Family pics!

It is quite possible that our family is the most UNphotogenic family on earth. None of us have natural smiles and I seriously dread getting family pictures taken. Perhaps that's why I haven't done it in over 3 years.

I just kept looking at our old photo and think "someday" we should get a new one taken. I have been bugging my friend, Kris, to humor me and take some family photos of us for at least six months. She is quite talented and very good in the editing department (a big key for the unphotogenic type). It was her idea to take them at the ballfield. What a great background for us! I'm very excited to go print some of these to fill some frames with some badly needed updates!

And they're off!

What a morning. The combination of nerves and energy around here made our whole house buzz. We set our alarm for 6:20 this morning and told Cooper we would wake him up at 6:30, which still gave him an hour to do nothing more than get dressed and eat breakfast. He was in our door at 6:18 and paced for an hour. He decided it was OK to let Doug walk him in this morning, but as soon as the necessary forms were dropped off at the office, he was gone.

Middle school, here I come!

Kaiya was the least nervous. She has some of her best friends in her class and gets to use the same classroom this year for 3rd grade that she did for 2nd. She is happy about her teacher and was pretty cute helping get Kinley ready this morning.

Ready for 3rd grade

I, of course, bawled as Kinley waved goodbye this morning as she headed into her Kindergarten classroom. She was the one comforting me telling me , "It's OK mom. I will be home before you know it. Please don't bake anything or make jam or anything like that while I'm gone." She has been my buddy at home for the last 2 years. Preschool was only a couple hours, so it will be very strange having her gone all day. I think I will be able to get over it when I realize how much I can get done and how nice a little time to myself will be!!

The baby goes to Kindergarten

It's all over but the cryin'

I'm not really sure who is more depressed about school starting in two days--me or the kids. I'm usually ready for them to go back to school, but for some reason, this summer has gone too fast. I love the warm weather, the sleeping in, the lazy days at the pool, trips to the lake with my mom, sitting in the baseball bleachers and no homework!

Fun in the sun with Aunt Erika

We had a great trip to Utah and then turned around and headed to Grand Lake last weekend with my mom's side of the family for a couple nights. Both trips involved being crammed in small places with lots of people--good thing we like both families!!

Grandma's Cafe a/k/a kitchen

Hanging with Lori's kids

Ice skating in Logan with the cousins

At the end of the Grand Lake trip, we bid farewell to Bennett, who headed off to college in Tulsa, OK. It was an incredibly tearful goodbye and watching my kids cry was not much fun.

Sibling separated by 18 years

Siblings separated by 27 years (all of my mom's siblings)

Bennett and I gave the kayak a try . . . fun!

Walking to the village at Grand Lake with Hamma (grandma)

Quality time with Uncle B

Cooper played in a 3-day golf tournament last week and didn't play his best golf, but had a good time. Doug, my dad and I all took turns being his caddy. He is looking forward to playing lots this fall as time permits as he embarks on middle school. Coop also got his pacemaker "tuned up" last week. They continue to make some adjustments and we are hopeful they will last. We lost 4 kids at work in one week (none while I was there, thankfully), which always puts things in perspective for me. I love my job, but losing patients is something that never gets easy.

Reflecting on his tee shot

We have enjoyed several Rockies games this season and took some friends with us this last week to enjoy my dad's awesome season ticket seats. With any luck, we will be able to go watch them in the post-season!

Kaiya and Kinley have squeezed in several play dates with their buddies over the last week and yesterday, we spent the day on the lake with my mom. All the kids skied and rode the tube until they could do it no more.

Making brownies with friends

Kinley and Ellie--ready to start Kindergarten together

Summer memories are made at Seeley Lake

I think I can safely say that we crammed about as much as possible into this summer as we could have. I guess reality had to come back to bite us eventually.

Smoke, water and fire!

No summer would be complete without a trip across lovely Wyoming. After Cooper's end of year baseball party on Saturday, we headed to the great state of Utah and more importantly, the land of Grandma & Grandpa and many cousins. Doug's family does a big reunion every other year, but we try to make a couple trips each year. Many of the 24 cousins live here (or within a short drive) so it turns into a giant cousin party for my kids. It is so neat to watch them having so much fun and amazing how close they are to their cousins even though they only see them about twice a year.

