4th of July

Here are a few pictures that I took during the 4th of July weekend. I didn't get very many taken because I was constantly chasing Bryson around a camp ground during Bryant's family reunion. The pics are when all the cousins were playing games and doing crafts. Bryant's cousin's wife, Whitnee took tons of pictures, so I hope she emails me some! Hint Hint . . .







Over the weekend Ashelynn learned how to ride a 2-wheeler. And who taught her? Her 8 year old cousin Rylee. Yeah Rylee and Ashelynn! Thanks!

Yellowstone

On our way home from Cody we decided to drive through Yellowstone since it was only 40 miles away. It made for a very long day but we got some nice pictures.



Ashelynn hadn't been feeling well that day but the sight of a Buffalo out the car window, close enough to touch, sure perked her up!



More buffalo in a meadow


Yellowstone lake



Destini, RaShelle, JaNell and us at geysers by Yellowstone lake.



One of the geyser pools.

And of course . . . Old Faithful. After Old Faithful we didn't have time to sight see anymore, but it was a fun short trip.

Wedding

Our good friend from dental school, Jeremy got married in June in Cody, WY. We went to the wedding and I got some great shots. (Minus the time Bryson threw a great big rock at our friends the Gardea's while I was taking their family picture!) The scenery was great. Here are the pictures. Congratulations Jeremy and Jaime!





You can't beat pictures in a mountain meadow in nice clothes! Ashelynn was a great little model. Those white linen like pants of Bryson's . . . that was the last time he wore them. He got tree sap all over them after these pictures, and its not coming off.




Marie, Bryant, Ryan, and Kendra

Ryan and Bryson, Marie, Jeremy, Jaime, Kendra, Bryant and me.




Party time on the dance floor!


They had a Champagne toast during the reception. Bryson used the plastic glasses to build a tower with Marie's help. While he was playing with them he quickly licked the inside of a glass and made the grossest face after he tasted it! Good thing he didn't like it!

Card

Here is the latest card that I made. I know its definitely not as cute as the ones many of you have made, but I am improving! Bryant got a great birthday card from his brother's family that Gretchen made. It gave me the idea for this one, even though mine looks nothing like hers did.

Bryant's 32nd b-day pics

Bryant's 32nd Birthday!
Bryant and the kids.
His surprise at what he got.




It was a scope for his gun! He was amazed that I got the right kind!
Showing the kids.
Ashelynn's homemade card.


Thanks mom and dad for the cake and ice cream and letting us have it at your house!

I'm feeling kind of bad that its been almost 2 months! I thought summer would be so relaxing, but it turns out that its busier than during school! I love having Ashelynn home. She is such a big help!

Anyway, I only have about 15 minutes before we have to go to the first soccer practice for summer soccer for Ashelynn. She loves and Bryson wants to do it too, but he is still too young, so its hard to keep him out of the practice!

Here is a quick run down of summer so far and I'll post some pics later!

In June we went to Las Vegas to visit Bryant's cousin and his family and my cousin and his family. We also got to see Mike and Katie Hughes and their kids! It was so much fun that we forgot to take pictures! I'm still hoping I'll get some from everyone else who took pics. Mike and Katie are doing well and their kids are so grown up. Katie's hair is really long, Mike looks the same. Hailey is so grown up and Sage looks like a mini Hailey except she has darker hair. It was so fun to see Taylor and Nicole and their 3 kids. Bryant and Taylor grew up together, and Bryant and I met because Taylor is my cousin. Ashelynn and their daughter Bailey always act like long lost best friends when they are together, even if they haven't seen each other in a long time. We stayed with Eric and Stacey (Bryant's cousin and his wife) and their 2 kids. They were so nice to let us stay there and we had a great visit with them.
The rest of June was swimming lessons, yard work, and Bryant's 32nd birthday! Which we spent driving home from Las Vegas. We stopped at my parents house and had a mini party for him before driving the rest of the way home. We also had our 10 year anniversary, which we had all ready celebrated in March, so we simply went out to dinner.
July has been busy so far too (Isn't it always!) I went to Utah to spend a couple of days with my family with the kids. Then over the 4th Bryant's family had a reunion in Provo. They had their annual family golf tournament and his dad won this year. After golf, all the ladies did our annual "So You Think You Can Shop" contest, my favorite part of the weekend! We all went to the Orem mall and were given $100 a piece and 2 hours to see who could save the most. I bought $97 worth of clothes, but had they been original price I would have spent $279. So my total saved was $182. I took 2nd place. Derek's wife Gretchen took first for the second year in a row! The best part is that we get $100 worth of fun stuff and then prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.
After Bryant's family reunion my dad's family had a reunion, so I stayed in UT a few more days to see some of my cousins. It was great to see them and their kids. I just wish I could have spent more time with them. We had to come home early because Ashelynn had cheer camp (which she also had in June, I forgot to mention). She loved it. The cheer leaders teach the little girls dances, and cheers, and its a lot of fun and not too serious!
Now soccer starts today and swimming next week. Then Ashelynn and I get to go to a matinée showing of High School Musical at the Capital Theater on August 2nd for an early b-day present for her. She is so excited.
I'm sure all of your summers are crazy, busy, and fun too!
I have to leave for soccer in 5 minutes and move car seats! Ahh!

