The Land of the Free

We spent the Fourth of July in Las Vegas.. here are a few pics of our celebrating..

sparlklers with Grandma Pat

no shirt and sparklers.. great fire safety mom...

let Case help light the fireworks.. why not??

Blades and Camden lighting sparklers

the boys dressed in their red white and blue outfits..

Camden and Kiptyn at the annual Cannon fourth of July picnic..

a bomb pop to cool Camden down

some sparklers

our family sparkler picture

Camie and Cori



Since we have moved away from family, this is one day we miss being around everyone.. including the annual cannon 4th of july party.. we were lucky to be there this year :)

all good things must come to an end

As I packed my 1st lunchbox for my first grader for his first day tomorrow I felt a little sad that summer is gone. He will be in school all day long, and will eat at school. I packed a little note and instructions on saving one snack for snacktime and not eating it at lunch..
what about the doritos... they will make his hands orange, but didnt think that packing a babywipe in a baggie was appropriate for a first grader.. he settled for a napkin..
I have tons of pictures to share from our summer and will do that soon... but for now I had to reset my alarm clock for the rest of my life :)
early bedtime is on our calendars.. no more late night friends over..
Good luck Camden at your first day tomorrow.. you'll do great

flashback photos

I was uploading pictures the other day and I wondered why do I take all these pictures, and then they sit on my computer... I have printed some to scrapbook ( which hasnt happened for a while) so I decided to start showing my pictures.. I hung ribbon on the wall near camdens room, and attached pictures with cute paperclips.. that way the kids can see when they were little, and things we have done.. it is fun to hear them talking about the pictures.. and i love to see them too.. heres a few flashbacks.
Caser

Camden

Camden 1 year

Case in NC. those chubby cheeks made me smile

Father's Day Surprise

We had celebrated Fathers Day at the ballpark and stopped by to see Kyndal's grave on the way home. To our surprise we saw this....
We had been expecting her headstone to be here anytime, but what a special day for us to find it. I came around the corner, and started crying immediatley.. Blades was upset and wondered why they didnt call us, but I am glad we got to find it.. What a perfect Father's Day gift from a daughter... It made the day that more special, and we will always remember when it was placed. We are thankful to agoodgrief who helped us purchase her headstone. With the money we raised at her BBQ in April, we want to thank all of you again who participated and helped in the special day for Kyndal.

do you see our noses bleeding?? we had the cheap seats, but had a great time..

Case enjoying some nachos.

youve got to have a hotdog at the ballgame.. even if Blades had to wait for 4 innings in line to get it.

always fun

Grandpa and Grandma Dill's house always brings lots of fun...
Camden, Kyla, Case, Austin and Jacob

Uncle Michael always plays with the kids..

theres something about swimming and goggles.. it makes the experience much better.. ( i hear)

nonstop swimming... great food.. and fun with family. We have spent a few weekends there this summer, and had a great time.. time spent with cousins, sunburns, popsicles and bbq's..

We always feel like we are at home when we visit..

My Dad and I

My Dad loves his Grandkids.. and they love him..

wow.. what a trip!

I have tons of pictures to share and stories to blog.. but for now we are glad to be in our own beds. We are getting back to reality with laundry, grocery shopping and school starting in a little over a week. Camden will be in first grade. Is that possible? I remember being in first grade.
Here are a list of things I had forgotten about the great state of Wyoming...

• they sell cows on TV ( auctions) and they go for about 1.25 a lb... averaging 800 lbs.. thats $1000.00 a head...


• mosquito's are pesky and very feirce.. a good repellant is a must


• a cattle-drive up to the mountains is a once in a lifetime experience


• you can eat beef jerky and cattle drive at the same time..


• Grandma's and Grandpa's spoiled us


• small towns have great parades and festivities for Pioneer Day.


• go-fish and crazy eights are great card games


• small town pool is the gathering place..


• cows walk in the yard


• electric fences dont zap too bad ( thats what camden said)


• slip and slide is classic afternoon fun


• small town county fairs are fun


• it doesnt get dark til 9:45 pm.. ( kids took a while to understand that one)


• the checkin lady at the airport checked all my carry-ons for free .... what a relief


• the same happened on the way home :)


• fireworks and boys go together.. ( i tried lighting some for the kids and burned a hole in my shirt...)


• a cattle rancher rarely buys beef.. he just drops one off at the process plant and comes back in a few days for the goods


• you can buy cinnamon bears by the pound


• deer jump out of no-where on the highway.. gotta watch out..


• i still love the smell of skunks. ( so does camden)


• pennies really do get squished by train tracks


• four wheeler rides are just as fun as i remember


• boys love to throw rocks and break bottles


• everyone waves at everyone


• farmers work hard and wake up early


• my camera broke.. and i will be in the market for a new one.. it fell out of the carrying case and the top of it came off.. it still works, but a good reason to start shopping


• if the temperature was below 60 my kids were "freezing".


• cowboys like blades' bbq

Theres so many great stories and things that we did.. I will be back to blogging soon.. for now its trying to figure out what to make for dinner.... reality is upon me.. no more mom to make the dinners and do my dishes... darn it was nice!

preoccupied

I have tons of things to do to get ready for our Wyoming vacation next week, and here I sit.. blogging about nothing in particular...

I have read the Hunger Games, and the second book too.. I just finished it off today.
I am sure I will read the third in a day or so...
i have the kids' clothes all ready to pack..
got some new uniforms for Camden.. ( school starts the week after we get back)
going out with blades tonight.. for some mongolian bbq.. will talk him into walking around target..
we had a great trip to vegas over the 4th.. pics to come.. one more thing to do on my list..
we are loving our pool
the two birds in the nest flew away.. managing to avoid the pool.. a miracle forsure
I have a wonderful new calling... 2nd counselor in the Relief Society.. I cant wait!
I will miss the nursery kids
Camden just popped his own bowl of popcorn... and watching Harry potter.
caser is taking a nap
blades should be home any minutes... then i can pick up our babysitter.. and hit the town of Queen Creek... watch out! we may be home before 10..