The Boys' Wish Came True

 The boys have wanted to sleep with Kia ever since we got him but there was NO way I'd let the dog sleep in their beds so they were determined to get Kia on the trampoline with them for the night.  Kia was not interested-- at first.  They tried lifting him up on the tramp but he wouldn't have it.  I finally convinced them to leave him alone and just go to bed.  I thought they were sleeping but then I kept hearing noises outside.  When I went to investigate I found them all calling Kia's name trying to coax him onto the tramp.  They finally fell asleep and Kia jumped up and snuggled in for the night.  When they woke up they were SO excited to see him laying with them.  They spent the next 10 nights sleeping on the trampoline with Kia.  Once he understood the routine he became comfortable enough to jump up and get on with the boys. He jumps up and walks all the way around before he goes in through the opening in the netting.   Then he gets all excited and wants to play.  He squats down, spreads his legs out, and gets ready to pounce.  We thought is was so fun to play with him but we soon discovered the bouncing makes him throw up (on the tramp--yuck!) so we stopped playing with him.  I must admit though that it is pretty adorable to see them all snuggled in together.

A Little Work and A Lot of Brag Tagging

The boys pulled the weeds on the patio this morning and Cole grabbed a little snack from the arugula patch while he was weeding.

After they finished their chores they went into brag tag mode and wanted to do as many activities as possible.  It was a perfect day for flying a kite so we started with that.

The heat kicked in and so they figured it would be a perfect time for snow cones. :)  Love the goofy poses.

We finished the day at the concert in the park at the Homestead.  It was such a great venue for a concert-- loved that it wasn't super crowded too.  I love these slow paced summer night activities.  It makes me feel like life is simple again.

Goodbye Elementary!

Kade is officailly done with his elementary years.  He'll be moving on to the intermediate school which is all the area 5th and 6th graders.  He is thrilled to get his own locker but the most important thing is that he'll get his own netbook!  I think this may be comparable to a 16 year-old getting their drivers license (at least it is that way for Kade).  He worked so hard in elementary and in know he'll have a couple great years in the intermediate school.  Love you buddy!

Pack Mtg.

Kade was awarded his citizen tonight at pack meeting.  They asked him to tell a little bit about what he did to earn it.  He said, "We did a lot for this award, like going to UVU and learning about raising the flag and folding it."  He was meant to be a scouter-- he loves  it!

Preschool Program

Cole and the rest of the Dual Immersion preschool students put on a little program to show some of the things they have learned this year in preschool.  Of course everything they did was adorable especially saying the sounds of the alphabet in Spanish.  They sang a couple songs in Spanish and then a couple in English.  The bottom picture shows some of the instructors that worked with him, Ms. Tara, Ms. ?, Ms. ?, Ms. Diane, Ms, Luce, Ms. Jenny, Ms. Karey.  Cole LOVED preschool and was a little disappointed he wouldn't be going again tomorrow but he is SO excited for Kindergarten.  I'm not sure what he is so excited about but he says he, "just can't wait!"

Singing Recital

Kade had a singing recital tonight, held at the Abbington, a living facility for the elderly.  Kade was especially excited about this recital because he was going to be performing the opera piece he's been working on.  He does a great job on the song but the best part is you can see how much fun he's having-- I love it!  Tonight he sang My Heavenly Father Loves Me, and La Donna e Mobile.  He was also received the award  for practicing the most!  That hard work will be awarded other ways too-- so proud of you!

Dihydrogen monoxide-- Hu????

The 3rd grade did a vocabulary parade today.  They had to pick a new vocabulary word they learned this year and then create it with some sort of costume to parade through the halls of the elementary.  Some time during this year Darryl taught Kade and Clint the chemical name for water and so when he was given the assignment he knew exactly what word he wanted to do.  It was an easy one to make a costume for so I was happy with the choice.  The parade was pretty fun to watch.  Clint's teachers Mr. Jo and Ms. Rose lead the group displaying their word, "Rivals."  

Fun Flights

Aunt Jackie had a little airplane that she wasn't using anymore and so she offered it to Kade and Clint.  They were thrilled and couldn't wait to take it out for a test flight.  They did quite well for their first time flying an airplane-- it's still flyable. :)  That says something in the RC pilot world.

