Spider

For many years, since our kids have been around I've tried to contain or control my dislike for spiders. I didn't want to freak the kids out by me freaking out whenever I ran across one of these cute little guys. Well, today ended that charade for GOOD! Let me preface this by reminding everyone that our basement is currently unfinished. So today like most other days I made a trip to the basement to return an item or pick one up. Today I had my arms full, trying to minimize the times I would have to run up and down the stairs. I had a big bag of bedding in one hand and several glass jars in the other. I reached the bottom of the stairs and really couldn't hang onto the bag anymore, so I just sat it down right by the bottom of the stairs and turned to walk the other way to put the jars away. It was at the precise moment that my brain registered that there was something horrifying sitting on the luggage RIGHT by where I had just placed the bag. My first thought was "why is there a taranchula in my house" The next thought was get up the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me. Thankfully my brain registered to keep a hold the the glass jars at the same time. As I ran into the kitchen I placed the jars nicely on the counter, Kyson and Becca look at me with wide eyes as I'm doing this crazy type dance through the kitchen chanting "huge spider downstairs! huge spider downstairs!" They wanted to run down there but I told them not to, I didn't want them to scare it so it would run away. The only way I would sleep here tonight is if I knew it was dead. I head to the door hoping Phil is close. . . as I open the door and see him standing right there, I can't hold the scream in anymore. I tell him to come quick. . . he is thinking something major is wrong. . . with one of the kids, not me being freaked out by a spider. . . because it's been a while since I've freaked out over a spider. BUT I really don't think I have seen one this big in any of my houses EVER! I take him downstairs to show him and he calmly walks to the other end of the basement, I didn't know what he was going to do and I didn't want to stick around any longer than I had to, so I ran back upstairs. Soon Phil, the hero, comes up with the culprit stuck on one of those sticky mouse traps, that made it look even BIGGER, but at least it couldn't move. The kids all crowd around thinking it was SO COOL as I cringe away from the thing. Kaden briefly put his life at risk when he took the trap and was going to come after me with it. I really don't think he has ever heard me threaten his life like that before. Wisely, he stopped immediately!

So I've pretty much been creeped out all day! Haven't made another trip to the basement. It might be a while! The above picture pretty much looks like the darn thing, just picture it's body being about the size of my thumb! YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!

Kambrie's Birthday

This last Wednesday we celebrated Kambrie's 9th birthday. I can't believe she is nine! We enjoyed a wonderful day and had quite a few surprises for her on her special day. Her first surprise was a new bike. She has been using Kaden's old one and it just wasn't fast enough for her. So she got it first thing in the morning and immediately took it outside for a test ride, p.j.'s and all.

After swimming lessons, piano lessons and lunch Kambrie and I took off in the car. She had no idea where we were going. Several weeks ago I asked her what she wanted to do on her birthday and she said "go horseback riding." I checked several places thinking that the entire family could do that. . . but it would have cost a TON. So I called our old neighbor who owns a horse and she was more than willing to let Kambrie come out and ride Casper for a while. Kambrie was so excited when she figured out where we were. I had smuggled a bag with jeans and her boots in it in the car so she wouldn't figure where we were going. She was all smiles. After that hot and dusty hour, we went to the mall and got her ears pierced. . . for the second time. We are hoping this time will work out better.

A tradition in our family is to let the birthday person pick out where we go out to eat that night. Kambrie chose Sky Dragon Buffet. We invited Aunt Pat and Uncle Keith (really only Becca's biological aunt, but we consider them family) to join us for dinner and cake after at our house.

Kambrie and Auntie Pat. Kambrie just loves her!
The silly nine year old girls.
Such a good picture of us!
Wow, nine candles produce A LOT of smoke!

And what birthday would be complete without a song from Kyson to the birthday girl. This was just so cute!

Remembering Summers Past

As this summer is here, I sadly realize that Phil and I aren't going to have a fun little trip, just the two of us. We have had some great trips the last 3 summers and I am going to miss all the fun. Not that spending quality time with the kids isn't fun, but it is great to get a way, just the two of us every now and again.

So I am posting our last 3 summers. We seem to do so much that this might take a while, but below are events from the summer of '05

Summer of '05 destination #1

We started the summer out by staying in a condo just off the Wisconsin River close to Wisconsin Dells. Phil's parents came out and joined us on this fun little venture. We had a fun pool to swim in, a river to fish in and pleny of water and sand for the kids to play in. We all had a great time. That was just a short 3 years ago. Look how all the kids have changed.

Summer '05 destination #2

Since all of our family lives out west we hopped in the car and drove for 20 hours straight through. Ya, we are pretty crazy, but the kids travel really well, and it doesn't seem that bad when you don't stop that much. So we arrived in Wyoming to visit my parents. My mom gets kittens for the kids to play with each year we visit. They love it, it is just hard to say good-bye to them when we leave.




They discovered the joy of riding Grandma Walton's four-wheeler and we spent countless hours giving them all rides. Kyson would actually fall asleep while riding, which made it hard to drive and hold on to him at the same time.




