Good friends, great food, and fabulous fun!

The Gang

Corbin

Cole

I thought I took more kickball pictures than this, but atleast I have one! Go Chloe!

Greta and Greg

Three girls trying to keep warm!

Parker was playing a form of golf with this bat and basketball.

Good friends!

Greg arranged a family BBQ a couple weeks ago. Us women were quite impressed he would take the initiative. It was a great day, but unfortunately it was freezing! When we got there it was raining, but thankfully stopped after a bit. The wind felt like it was coming straight from the glaciers on the mountains though! We were freezing. We warmed ourselves by the BBQ while the food cooked. The kids had a great time goofing around and playing on the playground. Everyone brought yummy food to share, and our fingers were numb while trying to eat it. But Greg had plans for everyone to participate in a kickball game which turned out to be so fun and helped to warm us up some. The adults had just as much fun as the kids as we dodged balls, ran fast, kicked far and tried to get each other out. What a great way to end the school year (except for the weird weather and the fact that everyone else is out of school, but we're not actually out of school yet until this week!)

Memorial Day - BBQ, Swim, & Stitches

Braxton enjoyed his first swim for the summer. Though the water was like ice, he didn't care.


This is what Carly looked like the entire time!

Parker before the incident, happy and playing!

After the stitches.

Sweaty and exhausted after fighting three grown men that were trying to pin him down!

Thumbs up! We made it through okay!

Memorial Day wasn't as fun as we had planned. We went to Bryan's parents to swim and BBQ. Carly was overly tired and cranky and Izzy, the Kerr's dog was staying at their house because Jenn and Jason and the kids were at a houseboat for the day. Carly hates animals so was clingy and crying and freaking out most of the time. Eventually she went inside and fell asleep on the couch. The rest of us played in the pool and then ate. We were planning on going to see Bryan's cousin in a baseball tournament and would leave shortly. Parker wanted to get back in the pool, so Bryan went with him. Next thing I know I hear a gasp and a splash. Apparently Parker was trying to get out of the pool but slipped and hit his face on the wall. There was instant blood. His chin was split open. Thankfully Bryan was there to stop the bleeding and check it out. I was getting woozy seeing all the blood and had to sit down, (an unfortunate weakness of mine). Needless to say, we did not get to the game but did get to spend some time in the ER. Thankfully there was no wait in the waiting room. Everyone was very nice, and the PA who stitched him up was very patient though Parker was not making it easy for them. They wrapped him up in a blanket like a burrito. Bryan still had to hold his body while another male nurse held his head and the PA stitched him up. Seven stitches later, Parker was given a stuffed penguin by the nurse (which was very nice and he loves it) and we were done with the turturous affair. (I of course was hovering in the corner the whole time averting my eyes.) He just got his stitches out yesterday, and he looks great!

Diversity Day

Braxton writing down answers to questions about Mexico.

Parker thought Diversity Day deserved a thumbs up!

One class did Egypt and had these set up for picture taking opportunities.

I didn't think about it at the time, but this one was the Egyptian woman and all three of them stuck their heads in this one instead of trying out the Egyptian man. Hee, hee.

Braxton in his South African hat he designed.

Saturday was Diversity Day at Braxton's school. Each class chooses a country to transform their classroom into. They serve authentic food and try to wear something they would wear in that country as well. The students have their "Passports" with three questions for each country which they find the answer to in the classrooms, write it down and then receive a stamp on their passport. It's always a fun and interesting day at the school though Braxton never makes it to every country. This is our third year of doing it and nothing has changed. He gets bored after about five. However, when he was in kindergarten it was more of a painful process to try to get him to find the answers and write them down when he could barely read or write!

Father/Son Overnighter

Bryan took the boys on the Father/Son Overnighter out at the Valk Ranch. It was Parker's first time! They set up their tent, explored, fished in the pond (or attempted to, but never caught anything) and then ended the evening with a fireside. They built a huge bonfire and gathered around. One of the guy's from our ward had his dad come dressed as a "wild man" and talked to them about the early pioneers and the priesthood (or something like that. I wasn't there and Bryan's not the best about remembering details.) Anyhow he had a gun and fired it off which scared the heck out of Parker. He's very sensitive to noise so then he was kind of clingy for the rest of the meeting. Once the fireside was over, Bryan tucked them in and they all went to bed. So Parker was already scared when he went to bed. In the middle of the night, Bryan woke up and reached over to Parker to see if he was still covered and doing well. He was covered all right. He had the sleeping bag pulled up over his head and he said, "Hi Daddy," surprising the heck out of Bryan. He pulled him over to his sleeping bag and he could feel he was slightly damp. Parker had been awake for hours, huddled up in his sleeping bag, so scared he was sweating. I think all the strange frog and cricket noises were freaking him out. Bryan felt so bad. He held him tight, but Parker still didn't even settle down and fall asleep for a while. I felt terrible when he relayed that story to me. He's so sensitive to noise! Poor boy!

Braxton Turns 8!

Braxton got the award for best dressed at the Blue and Gold dinner thanks to Grammy and Poppy who got his uniform for his birthday. Braxton gobbled up the chocolate wolf head they gave him without hesitation.

We had to make a cake for the Blue and Gold dinner. We kept it simple since I had so much else going on with Braxton's baptism. Not as fancy as the other cakes there, but it was a favorite with the kids because of the M&M's.

MMM, Chuckee Cheese pizza. Not the best, but good when you're hungry!

Parker's obsessed with basketball these days. Grandpa's helping him out here to play the big boy game.

Grandma and Carly when my parents first arrived.

The morning of Braxton's birthday

We brought in Braxton's favorite treats to his classroom on his birthday - donuts.

My parents got to come and stay with us for two weeks to be here for Braxton's 8th birthday and for his baptism. On Braxton's birthday we went into the school to drop off donuts which he loved. The next day we went to Chuckee Cheese, one of Braxton's favorite places to go. And that evening Braxton had his first Bule and Gold dinner. Now that he's 8, he's a cub scout. Lots of fun at the dinner. Glad my parents could be there for that too.

Easter

Once Parker discovered what was in the eggs, he was in heaven and very upset when I had to cut him off!

It was a tad chilly that day!

Carly showing off her Easter outfit.

I haven't blogged in a very long time because frankly it's kind of a pain. It takes so long to load the pictures, but anyway. I'm posting some pictures from Easter just to update it a bit. It was a very nice weekend. It was nice to have General Conference on Easter, kind of made it extra special. We spent time over at Bryan's parent's house, had an Easter egg hunt watched conference and had a scrumptious meal!