Independence Day with Friends

For the past three years we have gotten together with our close friends to celebrate the 4th of July. We sacrifice a cow to the BBQ God's then we have a burnt offering in the street in front of the house. The children have fun running around playing but don't usually enjoy the light show at the end of the night. The noise is too loud for them, so K is usually the only kid out there playing with all the adults. After the big kids finish playing with fireworks, we sit back and watch the fireworks shot off at the rodeo, which we can see from the front yard.

A Day at the Zoo

We took the girls to the zoo on Tuesday with Grandma. They have made quite a few changes since the last time I was there and there are more animals to come in the next couple of years. We arrived early and left about the time it was getting hot, but there was a lot of shade through out. All the trees have grown up nicely in the past decade.

Here is L with Grandma after looking at the farm animals.

Here we all are in front of the Elephant habitat. We didn't get him in the pic though.

The Hippo was K's favorite animal.

She even got Grandma to buy her a stuffed one to take home with her.

Here is one of my favorite animals.

This was M's favorite shot, for a couple of reasons.

Swim Time

K hasn't been interested in swimming the previous few years. She was fine with it when she was 6 months old, but since then she has been terrified of going in the pool. This year she wanted to try to swim in G-ma's pool. She picked out her own swimsuit this year, very pretty. And we headed down to the pool. We put a life jacket on her since she can't swim and the pool is very large. She said she wanted to go down the slide to get into the pool. So daddy went down first so show her what was involved and see if she was sure she wanted to attempt it. She said she did so Daddy put her on his lap and headed down the slide. When they hit the water, Daddy held her up above his head so she wouldn't go under water. She didn't go under water, but she didn't want to be in the pool any more. Looking back, we probably should have eased her into the pool before attempting such a daredevil act with her. Live and learn. But we were able to convince her to stay on the steps in the shallow water and just play with Daddy there.

K's swimsuit.

Must wear a life vest.

Down the slide with Daddy.

Ready for the splash!

Ahhh, the safety of the steps:)

Strong Abs

Bellytime

L laughing at sissy

U-Pick Strawberries

Yesterday a group of us went in search of Strawberries. We had heard there was a place to pick that was only 50cents a pound. We all thought that was wonderful and went in search of this wonderful patch. Unfortunately, it wasn't very big or very nice. So we drove back to a different field that we all knew. It was $8.00 a bucket there, but the strawberries were so yummy!

Here everyone is heading out to the field to pick.

This is K with her "friend" C.

K picking and eating strawberries.

Here are some of the kids and the mom's picking and chatting together.

Kirsten with her buckets of strawberries.

This is what three of us picked in about an hour or so.

Not too shabby since we were dealing with little ones too.

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day the girls got Daddy a tie and some shirts to replace his old ones that are falling apart. After opening gifts we went to church. After Sacrament the Father's were given a homemade cinnamon roll in appreciation for all they do. For dinner we grilled steak and had cheesy potatoes, salad and garlic bread to go with it. We were so excited about eating the yummy steak that I forgot to get pictures of our dinner. But trust me, it was GOOD!

Daddy with K and L.

K helping Daddy open his gifts.

K modeling Daddy's new tie.


Daddy with his girls.

Daddy's homemade cinnamon roll.

To Grandmother's House She Goes

Last weekend K got to go visit Grandma by herself. Her Great Aunt Marsha and
Great Uncle Ace were there too. She got to go out to eat with them and her
Great Grandma. She loves Grandma's house because she gets to play outside so
much more and she helps with all the animal chores. It is always a challenge to get
her to come home after a visit there.

Here is K with her Great Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt.

Here her Aunt is reading her a fun story.

K loves to take her stuffed animals for rides in the stroller.

K learned how to use a shovel properly while helping Grandma in her garden.

Isn't she such a good little helper?

Memorial Day BBQ

For Memorial Day we got together with a few friends for a BBQ.

The kids were really adorable playing together.

Here is G taking the girls for a ride.

Here is K pushing K in the car.