Oh Yes We Did!!

Yes, we did get ANOTHER dog. I guess you could say we are either persistent or foolish but here we go again! Here's the story. I've been looking online to find a "red boarder collie" for mom (one that's housebroken) without any luck. So today Ava and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma said she wanted to go look at dogs at the pound. We went to the shelter in Lindon and the little dogs didn't really get my attention but as soon as we walked into the "big dog" section we saw this beautiful girl. Her sign said that she knew several commands and was very well behaved. The boys and even Ava told her to sit and she immediately sat! She was licking them and never once barked like all the rest. We all fell in love, so I went to the front desk and asked if they knew her history. The looked her info up and said that her owners' home was forclosed on and they had to give up their two dogs. Her owners had children ages 3 months to 7 years old so she is used to children. She knows "sit", "shake", "roll over", and "stay" (and will not move until "released"). Her previous owners said she was inside most of the time and could be left unattended for 4 to 8 hours and be just fine. We changed her name from "Zoey" to "Lacy". She reminds me of our first dog "Trapper" except she is gold and white instead of black. She is a Lab mix (maybe with shepherd or husky) and is so gentle. Cross your fingers that we will be good owners this time and hopefully our family will have this companion for a very long time.

I zoomed in on the kids who were at the party tonight. I think they are rather beautiful!

Combined Birthday Party

We decided it would be easier to have one party for the kids' birthdays (for August and September) than to have lots of individual parties. It was supposed to be for Eden and Jake in August and Mckenna, Autumn, and Ethan for September but Rachel and Shane were both sick so their family didn't make it. Uncle Dave wasn't feeling well either so he couldn't come.
I just realized that Dennis and I are sideways (I'm so computer illiterate!). Oh well, this was our party tonight. I forgot to mention that poor Dad had some skin cancer removed-that's why his head is bandaged.

Jake's Baptism Invitation Photos

Time has just flown by so fast this summer and I had dropped the ball on preparing for Jake's baptism day. It's less than a week away and I just took his pictures for his invitations today before church. I can't believe my youngest son is about to be baptized and will be accountable for his decisions from now on. He is such a good boy with a dry wit. He always says something that makes me laugh and I wonder where he gets his humor from. We love this boy with all our hearts!

Fishing

Well, I am using my kids' digital camera now and I guess it will work just fine. Dennis and I were going to get up early and go on a long bike ride, just the two of us but that didn't quite happen. So after the kids woke up we decided to go up into a canyon and do some fishing. Of course we had to make the usual Wal-Mart run to get the things we thought were essential (like Ava's pink Barbie net and "trout bait" that she wouldn't put down because it was pink and purple). We ended up going to Silver Lake because we aren't quite expert enough to fish the rivers with all the tree branches overhead. You can see the only thing we caught was a bunch of leaves but we vow to improve and keep going until we all can fish a river. What a fun day!

Lost Camera

I have lost my favorite little digital camera. I had Jake take it into Arctic Circle after our bike ride with Deanna, her boys, and Grandpa Ralph to take some pictures and we didn't make it home with it. I went back but it was no where to be seen! I am going to try to use the boys' camera until I can afford to purchase a nice one. In the meantime, I have missed the bike ride, the day at the lake with the Ralph family, our friends from Maine, and the first day of school! Jake will be baptized in a little over a week and I don't have a picture of him in his church clothes to make up announcements-hopefully I can have one by tonight!

