Summer Time

I wanted to post some pictures that I took this week. The flowers are from our front flower bed. These flowers are so big and pretty, I love them. The birds are over at my in-laws place. They are so amazing to see. I hope you enjoy seeing my pictures of summer.

Father's Day

Today is a great day to honor our Father's. I am blessed to know many wonderful men in my life. First of all I love my own father. He is such an example of humor and kindness. He is very protective of his family and I remember what dedication he had as a father. he never missed a game or an event. He was there when we camped and he was there with us at home. My dad has a great sense of humor. I remember after my parents got hit by a drunk driver 10 years ago that dad walked out of the ER with bandages and stitches, yet he was making jokes. He told me that he had to laugh or he would cry. I am also blessed to have a wonderful father-in-law. He is a great example of faithfulness, dedication and hard work. I have never seen him sit an be idle. He is always working on projects or doing something. Right now he is serving the Lord on a mission. What a great example to our family. Also, my husband is a wonderful father. He plays with my girls and always makes time for them. He plays the PlayStation with them and pushes them on swings. He is so very busy right now, yet he makes time for family. Last, I have to mention my Heaven Father. He is the perfect parent and I know he knows who I am and He loves me. I can hardly imagine his love for me that He sent His Son to die for my sins. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have and the knowledge that I learn everyday. I am truly blessed!

Falls Camp Ground

We left early Thursday to go camping at Falls camp ground. We had a little rain while we were setting up, but it was really quite pleasant. We fished, and caught nothing. We also played games and went for walks. I helped McKayla roast a marshmallow and Ariana had fun exploring. We saw an eagle and a chipmunk. We came home yesterday and unpacked most of our stuff. We learned a few lessons. 1. Always take junk food to roast over the fire. Chad and I are not big marshmallow fans, so we didn't really roast much. Although, if you take an apple and roast it, it is really good. We needed some brown sugar and cinnamon for it and it would have been wonderful. 2. Our whole family can no longer fit into the double sleeping bag. McKayla needs her own space. 3. Take a broom, it comes in handy. 4. Go often! We haven't been camping as much as we should the last few years and this little trip we a great reminder of how much we love it.

Baseball

McKayla had a better day at baseball. She really asserted herself and told some of her team mates that she wanted the ball. I hope we will find balance. She skipped, hoped, and, danced her way to the bases. I love t-ball! Ariana loves going and watching. She wants to play so bad. It is so great to see how close my children are. They truly love one another and love to be around one another. I am so grateful!

Choices

My oldest is playing tball right now. I have a new decision to make. I have spent the last 4 years teaching this child to say please, thank you, and allow others to go before her. I'm big on manners. I must say that sometimes she remembers to use those manners. Okay, she really is a polite and nice child. Now we are playing tball. Yesterday the ball would come to her, and another team mate would steal the ball from her. She is not as fast or as aggressive as others. So, do I teach her to stand her ground and fight for the ball or walk away and try to forget it? She was so frustrated yesterday that she started to cry. I tried to tell her last night to tell her coach that she was frustrated and ask for help. Again, I don't want to her to tattle, but I don't want her to be a door mat. On the other hand that girl is tough. She got hit in the chest with the ball yesterday. I heard the sound from the impact, but she didn't cry. I tried to give her a hug, but she told me that she didn't need one. I replied that I needed one, so she gave me one to make me feel better.

The Early Bird

I used to be an early riser. I fact I used to get up at 6:00am everyday. People informed me that this is great because kids never sleep in. however, my last little girl has changed this. McKayla will come in about 7 or 7:30 and want to snuggle for awhile. Then she will watch a movie until about 8:30. Then she will tell me she wants breakfast. Ariana will sleep for a long time. She normally goes to bed at 10:00 and sleeps until 9 or so. What a great excuse to simply lie in bed. However, I am finding that I don't get a lot done. So, today I decided to get up at 5:30 and try to get things done before my two beautiful girls needed me. McKayla has a t-ball game at 8:00, so that helps. I am finding I adore the piece and quiet of the early morning. I love the feeling of the world coming awake. I will probably not be feeling this peaceful at about 1:00pm today, but for now life is good.

Digital

No, I'm not talking about tv. I'm talking about developing digital pictures. I put this on my facebook and a few people responded, but I thought I would post it here. I normally use Sam's and they are great. However, last time their site had a glitch and I couldn't use any credit card. So I tried a different site and the quality wasn't as good. So, all of you out in blog land: Where do you develop your digital pictures, what is the price, and what is the quality?

