Girls Weekend...

The boys went to the cabin for the weekend and we had fun having Ashlynn and mom time. We went to dinner, shopped at the mall, spent some time at Lagoon, visited a friend in the hospital and then Ashlynn decided she wanted her ears pierced. I was slightly hesitant because I wanted to wait until her 8th birthday, but I thought maybe this is my window to get it done. I got to thinking would if she didn't want them pierced later. So, we went for it...she was so good that she didn't even flinch in the chair or even shed a tear. She said that she was kind of nervous and that her hands were sweaty..she is so cute! She has been very good about being careful with them and reminding me to clean them. The Hello Kitty earrings are perfect for her since she has to wear them for 6 weeks before she can change them out. Ashlynn is so excited about her new pierced ears.

Garden excitement

Our Garden is producing like crazy. We have ate so many yummy things from it. The kids like going out and picking things. They had a blast shucking the corn. It has been fun watching things grow.

Patio Edition

Matt took on another project. We always liked are back patio deck, but felt like it was closed off from the yard. So, Matt took down the side railing and attached it to the other side of the deck with the big stairs down to the cement pad. He also took out the stairs on that side and made a smaller stair case and we are in the process of building a storage and garden shed in place of the big steps (Another post later with pictures of that project.) Matt then made this beautiful edition to the existing patio. It is now more enjoyable to sit out on under the shade trees. We now have to sand and stain the patio to be the same color.

Camp out!

We had our Ward Camp Out last weekend and we had fun living in the great outdoors for a night. We camped at Valley View Stake Camp in Eden and it was he most beautiful camping spot I have ever been to. That isn't saying much though since I have only been camping maybe less than ten times in my whole life. This place was hit for me they had a huge lodge that we ate and played our games in. The best part was we had a full kitchen with a fridge, oven and running water. It was perfect not having to worry about bringing ice and cooking outside with all the bugs. I know most campers like the whole outside experience, but I thought it was perfect. The camp also had a very nice outdoor pool that was surrounded by pine trees and had a awesome view of the valley down below. We played minute-to-win-it games, ate very yummy food and told funny stories around the fire at night and of course we had smores. It was the perfect summer night with a full moon so it kept the sky lit to walk around without a flash light.

I was very glad to be alive after sleeping in a tent after we were told when we arrived at camp that there was a bear sighting at the camp in the last 10 days and were told not to have any food in the tent areas. I did not sleep much that night. The kids slept like logs with out a care in the world. We then went swimming and headed home.

The fruits of our labor

Matt made these garden boxes this past Spring and I thought they turned out great looking. He spent quite a bit of time planning, cutting and sealing the wood. He even connected a drip watering system in garden as well. Where did all these talents come from? He also put solar lights on top of the posts. We then layed weed block on the bottom of the boxes and filled them with soil and to our surprise we actually got some produce growing. The best part is that we have not had a single weed grow through the week block barrier. The garden looks so neat tidy with no weeds. Our pumpkins are taking over one of the boxes as well as the cucumbers. We have already enjoyed some tomatoes and cucumbers, they were delish! We are waiting to see if we acturally get corn off the stalks that are growing.

Airborne

We had a family day and spent some time at Airborne Arena. It is a place that is full of side by side trampolines and foams pits you can jump into. This place was very fun, but is quite the full body workout. When you are done jumping you feel like your are still jumping when you are walking on the floor. We liked being able to do tricks against the wall trampolines. Very fun! We then headed to the famous IKEA store for lunch and to check out their fun things they have there.

Back to school...

We are back in school..and are still playing like it is summer break. This is going to be difficult to keep a decent bedtime, but we will try our best. We are still hanging out at Lagoon, have a camping trip planned and having plenty of water afternoons. The kids were excited to head back and see friends that they don't see around the neighborhood.

Ashlynn is in 1st grade and is excited about being able to play on the big playground with the rest of the kids. The Kindergartner's had their own little playground last year. She is also looking forward to eating lunch at school this year. She is ready and has her new lunch bag. I am little sad that I won't have my lunch buddy anymore. It is going to be slightly different around the house without her. Even though she is a self entertainer, it was nice to have her around for laughs and to hear her interesting stories.
Carter had mixed feelings about starting a new year. One of his favorite friends is not in his class this year and that kind of bummed him out a little. But, he is excited that he has a very nice teacher this year. He is just a ball of energy and needed to get back to a schedule before he drove us all out of the house. I can't wait for all the new things he is going to accomplish this year. He is such a sweet boy and definitely a charmer. I am confident he is going to make more friends.

Here we go...