Friday, July 30, 2010

The simple things

I always have such good intentions to get the kids to bed early during the summer. Then evening rolls around and suddenly the kids magically start getting along and the weather is beautiful, so we head outside and stay up way too late... again. But it is worth it. We have had so many nice evenings this summer just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful weather. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. Like a bottle of bubbles from the dollar store.
Okay, so the main reason I let the kids stay up late is because lately I am just too tired to put them to bed at the end of the day. Here's to baby #4 one week from today!!!

Lance's Wedding

I can always tell if it's been a good month by how many pictures I've taken that month. Most months I average around 200. My July 2010 folder has 826. Yikes. That is a good month and a lot of pictures, and a large portion of them were taken at Jason's brother's wedding a few weeks ago. It was so fun to get the kids all dressed up and to see Lance and Tess so happy.

They make a great couple.

Abby was so excited to see herself looking so bee-you-tiful!
Tess made such a beautiful bride. The little girls were in awe.
They were so cute peeking around the curtain trying to get a glimpse of her.
Dallin wasn't very impressed to get all dressed up, but I thought he looked very handsome.

This is classic Luke. Someone pointed out that he was in background of ALL the pictures the photographer was trying to take of the groups. Here she is trying to wave him away with EVERYONE staring. Awkward! I hope she can photoshop him out. Also, during the ceremony I looked around and noticed that Luke wasn't sitting by us anymore. Then I saw him running through the aisles and on the lawn chasing butterflies or something. I was tempted to run after him, but then I thought, what is more distracting, the four-year-old running around, or the pregnant lady chasing him? I just let him roam.
The whole family.
The kids loved dancing the night away.
Especially Abby.

Good luck, Lance and Tess!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Family Reunion in Burley

I LOVE summer in Burley. It is the most beautiful, peaceful place on earth. Other times of the year, maybe not so much. But summer time is amazing. Plus, it's just home, and sometimes I just need to be home.  So I was excited that my mom wanted to have our Price family reunion over the 4th of July weekend in Burley this year.  We pulled the trailer up so the kids could have at least one more "camping" experience this year. We're hoping for a few more, but as this baby approaches I'm getting less excited about sleeping anywhere except my very own bed with my very own 40 pillows propping me up on all sides and the ceiling fan running. However, the kids... the kids. They need some memories. So I packed my bottle of Tylenol PM and away we went, and it was fabulous.

My parents' home is the perfect place for kids. There are trees and sheds and tons of grass to run around on, plus there is a huge grassy hill with a hole on one side that we fill with water in the summer... it is endless entertainment. And the sky is so big there. It really is bigger than other places. I don't know how or why, that's just how it is.

The weather was surprisingly not very warm this year, but that didn't stop the kids from soaking up the sun every chance they got. Dallin and Katelyn spent a lot of time floating around the little pond and identifying the insects that floated around beside them.

Abby wasn't quite so sure about the cold, but she still had fun.

She loved hanging out with her Uncle Aaron at the top of the hill, watching all the action.

She looked so cute wearing her matching dress with Josie and Halli to church on Sunday.

I found these two little nuts out in the beet field behind my parents' house one afternoon, just chowing on beet leaves. Apparently the little neighbor girl told them that it was cabbage and they needed to eat it. So Luke and Josie obediently went out to the field and started munching. Can you imagine the bribes I would have to give to my kids to get them to eat cabbage OR beet greens? Raw? Yet, if the local little farmer girl says it, they do it. Maybe I should hire her to spend a week with me, brainwashing my kids to eat healthy food. You can't really tell from the picture, but Luke's mouth was lined in green. Hopefully he got a good dose of Vitamin A or B or C or something, along with the pesticide/fertilizer/whatever they spray on the beets that is sure to be toxic to some degree.

We had a fun little marshmallow roast before we headed to town to watch the fireworks on the 4th.
Luke was SO excited to see his Uncle Steve who came all the way from Kansas. We just wish Kristen could have come, too!!! 
*sniff sniff* 

There is nothing like a Burley sunset. Or a golf cart ride with Jason. Hold on, kids!! I think he only lost a few kids... a few times...

On Monday we all headed out to Steadman's in Raft River. They have some giant waterslides, a zip line, BBQ areas, and tons of room for the kids to run around. It was a huge hit with the little kids and the big kids. We are planning to make it a tradition!

The little kids were soooo impressed with the big kids on the zip line. I can't wait to try it next year!

I think the record was 14 people on one tube going down the water slide. Jason and Dallin are in there somewhere. They might have been a little bit squished.

I thought all the little kids were so cute running around in their white reunion shirts. The shirts weren't so white by the end of the day, but that's just proof of a good time, right?

And then of course the whole group. It was such a fun weekend. It will be a while until we are all together again, so times like this mean so much. Totally worth the Tylenol PM involved. I love my family!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Summa Time

In some ways I secretly dread the coming of summer, thinking it will so hard to be out of our routines and wonder how am I going to keep the kids entertained when school ends, and all that. But then summer gets here and it is so nice and pleasant to have warm weather and have time to just have fun. We've had a great summer so far. Let's just say I have spent a lot of time sitting on the deck eating popsicles with the kids. In other news, this summer both boys are playing baseball.
Dallin is doing coach pitch. He loves it.

Luke is doing tee ball. He hates it.

Lehi Roundup days were great, as usual. The kids love the parade and rodeo.

Abby got all dressed up for the rodeo, but then I send her with my in-laws after the parade so we could enjoy the night. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed hanging out with her grandma and grandpa more than she would have liked the rodeo.

The boys LOVED the rodeo, of course. You can see from my expanding belly that my due date is approaching. I am scheduled to have this little guy on Friday, August 6. Holy cow, that is four weeks from today. Yikes! What am I going to do with four kids? I'll think about it tomorrow.

We've had one round of swimming lessons at the American Fork pool and are scheduled to begin another one the last two weeks of July. We have been doing evening lessons and they are great. No sunscreen required! Why do I hate putting sunscreen on my kids so much? I swear, I would rather do yard work.
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Dallin's big accomplishment of the summer has been learning to ride a bike. Yeah, he's a little old. But he has always refused to try without training wheels and this summer I haven't really felt like huffing down the street with him in the hot sun, so he has stayed on a four-year-old biking level for about seven years now. Then one night my sisters Teresa and Shayna were here and I asked them to help him learn. About 10 minutes later he was riding all over the neighborhood by himself. Thanks, girlies.  I owe you one. 

We had a fun little fishing trip up to Clear Lake where the boys caught 12 fish. Jason even helped Abby catch her first fish ever. She was thrilled.

And then there's this strange creature. Abby has officially adopted the fake owl from our yard as her new best friend. One day she came running into the house with a huge smile on her face, lugging the giant bird, saying, "She's name Who-Who! She's name Who-Who!!" So Who-Who is now the latest member of our family and sleeps beside Abby in her crib, and usually next to her in the car. Whatever floats your boat, my child. Just take a little nap. I need to go put my feet up for a while...