Mark's Birthday...Again!!!

He made it to 47!!!

Can you believe it??

Rachael was Mark's homecare person this past summer...

Or in his words, his grand daughter!!! His best friend...





We invited a few friends and family,

but as usual alot of them were busy.



Such is Life!!

He got tons and tons of things to unwrap!!

Thank you Dollar Store!!!

He even got a phone call from his sissy, Pat.

She sent him 'green money' in the mail. It made his day...

Aunt Neva and Mike came all the way from Orem. (oh, where is her pix??)

We all had a bit of dinner. Thanks Mike for bbq hot dogs and brats!!! Yummy

When it came time for the presents, Mark is like a little kid.

His hometeacher came and brought him a notebook and a nice pen. Does he know Mark or what??

His Marylou came by with a card and a bag of candy bars...Like he needs more candy. He ran them to his room to hide them away from sneaky fingers... What a guy!!!



Mark raked in $29 of green money.


Hannah, Rachael, Joey, Margaret & Gary each gave him a card with the green stuff inside...





Mark was in heaven.



He got some new sweat pants, a ton of tablets, and new pens.



He got a bank he needs to paint from Tanner, Ady, & Matthew.



After dinner we all at cake and then everyone went home...



It was a very nice time.

Washin' Dishes at Gramma's...

Oh the Joys of Washing Dishes

Enjoy it

For it won't last for very long...

Maybe it's the great time they have at Gramma's house. Now, everytime Ady comes over, she thinks she needs to do my dishes... And maybe she does!!!

It took 5 towels just for the floor.

They think they are just playing in the water.

But this is how they learn.

Of course I bet Matthew had a few really great diapers after the dishsoap got done with him...

Dishsoap cleans...inside and out. Just about anything it touches!!!

Matthew can wash dishes anytime he wants...

Can you believe he even cried when they were done!!!

Well maybe they weren't done,

but Gramma was (hehe)!!!

Ady is such a good sister..."It's otay Mafu".

Trip to the Zoo with Tanner

HAVE A LOOK!!!

Tanner invited me to go to the zoo with him on his last week off track from school. We really had a great time and it didn't cost us more than just the Kettle Corn we bought for Poppie. Thanks for sharing your season pass to the zoo with me Tanner and Holly.

He was in such a hurry to get to all the fun things. Holly and I were able to get him to stop long enough to take a few pictures...

He was a very good guide, and was able to tell me about the animals and add interesting facts.

He tried to get me wet with the large stone elephant who blows water out of his trunk... (thank Holly for the warning!!)

I got tired of walking, but got great photos of the giraffes.

The zebras were playing and kicking and biting... the dust was horrid,

but it was a real treat to see them doing something more than just standing around.

You can hear Tanner and I in the background commentating. We had the help of a little 2 year old boy visiting the zoo with his daddy. He was a joy to share the table with.

The white alligator is leaving on Halloween. If you haven't had a chance to go see it, now would be a great time. The zoo was cool and smelled good at 9 a.m. The train starts moving around 10 and by then it's hot and time to go back to work... (hurrah for air conditioners)

Yes, this is a real white alligator... It even moved while we were in the Bayou (the old butterfly house)... with hanging moss and a humid feeling.

One of Tanner's favorite place is the reptile house. The atrium where the birds fly free was marvalous.

The parrots were having the best time. The sun was shining and it was a glorious morning.

Quiet wasn't high on the list, but they were all decked out in their finest of feathers.

We were ready to leave, but the tortise was almost moving... had to get a parting shot.

It was a fun time. Then we went to McDonald's and back to the office. Tanner had a job to do for me there. He stamped my mailing envelopes with our address and the red 'confidential' stamp... Great Job Tanner!!!

Cousins Sliding Together...

Matthew's first with Audree in line...

Yeah!!!





Adylin showing Audree how it's done...

The kids are just having fun and taking turns on the slide.

Matthew, Adylin, Audree and Tanner. It got a bit crazy

when a bit of pushing was happening..



Dinner is Ready... Time to Eat!!!




These kiddos got wild...
Then we wanted to shut things down.






But they finally listened.
And played well together.

During the whole moment, it started to rain outside and then...







Pretty soon it was time for Audree to get picked up by Mom and Erik.

They went over to Grandma and Buggahs house before going home.













Dinner was over. Time to go to bed. Goodnight Grandbabies!!!

House update...
*yes, we still need helpers* I run out of steam before I begin and that is sooooooo helpful... NOT!!!

We moved a load or two over to the Barn this weekend (thank goodness Margaret is willing to share her storage area in her back yard with me until we move)

Our place is looking better all around, inside and outside. Mike and John got some of the sprinklers replaced and the water is getting to all the spots now (no more brown spots the size of whales). We moved the swingset to the sandy area.

I am hoping to get the sign up in the next 2 weeks. The treadmill still needs to go, the master bedroom needs to have the headboard unit taken apart and moved out and we need to move the computer out of the upstairs bedroom and into the bedroom off the garage.

Then, we get the carpets cleaned and stage the house and the sign goes up...

The market has slowed down, but that is ok... we are not in a big hurry to move out.
Still don' have any idea of where we are going (hehe)...