Art Class Anyone?????

Clint was out playing with sidewalk chalk (to earn a Brag Tag) and the next thing I knew he was teaching art lessons to Cole, Evan, and Owen.  It was pretty cute.  I was working in the back yard so I didn't get to get pictures but don't worry! Clint came and got my phone because he wanted to, "Take a selfie with my class."  He also took a couple shots of their art work.  So fun!  I couldn't love anything more than when they are creative, imaginative, and having fun.

Memorial Day Program

I'm so glad Brag Tags got us introduced to the Memorial Day Breakfast and Program.  I love it!  It isn't often that I really take the time to reflect on the freedoms I have living here or the people who do so much to protect those freedoms.  The program was great but I wasn't really thinking through going to the program.  I've really been wishing I could go hang out with my dad this last month and so it was a pretty rough program to get through for me.  I was still so glad we were there and it just really reminded us what today is about and not just a day to get started on yard work.  The first picture isn't the best but it is of the guys marching to do the 21 gun salute.  They had to hold it the program in the event center since it has been raining so much lately.  The bottom picture is Cole with his flags he got at the event.  He's marched around waving them and singing/mumbling some song all day-- pretty cute.

Cutest Nerd!

We got to watch this cutie (and her brother) for a couple hours today while her mom and dad went to a wedding.  She loved these glasses.  She toted around grinning with a look on her face like, "Yeah, I know I look good!"  Such an adorable little girl!  We're going to miss her for a while.  Gary and his family are headed to Pennsylvania for his medical residency tomorrow.  For one last fun HooRah Neal and Marcia treated their children and spouses/partners to some go kart racing.  It was such a great time.

Timber, Timber, and Timber

We spent the morning taking down some trees for Aunt Jan. It felt good to go help someone and it is always fun to take down a large tree much less a few large trees!  The boys were awesome little helpers on the ground hauling branches and being Darryl's gopher.

The Nerf War

Kade and Clint have been having a great time with the Judds, Collin and Davis.  They build forts and had all manner of artillery.  They had guns, knives, swords, and their own fashioned "bazookas" but I would say the war clearly looked like it was sponsored by Nerf.  Kade and Collin's base looked more creative but Clint and Davis said they were more concerned about being concealed.  They didn't want the opponents to see anything they had or anything they were planning.  I'm happy to report that the war ended and everyone was smiling.  Those are the best wars!

Get Zack!

The Grobs were staying with us this weekend which made for some fun times.  They were here for a dance competition the girls had at Lagoon.  They were gone most of the day so we didn't get much time together but as you can see they still found time to attack Zack.  He's such a great sport about it all and the kids love him for it.

Doo~Wop Wed Widing Hood

The high school drama club held a theater workshop this week where everyday they worked on a mini-play and learned about different aspects of theater.  Clint participated in the event and loved it.  He was chosen to be Prince Frank in the play Doo~Wop Wed Wid

ing Hood.  Such a fun story.  They kids really did an amazing job for only having less than 10 hours of work time to put it together.  Unfortunately it was very hard to hear them most of the time but it was still completely adorable to watch.  Way to "break a leg" buddy, your theater debut was fantastic!

WE'RE NOT IN Kansas THE CARIBBEAN ANYMORE Toto BOYS

This is our new view.  No longer blue skies, water, and palm trees.  It's okay because it feels nice to be home.

Gaylord Palms

It was off the ship early this morning.  I was so impressed with how Disney did their disembarking.  There was no waiting to get off we just left when we were ready and then the customs line was a little wait but not bad.  Since our flight isn't until tomorrow morning we stayed at a hotel Darryl stays at every year for a show.  It has a huge biodome and an awesome swimming area.  Cole spent hours on these slides and was still going strong when I told him we needed to go have dinner so we could go to bed.  Kade and Clint were wore out and went back to the room to just take it easy.  The awesome vacation is winding down :-(  It'll likely be even sadder when we wake up at 3:30 AM to go to the airport.  :-|  Yikes!