Fun Summer Haircuts

When we left for vacation my boys were all over due for haircuts.  Three weeks later they came home with some wildly long hair.  Melissa decided that they weren't getting just any haircut.  So with two weeks left of summer the boys got the haircut of their dreams.  And although their daddy was less then enthusiastic when he first saw them that night, it kind of grows on you.   

The next day I took the boys with me to five different stores.  Everywhere we went we ran into people who commented on their hair.  Parker asked me why everyone liked their hair so much.  I think they got notice mostly because there were three mohawks hanging out together.  They will get it all cut off before school starts, but it's pretty cute for now. 

Family Reunion 2011

My sister Rebecca was in charge of our family reunion this summer.  We spent the first day at Lagoon in Utah.  I have so many fond memories of Lagoon growing up.  It was our vacation destination as a family many times.  This was the first time my kids had ever been there and we had such a great time!  This was about the only ride Spencer rode on the entire day at Lagoon.  He was definitely not a huge fan of the rides, but was a good sport the whole day.  He liked the water park best.

Elijah on the airplane ride.

The next day we headed to Temple Square where we toured the Church History Museum.  They had a great display on Latin America.  Rebecca was excited to show the kids one of the traditional dances.  Alexia, Kurstyn Aunt Becca, Emily, and Parker in their traditional outfits.

This picture cracks me up. Becca, Elijah, Alexia and Parker are acting out the Good Samaritan scene behind them.

Parker's Harry Potter Birthday Party

Parker with his friends: Carter Steere, Tanner Golightly, Kyleigh Posvar, Kinley Hess, and Ethan Becker.  Parker begged for a Harry Potter themed birthday party this year.  He's on book 5 of the series right now. We made his friends their own Hogwarts invitations and they each had to pass through platform 9 3/4 to get inside our house.

Once inside we sorted everyone into Houses with the app from my iPhone.  The only one sorted into Slytherin House was Elijah.  How ironic. :)  Afterward we painted the wands that chose the child and had a potions class. 

Seriously I was at a loss for his cake this year.  So there is the golden snitch Harry caught with his mouth his first year as Seeker and a put together Harry Potter lego set.  Lame, I know, but it tasted good.

Making his wish...

My poor asthmatic kid.  It took three blows to extinguish his eight candles.

His friends then toasted him with their "butterbeer" and then started devouring their cake and ice cream.  While Melissa, Rebecca (she flew in the night before) and I dished up our cake we heard Parker propose a toast.  Everyone raised their goblets and then he said, "To the best friends a kid could ever have...cheers!"

Oh no he didn't!

Oh...   yes...   he...  did....  This boy loves my makeup bag.

I feel like this one could be a mug shot.  Actually, he did a good job on the one eye.  Look at those eyelashes.

"Please momma... I'm so sawry!"

In other news...my daughter and sister are WEIRD!

Summer Sport Camps

Alexia did a week long volleyball camp this summer and Parker went to a basketball camp.  They both really loved them.  No pictures of Lexi playing, but there were awards and a slam dunk exhibition the last day of Parker's camp.  The guy in the picture with Parker is Zabian Dowdell and he plays for the Phoenix Suns.

 

 

Jack and Parker on their last day of camp.

Last Day of School 2011

No more pencils! No more books!  No more teachers' dirty looks!  (And yes, I'm aware you can see her ribs through her shirt.  I really do feed my kids.)

The kids get to wear whatever they want on the last day of school.  That's another cause for celebration.

They quickly moved from celebrating to showing off their muscles.

I'm so excited for summer vacation too!  Time to sleep in, catch up on chores, and then do some fun things with the kiddos.  The picture below is from last years last day of school.  Man it goes by too fast.

We Like Visitors!

Darren's brother Nolan had a work conference in Scottsdale for a few days.  They called us Thursday night and said they were headed over to see us.  We ordered up some pizza, then busted out the stuff to make s'mores again.

My kids love their cousins.  They soaked up the love from Liv and Clara.

Thanks for stopping by guys!  It was so fun to have you for an evening!

Isn't he yummy?

I could totally eat him for breakfast!  Those cheeks are delish!

Memorial Day Backyard Picnic

I really wanted to head up to the mountains for the day on Memorial Day, but Darren was having a hard time with the time/gas issue for one day.  So we stuck around here, watched a movie or two and then headed outside for a picnic and some smores.

Getting the fire started.  That's my job.  Darren hates the smell and smoke of a fire.  I love it!

And were off!  The smores were so yummy.  I traded the fire pit for pictures a little while back and had been itching to use it.  I'm sure when it cools down we'll get lots of use out of it.  After the smores were all eaten, Melissa headed to a movie with friends and the kids serenaded us with "Love Story" and "Eye of the Tiger."  BEST ENTERTAINMENT EVER!

Spring Season Baseball

We love baseball season around here.  Darren is super serious about it and therefore...so is his son.  Parker is pretty good.  He loves the game.  He loves the time his dad spends with him because of it.  We tried a different league this time around and although it was a busy season with games two nights a week it was such a great time.  We wrapped up the season before it got too hot.  The boys were supposed to rotate defensive positions but coach played him at first most games.  He loved it because of the opportunity to have the ball almost every play.  Once in a while he got to catch.  That picture up there brings back memories of his daddy in that same get up.  I'm sure we'll be spending many an afternoon or weekend at all my boy's baseball games.

Espee Park

Just before school got out Alexia's teacher, Mr. Cederstrom put together a little video for their class.  Each child had to submit 5 pictures of their child for the video.  She brought it home and showed it to us.  I watched with a sinking feeling.  The pictures of Alexia were taken at her piano recital, around our house, and on our lawn.  The pictures of the other kids were taken at Disneyland, on beaches, on cruises, at bounce houses, and a dozen other really fun places.  It made me look extremely boring.  That night I decided to do something about it.  I packed their swimsuits and some towels without telling them.  I loaded them all into the van and told them we were going to drive around looking for potential spot for photo shoots.  They all groaned but hopped in anyway.  We stopped at Little Cesar's for some $5 pizza's, called Daddy and told him where to meet us, and then I drove them all to the sprinkler park.  They all squealed with delight and I felt like a fabulous mom because it was Wednesday, just an ordinary day.  We all had so much fun.  

Yes!  I do feed him!  A LOT!

I love this picture of Alexia!

BOYS!  I swear...

Love that face!

I don't think she saw that one coming.

All tuckered out!

At least he's equal opportunity. =)

The sprinklers shut off every once in a while in order for the park to drain.  But it's no problem because all sorts of fun things are available on the other side of the park.  The kids loved this twirly thing and made a new friend in the process.

The happiness on their faces in this picture almost makes me giddy.

I love pictures of Darren with my babies.

Elijah made a little friend while we were there.

 

Even Aunt Melissa got in on the fun!