Preview

Here's a sneak peak of our trip to Missouri....

The kids ate tons of Popsicles

did lots of snail watching

My sister Becka looks like she's got a good tennis serve.....

but she's really zapping bugs with this electric fly swatter...this provided lots of entertainment.

We had lots of snuggle time with my niece, Payton.

The boys did lots of yard work for Grandma

This is Braeden is his camo..

And we had lots of cousin time...

We love going to Missouri. The weather is so much more pleasant then our good old Texas heat. We sat on the porch a lot and rocked in the rocking chairs and just enjoyed the nature. We ventured from Grandma's house a little more this summer. We went to Grand Falls, a nature preserve, the Candy House, and we took a day trip to Springfield...more posts to come on those excursions. All in all it was a nice relaxing trip but it is always good to come home even if it is to 100+ degree weather.

We are home

but I am to lazy and tired to post any pictures from our trip to Grandma's house. Tons to come though...224 pictures worth.

Time Capsules

Last night for our MiaMaid activity we made husband time capsules. Ellen found this idea and shared it with the girls a few months ago. They have been dying to do it ever since. I promised them that as soon as camp was over that this would be our first activity. They were so excited!They turned out super cute and they had tons of fun putting them together.

** This idea did not come from me. I am not that creative. I copied it completely from Idea Door.

Counting Toads

One baby toad, two baby toads, three baby toads, four baby toads, five baby toads.........


41 baby toads....

All I can say is EWWWW....but this is what makes my baby girl happy.

Camping....My Way

Last night we went camping. It wasn't the traditional camping trip. It started at the kitchen table. We made smores by candle light....

They turned out perfectly...........

As you can tell we enjoyed them very much....

We then moved to the backyard for our sleep out. It was super hot, but tons of fun. The kids have been wanting to set the tents up in the backyard for a long time and I finally agreed to do it. I am glad I did. They were so excited!

Yes, that's a TV in our tent. The title of this post is Camping....My Way. This is how I camp. I had my fluffy pillow, my air mattress, and some movies and I was good to go. Braeden thought it was ridiculous, but that didn't keep him from watching movies with us. I would go camping more often if it was always as much fun as last night was!!

Grandpa's #1

Grandpa, Because you are so far away and we can't call you we wanted to send you our Father's Day message through pictures..... We love and miss you soooooo much and can't wait to see you in October!!

Kate's note says.........I love Grandpa because he is so nice. That is why I love him.

Joshua's note says.....Happy Father's Day. You make me smile.

Braeden is apparently too cool to write Grandpa a note so here is his thumb's up to Grandpa.

DAKOTA WHAT?

DAKOTA RED!!!! The theme for Girls Camp this year was B.O.O.T.Camp which stood for Build Our Own Testimony. Our ward chose Dakota Red as our Platoon name. Dakota means friends/allies, and red means courage. We wanted our name to have meaning. So in choosing Dakota Red we wanted to focus on a couple of things which were choosing our friends wisely, keeping our good friends close, and having the courage to stand up for what we believe in. I think we succeeded!!

I have had the opportunity to go to girls camp 3 out of the last 4 years and I think this year may have been my favorite. Camp Langston was amazing! (minus the rusty beds) There was so much to see....deer and horses and buffalo. The lake was so much fun with canoeing, paddle boats, a rope swing (which I conquered and will never do again), and the huge yellow slide.

I am not a camper at all, but there is something about girls camp that I just absolutely LOVE!! I love getting to know the Young Women in a different way then you do when you see them on Sunday and at Mutual. I love giggling and laughing, staying up super late, and sharing funny stories with all of them. I love that they get see the goofy side of me. And I love the awesome leaders that I get to spend time with. They are AMAZING!!! I love them and the Young Women so much!!! They are truly what makes girls camp so much fun!!!!

Some of our girls and our Young Womens President.....I bet you can't tell which one she is...

The leaders...me, Jeni, Emily, and Audrey
The leaders had to join in on the shaving cream fight.....it was so fun!!!!
I am so disappointed in myself because I didn't' take very many pictures at all. Lucky for me my good friend Emily did. So if you want to see more pictures click here.

LOVE THIS!

Goodbye Baby Bunnies

The bunnies have left their nest. We checked them Friday morning and they weren't in their hole in the ground. They aren't completely gone yet though. We found three of them still hanging around our yard. We have loved checking on them every night and morning, but it is time for them to move on. Goodbye Nick, Chloe, Gilbert, and Fatty. We will miss you, especially Kate.

Schools Out for Summer!!!!

78 glorious days of summer vacation!!!!

I had to post this picture of Kate and one of her best friends, Sarai saying goodbye to each other...it is so cute!

Wacky Water Day

Tons of fun has been had this last week of school but Wacky Water Day was the favorite. Kate and Josh had tons of wacky fun!

In Your Dreams

Braeden got to play on a $49,000 piano the other night. He told me that it would be awesome to have....I told him to keep dreaming! His piano recital was held at a music store that had a recital room in the back. The owner was kind enough to let kids of all ages play on this very expensive piano. Braeden loved every minute of it and he played fabulously. The pieces he played were "A Little Night Music" by Wolgang Amadeus Mozart and "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin. He loves playing the piano and he loves his piano teacher!

Gone Fishin'

Cary took the kids to our neighborhood pond last night to do some fishing. They all had a great time. Kate started out having fun but by the end of the night she had not caught anything. She kept saying, "Fishing is for boys". I tend to agree with her. I am not much for fishing myself.

Can't Wait!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'

This is what happens....

....when you're trying to do to many things at one time.


I was getting ready to paint my toe nails this lovely shade of red (my favorite) when I dropped it on the tile floor in the bathroom. The funny thing is that I had just had the thought that it would really stink if this bottle of finger nail polish shattered all over the floor. What a mess that would be to clean up. I didn't think it would actually happen. I was getting ready for church in a hurry as usual. I was carrying nail polish, cotton balls, and finger nail polish remover in my hands along with trying to untangle a curling iron to get it plugged in. Trying to do to many things at the same time...this is what I get, and my toes ended up having to be painted a color that isn't my favorite.