One Last Camp-Out

I finally remembered to bring my camera! We headed up to Lava for one last camping trip on the last warm weekend of the summer. Aly brought two of her friends, Kylie and Bailey along with us. The ride there, with four girls in the truck was quite a party!

Kelsey was anxious to shoot some targets with her new BB gun.

This is our "WANTED by the law" pose.... (you know, with a BB GUN).... I couldn't quit laughing at Kels taking our picture, so I didn't get the look as well as Steve.

Just having Grandma's homemade peach pie! YUM!

The texting tent: Kylie, Bailey, and Aly.

Our camp guard dogs....

We had a lot of fun - especially down at the Lava Hot Pools! It was SO relaxing....can't wait to go up there in the winter!

Thanks Kylie and Bailey for spending the weekend with us!

Kelsey's 10th Multi-Birthday Party

Kelsey ended up with 3 parties this year! School starts about one week before her birthday, and things start to get so hectic that we usually let the friend party "slide". She is ALwAyS wanting to have a swim party, so this year, we let her have a few friends over to swim and "celebrate" her birthday a little early.

Ashlynd, Kelsey, and Taelor

The girls thought it would just be hilarious if they went head first into the whipped cream on their plates.

Silly girls! They had a blast....

Thanks for coming over to party Ash and Tae! You girls are just too cute!

Kelsey's AcTuAL birthday was two days after my surgery, and I wasn't feeling up to doing too much. However, I wanted her to still feel special on her day. My parents and sweet friends, Rhonda and Jeff came out to the house and we had dinner.

The one thing she's been wanting for quite some time was a BB gun. And yes, this all made me think of the movie "Christmas Story" and the whole "you'll shoot your eye out!" Well, she sweet talked Grandpa (it doesn't take much with my girls), and he surprised her with a BB gun. (With a long list of rules, of course!)

Thanks so much for bringing a cake Mom! (Especially from Roger's Bakery... YUM!) About one week later, we had everyone out for a big birthday BBQ bash. By this time, the THIRD time, Kels was loving it!

Kelsey, I hope you know how special you are to us and how much we love you! Keep smiling and always be yourself. Your sweet spirit, loving personality and love of life is such a blessing to your family. We hope you had a FABULOUS birthday!On a side note, we had a visit with Kelsey's doctor at Primary, and things appear to be going really well. Her doctor has moved her from 3 month checks to a 6 month check up. It was very exciting news for us, and Kelsey was just thrilled!

Labor Day Trailer Races

We waited all year for this.... another trailer race! (That sentence just made me laugh... my brother gets in to the darndest things!) Since I was still "recovering" from surgery, I wasn't able to be running around doing photos and videos. Truth be known, after walking what seemed like miles to the bleachers, I was ready to pass out! Thankfully, Steve got me there safely and stepped up to do most of the photography (hence, a few shaky photos :) Jeff has quite the fan club, we took up almost half the section!

Little Connor kept us very entertained on "down times".
MaryAnn's boys, Oakley and Gage made this cute poster to cheer him on.

Zach, Janica, Karla, and Ian.

Me and Rhonda. (Nice camo "R"...)

Craig, Dad, Mom, Caleb, Becca, McKell, and Connor

We're just happy to be here... (especially on a school night!!)

Steve, Rhonda, Jeff

Jeff didn't win first place this year, (but he should have!). He was voted, by applause, the "Master of Disaster". What an honor!??!
This picture was taken prior to destruction. My nephew Jayden, who is an awesome artist, did the paint job this year as well. Thanks to everyone who came out to show their support - and laugh 'till it hurt!

Town LP Days

It was that time again.... Time to drive, walk, or ride your bike down to Center Street for the annual LP Days parade! This is big time action for our little town! For a parade of about 15-20 entries, the kids can all count on a BiG bag full of candy to collect.

There were some nice classic cars....

And a nice little mustang....

The local pre-school - singin' and throwing candy...

Our friends' cute little girl Natalie, speaks for herself...

Our family spectators: Jayce, Kelsey, Aly, Jaxson, Jayden, and Jeff.

Part of the "car show" - Jeff and Harry's Jeeps

It was fun to watch them actually drive up on to this car and shatter the windshield... (small town, remember?)

The parade was followed by a "burn out" contest, games, rides, and lots of good food down at the park. There was even an ATV course in which two people rode on 4-wheelers and had to avoid hitting any flags. The kicker is that the driver had to be BLIND-FOLDED while the back passenger gives them directions!! And, wouldn't you know it, my girls and nephews were the first to sign up! They didn't win first place by any means, but it was hilarious to watch!

First Day of School

This year, we were all a little apprehensive about school starting. Due to recent boundary changes that affected both Aly and Kelsey, they both started new schools this year, leaving some friends in the old schools. Luckily, I got smiles from them both for our annual "first day of school picture".

(Okay, Kelsey does appear a little happier than Aly....)
As it turns out, they both had a great day at school, and I'm sure it will be a great year!

Updated At Last!

After being reminded from family and friends (several times) that I needed to update my blog, I FINALLY did it! I don't know where the time goes. We've gone on a few camping trips, but the camera was accidentally left at home.... oops. Kelsey is doing great right now and goes in for a check up next month. Both the girls start school on Monday and I think they are pretty excited. (I know I am!) I have loved having them home for summer, but they are growing restless and are ready for something new. I am really going to try harder to keep my blogging up to date, not only for friends and family, but for my girls and their future families, as this has become my journal and scrapbook!

Aly's 13th Birthday Bash

My sweet Aly turned into a teenager this year! She has grown into such a beautiful young woman with amazing qualities and talents. To list a few: her laughter is contagious - especially her giggle. She is helpful and hardworking, which I am so grateful for! She is fashionable and expensive (look out future husband!). She is responsible and loves to try new things. She is social - VERY social, and has many friends. ALL of this, plus - she is modest, holds her morals and values above all else (another blessing!), and has a beautiful self-esteem about herself (something I like to tease her about, but really couldn't be more grateful!) Aly, I hope you never take yourself too serious, don't be afraid to try new things, don't give up when the going gets tough, never compromise your beliefs for someone else, and always be yourself. Dad and I love you so much and we are so proud of you!

Aly wanted to go with the youth to the temple that night, so, she opened her present when she got home.

The next day, she had a few friends over for a sleepover.

I surprised her with a very cool cake - that she wasn't expecting. (Thanks Becca!)

Thanks Kylie, Bailey, and Chance!

We had family and friends over that Friday night to finish off the festivities.

The wind was picking up, and when you live in the country, there's no wind block. So, we moved our party to the garage just to be safe.

After dinner, the wind let up and we moved to the back patio. The kids jumped in the pool while the rest of us just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. We brought out the kareoke machine and got a few laughs out of our "exquisite" performers.





I made Aly's favorite cake - white velvet. It wasn't as fancy as Becca's cake, but Aly liked it.

After almost everyone else went home, Steve and my cousin McKell teamed up to perform "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". It was so funny! The sad part is that they were really good...

Big ThAnKs to all of our family and friends who came out to help us celebrate Aly - We LoVe you so much!