Jake & Coop

Kaiya & Corinne

Jessica & Kinley

We got in late Saturday night and Doug set his alarm for 6 a.m. on Sunday to help his brothers begin the all-day preparation of the evening meal. Doug's three brothers started a BBQ business (creatively named Triple L) this summer and they have mastered the art of smoking meat. They have sold their goods everywhere from fairs to car shows and from Manti to Logan. The stuff we had on Sunday and again tonight was prize-worthy. They smoked 40 lbs of chicken and 18 full slabs of ribs on Sunday and tonight was their specialty--pulled pork sandwiches (topped with cole slaw and pickles--DO NOT knock it until you try it). I don't normally take pictures of food, but it was an impressive operation. Makes me a little sad that we live too far away for Doug to be a part of it.

The giant smoker

More basting

9 hours of smoking

40 lbs of the best chicken ever Keep in mind--this is just immediate family!

One of Doug's brothers also acquired a soft-serve ice cream machine (that weighs in excess of 500 lbs), so for dessert we were treated to frozen custard. I lost track of how many cones my kids made. *Note to self--healthy eating begins the day we leave! After the feast, the kids got in a water fight and then we capped off the night with a driveway fireworks show.

How to eat an ice cream cone and . . .

not miss a drop of it!

Ready for some driveway fireworks

Pryomaniacs

A rare moment of relaxation

Today, the kids played all day. The moms and girls learned how to make hair bows (thanks, Anneke!) while the guys were busy in the kitchen again. This afternoon, Doug's brother Paul gave us a personal tour of the landslide devastation in Logan since he is a city engineer and was part of the recovery effort. It was an unbelievable sight.

Tomorrow, I get to spend the day with my best friend, Lori and her girls. It just doesn't get any better than this!

The home stretch

I can't believe how fast this summer is going! I'm not ready for it to end, but we are looking forward to a couple of quick trips coming up.

Last week, we went to the annual Cardiac Kids Day at Water World. For the 5th year in a row, we went with our good friends and had a ball. We always manage to squeeze in more rides than the previous year (thanks, in large part, to the fact that Elena worked there in her teenage years and knows that park like the back of her hand!). It's such a fun day and pretty funny to see all these kids with matching zipper scars down the front of their chest. Lots of the kids there this year were former patients I took care of, so it's fun to see them outside the hospital setting doing so well.

Enjoying the catered lunch

The slide that gives you a wedgy!

Just chillin'

Cooling off

Cooper's summer baseball season is winding down. This week, they had 4 games in 4 days and got 4 wins. For a team that started the season 1-3, they sure turned things around by winning 7 straight. They are all playing so well and earned themselves a spot in the tournament next weekend with a final record of 8-3. Cooper caught 23 innings in the last 4 days and he's not moving far from the couch today. He got out of his hitting slump (thanks, Uncle Brandon) and had a couple of rocket shots this week. Behind the plate, he had an unassisted double play and very few balls get by him anymore. His amazing coaches have made some comments to him and to us about his improvement as a catcher and I think that means more to him than anything. I know lots of the parents are ready for the season to be over, but I am quite content with my sunflower seeds and my lawn chair cheering these boys on. :) Way to go, Mudcats!!

Base hit to right center field!

Fabulous 4th!

I always greet the 4th of July with mixed emotions. It is one of my absolute favorite holidays and yet it always means the summer is going by way too fast. Since I was a little kid, we celebrated the 4th in style. It always included the parade and always ended with fireworks. As a family, we have tried to add a few of our own traditions as well andI know my kids love this holiday as much as we do.

We were lucky enough this year to have our weekend start on Friday with a day of boating at the lake with my mom and family. We let the kids each bring a friend and they all had a blast. Each of them tried waterskiing including Miss Kinley, who was the first to try. She did so good! They all got plenty of rides on the "taco" tube and plenty of at bats on the beach with my brothers. At one point, Bennett was riding with all four of the older kids and he was hopping back and forth between the tubes as the boat was moving. So fun!

Ready to ride!

Double trouble!

Sand castle time

Kinley enlisted many helpers

Miss Kinley skiing!

We spent the 4th with our good friends and neighbors, with whom we spend most of our summer nights anyway. We hit the parade, a few of the rides and of course made 5 gallons of homemade root beer, which makes the best root beer floats. We had dinner with my dad, brother and his wife and enjoyed some serious Wyoming fireworks from Brandon's porch (wow!) and then watched some Greeley fireworks from my dad's deck, which are lit right across the street from his house. If that wasn't enough, we then rejoined the neighbors for more fun and fireworks in our backyards. God Bless America!!

A great view

Rides!

Her favorite thing

Time to launch!

Papa's sweethearts