CJ Jumped off a diving board for the first time!

We went swimming at Crystal's house yesterday and CJ decided he wanted to jump off the diving board. Well technically... he sat on it and gently slided into the water, then he wanted to jump in and we counted to three like 20 times and each time he said "no..wait... okay count again" and then he said "mom, can you just push me?" so i did (and it was fun to do!). After a few times of that he decided he wanted to land in the inner tube, and he said that was the "funnest way to do it". My little boy is getting so big!

"Ashley! you only counted to "2"! I wasn't ready! you don't get to push me again! Mom, will you do it?"

Evans Family Visit

The Evans family came to visit from St George Utah and stayed with us. Ash & CJ were so excited when they drove up that they dropped what they were doing and ran outside and greeted them before they even had a chance to get out of the car!

Is there anything better than waking up and being with your cousins?!?

Hayden & CJ playing with the light sticks from Gma Lynette. Thank you Gma, the gift bags were a big hit with the kids!

Ash shared her quads with her cousins. First Tyler rode by himself up and down the driveway and then Ashley took Hayden for a ride.

Aunt Karen took Ash & CJ along when they went to Pixie Woods.

The train ride @ Pixie Woods.

(Karen is a brave girl! To willingly take 5 kids age 8 and under to a theme park is a daunting task... and the kids had a blast! Good job!)

Cousins are the best!

G-Gpa Smith's birthday dinner at UJ's Restaurant.

Aunt Karen is the Best! Ashley and Karen had a cooking date where they made a chocolate cup-marshmallow creme-strawberry topped dessert thing that was to die for! Ashley loved the one on one time with her Auntie.

Independence Day Fun

This year for the 4th of July Me, the kids, and the Evans went to celebrate at Jeff & Tami's house. We swam, bbq'd, and got sunburned. It was so much fun!

CJ resting for a moment. (he looks so relaxed)

Ash loves swimming!

CJ & Grandma Stone cuddling in the hot tub.

(or as i call it the "spool"... a spa as big as a pool)

Me & Genevieve

Ash coming up from holding her breath under water. She can do it a long time!

CJ, Tyler, & Hayden swimming in the spool

Ash carrying Bailey

I think its time to get out of the pool! This is CJ's foot after swimming for about 6 hours straight. He only got out to eat lunch (and the wicked yummy dessert Ashley & Aunt Karen made), the whole rest of the time he was in the water. I've never seen a foot so "pruney" before!

Thank you Jeff & Tami for sharing your backyard with us!

Fathers Day Fishing

For Fathers Day this year the kids and I took Mike fishing. We started on a river close to a trout hatchery (and we hiked with all our gear through brush and weeds and thorned berry bushes) till we found a beautiful spot and fished for a while.and after a while of catching nothing we drove to Lake Camanche's south shore trout pond in hopes of having better luck. After about 2 hours Mike caught this beautiful rainbow trout. This fish only cost me $200! With the cost of fishing poles, tackle box, supplies, licences for both mike and I, and the parking & fishing fees that is how much i had invested in that one silly fish.

Our favorite fishing guide

Ashley was determined to get a fish, and listened to every piece of advise that her dad gave.

CJ after "catching" a fish that was big enough to snap his line before we were able to get it onto the dock. He was so proud!

This was my first time fishing. It was wonderful. If i can just get over my squeamishness about actually touching the fish. Goo, they are just so slimy and wiggly! It was a great day and we are already looking for another excuse to go...

Ashley's now 8!

Ashley requested for her birthday breakfast magenta waffles with cool-whip and strawberries with a candle on top (she even gave her brother a candle on his waffle too!) She was thrilled to get a pink (adult size) fishing pole for her birthday. Her birthday party is this Friday and she is wicked excited and can hardly wait.

We've Got Green Thumbs!

After last years practice run at gardening, we are trying it again! We spend the holiday weekend (with Mike's help) turning the front yard into a gardening wonderland. (not really a wonderland, but it made it sound cooler...) We have 3 kinds of watermelon (round, long, and even one that is yellow on the inside! I cant wait to taste that one!), cantaloupe, zucchini, yellow squash, burpless cucumber (i didn't even know they burped!) so i can try to make pickles, artichoke (Ashley's favorite veggie), 3 types of corn, a thornless blackberry bush, a red grape vine, a marion berry bush, and a partridge in a pear tree... oh wait, not that last one. It took forever and I am sunburned, and every inch of my body is sore, but... we are so freakin excited! Hopefully soon we will have more food than we can eat, jar, freeze, or dehydrate... that's if the bunnies don't eat it all first... I spied some this morning and i wanted to go running after them wearing a mumu, bunny slippers, and with curlers in my hair, waiving a broom around like the crazy farmers wives do in the movies.

After we were all done i made a comment to the kids about how we now have green thumbs, and both kids looked at their hands and said they didn't have any green on them so we went into the house and grabbed some of my green nail polish and painted all of our thumbs green!

Sleeping with Daddy

Mike spent the night at my house so he could spend some more time with the kids. In the middle of the night Ashley climbed out of her nice comfortable bed and climbed onto the couch so she could be with her daddy. It was such a cute sight to wake up to!