Margaret has the pool up in her yard... it's been a hard fight to get it up and running (still has moments) but it seems to be doing better this week, FINALLY!!!

I can't believe that Tanner starts 1st grade in 16 days. Lexie will have her junior high introduction day the first of August, to find her classes and meet some teachers and learn how to open a locker. Seth is going to the same school, but for the first time without a sibling. He is going into 4th grade.

Everyone is getting older and moving on to bigger and better things. Isn't it exciting!!!

I can't believe how fast time is going right now. I seem to never have enough energy to meet the daylight hours of a day, but I don't have enough daylight hours to get things done... Oh well, this to shall pass... and then we get on with doing something else...

Went to the "New" Mayan and saw Hannah working...had a GREAT meal and the entainment was good also... try the pork balboca wrapped in a banana leaf served with pinapple salsa and sliced sweet potatoes... the house hamburger was good too... the divers were good, the drums were fun... Deidre, you need to go before you move... it was fun.

Enjoy YOUR kids and grandkids, for they grow up and move along to other things...have fun every day...

Audree's 4th Birthday Party with Daddy

It looks like I am ready to grab some gummy worms and pack a lunch of ham sandwiches and off we go to the closest fishin' hole.

I've got my chair, my pole and all I need is the sunscreen and the "OFF" with deet to keep those pesky mesquitos off my princess soft skin...

My Aunt Margaret came with her new friend, Joey. They got me sand toys to play with. I love them so much.

Can't we just go outside and play right now?? The sun is still up? Oh well, first light tomorrow... then.

Stephan, Ellie and Damion were all here to share the food, fun and cake with ice cream. Gramma and Poppie were great to share their home with all of us to have Audree's other party.

John made the cake... it was very moist and good. It was also very ...

RED AND PINK.

Good colors for a little girl, don't you think!!!

She had 2 of them... one with mommy and her family and friends and then one with daddy and his family and friends. That is pretty lucky to get TWO parties... just for Audree.

We wanted to invite Tanner, Ady and Matthew, but they were on vacation in Newport Beach, California with the Strong family. We wanted to invite Alexis and Seth, but they were in Tempe, AZ with their dad, Uncle Kirk.

So, we just invited those in town and not with other things to do...

it was fun and then we were done...

Kisses and Hugs all around

Last kiss goes to Daddy.
But she is a quick kisses, so we had to plant this one longer to get it on the camera... silly girl...

This was Audree's 4th Birthday at her Daddy's. We are now onto her # 5 Birthday, next year...

FiShInG wItH mY dAdDy...

My dad and I went fishing.
It was fun... I got dirty and needed a bath when I got back to his tub.
We waded in the water...it was cool and refreshing.
I think my dad is OK...



My Dad is showing me how to turn the thingy that brings the fish in to me.
It was an ugly kitty fish. But it was fun.



Kisses
and
Hugs
Hugs and Kisses



We both have "red" on our tongues.
Must be the gene pool, or maybe it's the fruit punch...
I'm not sure..



I think it took me awhile to make the "PEACE" sign.
Now, it's not so hard.
Thanks for taking me fishing Dad.
I had a great time this weekend.

See you June 29th for my next sleep-over.
BYE!!!

TEPANYAKI'S WHAT A TREAT!!!

WHAT A GREAT LOOKING GROUP OF KIDS... AND TO THINK THEY ALL SAT STILL LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO ALMOST GET IT FOCUSED...



Cute, Cute, Cute, 6 and the oldest if 10... Like were we nuts to think dinner would be fun... nah... it was fine :)



Today was a busy day at our house... Deidre and her 4 came to help me.



The kids were great gophers, and Deidre was at the ready to run to D.I. all day long.



They picked cherries until their toes bled!!! With real blood too, right Miranda!






We did one trip to D.I. and one trip to the barn...forgot our suits for a quick dip in the pool and I had to tie Deidre to the truck to keep her out of the pool in her birthday suit!!! hehe



But the best of the best was dinner at Tepanyaki's...



Only 13 of us... 3 were adults. It was fun.



Ady's eyes were huge when the fire on the grill was lit, time after time.






Matthew couldn't get enough food... NOW






Miranda was a ton of help keeping Ady in her chair, I hope she got enough to eat.









Dawn, were we really that much fun??? Guess you were missing that old couch and a cold Pepsi!!! Couldn't be the company was boring or anything.


The chef was great and really good with the kids.






Tanner made a new friend. Chloe!!! They sat next to each other and ate dinner together. Tanner thought he had died and gone to heaven with a new friend...




Ady wanted to catch a 'shrimp' and the chef was so good to try her twice...


Deidre and Dawn were party poopers, but most of the kids gave it a try...


And Gramma almost caught it this time...they say that practice makes perfect


Guess I need to come here to eat more often... hehe










Then as we were getting ready to leave Matthew and Isabelle was just taking a minute or two to give goodbye hugs and kisses...






They were really having a hug or two and smiles were all over the place watching those 2 snuggle...























Want to talk about the best day... Exhausting... but the best day in a long time...


Fun


Hard work


Hot


Great food


Wonderful kiddos...