July...?

So, I know it's time to be blogging, but I don 't have knew pictures on the camera, and I've been asking myself what did I do in July? And I am not near as creative as all my friends who blog. You all come up with cute little lists. No, not me. Boring.? well no not boring...when I think of what to call myself I'll let you all know.

Anyway, I know we've been busy, but doing what... ?
Little bit of this and a little bit of that...
cleaning
organizing
traveling
running
friend visiting
swimming
garage selling
hiking
picnicing
family visiting
relaxing
sleeping in
playing
craigslist reviewing
reading
emailing
meetings
theater going
movie watching
yard working
kid taxiing (is that a word taxi+ing)
Really it's a little of everything.

One Big th+ing consuming our time is that Danny and I are trying to upgrade our truck. Well if you keep reading you'll see our new addition. No, not the truck yet, but we did buy a pop-up camper. Which is sitting pretty(sarcasm) in front of the house waiting for our new vehicle, not yet purchased, to pull it away for a lovely weekend of camping. (Sense a little pessimism in my voice?) The camper really was a great buy. So we jumped ahead of ourselves and bought the camper before the new truck/suv...whatever. So, we wait! I sure hope I have some new pictures to post soon to show off our new purchase. Preferably before July is over! It has already been an adventure.

The above camper which we affectionately call the "Little White Ugly" because our friends have a fifth wheel that they affectionately call the "Big White Ugly." And while we have yet to see their "Big White Ugly" we couldn't help but take part in the contagious fun name. I hope it's okay that we stole it. We didn't ask. I won't tell you who just in case it's a secret that they call it that. I do love that their kids think that all fifth wheels are called "Big White Uglies." I guess when your young and can't afford to buy new campers, this is what we get. And aside from the fact that I don't like it sitting in right in front of my house...I love it and I am very excited to use it!

Here are a few pictures I found on the camera from Jeannie and my 21/2 hour hike with ALL the kids. We actually had a blast. We were more than worn out and sweaty when we were done. And poor Martin expressed all of our tired feelings the last 10 min. of the hike back to the parking lot. Even though it was a little more than we had bargained for, Jeannie and I felt great to know that we had gotten outdoors, excercised, and hung out together. And our kids never seem to get sick of each other.



If your still reading this...Hopefully you'll enjoy the sign below. My niece Lilli made it the day we had a garage sale at my sister's house. The kids planned and planned and replanned on how to do their "lemondmade" stand. Each adult thought that the other one had helped her make this sign, so no one even checked on what she had done. It wasn't until a little old lady read the spelling out loud and got a good laugh out of it, before we knew what she had done. Kids do really make a lot of sense sometimes! And Lilli did make a little money that day. So she was happy.

I only have a couple weeks left to enjoy of the summer. Precious times they are!!!

Great Plains Adventures!

My sister is busy this week coaching and preparing for Regionals Gymnastics, so that freed up the chance to take her kids for the day yesterday. Thanks to my mom for bringing them out. We had a picnic, played, and got some sun. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Marina has missed the monkey bars from not being at school.

Leilani can't wait to own a little dog of her own, that she can dress up, put in a fancy bag, and carry all around. I guess Ouray will have to do for now.

Lilli spunky and sassy as ever! Spent most of her time playing baseball, (well if that's what you call it when the kids are using a flip-flop as the bat) and trying to break the rules in order to steal a base while grandma was pitching.

Below: This is Isaac and Lafai's game. My mom suggested they bring small balls to the waterpark for the water. Quickly they started trying to get the ball into the top of the fountain. Many of the other boys at the park couldn't resist the challenge and fun.

Thanks for a great day kiddos! And thanks to Grandma Layne for the special ice cream treat that summed it all up!