6 months and chocolate donuts

One fun thing we did with all my family while dad was here was go to the newly renovated Bean Museum.  They have this huge moose statue out front.

Inside I really enjoyed the exhibit on President Packer.  They showcased his bird sculptures and a few of his childhood things as he developed his skills.  It just made him more of a real person.  They also have a bunch of different rooms now….one for the African stuff, one of birds (Abbie was so happy to read the sign that said most the the birds had died of old age.), and an upstairs of wild animals in action poses.

Jessie was being silly after setting the table one evening and “pre-salted” Ken’s plate since he always needs to add more salt to whatever we’re eating.  Funny girl.

We had a family ice cream party again this year.  I made coconut syrup as one of the toppings along with fudge, and salted caramel.  Jessie had fun face painting all the kids.  So fun to see those who made it!  Thanks for coming.

David and Lisa blessed little Ella on Sunday before my dad had to leave for Missouri.  Afterwards we meet at a park for Taco Salad lunch and visiting.  It was so fun to have Naithan and his family drive down.

Afterwards we spent the afternoon playing games and trying out Becca’s new cello.  Everyone wanted a turn to play it. 

Neil opted not to take a nap….and turned into a real tease…. poking Rachel while he “played” and then feeding Mark’s ear some popcorn…..what a silly guy.

While my mom was out she was a sewing maniac!  She made all the girls several skits and Rachel the fanciest red lined cloak I’ve ever seen.  Jessie and Abbie had fun making togas with some of the material while they were waiting to try stuff on.

Emma got to try an apple for the first time.  She had a blast and I didn’t have to worry about her breaking off little pieces because she still doesn’t have any teeth.

Jessie found this ginormous moth outside on the front porch.

Emma turned six months old.  She is just a doll.  She is the happiest baby ever.  She loves to smile and laugh, but she is also pretty quite.  She knows who mom and dad are and really prefers to hang out with them.  She is learning to sit up.  She is a good sleeper too.  Neil and Isaac love to get her toys to hold and LOVE to give her hugs and kisses.  We had a little photo shoot for her out in front of our zinnias and snapdragons.  Jessie was our main smile coaxer and Emma loved all the attention.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Of course Neil and Isaac couldn’t pass up a picture taking opportunity either….so here they are (with dinner still on their faces).

Jessie’s been experimenting with some quilled earrings to sell at Rachel’s farmer’s market stand.

We got some good rain the day before my birthday….Neil got all decked out to go get wet, including Jessie’s swim cap.

By evening he had changed back into clothes and wanted to stay under the umbrella, but Isaac was still happily playing in his swimming stuff and loved sitting in the puddle in the driveway.

For my birthday Ken surprised me with a whole box of chocolate cake donuts….my FAVORITE!!  The kids were excited too.

We decided to enjoy them together out on the deck…..but didn’t get this picture until Mark had already downed his.Ken also got me these beautiful roses which we put in a fancy crystal vase my mom had brought out from an estate sale from one of the neighbors that we had lived by for a really long time.

Mark and Isaac picked me this bouquet for my birthday…Love it.  And I finally joined the 21st century and got a cell phone…which arrived on my birthday.  We had fun playing with the camera on it.

David caught me off guard and sprayed silly string all over to celebrate…my kids had never really seen silly string and Spencer was especially impressed.  Mom made us some cheesecake and I opened some beautiful new skirts, a bright and happy platter, along with a couple of snickers.  Emma missed her nap, but fell asleep sitting up in Ken’s arms amidst all the commotion….Jessie had a little fun taking a bunch of selfies on the new phone.

The next day was especially exciting because our plates came in the mail!!!! We got a plate kit for Christmas and made one (or two) for each of us and a few extras for cousins….and they turned out amazing!!

Mark is always happy to take care of Emma for me and I just love this picture!

Spencer taught Grandma how to play Stratego.

Abbie made us Cranberry Orange Scones for breakfast.

We made some cupcakes and Neil and Isaac cleaned out the bowl for us.

Abbie came downstairs so excited to show us the Reese's cup she unwrapped that had 5 papers!  That’s one lucky girl.

