MEMORY LANE

I saw this on Jennifer's blog and I thought it would be fun! A little something to do, while I am away! (I will be to Utah again for Women's Conference in August and I am hoping to meet up with some of you then, when I have a little more ALONE time.)

So, back to the point, as a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot. Anything you remember!

If you leave me a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one to you. If you aren't sure how to leave a comment, check on the instructions on the sidebar.

WHAT IT TAKES TO GET US TO UTAH

TO PACK:

General:
8 person tent
3 burner stove
shade tent
camp kitchen
air mattresses
8 sleeping bags
8 pillows
8 folding chairs
8 life jackets
8 beach towels
sunblock
hanging bins from IKEA
5 gallon water jug
8 flashlights

For each person at Pineview:
3 swimsuits
sandals
watershoes
sweats
hoodie
pajamas
unders
bathroom stuff

Other stuff we need per person:
Sunday clothes for everyone
Picture day outfits for everyone
Mom's shirt
Jake's shirt
3 outfits
shoes, socks, more under things
more bathroom stuff
Rachel EFY
Ben EFY

Miscellaneous:
cameras
chargers for cameras, cellphones, ipods, game systems
handheld games
waterbottles
beef jerky
trail mix
licorice
granola bars
apples

Scalpel to remove kidney to sell on black market to pay for the gas to get there.

Of course all this requires TWO car top carriers (the biggest they make - Larry rigged them together) and when you add eight people, a Suburban seems small!

SARI BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH FRIENDS

What's the perfect thing to do 12 hours before you leave town for 11 days? Have a seven hour birthday party, of course! We don't do Sleepovers, but we love Lateovers. That is what Sari wanted.

For Sari's birthday, we started out at Dart-Lo pool.

Andreya, Sari, Bailey, Natalie, Courtney, Ashley, Journey

The girls started to do synchronized diving. Natalie wouldn't do it with them, but the rest of them had so much fun. It started with Ashley.

Sari was next.

Then Andreya, and a mass dive of Courtney, Bailey, and Journey.

The happy girls after their dive.

The girls came home and ate. Sari picked a world-wide theme for her food. We had Taciquitos (Mexico), Eggrolls (China), German Brats (uh, Germany), and French fries (Belgian - haha). For dessert later she had Italian sodas and Tahiti Sorbets in Pineapple. Yes, we shopped at Costco before the party and honestly, what would I have done without Costco?

After dinner, a little Rock Band:

Ashley and Andreya

Natalie takes a rest - she is a hard working girl who gets up at 2:30 to deliver papers. No wonder she is exhausted!

SACRE BLEU!! INVADERS!!
(That is best said in Lumiere's French accent in "Beauty and The Beast".)

Ben pulled a brief stint as the guest drummer until Sari kicked him out, at which time Ben said, "Sari sucks". I am so proud.

Never one for normal, Sari's "cake". Tahitian sorbets.

Bailey, Sari, and Journey enjoying the food.

Matthew hid from the giggling, tickling, "he's sooooo cute!" squealing girls in his house.

After gifts they watched a little Movie:

And finished the evening with Italian sodas. Yummy!

This is how I make Italian Sodas:
Pour 2 oz flavoring over a cup of crushed ice
Add 1 oz. WHIPPING CREAM
Fill to the top with club soda
Top off with whipped cream
Stir with a stiff straw

The official recipes call for 1 oz. flavoring, but I prefer 2 oz.

CRAFTY IS AS CRAFTY DOES and Random Thoughts

I am desperately trying to finish up some promised crafties before we leave to Utard (or Yucktah - as I call it in the summer because it is sooo hot.)

Here is an apron for Rayleen. She has never had one! Poor girl. I loved the cheery red and white polka dots and I hope she does too. (Larry said it looks like Minnie Mouse. I hope that Rayleen doesn't think so.)

When Rachel models an apron, it looks a lot better! This is for Teilani.

At the temple we saw Andy Jeske,who was my friend at Ricks before either of us went on a mission and then my Zone Leader when I got to my mission. He said that he recognized me as soon as I walked in the room, which I find unlikely, since I am more than my former self. He married a Westover twin and lives in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, my Greenie area.

