The monkey bars

Carra Grace has had a very successful summer. She conquered the monkey bars! It took quite a few tries, many trips to the park, and lots of fits of disappointment - but she did it! Hooray Carra!
Here Owen is "doing" the monkey bars. Buff is holding on to his legs, but he is excited nonetheless!
Here is Carra's other accomplishment for the summer. It took a lot of courage to let go and hang upside down! Sorry about the nakedness - but then it is Carra - what did you expect?

Before the 'Flood'

The 'Flood'

Dad's fishin' trip to Kelly Lake

The Beauty of God's creation!

Dad wanted you to see the size of the fish they were catching...

If you look careful, you can see the herd of big horn sheep that went into their camp!

Out of the blue

Out of the blue last night our dear, spontaneous Carra sparked this conversation:

(Setting: She is in the living room yelling this question to Buff and I in the kitchen)


Carra: "Mom, when we catch a mermaid, how are we supposed to eat it?"

Mom: "What??? Why would you eat a mermaid?"

Carra: "No, really, would we cut it up and have to share it?"


Really, where does this stuff come from??? She only watched Strawberry Shortcake and the Wiggles yesterday, I swear!!!! Maybe they aren't as innocent as they seem!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 14th Anniversary, Brady and Bevin!

14 years and 4 kids later! What an adventure! Hope the next 14 years are happy - but less productive??? ;0)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Brandi!!!!!!!

See, we didn't forget! We didn't send a card or a gift either (because that requires remembering to buy it AND to get it to the post office in time for the U.S. Postal service to deliver in time), but we didn't forget!

I can only blame you for my deliquency. I did not receive my frequent reminders/ phone calls/ e-mails helping me count down and to get shopping! You must be getting old! ;0)

Hope you have a fun day!

Trash Day

Thursday is a very exciting day at our house.

It is trash day.

I get excited about trash day because we seem to generate a LOT of trash and I am happy to see it go.

Owen on the other hand is very excited because it is the day his trash truck comes to visit. Today he got out his lawn chair and waited. Not patiently, but he did wait. Who knew a big, green, smelly truck could cause such a thrill?!!!!

Who are they?

I found these masked culprits lurking around the other day. If any of them look familiar, let me know.

Summer fun

It has been a busy summer so far. Swimming, hiking, vacationing (well the kids at least), parades, picnicking, and many other adventures yet to come - I'm sure!

4th of July

Nebraska with Grandpa and Grandma

Hoping to catch a frog . . .

Too tired to walk.

Swimming

Grinning

Oops, the leaf branch got in the way . . .

The parade. . .
a bit blurry . . .

Cleaning up . . .

How can one child be so photogenic ?
Wardrobe explanation: That is Mikayla's bra that Carra discovered. She was wearing it under her shirt apparently and I turned around to find she had taken off her shirt and was now wearing this instead.

Goggles

Ahh, summer . . . .

We had a friend give us a 2 1/2 x 10 foot pool that the kids are LOVING this summer. Brice asked us to get him some goggles so he could learn to snorkel.

I am a firm believer that goggles don't work. They are simply a gimmick by the manufactures to get moms to break out their cameras. What parent can resist their child wearing a goofy face mask? Not this one!

Notice the careful positioning of the ear . . .

Is it so you can hear the sharks coming???

Love the hair!

The Pool

Here are a few more shots of the kids enjoying the pool. It is generally how they spend most of their summer days. It has been quite warm here - which helps - but is apparently not a necessity. They jump in when it is barely 70 degrees outside. I think they are nuts. They call it fun.

I really don't know what Carra is doing.
Apparently I pulled out the camera and so it is time to act goofy.