Weeding for Grandpa Merrill

Anyone who knows our Grandpa Merrill knows he loves his flowers. He has them surrounding his house, his entire yard and also a few flower beds that take up most of his backyard. Well, he was so busy doing projects to surprise his sweetheart while she was in Texas that his flower beds have taken a back-seat. Morning Glory vines have taken over the back row and throughout the beds. When my kids woke up this morning at 8 a.m. I told them that we were going to go help Grandpa out. The little ones were so excited to be Grandpa's helpers and Ethan agreed he needed some help. We got to their house around 8:30 and the doors were locked-they had gone to the temple. We then got to work and spent the next two and a half hours weeding the two back rows. We filled one of their garbage cans completely full and the other about half way. Jake lasted all of 5 minutes and decided he would entertain Ava. Brad helped by putting all the weeds into a bucket and a kiddie pool and emptying them into the garbage cans. Ethan and I kept at it until Grandma and Grandpa drove into the yard. My back is killing me now but it felt so good to work with my kids for our grandpa. We probably have at least two more days of work left but it's a start.

Boondocks

Boondocks is such a fun place to spend the day. Deanna treated all of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Anita and her two youngest girls, Cassidy and Kayla came. Jill brought Nick and took Ava with her and her girls and went swimming at her aunt's pool. And of course my boys and Deanna's boys were there too. This place has everything a kid could want. They were able to ride go-karts, bumperboats, play mini-golf, do laser tag, arcades, and even a theatre that feels like a roller-coaster. Most of the kids played from 11a.m until 9pm. Even I went on the go-karts and bumperboats and played 2 rounds of mini-golf. It was so much fun and I realized I need to let go of my inhibitions more often and have fun with my kiddos!

"Come, Come, Ye Saints"

This is Ava singing "Come, Come Ye Saints". She learned it from Jake who had to sing it for our Ward Camp Out. I guess she paid attention to what he was singing all week because she can sing the whole first verse (more or less). Sorry about the blue gummie in her mouth but this one turned out better than the first one.

Matt Harpring Basketball Camp

Dennis' sister, Deanna, called and asked if Ethan and Brad would like to participate in a basketball camp in August with her boys, Cody and Zeke. Of course Ethan was all for that as he loves basketball but Brad wasn't too sure about it. He loves soccer and isn't all that fond of basketball but decided to try it so he could be with Zeke. The first day he came home and said he didn't like it (he got hit in the nose with a ball and got a bloody nose) but as the week went on he enjoyed it more and more. Matt Harpring was one of my favorite professionals for the Utah Jazz team. He is all about working hard and never gives up and is never out-played. He encouraged the boys to work hard and to be tough. It was a great experience and they all want to do it again next year!

Ellie's Tribe and the Fun of July

Oh, we do have a good time when family comes to visit! The kids loved playing soccer this year. Ellie bought a couple of goals and they made good use of them. Scott and Dave enjoyed at least one game with the kids as well and the little boys, especially Justin, loved having them play. We also went to the movie, "How to Train Your Dragon" which was a big hit with everyone. The next picture is of the kids at the BYU Creamery eating ice cream in the shade after watching Justin play soccer at a BYU camp. He is such a natural athlete and very competitive which makes it so fun to watch him. The last picture is of cute little Annaka. This one reminds me of Brit when she was little but Annaka doesn't really look like Brittany altogether. She has a lot of expressions that bring Justin to mind. Anyway, she was adorable and I just wanted to love her all the time but she would have none of that! She did love her Grandpa though.

Pioneer Day in Lehi Utah

Our neighbors are absolutely wonderful! They started what they hope will be a long tradition in our neighborhood of an annual bike ride on Pioneer Day. They start out with a breakfast together with everyone pitching in and providing something and then the kids decorate their bikes with streamers, balloons, pipe cleaners, whatever and then they all line up and someone holds a flag and we sing "God Bless America" and then they all go around the block (as many times as they want). The kids eat it up and have such a fun time doing this.

The Joy of Scouting

Ethan has had so much fun in Scouts. He really gets into it and it is fun to see him like this. His leaders and the other boys love having him in their group. I think his "Nacho" personality came out at this camp and the leaders ran with it and they all had a great time doing impersonations of this hero in blue tights. Anyway, I'm grateful for the Scouting Program which helps our boys set goals and helps their self-confidence. And I'm so very glad we have leaders who care and want to see the boys succeed. What fun!!