A quick internet search found me this:

We should all be very afraid of how easy it was for me to get this picture and keep it forever. This is Jeske and his daughter Jessica, who is his second oldest.

After church this is what we saw:

And this was on the other side of the room:

I love this little fair peeking out of her mushroom:

Here is her full body shot. The mushroom is also a purse. I am making a tree with a squirrel and then a tower with Rapunzel, too. The possibilities are endless. This was supposed to go to Jean but she is leaving on Monday and I haven't mailed it yet, so we will see...

I am so addicted to making these. I just LOVE these burpies and they are headed for a knocked up chick in Reno who could use a little cheering up and cooling off, I can only help in one of those areas. I love the owl fabric. It looks very Japanese to me!

Now if I can just get to the Post Office to mail all this (and more!) I will be in good shape!

Oh, and Rachel stepped on a toothpick yesterday and broke it off in her foot, we had to go to the ER and didn't get to bed until 3 a.m.

WEEKEND UPDATE (caution - graphic picture of dead squirrel)

Well, now that I have finally gotten around to posting this, it doesn't seem as interesting, since it all happened clear LAST WEEK. But since I slurp the blog into a book - all I do for scrapbooking anymore - I will comment on the photos anyway.

Sari after haircut. All the girls got haircuts this week.

Rachel getting her haircut, but really, I took this picture to show the sleeve tat on the hairstylist.

This is how long Rachel's hair was. It just keeps going and going and going and giving her headaches from the weight.

The Sant household was all a flutter with the discovery of this eviscerated squirrel in our backyard! We think it was a hawk or owl that did the fatal slice and then it got scared away. What do you think?

Matthew completed swimming lessons without putting his face in the water. I wish Elizabeth lived up here!

By the end of level 1 lessons, Joseph was running down the diving board, flying off the end and swimming to the side by himself. He LOVES LOVES LOVES it!

Joseph demostrates Deadman's Float which always disturbs me.

In PeeWee class you get a candy no matter what. Matthew earned his on cutestness.

And then shared with a dripping wet Joseph. Yuck.

Michael (Larry's brother) and his wife, Rayleen, and Kevin and Spencer came to see us for the day. It was a crazy day (we thought it would be calm) and I don't think they saw the best of everyone. Hopefully, they love us anyway!

Of course, we have to play some Rock Band (and in the above picture, Mario Kart - I just LOVE the steering wheels.)

After dinner at Tomato Street Grill we played dominoes.

Then we bellied up to the bar and had Italian sodas. I am still addicted to raspberry/peach. Another favorite was huckleberry. Daniel loved chocolate. No surprise there, he practically lived off chocolate milk the first few years of his life. He still has a cold one every night before sleeping.

I love this picture because I had just cut the boys' hair so they don't look like street urchins.

I wanted a family picture because we will miss these guys while they are gone across the country for FOUR years! (They are headed to Pittsburgh for Dental School. Go Michael! Spencer didn't agree with my great idea, but he does like to be upside down!

Somehow I must photoshop Spencer in. Michael, Rayleen, and Kevin. What a beautiful family! We love you guys! Thanks for coming up to see us!

THE LONGEST TWENTY MINUTES OF MY LIFE SINCE ...

Today after lunch I sent the little boys to play in the backyard. Ten minutes later, I sent Daniel out. Daniel came back in and said, "I can't find Matthew or Joseph."

I was distracted with other things and said, "Go look again".

Daniel came back in. "Nope. They are gone."

I rallied Rachel, Ben and Sari and we tore the house apart and searched our yard and the neighbors' yards. We knocked on doors. They were nowhere to be found. I personally searched the house, the yard, and the neighbors' house and yard (no one was home - they didn't answer their phone or the banging I did on their doors and windows). I turned on the sprinklers to flush them out in case they were hiding in the shrubs and trees. I sent Sari to make sure the neighbor's pool cover was tight and still all tied down.

Finally, I called the police and when she asked what Joseph was wearing I started to cry - I just couldn't remember what he had on! I told her, sobbing, that I was the worse mom in the world, who can't remember what their kid has on? Then I couldn't remember Matthew's middle name. I did get his clothes right. I called my friend Julie Grover and she grabbed her three oldest and got in her car. I called Larry and he started home from work. I remember that Joseph had played with Griffin recently and Matthew always wants to go there so I called Jenn and asked if she had seen the boys (with visions of the ravine between our houses flashing in my head), she hadn't but threw on her shoes to start looking. I called my dad and asked him to pray. My dad called my mom and Teilani. I was hysterically sobbing at this point.

Julie dropped her kids with Rachel and Ben to start searching the neighborhood. The kids ran up the street and looked in the windows of the Jones' house even though we knew the family was at Dart Lo Pool.

Low and behold, they saw Matthew jumping on the couch. Campbell (14 years old and autistic) was home and his dad was on a conference call in the basement, the rest of the family was at the pool. Campbell didn't answer the phone or the door and I didn't see them in there and neither did Daniel or Sari.

I haven't had this kind of scare since Daniel was born.

A LITTLE SUGAH, please

Something to get you through until my next post. Click here.

Yeah, I know, no video. But did you really think that I would leave you without eye candy? NEVER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARI!

Little Miss Sari had a FABULOUS birthday! And why shouldn't she? She put the FAB in fabulous!

(picture of her fabulousness to come)

I am happy to say that I survived the two and a half WEEKS of false labor, the fact that Sari was born 11 days late (and been marching to her own drum ever since), her "this-isn't-colic" tummy aches and screaming from noon to eleven pm every day for her first eight months. Weighing in at eight and a half pounds and only 19 inches (her head in the Sant 110th percentile) Sari was ... a brick shaped baby.

Can you believe the cheeks on her? This is a newborn picture, less than one day old!

Rachel and Ben were so excited to have a new sister. Ben used to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to her when she cried and Rachel was just a little mama to her, eager to do everything for her. Sari didn't walk until well after one, because Rachel was always carrying her!

Sari used to love "LaLa" on Teletubbies. We even bought her the doll. If you knew how much I hate stuffed animlas, you would know that's what a parent's love will do. She has been a daddy's girl from the start. She will try anything once and is such a blessing to Larry and I.

One of my favorite Sari stories is when she got her ears pierced. She was five and VERY determined to have "holes". Rachel and I went with her to get her ears pierced, she got the gift certificate for Christmas. So, off to the mall we went. Sari SCREAMED when they pierced her ears but quieted as soon as she saw how "pretty" her ears were. Afterwards, Rachel and I were walking her back through the mall, holding her hands and Sari said "this is the best Christmas ever." I said, "yeah, Merry Christmas, Sari-B." She said, somewhat exasperated, "Mom, not just for me, but for everyone who looks at me!" Rachel and I were sucking back snorts and peals of laughter.

Sari is the cutest girl and so helpful! When she went to Girl's Camp both Larry and I found ourselves actually LOST without Sari around. She loves to cook. She loves to design clothes. She is friendly and kind. She always stands up for the underdog. She is very loyal. The night before her birthday Larry and I took her to Sho-Gun. It is tradition to take the child turning twelve there for their birthday.

Cute little flower in her strawberry daiquiri. (When she ordered it the waitress said, "Do you want that virgin?" DUH. She's turning twelve, not twenty-one. The dyslexia comes full circle here.)

The pond and water fall just inside SHO GUN. I think this restaurant is a front for the Asian Mafia. But the food is good, so ... whatever. They cook it on grills built into the table in front of you.

You know, I think everyone should have one of these pictures. They used to give you the Buddha ceramic drink cup at the end of the dinner, but this time they didn't.

WOW!! Twelve already! Sporting a new look - contacts! Took to it like a pro!

Today Sari got braces! She picked fucshia and lime bands. So sassy!

Rachel made Sari this super cute sign for her birthday! Snaps to Rachel, since Sari always makes signs for everyone else.

Sari's sparkler candles (and Joseph's bare belly).

Sari didn't want a birthday cake, she wanted "homemade vanilla pudding", which is basically a VERY OLD (my great-grandma Cook's) recipe for vanilla custard that is SO GOOD! That ginormous pan of pudding lasts less than a day in my house. For Sari's birthday dinner she chose Grandma Powell's crepes, just like Joseph. Basically, it is my kids' favorite food.

Now that Sari has contacts, Rachel gave her a pair of white sunglasses! (Wrapped up in the Walmart plastic bag - we go all out with present wrapping, as you may already know.) Matthew was stuck to Sari's side and was very excited for all of her presents!

Sari LOVES to design (as previously stated) so she was very happy to get some ideas for fancy dresses - and more products!

Here are some of Sari's designs that she has already made.

Daniel gave Sari three piggy banks to color herself. She loves this kind of stuff!

Ever since Girls Camp, Sari has been making friendship bracelets like CRAZY!!! We love how creative and artistic Sari is. She is always designing something new. Most of her presents were crafting oriented. She takes what they give her and totally improves on it.

Here is what our family had to say about Sari:
Larry: I like that Sari is helpful and willing to jump in and do. She is like Nephi - she goes and she does.
Tifani: I love Sari's help around the house, her happy smile, her designs and her company when we go on errands.
Rachel:
Ben: I like that Sari is not Rachel (Ben Ben Ben)
Daniel: I like that Sari is a happy person.
Joseph: I like that she is super nice and always asks for a hug. (Sari then asked for a hug and Joseph gave her a big one and Matthew said, "Okay, that's enough."
Matthew: I like that Sari reads me bedtime stories.

I can't wait to see who Sari becomes.

CONFESSIONS OF A WELL-INTENTIONED MORMON MOM

At swimming lessons today I watched with interest as the "hill" (some call it a bluff or mountain) behind the pool was on fire. First we saw the fire trucks (transportation complicated because the streets around it are all torn up) and then we saw and smelled the smoke. I think they got it under control in a couple of hours. But as I watched the drama I thought:

A - If I were one of the people that lived near there I would turn on my sprinklers!

B - Time to get a 72 hour kit, which we haven't updated since 1994. Okay, we threw those away when we moved back to Wymount in 1999. Time to get the kits in icecream boxes that I made in Homemaking in 2001 and organize the stuff I have collected since then. We have wind up flashlights and radios somewhere. I bought a bunch of water packets once. I might even have a camping shovel somewhere. Heaven knows we should have enough mostly good backpacks from previous school years in the basement.

Having more time than money and precious little of both, purchasing the above is not really an option for the eight of us. So, I went to a couple of websites to get a list:

I am now so overwhelmed that I am going to find a Xanax in the back of my medicine cabinet, eat some chocolate and take a nap. If we have to evacuate, I'll throw the dirty clothes basket in the back of the Suburban. We could live off the crumbs in the carpet for a few days and suck water out of the swim towels and life jackets.

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP (I wish)

The last 48 hours have been a little busy:

Don't die of shock, but Ben got a haircut, a real one. And he likes it.

Welcome to the gun show, Ladies.

(Why do boys take pictures of their muscles? Should I post the pics he took of his 6-pack too? He took a ton.)

I got a little older (Wednesday). Every time someone in our family has a birthday Sari makes them a sign and she hangs it up in the dining nook. She outdid herself this year.

My friend, Jan, brought me this delicious goodie! Yummy! And rich!

This is how I marked up the protective covering in an attempt to keep the kids out of it. I also put it on the top shelf, very back of the fridge. MMMMMM....

How cute are these boys? The kids love that Larry buys me an icecream cake every year for my birthday. I am so generous that I actually give them a piece. One piece.

Larry always does something funny on my cake, this year it was dyslexia. OH! Sari did my hair with some left over ribbon. I think it looks very PollyAnnaish.

Larry and I dream of going to Hawaii! Hopefully for our 20th anniversary in 2010.

And a little Rock Band for the DS! This has even better songs.

Okay, how cool is this little story? When we moved to West Jordan, when I was 14, I became friends with MaryAnn who lived across the street. She is so nice! Well, I haven't seen her in YEARS and she and her husband were on a motorcycle trip through Canada and Glacier National Park and so they just came in to see us - on their 22nd anniversary and MY birthday! MaryAnn met Gary on my birthday, so July 9th has always been a lucky day for her! When they came to town, we went to PF Changs and then walked around Riverfront Park. Gary took awesome pictures and all I have is this pitiful one, so I am WAITING for MaryAnn and Gary to email me the ones they took. (Hint, hint, guys!) It was so fun to see MaryAnn and get to know Gary. We had a great time and I was so glad that they came up to see us.

This week the kids started swim lessons and that means that every morning from 9 to 10:30 I am at Holmberg Park. The street that the park is on is closed so you have to do greatly creative driving to get there.

This day was a safety day - boy was Matthew relieved! He didn't have to get his face wet.

I think this looks good on Joseph - in eight years he can test for it!

Julie and Charmaine took me to Tomato Street Grill for my birthday today. It was SO yummy. Even though it was hot outside, their creamy tomato basil soup was DIVINE. All of it was divine. Thanks to you girls, too! It was fun!

Today (Thursday) Joseph had his friends' birthday party (we do one every other year). This year his theme was a pool party. This is the cake I made for it. Next time I will cut the wafer cookies level. I wasn't thinking. I threw it together in the 30 minutes between eating out for lunch and Joseph's birthday party starting.

We took the party kids to Dart-Lo. I was a little worried about the lesbian couple from Tuesday coming back but they were no-shows. (Thank goodness, they were inappropriate - heterosexual or homosexual.) Jackson did take a head to the nose and got a bloody nose and the lifeguards were extremely ill eqipped to deal with the "emergency" and acted like it was a brain bleed or something. They didn't want to touch the blood, even with the gloves on, and finally I just said, "I need a roll of toilet paper" and cleaned the poor kid up myself. He was fine.

Joseph LOVES jumping off the side of the pool!

Sari and Courtney were there too, but they were in the big kid pool.

The little boys had a pow wow on the pool deck.

After swimming we went back to our house for cake and gifts. This is Sydney and Jadie, the only two girls who got to be invited.

And here are the boys. Silly things! There is Kylen, Jackson, Carsen, Matthew, Noah, Tanner, and Joseph.

Enjoying the cake: (weird back lighting I still need to learn how to use my photoshop)

Sari got contacts today. I just took her for her appointment, and usually they make a different appointment to learn to put them in, but he had time so he taught Sari then and there. She has taken to it like a champ!

Daniel has had Webelos Day Camp the last two days. Thank goodness his Cubmaster took him up to Bear Lake (in WA, not ID) and brought him home, I don't know how I would have done it otherwise! It was just too crazy. He had A LOT of fun! He made a fog horn, a marshmallow gun, a fishing pole (and caught two fish) (pictured below), the boat pictured below, and got a ton of beads for other accomplishments. I am so thankful for the people who donate their time and talents to help these boys. They make my job so much easier!

Tonight Rachel invited some friends over - they played "Rock Band" for awhile and right now they are watching a dumb scary movie. This is Megan, Jake, Ben Pugh, and Ben Sant on Rock Band. Also here are Clayton, Ann, and Cody.

Wednesday Ben had a Doctor's appointment out in the Valley and Joseph had Summer Reading Camp at the Elementary School in the morning. Today Rachel had a Doctor's appointment, too.

Ever heard the saying, "Too tired to see straight?" I am there.


PS And also VERY grateful for all the fun I've had and our good friends, kids, Larry, many many blessings. Just tired, not unappreciative or unaware.

how YOU doin'?

Daniel won "free" tickets from the Orthodontist office to an Indians game. He could bring one guest - he took Larry. (It always cracks me up when the orthodontist gives something "free" - like the ipod the kids get when they get their braces put on. I call it the six thousand dollar ipod and "free" braces. Seriously, I'd rather have a break on my payments. But what fun is that for the kids? And really, 200 bucks is a drop in the 6,000 dollar bucket ...)

Nothing Daniel loves more than buying food at a place like this ... and they even gave Daniel and Larry money to buy dinner and snacks! Now that is service!

With his snacks of choice ...

And now at the end of the game. Daniel even got his K card signed by the players. Who knows? Maybe some day one of them will end up in the big league?

If Larry is your neighbor and you are putting in a pool but it's not done and you have to go out of town to collect your family to move here and you won't be back for two weeks, Larry will put in your fence for you. That's just what he does. Ben will help Larry, too. And you know that it will be done perfectly!

To my complete surprise and delight we had visitors today! When we lived in Santaquin I was MiaMaid advisor to a precocious group of girls (payback for how I was as a young woman). One of them (and my favorite) was Mary, whom I called "Mary Mary" because usually I was saying "Mary Mary" and shaking my head no to something she had done or said. After about several years of not seeing her, we ran into each other when we lived in Provo and I hired her as one of Daniel's therapists. (Shedding a tear here for not having DSPD in Spokane, but I digress.) She got married just a few weeks before we moved to Spokane. Now, seven years later she and her darling husband and beautiful babies are working on moving to SPOKANE! We were so glad that they came by and spent the day with us! They didn't bring the bubbies, so we will have to wait to love on them, but we loved hearing about them.

Of course, we had to start the Rock Band up. This is Jared, Mary's husband, jamming with Joseph. Jared is such a good sport and makes everyone feel like they are just superstars!

This is me blowing kisses at Ben while he plays guitar.

Ben, Mary, and Jared rockin' out! They are so loved by our family, that tonight, when Ben was saying family prayer he said, "Thank Thee that MaryMary and Jared could come and hang with us today." Yep, that's right, they even made it to Ben's prayer. Matthew was pretty shy around them but asked several time when Marwee and Jarwed were coming back over to play.

This is Mary and Jared. As they were leaving I ran outside and stopped them and took this picture of them in the car. Isn't she just so cute! Aren't they just the cutest couple? They totally match. I hope they move up here, to Spokane and not Coeur (cough cough) d'Alene.

SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY CELEBRATION - a photo essay (aka, my name is Tifani and I am addicted to raspberry-peach Italian sodas)

We were invited to the Pugh's again for the 4th of July. Every year they invite some families to come up to their lake house and have a BBQ and potluck. The food is always delicious and the company and activities so much fun!

This year I wrapped miniature candy bars in these wrappers I got for free from Lettering Delights. It was super fast and easy. I am going to do it more often!

The Pughs have this amazing swing in their yard. We were one of the first families to arrive. Clay came with us because his family is in Alaska this week and next. So, here is Ben, Rachel, and Clayton. It looks harmless, but Ben was actually bouncing a beach ball off Rachel and Clay would try to catch it.

Brady Jones and Rachel's BFF, Ben Pugh.

Joseph, Daniel (swatting a bug) and Tracy Grover on the paddle boats. (Sydney Grover was in the back next to Joseph.

The day started out overcast and cool, but it didn't stop the kids from enjoying the lake. Here is Brielle (Smart's granddaughter), Ashley and Courtney Grover, and Sari.

The volleyball game is always a big hit (pun intended). Here we have Jordan Larson, Jake Grover, Brady Jones, and Ben Pugh.

On the other team we have Kyle and James Larson, Ben Pugh, Matthew Grimes, Austin Stoker, and Laura Francis. Behind Laura is Rachel pushing Sydney Grover on the swing while Jadie Grover waits her turn.

One more view of volleyball (this is for my blog readers who used to live here and will recognize these people). Daniel Palmer, Brady Jones, Kyle Grimes, Jake Grover, and Kyle Larson. IN the back, playing horseshoes is Alan Jones, Tracy Grover and Chris Grimes walking over to join them.

I just love this picture of the girls hanging out at the dock. Standing is Ashley Grover, Tearzah Johnson, and Alli Casteneda. Sitting is Natalie Palmer, Courtney Grover, and Sari.

Clayton and Rachel hang out at the swing. Sydney is swinging and Jadie is waiting. Jadie later told her mom that her "favorite pushers are Rachel and my daddy".

Don't die of shock but Larry actually took the boys out in a rowboat! And seemed to like it! Joseph and Matthew were joined by Peyton Casteneda. You can see Austin Stoker in the water behind the oar.

The boys - they are such goof offs! Left to right is Ben, Austin Stoker, Jake Grover, Daniel Palmer, Jordan Larson, Brady Jones, Matthew Grimes hiding behind Kyle Grimes, James Larson, and Ben Pugh.

Are the Kwons the cutest family in the world, or what?

Kaelyn and Grace. So yummy, I could eat them with a spoon!

