get the kids to look at the camera much less to smile. They were so done taking pictures but we managed one last one.

Overall, the wedding was a success and we had a great time participating! And PS, Welcome to the family Skip!

Back to School

Lexi started first grade today. I know I can't believe it either. She was pretty excited about it. I say give her another year (two at tops) and the excitement will turn into dread! Our summer definitely flew by. Fortunately we only have to go to school for 3 days before we get to go on our summer vacation! And the answer is no, the school is not happy about it nor do they advocate summer vacation the first week of school. However, family weddings trump first grade. Anway here are some pictures of Lexi's first day back to school. Notice the curls? Special request.

Here is Lexi's desk. you'll notice Kendri in the background hanging out. She is a little lost without Lexi but I must say the fighting was nonexistent today! Very nice.

And here is the tradional "love note" I put in Lexi's lunch. (Don't judge me.....I've never had good handwriting. And p.s. writing on a napkin makes it even trickier. ) We started our little tradition last year. Lexi is sure to mention it anytime I skip putting one in. Wonder when she'll tell me it's too embarrassing......

Born in the USA

I just wanted to set the record straight. (Mainly for my husband. Hee hee!) You may have read my 4th Recap post. You know, where I mention the unfair accusations of my political alignment. And might I add, false. So here is the proof, baby. Patriotic from day one!

This picture is of me and Amber gearing up for the parade during Lamar Days. (Notice I said Lamar Days. Not Fourth of July or Memorial Day. No red, white, and blue required. Yet there it is!)

We rode in the parade with the other decorated bikes and were positive we would place in the top 3 in the judging contest. (I mean look at us. Wouldn't you vote for me? I would.) Unfortunately, we didn't understand that parades go slow so everyone can see you. We got very impatient because everyone was going so sloooooow. We took it upon ourselves to ride as fast as we could. We gloried in the fact that we were passing decorated horses, fancy cars, and the twirling girls. And when we reached the end we were confused as to how we didn't get judged with the other bikes! Ahhhh, well. So there you have it. No blue ribbons but we still had fun!

Invaders

The first summer we moved into our house, we had a major ant problem. Any crumb dropped would promptly be attacked. I was constantly spraying my kitchen in hopes of getting rid of my unwelcome tenants. It seemed like every time we woke up there would be an army marching through my kitchen or a line forming on my patio. Grrrrr....

We went to Colorado for a week at the end of July. While we were gone they really made themselves comfortable. By the time we got home there was an actual anthill sitting in the middle my linoleum. Really. An anthill. Sand and everything. I was not about to let that happen. I declared war. I had Ryan deal with it immediately while I got out my death spray.

I like to think that was the turning point in our little battles. I broke their spirits and they just couldn't bounce back. I had a few small problems here and there but I was convinced that I had showed them who was boss. Over the last few years our ant problem has become less and less. In fact I haven't even really noticed them this year. Until a few days ago that is. Here is a picture of the side of my house. (Yes, I know. It's crooked. I was barefoot and not in the mood to walk through them for a decent shot. But you get the idea. Those little black dots? Ants.) Need a close-up?

Covering the entire concrete. They've come back. Seeking revenge, perhaps? Feeling the need for a little retribution? Using the last few years to organize their armies to prepare for the ultimate invasion? Ha! They didn't last more than a few minutes. Good-bye my nemesis of 5 years ago.....and p.s., don't mess with me.

4th Recap

We were totally prepared for the Fourth of July. Not a finger went unnoticed. These are Lexi's nails. She actually painted them herself. She did the left hand and then requested that I do the EXACT same thing on her right hand. And let me tell you she did not go easy on me. When she says exact, she means exact! There were also patriotic toenails to go with the ensemble but unfortunately we didn't get a snapshot. I painted Kendri's for her and those girls were ready for the 3 day weekend of parties!

We started the weekend off at a ward breakfast/swim party. Then on Sunday we went down to Tracy for the newest Reese baby. Our little nephew, Jackson, was blessed on the 4th of July. We spent the night in Tracy and then woke up for another family affair. Rachel was baptized on Monday. It was big weekend for the Reese family! We wore our red, white, and blue for 3 days straight! Talk about Reese heaven. We love the 4th. It ranks up there near Christmas for us. (P.S. I use "us" loosely because I have been accused of having no patriotism whatsoever by my husband. I'm working on it. See the fingernails?) So back to the 3 day weekend....It was a good thing because Gammi got all the little girls big patriotic bows to wear in their hair. They were really cute. But.....I forgot my camera so I have no actual proof that we there. Or that we were so patriotic. Just the fingernails. Oh well. I'll remember next year!