Movies

The other day we watched the movie "Taken". It was a really good show and even though the subject matter was dark I enjoyed it and it was tastefully portrayed. However, I was very wrapped up in the movie. Then, last night I got online to the Netflixs to watch some Disney stuff on the instant play. The suspense of the last episode was "Will Bailey leave the Seven Sea High?" and "Could Cody and Bailey be more than friends" Not intense, but more mind numbing silly kid comedy that is great after a long day of kids. I highly recommend it. So for all you moms out there that have internet at home. Mindless Disney is at your fingertips.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

I love what comes out of McKayla's mouth. I thought I would share some of the funny things she says.

The other night I was tickling her and her head whacked into my nose. I had my eyes watering and I was holding my nose. She asked me what was wrong and I explained what happened. Her eyes filled up with tears and she started to cry. I asked her why she was crying and she wailed "I don't know!" It was funny.

Then I decided to quickly take her fishing last night. She informed me that we were going to catch a fish and fill our bellies with it.

We are heading to Poky tomorrow to see a friend get baptised. I decided to have Chad talk to McKayla about what was going to happen. She seemed to know more than we thought. She knew the earliest age people can get baptised and that we do to it wash ourselves clean. We told her that Jesus was baptised by his cousin John and showed her a picture. She said that she was excited for her cousin to baptise her. Hum...We'll work on that one.

Ariana loves to point to eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. She is also a climber. I figured that it was high time for her to learn to go to sleep in her own bed. I put her down for a nap. Chad found her outside of her crib crying by the door. We didn't hear her fall out, so we are assuming she climbed out and was stuck in her room because I shut the door. Please don't call CPS on me, I am not going to do that again!

McKayla has a little friend that she loves to play with. His name is Kayleb. He is a year older than McKayla. He told his mom a few weeks ago that he thought McKayla wanted to marry him. His mom asked if he was going to marry her, and he stated that he could do that. So, I told McKayla that he wanted to marry her. McKayla said, "But not until I'm older. Maybe like 5." Great, I have less than a year to plan this wedding. :)

Lastly, she wanted to know if our worms drowned when we fish with them. I asked her what she thought happened. She informed me that the worms would drowned and the fish would eat them, but Jesus said it was okay. I'm glad that I didn't have to soften it for her.

Avoid the Appearance of Evil

I never really applied this to a social situation. That is until now. I got into this sticky situation yesterday. I was sitting next to a person who was complaining about McKayla's t-ball coach. I brought up an unsatisfactory situation that had happened with me, but then I tried to go on to explain how the situation was fixed and talked about. I then went on to say how impressed I am with McKayla's coach. She is so calm and McKayla adores her. Later that day I called the coach and she informed me how her husband listened to everyone bash his wife during the game. I feel so bad that I even listened to the the person say anything negative. I think the lesson I learned is that some people are never happy with others. Some people are in a state of judging and no amount of trying to help them see the silver lining is going to help. The second thing is that even though I was trying to say positive things, only the negative things were heard. Now I am sad and feeling guilty, but I will be sure never to make the same mistake twice. I think sitting by myself and avoiding others might be the best course of action.

Rain, Rain, Rain

It has been raining for the past week or so. I love the rain, I really do. I haven't had to water for a couple of weeks and my lawn is very lush and green. It stopped raining long enough yesterday to mow the grass. however, I am borrowing my in-laws garden spot. One of the conditions was to keep it week free. I checked on it on Monday and The weeds are starting to poke their way through. I need to get over there, but I sink into the mud. I pray that it will stop raining long enough for me to weed the garden and a few other spots. McKayla is excited for when our plants turn into food!

Hiking with Llamas

We went hiking to Palisades lower lake. The book said it was an easy hike, and it really was. However, 8 miles was a long hike. Our friends have llamas and they packed some of our stuff for us. McKayla got to ride the llama called "Chocolate Thunder". McKayla had a good time. We want to do it again, but wait until the sun in shining. We chose to do it when it was very muddy and raining.

First Game

McKayla played against Rhinos yesterday. The games was great. I laughed so hard. It was great to see the kids run the wrong way on the bases and throw the ball the wrong way. Her team is her the lions. Go team!