Camping

We went on a camping trip to the lake this week.  It was super fun hanging just us.  Brandon saved up his money and bought a bow & arrow set.  It was the highlight of the week.

 For some reason the kids thought they had to dance on this log the ENTIRE time.  Whenever they walked by it, they had to jump on and dance.  They even had a few competitions.

 When all your kids are bent over digging in sand, you have to take a picture.

 We love the rope swing.

 The "pit".  Ryan got it in his mind that we had to dig a pit.  So we did.

 At the bottom of the pit we found clay.  So of course, they had to get painted.

 Dad's turn:

 Brandon spent a lot of time teaching Cody how to shoot the arrows.

 Inside a tree:

 Kathleen was way into doing hair the whole time and always wanted us to match.  I think she did a pretty good job.

 Cody loved roasting "Star Wars", AKA starbursts.  Anyone who knows Cody will know that some how, some way, he always has pockets stuffed with candy.  If you ever wanted a starburst, all you had to do was ask Cody, because he always had a rather large stash in his pockets.

 I love Ryan!

 Our cardboard oven:

 The best way to get a ringer is to stand 3 feet from your target.

 On the last morning before coming home we had just one hot dog left.  Brandon cooked it up and ate it for breakfast.

4th of July

How do boys box on the Wii?  Apparently without shirts on.

 For the 4th of July it is tradition to make a fruit pizza:

 My favorite picture during the holiday time:

 Our ward did a 4th of July breakfast.

 Ryan cooked pancakes:

 The kids decorated their bikes and then did a parade behind a fire truck.  It was so fun.

 Then we went to a Hawks game.

"I love living in a free country!"

"What's a freakin' tree?"

Happy 4th

Friday Fun Days

I love watching my boys walk to baseball games.  I was too slow with the camera, but Cody was "helping" Ryan carry his bag.  It was even cuter.  But this photo is still pretty cute.

 During the summer I try to take my kids somewhere fun every Friday.  We call it "Friday Fun Day".  We went to Camel's Back Park, which is my favorite "hidden" park.

 Kathleen with her friend at a park.

 Last week for "Friday Fun Day" I took my kids to a lake to play.  Cody loved collecting feathers.

 Kids, where they belong...

 We made s'mores for fun on Friday night.

 The kids found this beautiful bird in our front yard.  They took a ton of pictures and even a video of it.

 Here is the only picture I took of Ryan on Father's Day.  I guess I was too busy trying to do nice things for him that I didn't get any photos.  But he is the world's best father and deserves to have nice things done for him.

Brandon's Baptism

On memorial day we spent the entire day outside.  One of the things we did was play wiffle ball at the park.

 Aunt Lissa came to visit for Brandon's baptism.  Kathleen loves her so much.

 Brandon opening gifts.  He was so excited and got so many.  Spoiled kid, I tell you.

 He got a Portuguese Hymn Book.  Oh man he was excited (I know, it is kind of a weird thing for a kid to want).  So Ryan played the piano and Brandon sang to us in Portuguese.

 What do you get when you mix tether ball with a hula hoop?  A new fun game!

 The pool is finally open.  And yes, it was in the 60s that first day.  And yes, the kids still went swimming.  And yes, I include Ryan in the category with the kids.

 My little ballerina had her dance recital the same day Brandon got baptized.

 Pompa made Brandon a baptism book.  Grammy helped him work on it.  They had a ton of fun doing it together.

 

 Brandon and his best friend got baptized together.

 I let Brandon pick out his own cake.  And this is what he got: