Stinker Bug!!

Don't worry we weren't just on our way out the door to a ward party or anything.

Redneck Fest 2010

The 24th of July is a big deal in good old St.Anthony. We started off the day with the Pioneer Days Parade it was a hit as always and the kids loaded up on the candy. Next was a BBQ and Redneck Fest 2010 at Grammy and Gra Gra's.
The kids are getting big enough to love the giant slip and slide as much as the adults do. Kallie and Cole jumped right in there and had a great time. There were a ton of people there, all of my siblings and our parents just invite whoever to come and be total rednecks with us for a day. We had the usual mud pit with plenty of mud fights, and the slip and slide that is so long I have yet to see an adult make it clear to the end. I

Cole had a blast, last year he was just too small to enjoy it but he had a blast this year.
Isn't this the most typical pose from a five-year-old. What a stinker, but seriously check out the length of this slip and slide!!!

Ya wanna be a Soccer Player?

Kallie really wanted to play soccer this year. I was nervous about this and tried to discourage her because she doesn't like to run, and she doesn't like to be too hot. I thought she would hate it. I was wrong and I am so glad. She loved it and did great. She even scored a few goals and looked super cute in her shin guards and cleats.
On the way to the car after her last game she said, "Mom will you please sign me up again next year?" I am so glad she had fun.

Weekend Getaway

Weston and Brand had a test to take in Salt Lake, so Bridget and I tagged along with the kids. We were excited to be away for a couple days and to spend some time as a family. We left Wednesday evening and drove to S.L.C the next morning we had a fantastic breakfast at the Original Pancake House then dropped the boys off at their test.

Bridget and I decided to take the kids to the aquarium. We were in our car and so i was forced to expand my driving capabilities. Now for all you city folk be prepared to laugh, but I have never drove on any road busier than a two lane freeway. Seriously, I was totally white-knuckled the whole time and in a complete panic at the five lanes of traffic. We somehow made it alive, but I refused to drive back and made Bridget take a turn at the wheel. I really think it would be best
for me to stay in my one-stop-light-town forever.

The kids had a blast at the aquarium, Cole loved the penguins and Kallie was excited to pet the sting-ray. This is Cole petting the hissing cockroach. (I love the two-finger pet, he followed the ladies instructions well)
The sharks of course were a big hit and we watched them for a little bit.
After the aquarium we still had some time before the boys would be done with their test so we hit the South Town Mall. The kids had fun going for a little train ride I had fun doing a little school shopping for Kallie.
The next morning we went to Hogle Zoo, it was 97 degrees and hardly any of the animals were out and about, but the new baby elephant put on a good show for us rolling all over in the mud. The kids had a good time and it was so nice to relax and spend time together and with good company.
This may have been the best part of the trip!! Just kidding the kids were really good, but by the time we were done at the zoo they were worn out!

Irrigation Adventures

Weston has basically been MIA this summer, he is taking a class in Pocatello on Saturdays from 8-5 (crappy), he studies in the morning before work and at least 2-3 hours after work. Lucky for him he is not alone in this misery and has a friend doing the same thing so they study together. Un-Lucky for me is that he has no time to manage his irrigating so this has become my duty. We rent a piece of ground about a mile down the road for pasture for some of our cows, it is all flood irrigated. Usually once a day sometimes twice I drag a couple neighbor kids with me to change the water. The pasture runs right along the river and it is gorgeous, we almost always see wildlife including deer, moose, rockchucks and a bald eagle that has a big nest. Usually this is a good experience for all minus a few times when we got stuck, couldn't stop a massive flow of water, just minor mishaps like that. One day we found a turtle it was super cool and pretty big for what we have around here. We brought it home and kept it in a bucket for a few days to show off to all our friends. (P.S. That tiny blue bucket is not what we kept it in it had a much larger home.)
Cole really liked the turtle and was concerned that it was hungry, one morning before he woke up I had put some old lettuce in the bucket to see if the turtle would eat it. When Cole went out to check on his turtle he came in the house and said "Mom, thank you for making a salad for my turtle". What a cute boy!!

My very own Shawn Johnson

Kallie decided to do gymnastics this year, actually I decided and had to make it sound super cool so I could convince her to do that instead of dance. She loved dance last year but I wasn't impressed with it and I felt she learned absolutely nothing. Let's just face the facts, she needed something to help with her coordination or lack thereof!! In all reality she does just fine but when you have super circus freaks for cousins on both sides of the family it can well, shatter a little confidence!!

I was so proud of Kallie in gym, she did great had fun and learned a lot. By the end of the year she had made leaps and bounds of progress and I felt it was money well spent.

One tough kid!

Kallie got her tonsils out on May 27th. She was super excited about this, I was super nervous about this. I have heard horror stories of how kids are so scared and they scream and won't eat for days. I was expecting the worst. Kallie however was very excited to go to the hospital, she thought the idea of visitors and popsicles was awesome. She was counting down the days and had a special outfit all picked out to wear, I figured once they jammed an IV into her hand and wheeled her into surgery she would freak out. I was wrong, she was all grins the whole time. Seriously not one wimper or cry, we were all pleasantly surprised.
This was right before they wheeled her out of the room, she just waved and kept that big grin on her face the whole time.


So before surgery was great, but I knew that as soon as she came back to the room she would be hurting and mad at me for decieving her. Once again I was wrong, she was happy but sleepy. We let her sleep for a bit and then we got to work on the popsicles. We were out of the hospital and home by 1 pm. Kallie slept most of the day, and I had to wake her up in the night to give her pain meds. The next morning at 7 am, she was up and wanted breakfast, and that was that. She has been her normal self ever since. I am so proud of how tough she is!