Oh, Say Can You See

Fourth of July was at my parents' house. We had a BBQ after I got off work, played in the yard, visited with family and watched fireworks. Very low key, just right.

My Mama made me my FAVORITE jello recipe! SO good. She even made a second bowl for me to take to work...but I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to share. Tee hee hee.

 Mi madre y mi padre

 Sixta's mom is here visiting from Guatemala. She is so funny:)

I think Justin liked the fireworks:)

Papa playing badminton with his grandkids and Diego:)

Awwww...my Michael:) Wuv this guy!

Even though Dallin was fighting his allergies all night, he mustered up enough energy to help light the fireworks. I guess the grass allergies are really bad this year. His eyes were almost swollen shut on Sunday. Poor buddy.

All Stars

Both Dallin and Michael played All Starts again this year. Scott is still too young...he was so disappointed. They did great. Dallin and Michael both pitched. Dallin hasn't pitched very much this season. He has tendonitis in his right elbow, so he's been nursing that. He did great, though. No walks, and struck out 5 in the 2 innings that he pitched. I really like watching them both on first base, though. Now that that is done, we can focus on getting some summer fun in. Maybe to the lake today:)

Sooooo, I was working in the OR last Wednesday, when one of techs asked if I wanted a puppy. Now we HAD been talkin' about getting a new puppy because Sam is getting a little older and we thought it would be great to get the "new guy" trained and ready before Sam even thought about going to heaven. That's totally permission, right?! Not one, but two. Her hubby brought them to my car after work and I was headed home with a HUGE SECRET. For any that know me well, secrets are NOT my forte. I get too excited. Dallin was home when I got there.

 "Dallin, will you help me get something out of my car?"

 Dallin: "Yup...WHAT IS THAT?! MOM! WHAT IS THAT?! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!" 

Then, I prepared my camera to get the other two boys reactions:)

 These puppies are so cute and fun. They sleep A LOT. They play like crazy for 10 minutes and then sleep for 30. They are nuzzle butts. They love to nuzzle and lay in my arms. It's going to take some work to get them all trained, but I have just the helpers to do that. They already love to rumble tumble bumble after the boys as they walk through the forest;)

END of the School Year

Woo Hoo! we've made it through another school year. Whew. Dallin survived 7th grade...well, he did more than survive. He played football, basketball, and baseball while keeping straight A's. Nice. Well done, buddy. I am so happy for him. Cedar Heights has been ... interesting. I have had quite a few "conversations" with teachers and their methods. I really dislike the whole "hands off parents" approach that they push. I'm a mama, what can I say?! We also took Dal off gluten this year. It was amazing to see the immediate difference it made for him. He had stopped growing completely for almost a year. Once he was off gluten, he just filled out and grew 3 inches in 6 months!! I love watching him grow into such a handsome young man. He still says, "love you, mama" at night and when we part. Aaah.

 

These are my babies...all four of them on Fathers Day. Mmmmm. Nummy. I love it when their all cleaned up and ready for church.

 

 Scott was student of the month...again. He won the reading contest, too. Their principal is so fun and relates so well to the kids. LOVE Burley! He's such a goonie bucket. Yes, he's as tall as the principal ...in 3rd grade!

 

Michael chose to play drums this year. He was supposed to play bells the first year, but he and his buddy went in for extra tutoring and moved quickly onto real drums. It's fun to watch him develop a sense of rhythm. Michael also won the reading contest for his grade as well as running over 60 miles in the bear tracks program. The kids can run at recesses and keep track of their laps. Pretty cool. He found his Uncle Mike's drum at Grandma's house. He was so excited. I think it's time we turn the extra room downstairs into an acoustic room:)

Scabooty is NINE

Why do our babies have to keep growing. Tale as old as time, I guess. Scott is my baby and he's 5'3", 110 lbs, 9.5 mens shoe size, ENORME! Why? He still likes his Mama, though. I treasure our time together. He is so hilarious. He is always looking at the bright side (and the funny side if he's in church...little punk) Scott has such a passion for life and doesn't hesitate. He dives right in with little or no prodding. He loves reading and math, so we got him a kindle for his birthday. He was so surprised. "I didn't think you and Dad would ever trust me with something like that, Mom!"

Campfire Club

For the boys' birthday parties, I always hit up our local candy shop in Downtown PO. The owner is so nice and has so many ideas. Lately, she's been carrying camping themed books, etc. She started a campfire club with her neighbors when her kids were little. It stayed with them and now her grown kids and their families keep the tradition going. We had a fire pit at our last house and we used it so often. We even hosted parties for some of our church youth as a safe clean place to get together. Scott's birthday usually kicks off our outdoor season here, so we decided to build another pit here. Our local rockery has these kits already palleted and ready to go. Tom just trucked in some rock as a bed and he and Dallin began leveling it and setting the stone. It is SO perfect. I love that we get to hang out here and spend time as a fam. Eventually, we'll pour concrete around it for chairs or benches to sit on. Now I just need to make some more adirondack chairs to go around it:) The ones I built a few years ago are very sad. I think I need to use beefier materials.:) There's a lot of beef in this family:) (Not referring to the cow we now own...what's next, Tom?)

Baseball

Two more weeks and we are done with baseball. I have to admit...I'm kind of excited to spend my evenings at home for a while:) The boys have had such a great season and they have all grown so much. We got so lucky to get such great coaches this year. As a parent, it can be really hard to keep your cool with a mean or overly obnoxious coach. I only mouthed off once all season:)...and that was to another team's coach...tee hee hee.

Dallin's Cedar Heights JH team

Scotty at bat for the Phillies

Michael's big hit for majors. We found out last week that his coach, Eric Canton, has just been hired as SK high school's head football coach:) Who didn't see that comin'? Pretty cool. I hope he can get some spirit back into that school!

What a fun season! We'll see who makes allstars.