Water Fun

The kids wanted to run the the sprinkler and do the slip n slide. Jacob thought the water was cold. Josh doesn't like sprinklers. He needed some persuading.

Darren is just a kid himself.

Joshua warming up.

Jacob and Josh showing their new towels that Grandma and Grandpa bought them.

Sarah and Alison modeling their swimming suits.
Rylie loves water and also loves Grandma.

They had a great time.

Hangin' out at Grandma and Grandpa's

We stayed over a week at Grandma and Grandpa Burgess' house. We enjoyed every minute of it. Grandma made cookies with the kids. They all enjoyed that.

The kids didn't sleep good. Emily often ended up in bed with us. Darren was trying to sleep in.

The playroom has different toys than at home. The kids enjoy these large foam puzzle mats. They made forts, houses, dog houses, and tons of over inventions.

Alison and Jacob really enjoyed the sattelite tv. It's okay to let them watch for hours when on vacation, right?

Grandma and Grandpa went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and welcome. They even purchased a Wii so Jacob would not be bored. With 5 kids, we did take over their house. It was a lot of fun.

Fun with Friends

Not only were we able to have fun with family, but we also spent some time with friends. We spent some time with my friend Mandy and her kids. We went to the park then went to Chick-fil-a for lunch. Here Alison is with Natalie and Olivia. Ali played with Natalie often when we lived in Utah. They were our next door neighbors.
Heres one of my best friends Mandy. She is always trying to make me laugh.

Here is Jacob hanging out with Spencer and Tate. We let them have their own table so they could have their "guy talk".

Emily just enjoyed drinking out of a straw instead of a sippy cup.

And I didn't get a picture of Rylie because she ate little and spent most of the time playing on the playset. Good times, Good times.

A day in the mountains

Since we have moved to Minnesota, I have realized how much I love the mountains. While spending the week with my parents, we spent the day in the mountains. I want my kids to know what mountains are. All the way here, anytime we passed a large hill, Josh asked if it was a mountain. How sad is that?
We went to one of our favorite picnic sites. It had a large tree that had fallen down and was placed there just for us to bounce on. How nice was that. We were glad that Heather was able to come with us and bring Sarah and Becca. We really enjoyed their company.


We went on a hike before lunch. Unfortunately we ended up carrying Emily because she kept tripping on things. That just gave me and Darren a better work out.

We decided to stop our hike at this little stream. Of course, the kids spent some time throwing rocks into the water. Joshua seemed to always find the largest rock so it would splash and get us all wet.
Jacob was really thirsty after our hike. I guess he was either too tired to hold the water bottle. Now I have proof that he has as big mouth!
We roasted hot dogs and did smores. Yes, we went against Grandpa's rules of "no marshmallows". Sorry Grandpa.
Alison enjoys roasting on the fire.

We also just got to sit back and enjoy nature.
We had a great time. This was one of my favorite days of the whole vacation.

Fathers Day in Utah

It was fun to be back with family for Fathers Day. My kids loved playing with Grandpa Burgess. He always teases them and they eat it up!

We also got to spend time with the Jensens. We did get a picture taken of most of the cousins. This is the best one I got. If anyone got a better one, send it to me.

Rest stops are ALWAYS fun

In Wyoming, on the way to Utah, we stopped at this rest stop for lunch. We packed a lunch. With 5 kids I found it much easier to pack a lunch than try to find a fast food place at the right time. It has to be when no one is sleeping (because we are not wasting any precious quiet,not griping time). But also before Rylie or Emily get too upset. It was a fine line.
When getting out of the van, we noticed Rylie had leaked through her diaper which then added more time that we would be spending at this rest stop. It had one large rock by our picnic table that entertained the kids most of the time. It is amazing the little things it takes to entertain them.

computer problems

We have had computer problems and have ended up just getting a new computer. Our old was was very old and also a emachine (do I need to say more?). It has taken a long time trying to move everything over to the new computer so I can blog. This is why I have not blogged for a while. Hopefully, I can catch up. Here are a few postings from our vacation this summer. More to follow.

At the Farr's

The kids (mainly Joshua) did not sleep very well on our vacation so this is rare to see them actually asleep. While there Joshua had an allergic reaction and ended having to go to the hospital for a breathing treatment.
We had a talent show one of the nights. Everyone did something. Rylie sang and hit the keys on the piano.

Kristi and I did our talent of picking up things with our toes. Hey, I think it is a talent!
Jacob and Jordan practices several times for their number. They came out looking like this and Jacob burped the ABC's while Jordan made rapping noises. They were very entertaining and as you can see they had a blast doing it. They really showed their personality.
After the acts we turned on music and danced. Emily really enjoyed that.
The kids also played in water. Here Ali and Lexi are trying to dry off.

Joshua, Rylie and Mason are enjoying the pool.
They also had a sprinkler under the tramp. Here Jacob, Jordan and Kaylee are cooling off.
We had a theme for everyday we were there. We tried to match the menu and activities with that days theme. On creative day we gave the kids a whole bunch of item to make anything they wanted.

Here are some of their inventions.
This one Jacob and Darren worked on together. They took turns adding something to the page and this is how it turned out. Very creative. Like Father like Son.
We also went to the park. Here Lexi, Josh and Ali pose for a picture.

There was a lot of small gravel for the kids to play in. I don't know why this little table was in the center. Only thing we could think of is for the kids to pour rocks all over it (which did entertain them and also Darren).

Of course, if there is a tree, Jacob is in it.

We really enjoyed spending time with the Farr family.

Windsor Beach

We went to Windsor Beach while in Colorado. We had lunch and played. Emily doesn't like sand so the only way I could put her down was to give her food. She then fell asleep in the stroller for the rest of the time.
All the kids enjoyed the sand. Here Jacob, Nathaniel and Jordan and starting the large hole. By the end they were all sitting in it and it was deep enough water was filling up in it.
My sister Marilee and nephew Nathaniel. Aren't they cute?
Rylie and Mason had a great time together. They would sit in this exact spot, then get up and run across the beach to the grass area, then run back to this spot and sit a spell. This entertained them for a while.
My little nephew Noah.
Alison, Joshua and Mason are all very serious about bringing up water to fill the hole.
Darren and Rylie enjoying the cool water.

We all enjoyed ourselves. We didn't realize that the new sunscreen I had purchase did not work until later that evening. Everyone was sunburned quite badly. We now know not to buy that brand.