It just never ends!

Even though we are back home there is never an end to the projects!  Our sprinklers have been broken all summer and Ben finally got around to fixing it.  Little did he know he would have to dig a hole this deep.

He is still digging and trying to find the end of this pipe so we can replace it.  Just last night our neighbor comes over with some computer work for Ben, so the sprinklers have now been pushed to the back burner again...........fun times!

Of course Sophia had to play in the 20 tons of dirt sitting on our dead grass.

Camping at Lava Hot Springs

Of course I said yes, because I like to camp and I really like hanging out with our good friends and their cute boys.  We were originally going to camp somewhere that turned out to be a crap hole, so we ended up at Lava Hot Springs.  We had so much fun and the kids loved playing in the water.

 Sara and Sophia had Capri Sun and Pop Tarts for breakfast.  Sophia loves Capri Suns and doesn't squeeze them at all!  The campground we stayed at was really nice with grass and everything!

Everyone loved the water, but I think Brandon's favorite part were the huge slides!  I don't think he ate lunch because he was always in line or in the water.

On our last night there Jeffery wanted me to make him a s'more, so of course I made him the best s'more ever!  I am so glad we came and we have decided to make this an annual tradition.  Love you guys!

Utah visit part 4

Tuesday night I took 4 girls to the mall for some fun.  We all rode the carousel, did some shopping and then the kids got to play.  Sophia loved the slide and she did it over and over again.

Wednesday Kim and I took the kids downtown to the church history museum to experience the I am a Child of God exhibit.  The girls loved dressing and taking care of the babies and they stayed there for at least an hour.

There were lots of fun hands-on things to do and all the kids had fun.

The kids could create a stained glass window,

do a CTR rubbing in different languages,

dress up,

color a stained glass picture,

or throw bean bags.

When we were done in the museum we walked to the Gateway so the kids could get wet.  Sophie stayed on the edge most of the time,  but sometimes she would venture into the water and get sprayed.  The kids were totally worn out and half of them fell asleep on the way home.

I enjoyed our time in Utah, and the kids loved hanging out with their cousins.  While I was there our friends called and asked if we were still going camping this weekend...............*sigh*

Utah visit part 3

Monday night we went to Monte and Kim's house where we stayed for the rest of the week.  Chandler and Kaitlin were in school, so we got to spend some time with Britton, Sydney and Connor.  Sydney was constantly asking to hold Sophia and Connor was just loud and all over the place.

At 15 years old Britton spends a lot of time lounging around and playing on the computer (when he's not studying and getting homework done for his upcoming AP classes in High School).  That afternoon we went to visit Grandmalona and Grandpa Craig and the kids had so much fun!  Brandon played Rummikub with Grandma and both kids got to make dried bananas, almond butter and fresh apple juice.

YUM!

Utah visit part 2

We left the zoo and went straight to Classic for my niece Jessica's 6th birthday party.  The kids wanted to try roller skates at first, but it was hard to stay up and they had nothing to hold onto, so they switched to scooters and had lots of fun.

We had pizza, soda, cake and ice cream and lots and lots of fun!

At the end of the night Brandon was hot and sweaty and all the kids took a bath as soon as we got back to Rachel's place.

Sunday morning Ben took all the kids to Liberty park to play for a while so I could get ready for church and get all our things together.  After Olivia's blessing and lunch we headed over to my Uncle's house for dinner and to find out that my cousin R.J. got called to the Lubbock, Texas mission.  We said goodbye to Ben and the kids went for a sleepover at Grandma's house.

Monday morning Sophia and I met Grandma, the kids, Owen, Chrissy, Jessica and Mitchell at Classic for a day of water slides.  Sara loves it because the slides aren't that big, so they don't go very fast.

Brandon likes the slides, but he also likes the bounce slides.  He made friends with a bunch of boys, so I didn't see him very much.

We left Classic very tired, but we had one more stop to make.  We got an African Ice then went to Grandma's house for dinner.

