Katie and Girls' camp, Kellen's business venture and surprise!

This year Katie got to go to two girls camps. She went with our old and new ward. This is a picture of her with Elliot Ward. She loved it! Her little testimony grew ten fold after attending. I am so grateful that she had fun and got to go twice. Funny thing is, she went with Elliot ward and a week later she went with Highland Groves. 

This summer Kellen was determined to earn money to buy his own iPad. His mean mom and dad refused to buy one for him. He decided to poop-scoop for anyone who wanted it. My mom took him up on his offer. He earned $4 to poop scoop and spray off the back porch. Grandpa and Grandma Lyle have chickens that really mess up the porch. Kellen earned some pretty good money and was able to purchase his ipad with his business money and money from past birthdays. 

When Katie was at girls camp Kellen and decided to paint Katie's room. She really wanted a "chevron" room. We painted the wall white before painting on the turquoise chevron stripes. Kellen was so helpful! It turned  out beautiful. Tom put the chevron design into CAD so we could get the measurements perfect. When Katie came home she was so surprised. It was fun for us to serve her since she is constantly helping our family! We love you, Katie.

Eat More Chicken and Future Missionaries!

This summer we had the awesome opportunity to have Hayden and Landon come over for a day or two per week to play while Diana and Ross were at work. They just happened to be at our house when Chick-Fil-A had their "Cow Appreciation Day". The kids dressed up as cows to get free food. It was so fun! We went for lunch and got a ton of free food. Yay! Diana and Ross took their kids back for dinner that night too.

Landon and Kellen decided to dress up as future missionaries. Crazy thing is that they will be on a mission sooner than we think. They are going to be great! It would be so much fun if they got to go to the same mission. Wherever they go, they will be great!!!!

Lego land 2015

This Summer we had the opportunity to run really fast to San Diego and enjoy a day at Legoland with Grandma Lyle, Diana, Ross, Hayden and Landon. The kids were so excited that they were going to get to spend the day on rides with their cousins!

We were not going to go out of town this past summer because Tom did not have many days off of work. We took a day off and spent the weekend in San Diego. My mom wasn't up to much and we asked her to come with us. Lucky for us, she was game and happy to come. We also talked Diana and Ross into coming making it a really fun time! 

Here is how it all went down: We picked up my mom bright and early at 5:30am. The kids were half asleep in the van. We went to McDonalds and off we went. We were going to meet Diana and Ross at Legoland at noonish. We got to Carlsbad at around 10:30/11:00am. We went to In&Out for lunch and off we went. 

Katie and Kellen on a ride that actually took a little muscle power. They had to use the rope to pull themselves up. They had races with their cousins as to which team could get to the top first. 

There they are again. I even got on it being 7 months pregnant with Kason (his story will come shortly). It was super fun. I had to use a lot more muscle strength to get my heavy body up. 

Funny story: I was 7 months pregnant at the time. I had a hard time walking all over the place. My legs and feet were totally swollen. Tom rented a wheelchair so my day wouldn't be so hard. When he rented the wheelchair, Legoland gave us 9 passes to get to the beginning of the line at every ride. We were able to get on every ride we wanted several times over. It was a beautiful thing!

Katie and Kellen with an Ewok.

When I was a baby my parents called me Yoda. Apparently, I was slightly bald and had a resemblance to Yoda. The kids love that story and made sure that I got a picture next to him.

Hayden, Landon, Katie and Kellen.

The kids got to drive around a huge track. They loved it! Here is Kellen coming down the track.

Katie driving her own car. 

Katie with the sassy lego lady.

Say "cheese"

The cousins on a lego car.

After Legoland we left  for our camping site. We went camping with the Hanks and other families from our old ward. We were lucky enough to have a site that would allow for Diana and Ross to set up a tent as well. The next day we went with the Hanks to the Children's Beach in La Jolla. The kids loved to hang out in the ocean. There was a sick seal hanging out in a cave where the kids could get a look at sea life. Then we went to Mission Beach and rented bikes. We went for a ride on the boardwalk. It was a little crowded but really, really fun! We then went home and ordered a huge pizza and salad. We had a fire too. Funny thing tho, my legs were so swollen that I had to elevate them. I wrapped them with ace bandages to help bring down the swelling. 

The next day we went to Coronado Beach. It was sooo windy and cold. I was not expecting that because it was so warm on the other days. We stayed for a while. Tom played in the water with the kids. I was so big and pregnant that it didn't work. 

All in all, we had a great time! I wish I had more pictures but I forgot my camera and my phone was not helping. It never has room for more pictures. Ugh! Until next time!!

Willy Wonka Junior

Kellen's friend Charlie, in our old ward, asked if Kellen would like to be in a play. Kellen wanted to but Katie wanted to join as well. Katie was asked to play Veruca Salt and Kellen was Grandpa Jo and an Oopma Loompa. They were so cute!

Katie had to play a bratty Veruca. She did a great job! Luckily, she is nothing like Veruca. She is a sweet little princess instead!

Here is the real Katie.

This is Katie's picture from the playbill. 

Here are my little actors. This is Kellen's costume for Grandpa Jo.

This is Kellen's picture for the playbill. He is dressed as an Oopma Loompa this time.

Here is our illustrious group. We are grateful that everyone came to support the kids! It was my birthday the night of the play. I was so lucky because the whole audience sang "Happy Birthday" to me before the show. It was super fun!

Rock Wall Fun

It is so hot here in AZ over the summer. We have to find ways to pass the time in doors. Our town has a rock wall that is really great for kids. Katie and Kellen each brought a friend. I tried to get some good pictures of them climbing but it did not work really well.

This is Kellen's friend Parker climbing the wall.

There goes Katie's friend Reaghan.

Yay, Kellen!

Woo-hoo, Katie!

Cousins and last day of school

Brielle loves to dress up in Katie's old dress up clothes when she comes to visit. She looks lovely!

The kids all jumped on Katie's bed for a slumber party.

Here is Katie's last day in elementary school and Kellen's last day of 2nd grade. They grow up soooo fast!

Katie saying goodbye to the cousins of love before they flew home. It was a super fun visit!

Orchestra Concert

Since 5th grade Katie has been playing violin. She absolutely loves it! Not to mention she is really good at it. Here she is at her 6th grade concert.

Katie and Ashlyn getting ready for their performance.

If you look closely you can see Katie playing her violin.

Grandpa and Grandma always come to support Katie. They have not missed one performance. We are grateful that they make time to see her performances. We also like that Grandpa Lyle takes us to ice cream afterwards.

It just so happened that Shellie, Mark, Brielle and Brinley came into town on the day of her concert. They cam to support her as well. 

Katie and Reaghan. Reaghan played in the 5th grade orchestra. They have been best friends since Katie was in kindergarten. Reaghan is a grade younger.