Go Carts!

Lilly Bean with her Daddy watching the boys race the go cart.





I stumbled across some plans to make a go cart a few months ago. I printed off the directions thinking we would one day make a go cart with the kids. I came home the other night from a meeting and found that Jeremy found the plans and they were busy making a go cart in the garage. I loved seeing the twinkle in their eyes as they helped their dad make this. Jeremy said it is very similar to the one they had when they were kids. The go cart has all the upgrades including power steering and anti lock brakes. The only thing left to do is paint it red and put on a padded seat. If your interested in making one I got the plans off of the familyfun.com website.

Busy Buzzy Bumblebee

Every Thursday the library has a theme and a craft for the kids. Today we learned about bees and made a paper bumble as well as a bumblebee necklace.

Splash Park!

The 3 Amigos hanging out and eating their ruffled potato chips.
Ms. Lilly loved the slide!
G is on the left and the brownie in the back is Goose, they could live in the water.

Lilly playing with balloons before we boarded the plane

1 Year ago today our family boarded an airplane and left on a little adventure. It is hard to believe that I haven't seen my family in that long. Despite missing family terribly, overall we have had a wonderful time and love the East. Here is a picture of some of the cousins, 17 are missing! We love our family and are missing you all so much!

Right before we boarded the airplane we did some swimming with some cousins at my sister Mitzi's pool. My kids still talk about it and her talking parrot.

Together Again

I can't help, but think of chocolate when I think of Grandma. She loves her chocolate and I think Lillian has her same sweet tooth. My kids, especially Lilly loved going over there because Grandma always shared her truffles and treats. She was always so excited for visitors and for her great grandchildren to come and see her. Great Grandma "Twinkie" passed away early this morning. I am grateful for the knowledge we have that families are forever. I can only imagine the sweet reunion she is having with Grandpa as well as her daughter Candy right now. You will be missed!

Bubble Festival at the Science Museum

This afternoon was spent with friends playing with lots and lots of bubbles! Every year the Science Museum has a bubble festival. This is the first year we went, but are looking forward to going again next year. Maybe I'll put the kids in their swimsuits, they got quite wet and bubbly!
The kids loved being in the bubbles below.



Lillian playing in a pool of bubbles.
Grant seeing how big he could get his bubble.
Of course Goose had to spend some time at the art table making a bubble picture.
Now that is one big bubble!
Jeremy and Lilly seeing how big they can get this bubble.
Grant going through the kid wash.
Lillian examining this piece of wood at the Science Museum.

Reptile and Exotics Show

At the mall once a month they hand out a free toy to all of the kids, Lillian loves her puppy Oatmeal.

Every Saturday the local mall features professional entertainment for free! It was exciting to see all the Reptiles and Exotics that he brought. The kiddos especially liked the gator! I so needed my little niece Emily, this is totally up her alley! (Thanks to Eliza for telling us about this!)

Weeds!

Monte so carefully weeding the onions in our garden.

HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!

I have to admit it was a little strange being in New York and not Utah for Pioneer Day. I came across this quote I absolutely love by a man from the Martin Handcart Company he says, "I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart company."
There have been times in my life when I have felt like the burden of grief and pain were so heavy that it took all my strength to keep my head above water. I know my Father and Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ love me so much. I remember the day when I prayed for my burden and pain to be made light. Through the atonement this was made possible. God does send his angels to lift us up and carry us because we cannot do it on our own. My Savior knew the pain and sorrow I was going through and was able to take the weight off of my heart. I still have my hard times, but my heart is no longer heavy. Our Father in Heaven loves us so much that he allows us to experience tribulation in order to become better acquainted with God. We are promised in the scriptures that all trials and tribulation will be for our good. I have such a strong testimony of this, I know that it truly is through trials and the storms of life that I personally have built a relationship with my Father up above. I know God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I am so grateful for the example we have of the pioneers and how they endured their trials. I pray that I can be steady and immovable and have faith in every footstep just like they did.

Treasure Hunts

The boys loved this activity, even the dads got into it. This was totally up Jeremy's alley!
Our friends invited us to go Geo Caching with them yesterday. The kids had so much fun hiking around in the tall grass. For those of you who don't know, people hide little boxes of treasures all over the place. The location of the treasure is set by latitude and longitude, so this is where your GPS comes in handy. Once you find the treasure box you can take a treasure and then leave one in return. Simple things like sheets of stickers, bracelets, necklaces, bouncy balls etc....
If you go to geocacheing.com, you can find a location near you. Have fun!!
Thanks again Jeff and Tara, it was great!

Friends

Lillian and Kira have so much fun together!

Butterflies and Bumbles

Goose holding the butterfly he caught.
Goose caught the butterfly and then stuck it on his nose. Silly boy!
G thought it would be fun to let the butterfly walk all over his head.
The kids in action. Goose was excited to try out his net he made with a metal hanger and grocery sack.

I know it is strange, but G and Goose love catching bumble bees in ziploc baggies. They started doing it last summer and picked up doing it again this spring. Up until a few days ago nobody has got stung. That is until after Goose caught his bumble in his zippie and ran up to G and opened the bag right in front of him. It was one ticked off fellow and stung G on his index finger. However, it didn't seem to stop them they were back doing it 15 minutes later. Here's Goose in action........

Life with 6 kids.....

After a few head counts we made it to church!

This weekend I had 6 kids. I say I because Jeremy was volunteering at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We ventured to the pool which was full of excitement! It was nice to basically be the only one's there. It helps when the older ones can swim. Lillian, Kailey, Kaden and I mostly hung out in the really shallow water. I took them to the pool really for selfish reasons #1 if we went to the pool my house wouldn't get messed up and #2 I wanted them to sleep really good! So my planned worked we had a great time, I came home to a clean house (that didn't last long) and they all slept great. That is before Lillian decided to wake Kaden up at 3:00 a.m.! This morning I had this great plan of getting up early and getting ready before all the kiddos got up. However, about 5 minutes after I got out of the shower I had 6 hungry mouths at my door STARVING! I put off getting myself ready for church and got the kids dressed and fed and ready for church. I was able to do this because it was temporary, but really Brooke, Amberlynn and all you people who have a half a dozen kids and more you are amazing. It is a lot of work! I could have fun and enjoy all 6 because I knew in a day I could send 3 back home. So pat yourself on the back you all are AMAZING to be able to do this day in and day out!

The Talking Parrot

The kids get a kick out of Aurora the "talking" parrot. She was talking up a storm, but of course the second I turned on the video camera she stopped! However, I love when she laughs!

The kids were excited when they saw that Paca Tractor had his very own sign in New York!
The kids loved feeding these goats it reminded them of the days when they used to feed Paca Tractor's goats. Lilly commented on how one of the goats looked exactly like Caesar.

Hand Picked

Today we went and picked some blueberries. Although, it was muggy today we had a lot of fun. I couldn't get Goose out of there he was soooo excited and was seriously addicted to picking! He kept on saying just 10 more. So 61/2 pounds of blueberries later we headed home. They tasted so yummy and I can't wait to try them in a smoothie.

Blueberry Contest

The kids had a contest of who could find the biggest blueberry........

and the winner is G! He was certain this was the biggest blueberry in the entire field.
Goose was very selective about the blueberries he picked!
G insisted that while he picked his hat needed to be like this.