More Vacation

Brandon had the "best day ever!" He went fishing with NO GIRLS! Just his dad, grandpa, and cousin. Ryan and Brandon with his first catch, a rainbow trout. It was YUMMY!

Ryan was ecstatic to have someone else there to clean the fish. He is finally old enough to pass it on. Thanks Nick!

We also visited the new Oquirrh temple. It was tiny, and very beautiful.

Ryan wants me to crop out his hair and fix it. ;)

This was the start of a full day of grandma and grandpa Phillips. The kids went straight to their house for fun and food all day long. They love being there so much, they call her "Joy Toy."

And of course, while they were enjoying their day, we met Joe at my mom's storage unit. Wow. That's all I can say.

Trip to Utah

About 2 weeks ago, we left on a trip to Utah. We had such a great time, we didn't want to come home. Especially Ryan. :)

Ryan's dad flew down to drive up with us and he took off with Ainsley in tow. We love having all of our children together, but what a nice change it was having only two! No fighting! Wow!!!

We spent the night in St. George, and headed out the next day.

Of course we stopped in Beaver for ice cream and squeaky cheese.
We then went through to grandma Joy's. The kids were STARVING for attention and homemade bread.

Alexa loved grandpa's garden. Especially the peas.

Next, we went to Julee's to have fun with the cousins and Taylorsville Dayzz. I'm not sure why my camera is white in the next few photo's. Still trying to figure the thing out.

Megan was a little tired.

Me and Kayla (one of the new twinners.) They are so adorable.

Katie, Nick, Megan, Ainsley and Bella. We missed Nate this trip!!! And notice Brandon is missing? See below.

Bella, Katie and Brandon rode the Twister. Brandon threw up immediately after. All over the sidewalk, grass, and his dad! :)

Mike, Lori, Julee and the new babes.

The kids LOVE seeing their cousins and had a great time!

My new black and olive green tile

Yes, she has already learned the fine art of ruining everything in the house.

Zoo

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while. This is evident by the zoo posting. Anyone who's lived in AZ knows you can't go the zoo in July! :) But last month was a super nice month here. The weather was nearly perfect every day.
We went to the zoo with our friends, the Johnsons one morning.




Ainsley and Alexa in the Little People playground

Alexa and Kiah by the fountain

Brandon and Halle on the frog

Halle saved up her $ to ride the camel

Amy prepared ahead and brought swim suits. Not me!

Swimming, swimming, and swimming

I know it's raining cats and dogs in Utah, but here, that makes for nice, perfect weather. I wanted to test out my new camera (Panasonic Lumix after much deliberation, study and prayer j/k) so here are our swimming pics of the week.


Brandon at his swimming lesson with Debbie.

We decided to get out of the house and go to the public pool. Another moment of jealousy for you Utah folk. It's only 50 cents and it's WAYYYYY nice, with the diving section, lazy river, 2 BIG slides, 0 entry and the fun bucket tipping tower of terror. 50 cents. I LOVE it!

Ainsley, of course, hiding behind Jake. DON"T TAKE MY PICTURE!

And YAY! No more blurry pics.

Edible Finger Paint

Today to stop the boredome (aside from going to the free lunch!), we made some edible finger paint. For those of you interested, it's a REALLY difficult recipe.

1 can of sweetened condensed milk
food coloring

mix

Because it's edible, Alexa enjoyed painting, too. Notice, however, that her paper is on the floor and her lips are quite colored?

Kept a few kids busy for a while.

Very colorful finished products and lots of fun!!!

School Lunch

My friend Mona was telling me about the free lunches and breakfasts our school district provides all summer. Anyone ages 1 - 18 can go to the junior high and enjoy.

I have to admit, I thought this sounded like something for the trashiest of families. (And might I add, Mona is ANYTHING but trashy. She is beautiful and tasteful.) Or maybe Something the poor kids do when the moms are too lazy to cook? She promised me it was nothing of the sort, so we decided to give it a try today.

Options were:

1)PB&J with fruit and crackers (Out of the question, we brought our peanut allergy neighbor with us.

2)Yogurt, string cheese, fruit and crackers

3) Hot lunch. Today was some nasty deep fried pizza thingys, spaghetti sauce, and green beans from a can.

Milk, chocolate milk and juice are also provided.

Ainsley, Brandon and Alexa all picked #2, Jake, Rebecca and Logan came with, as well as Mona and her daughter, Ava. They all chose hot lunch.

As I sat there looking around, I was surprised at the families. All looked like normal, non-trashy, happy little groups. All except for one. This one lady had so many kids with her. It was as if she brought her entire day care. They were running around wild, all over the stage, in the curtains, completely out of control. At one point, a woman stood up and said, "Whose baby is this?" As I looked, I noticed that familie's baby had pulled off her diaper and was running around bare butt, with the diaper in a pile next to the woman's table.

Acknowledging my mini-streaker, I stood up, grabbed her, put the diaper back on and our entire brood went home. I think I'll go back tomorrow. :)