This picture is the story of Rachel's life for the last seven years. She is the only young woman her age in the ward. She doesn't appreciate what she has going on (which is a good thing). But when I saw the boys sitting around her, I immediately send Laura Francis in to take a picture. (Friends can do what parents cannot).

Joseph and Spencer Larson on the swing with Matthew Grimes pushing them. What you can't hear are their laughing screams, which really added to the whole experience.

Ben, Austin Stoker, and Matthew Grimes in the lake. Looks cold, doesn't it?

Every year I have wanted to do a big photo and noone else wants to gather everyone together. This year we were all feeling sentimental, as Mandy Grimes is getting married (and wasn't even there) and Jordan and Kyle are leaving for college, Nathaniel is on his mission, well, the kids are just all growing up so fast! Because of these feelings, Jan and I were able to corral everyone and get them in the picture. Rick even got into it and brought his flag over so it would be in the picture, too.

Towards sunset, it really warmed up. Alan Jones and Larry threw kids in the water. This is Sari taking a splash.

Garth Johnson took Joseph out in a boat to go fishing and by golly - JOSEPH CAUGHT TWO FISH!!!!

This is Joseph showing off his fish, and I love Maddie Jones' expression. They weren't good eating fish, so Rick Pugh buried them in his garden for fertilizer. Joseph was fine with that.

This Ben jumping off the dock at sunset and giving Natalie Palmer a little push at the same time. Don't worry, she didn't fall in. Sari is climbing the ladder.

Of course who wants to jump off the dock when you can flip? Courtney Grover watches as Ben ... flips into the water. Usually he and Blake Grimes put on a backflip show but Blake didn't want to this year.

Another favorite is when the Pugh's make everyone Italian sodas. They have every flavor you can think of and everyone just lines up and Rick and Jan dish it out! They are SO YUMMY!

Rick and Jan - the bartenders. (For my Harding relatives - if Rick looks familar, it is because he is the son of Grant Pugh, who lives behind the Harding house on 1160 E. and 4500 S. in Salt Lake. It is a small world!) This year I had raspberry-peach and it was absolutely my favorite, ever!

After dark we light off several hundred (collective) dollars of bottlerockets and other illegal fireworks purchased by the Bishop, former bishop, two high councilmen, and other men in the ward. Ha ha. We also watch the neighbors (Smart's kids) do their fireworks show - rather we watch them explode thousands of dollars while I sit there and say, this is nice, but for that much money you could ... (fill in the blank here). It is a beautiful fireworks display!

Seven is not too young to learn to light a bottle rocket, apparently!

You can see Joseph's intense concentration on lighting that little tiny fuse.

Just about sucessful! Run back! (The fireworks are all lit from the PVC pipes that line the shore. They are spaced about six feet apart. The fountains and big rockets are launched from the dock. Ben did confess to sending a bottle rocket from his mouth. Duh. We said not to do that again until he is paying for his own health insurance.)

Daniel tries his hand at bottle rocket launching, too. Usually, I don't let my kids do this, but usually Larry is at High Adventure with the Scouts. Dads let kids do dangerous stuff more than moms, I think.

I don't know how they slept through it, but these boys just crashed out and didn't wake up for any of the VERY noisy fireworks, rockets, and cannons. I was popping Advil and Excedrin like they were candy, such was my headache from the noise and smoke. (Note that Matthew sleeps with his eyes open like Larry and Rachel. Freaky. Also you can see my favorite red sandals in the background.)

We love Spokane! We love our friends here. We feel very blessed to be part of such a fun ward family. We are so thankful for the men and women who give ... all to make it so that we can live in this free country, celebrate, and worship with family and friends.

I snagged this from my friend, Elizabeth's blog and I loved it. Hope you think this is worth watching, too.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!

GO GO JOE! ... SHALALA JOSEPH, YOU'RE DOIN' FINE

(Caution - if you are offended by little boys in their skivvies then don't look at the pictures. It is hot here, and it was after the baths, and so the boys are half dressed in the pictures. Sorry, I am just not uptight about that kind of stuff.)