Utah visit part 1

We drove to Utah for my niece Oliva's blessing and decided to stay with my one and only sister Rachel. Her place is so cute and we loved spending time with her and Matt.

Sophia LOVED her cat Rhino and Rhino LOVED all the attention he got from Sophia (I think).  Brandon and Sara loved playing with all the cats, and staying up late watching movies.

The next morning we went to Hogle Zoo and played with the water ball, watched the bird show, saw lots of animals and rode the carousel.

We were so busy while we were in Utah Sophia had to nap in the van or the stroller.  Thankfully she is so easy going and even though she didn't get her usual 3-4 hour nap she was still very happy.

School supplies and the new mechanic

You are looking at $140 worth of school supplies.  Even when notebooks are only .10 cents and markers are only .25 cents it adds up quick.  I'm glad we're done having kids because I don't know how I could afford to send any more to school.

The check engine light came on in the van and stayed on for about a week-  I went to Auto Zone and they checked it for free. Ben looked up the code online and figured he could fix it himself to save some money.  First he took the part out of the van and cleaned it to see if that would fix the problem.  When he was putting the part back in one of the bolts broke, but he got another one, so it was all good.  When I was driving around the next day the check engine light came back on, so Ben decided to get a new part and just replace it.  He called all over town and finally found a place that had the part, so he went over and picked it up.  He got the new part put in and everything is working fine.  I am so proud of my new mechanic!

Bear Lake 2010

We had so much fun at Bear Lake this year!  We found out that Sophia LOVES ketchup.  She had Ritz crackers and ketchup for dinner- healthy I know.  I'm the best mom ever!

Brandon was a big help this year and was always asking if there was something he could do for us.  He really liked helping Grandma make breakfast and he helped put up and take down our tent.

Sara had fun laying in the sun and snacking.  I was totally awesome at reapplying the sunscreen, so none of the kids got burned!

Sophia loved playing in the sand.  As long as she had a shovel and a bucket she was happy.  The hardest part was keeping her paci and sippy cup clean because she kept throwing them in the sand.

Isn't this the cutest picture of her sand covered tushie?  She wanted to get Daddy, but she couldn't keep her balance in the water so she wouldn't go out very far.

The kids talked Aunt Rachel and Uncle Matt into making a sand castle with them.  It turned out amazing with a moat and everything!

My cute nephew Mitchell loved chasing the seagulls!  He would throw food to lure them close then chase them away over and over again.

All the kids loved getting in the water, some more than others, even though it was really cold.  Brandon really liked going out deep with the adults and Sara stayed in the shallow water so she didn't get too wet.  We all had fun and survived the huge storm that drove everyone into their cars Saturday night- good times!

Catching up

I haven't been able to post lately because I didn't have my computer to upload all my cute pictures.  We sent it in to apple and of course they couldn't reproduce the problem.  Whatever.  Here are some recent pictures so I can get caught up.  I found this binkie I had bought for Brandon and gave it to Sophia.  She didn't notice, but the kids thought it was hilarious!

This is one of the best parts of summer; sno-cones!  We go at least once a week and Brandon always gets root beer as one of his flavors with sour shock.

Sophia still loves books and Ben decided to join her on her little couch and read one to her.

Almond Joy pieces is Sara's newest favorite treat.  She left her door open and guess who wandered in and found them?  She was eating them as fast as she could before I took the bag away.  When she was done she refilled the bag with some of her cheese crackers.  Sara thought there was some chocolate left inside until she opened the bag to eat some.  Ha, Ha, Ha!

Sophia has discovered babies and loves to carry them around or push them in her stroller.

She also likes to kiss them and give them hugs.  How sweet!!

Sophia likes to think she's a big girl and sit at the table to eat.  Usually she eats more food if she can do it herself sitting at the table.  We have been very busy this month, so there will be many more pictures and posts coming soon!