Update

I am so tired of having all my widgets deleted when I change my background. I spent the last while putting them all back in. I think I missed a few links to other blogs too! I tried to save my link list, but I missed a few of them. Oh well. Does anybody know of how to change the template without changing widgets? I'd really like to know!

Ashelynn wrote a short story for a writing competition called "Young Authors" in Feb. We found out about a month and a half ago that she won first place for her story in the kindergarten division.

We were so proud of her! Her story was called "The Frog and The Dog" Here it is if you'd like to read it!

The Frog and the Dog

Once upon a time there was a frog and a dog. They were best friends. They liked to play on the park. On the park there were swings and slides and stairs to get on the slides. frog and dog liked to climb up the stairs to go down the slides and swing on the swings. They had so much fun together.

Then the dog said, “I want to go swing on the swings.”

“OK” said frog, “After we swing on the swings, can we play on the slides and climb the stairs to slide down the slides?”

“Yes,” said dog. “We can and we can ride on the merry-go-round at the carnival tonight.”

“OK” said frog, “And at the carnival tonight we can also go to the fire fighter’s play place.”

“And,” said dog, “We can slide down the pole in the fire fighter’s play place.”

“Before we go to the carnival we have to go home to eat dinner and then we can go to the carnival,” said dog.

So they did. The End

I typed it word for word from her. After the school ceremony we found out that her story had taken second place for the whole school district for Kindergarten. We went to another awards ceremony for her and she got a little trophy. She was so cute about it and was so excited!


She had her last TaVaci concert this month too. She loved to preform, but didn't like to go to practice very much. Next fall she is going to do dance instead. Here she is with her teacher.
Mother's day was nice. The kids had cute crafts for me and Bryant was brave enough to fix dinner. A very good dinner I might add. We had macadamia coconut crusted Mahi-Mahi. It was great to not have to cook or clean up!


I also finally joined a card group. I know I was invited countless times to go to the Village Green group, but never went. I figured it was finally time, but my skills are very lacking compared to the group that I am in! Here is the first card I've ever made. Its pretty plain!

I"ve been trying to potty train Bryson for the last 2 months. He is so hit and miss. He still has accidents everyday and only really tells me when he has to go about once every other day. He wants to do it and was asking to go potty since February. The first week we started went great and now its not so great. I've lost my momentum with it and I must not be pushing it enough. He goes most of the time when I put him on the toilet, but oh its frustrating when he is still having so many accidents. I know he'll get it eventually. The other day I found him in my bathroom and he had gotten into my make-up. Great lip stick application don't you think?

We just finished our 2 latest projects, with a great deal of help! Bryant with the help of both of our dads, built a great new swing set for the kids. He had to rip out the old homemade wood one that we had in the yard. To do that he had to jack hammer out 6 very tall, heavy, and very cemented, old wood posts. Then he planted new sod where the old one had been and began putting the new set together. It probably took him, with help, 18 hours! He must love the kids!

While he and both of our dad's were putting it together my mom, brother, my brother's roomate and I re-stained our deck. That is a job I never want to do again! We all got sunburned and it took us all day! Then 2 days later I had to put a second coat on because it hadn't been done in so long that the wood soaked up a lot of the stain. I told Bryant that the next time it needs to be done, its time to sell the house or replace the deck with a vinyl one! We still haven't finished cleaning up or putting the outdoor furniture back on the deck because it got cold and rainy the day after I did the second coat. The best part is that when I was using a sprayer to do the lattice around the hot tub I sprayed the house! Oh yes, I was using drop cloths, but the sprayer went far beyond the covered area of course. Then I had to spend 45 minutes scrubbing the house with paint thinner to get the stain off. You should see how bad my hands look now! On second thought, you wouldn't want too! Now I have to clean up and re-plant the flower boxes on the deck, then it will look great!