Our sweet love, Joseph is seven years old! It seems like just last week I was in the hospital having panic attacks because the mean nurse wouldn't let me see him because he was in an oxygen tent. But that was the bad, the good is that we got to watch Stadium of Fire from the hospital and that Joseph has always been a sweet tempered, lovey, cuddly, easy going bundle of joyful, loud energy. He used to love to play with my hair (still does) and would rather sleep with Larry and I, if we let him.

Joseph had a great day today! He watched the movie "Nim's Island" again (we saw it yesterday too - love the 50 cent movies!) and went swimming at DartLo. For dinner he asked for crepes - my Grandma Hathaway's recipe.

Joseph was so tired, while Larry was doing dishes, I read some books to the boys and Joseph completely fell asleep!

We don't wrap presents so the kids have to close their eyes. I should have cropped this picture. Maybe I will later.

One of the things Joseph asked for was "two packs of gum". Matthew gave them to him, in hopes that Joseph would share. Of course he did. Matthew said his favorite thing about Joseph is that he shares his bed with him. (Joseph lets Matthew sleep in his bed.)

Daniel's favorite thing about Joseph is that he is always kind to others.

Sari's favorite thing about Joseph is that he is always willing to do something fun with you and try something new.

Ben's favorite thing about Joseph is that he is the most athletic brother.

Rachel's favorite thing about Joseph is that he will stop what he is doing and give Rachel a hug whenever he sees her.

This picture is mainly so Joseph will know his dad was there and fully participating, but he somehow evaded all the camera shots! Unlike me. Ugh.

The birthday loot! With a jealous brother nearby, eyeing the prizes!

Indiana Jones AND motorcycles! Yeah! I love Joseph's face in this picture.

Joseph wanted a guitar cake. I wimped out and bought a cake pan from JoAnns and didn't design my own this year. I intend to use it for Sari's birthday, too, even though I am totally annoyed with how short the long thingy that has the frets is.

Joseph sang "Happy Birthday" to himself with us. I thought it was so sweet. I just love this age!

Two girlfriends.

While we ate cake we each took a turn telling Joseph what our favorite things about him are. Larry said his favorite thing is that Joseph makes friends with everyone and mine is that Joseph is so tender hearted and sweet and he gives the best hugs! It was the first time we did that, but we are going to make it a tradition.

THE REST OF THE STORY (the rest of the visit with the Hathaway's)

Usually when my parents come to visit they are in and out faster than you can say "Spokane Indians". This weekend we were lucky enough to have them from Friday until Tuesday morning. On Monday we went geo-caching and then to DartLo and watched the kids swim. We made homemade icecream one night. We also watched a bunch of movies (Passage to Zarahelma, Face Off - edited, and Beauty and the Beast - the LDS one. We ate a ton of food. My mom did my dishes all the time and kept up on my laundry. It was like I was on vacation! We had a great visit with them! Thanks for coming up to see us!

Caught playing in the backyard!

Rachel is so proper, until you hand her the spinner from the icecream maker, she licks it clean!

GEO-CACHING FUN!

We found the cache!

And another one! This was a beautiful location! And no killer beetles or power poles, it wins my favorite location vote.

And another one! At this location, I was nearly eaten alive by a beetle that was the size of my thumb. I didn't see it until I was in the car, putting on my seatbelt, it was on my left shoulder. I couldn't get out the car fast enough and the beetle was so big I didn't want to touch it. I was actually screaming, "Save me Ben!" He did. Good thing, too, I was about to take off my shirt, right there in the street!

We wanted to go to Cat Tails, but they were closed, we did find the cache hidden near the entrance, though!

Joseph finding the hidden cache.

That's a spine bone from some animal (we hope not human) as part of this cache.

I think that we all will get brain cancer from hanging out around these electrical poles looking for the cache.

Grandma and her grandsons.

DARTLO

Rachel didn't want to swim so she sat on the side or read her book.

Sari loves being the swim teacher to Matthew, who will not put his face in the water.

Joseph jumping off the side.

Daniel takes on the diving board. Last year he could barely move forward, look at him now!

The kids LOVE it when they turn on the fountains. Matthew braves the rain while Joseph watched from in the water. I love the zero entry.

Sari, closest to the front, and her friends, in the rain fountain.

Matthew loves the water and the pool, as long as his face stays dry! Hilarious kid!