We had a birthday dinner a couple of nights later….pot roast with all the trimmings.  We set up tables in the backyard…I love having a summer birthday.  I made a zucchini orange cake….and it was heavenly….definitely going on the request a cake list! Of course, Neil and Isaac were there to help me blow out the candles.  Mark serenaded us on his trombone he’s been learning to play this summer, and Grandpa showed him the clip from Music Man of 76 trombones – because he had never seen that movie before.  Randy got me a set of Pampered Chef glass baking dishes…Ramona is going to make me a flag wall hanging for the dining room.  Rachel and Becca set me up with a date and dinner at a Taco food truck and Addie gave me some of her favorite crafty things along with a set of the cutest chicken cards you have ever seen!  Thank you for making me feel so special.

I can’t believe Spencer thought that is was cold in the middle of summer, but he snuggled up in the fuzzy duck blanket and fell asleep.

After seeing Mark and Spencer play Stratego all summer Neil was dying to learn too.  He takes turns playing with the two boys and loves every second of it.  Mark is sure to let him win and so Neil loves to play with Mark.  Spencer likes to win too, so when they play together he doesn’t always win, but Spencer is good at making the game fun. (Since I’m writing this so much later I will add that one of the first things Neil complained about on the kids first day of school was that now he had no one to play Stratego with and so he was really bored!)

Ella came down for a visit.  Neil loves to play with her and couldn’t even wait until she was out of her car seat.

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this marathon post….you are a dedicated reader.

The first four days of July

The little boys LOVE Mark’s horns….they love to hear him play, and watch him empty the “condensation,” and they love to use PVC pipe to play along with him.  Not only is imitation the highest form of flattery; it’s also incredibly adorable.I love pictures of kids reading books with Grandma.Grandma Jennie’s funeral was really nice.  I got to meet some of her husbands brothers and sisters that are still alive and they are the neatest people.  Ken was asked to give the family prayer and he did a beautiful job.  I’m so thankful to know that families really are forever and things like this make you so excited for the eternities we have to get to know all our family.

We dropped off dinner for Steph since Scott and his girls were on choir tour…the sun set was stunning.Abbie babysat the boys for me one afternoon and she was amazing!  They made paper hats and little hand puppets and everyone was happy when I got home.  Love that girl!!Another horn player in training.While my mom was here we went up to a patriotic fair on the 3rd.  It was really cool to see all the time period artisans and learn about their crafts.  They boys went to “school” and got to try on some costumes.  Spencer really liked this bull head the blacksmith had made.  We got to hear them shoot the cannon and got our names written in calligraphy.  David and Lisa meet us there too….always fun to see them.

Grandpa drove in that evening and we had a brunch with Ken’s parents the next morning.  Emma warmed up to Grandpa quickly….which was a pleasant surprise.  Love this picture!We had muffins and fruit and sausage egg casserole.  Emma tried a couple bits of mashed banana, her first go at real food….she did not think that was tasty.  Neil and Isaac took turns filling all of our cups from the 5 gallon water pitcher…and somehow that led to Isaac getting a spiky hair do and Neil being talked into watering the plants.  Neil got an “ooooo-deeee” ride on Grandpa’s lap – one of his favorite things and before we went home Mark played us the national anthem he’d been practicing.  Great morning!!

Randy had to work on the fourth for lunch, but came by afterwards for Jessie to give him a face paint….but he wasn’t the only one.

I had time to sun that afternoon and Isaac came out with these sunglasses almost on right….so silly!

That evening we all meet at David’s for more delicious food and fun.  Rachel made an amazing cake.  The kids played a few games we brought and we went for several walks over on the south end of BYU’s campus while we were waiting for the stadium of fire to start.  The big kids even got to see a little of the soccer game that was going on through the trees.

Neil and Isaac trying not to get wet, but just touch the water on our walk.

We did some sparklers when it was too dark for walking and then enjoyed the fireworks from David’s front lawn.  All except Neil and Isaac who were having way too much fun with sparklers to stop to watch and watch the big ones.