Highlights of the trip include playing with Uncle Lane's dog Tiny, he is not at all tiny. Going to the country fair and feeding the horses and of course riding the horses. The kids really enjoy their time in Wyoming.

Summer of '05 destination #3

After spending several weeks in Wyoming we were ready to hit the road again. Phil had returned home at this point to work, and would be flying to San Diego, and that is where I would meet up with him. It was our first time to be away from the kids, but we knew they were in good hands with Phil's parents and his brother Jeff and their family. So the kids and I braved the short 4 hour drive to Salt Lake a few days before I would leave for San Diego. I wanted to get them all settled before I left, which is a lot of work!

Phil and I had an amazing time in San Diego. This was our first time there and we really enjoyed it. The weather was perfect, yummy food and lots of entertainment. I should mention that Phil was there for work. He has just taken over the travel contracts and so he was there at the NBTA (Nation Business Travelers Association) conference, which is a HUGE deal. So while he was at conferences all day, I would play. It didn't take me long to find a mall I could walk to, so I would shop and went to a movie. Another day I walked along the sea side village and enjoyed strolling along the ocean front. It was great. I almost felt guilty for not missing the kids as much as I thought I would.

We discovered Old Town and a wonderful Mexican restaurant there. We both love Mexican food and were in heaven. Our last day there we tried to go snorkeling. I say "tried" because the visibility was terrible. But we had fun trying.

Phil and I aboard the USS Midway. Several travel companies held an event there. We had a tour of the ship, tons of amazing food and entertainment.

Part of the entertainment was Gary Sinise and the Lieutenant Dan Band. I didn't know he was multi-talented. The band was really good. Some of us went on stage for a few minutes. It was a very fun night.

Summer '05 Destination #4

Well, not really a new destination, just different activities. After Phil and I flew back to SL, we all went to Utah Lake boating and camping. We rented a tube for the day and the kids had so much fun on it.

Here are the highlights of those two action packed days!

Back on Schedule

Due to the fact that we have had family and friends in town our routine has went out the window! So this morning it was great to get back on the normal schedule in the morning. Our house just feels calm when everyone knows what they need to do and gets it done. It has been a nice morning. Not too much nagging from me either. They all have their responsibilities which include: making bed, cleaning room, job from mom, practice piano and read. Kyson even worked on some work book pages this morning, which was great. The girls are working on a book about something they learned in Primary yesterday. Hopefully we can continue this through the summer.

Fourth of July Fun

We had a great day celebrating the 4th. Our good friends came down from the Cities and spent several days with us. All the kids had a playmate close to their age so we pretty much didn't see much of them the entire time. The only time they all congregated was during meal time. The weather was absolutely perfect. I have to say something positive about our weather lately because I complained about it all spring. But the month of June through July 6th was amazing. No humidity, cool evenings and bright blue skies. We only had our air on about 3 times! It was great, I love sleeping with the windows open and a breeze flowing into our room and waking with the sounds of the birds (except the crows!). So that is my plug for the great weather.
So that made the day so much better. There have been other 4th celebrations that it is torture to be outside in the heat and humidity. We had a great ward picnic at a fun park. It was fun to hang out with lots of friends and eat LOTS of yummy food.
That night we all went to a friends house for BBQ, smores and fireworks. You can see all of the city and neighboring towns from their deck. So come nightfall it was fun to see all the fireworks. The kids had a great time, but the highlight of the evening was not the fireworks or even the smores, it was the glow sticks that Shelly brought. They had them around their ears, necks, ankles, wrists, or in a long string swinging them around. They even performed a light show for all of the adults. It was fun to see how creative they were. So it was a GREAT day.
We all were sad to see our friends leave on Saturday. There were a few tears from the girls, they have so much fun together. We really wish they still lived HERE!

June Update

Rochester Area Girls Choir Tour June 7-8

Becca and I enjoyed time together as Becca's choir took a trip north to Brainerd to perform 7 times in two days. We traveled on a nice tour bus. I loved it, and could read the entire time without getting sick (something I can't do in a normal vehicle). I think the highlight for the girls was staying in a hotel with a POOL! They all did an amazing job. On that Sunday they sang in two different churches. At one of them the we moms were all sitting behind the girls and could see the audience. The girls sang a collection of beautiful Christan songs that really moved members of the congregation. There were quite a few with tears streaming down their faces. It was a very tender and spiritual moment to witness the affect the girls singing had on the congregation. I will always cherish that memory.
Friend Fun
The kids have a great time inviting friends over to play. On this day Kyson had Ben over and they played with water balloons the whole time. Something about water and kids. . . . Becca invited Kalisha and they played dress-up and other girly activities. And Kambrie had Natalia over and they played in the trees and outside most of the time.
































Father's Day
We had fun celebrating Father's Day for Phil. We had some friends over and I cooked Phil's favorite kind of food, Mexican. It was a Martha Stewart idea of a taco bar. I made Carnitas, poached chicken, flour tortillas, corn chips (the kids LOVED these) and a roasted tomato Jalapeno salsa. It was really yummy if I may say so and I had a great time doing it. It was a fun day.

Scout Camp

Phil and Kaden left for scout camp on the 21st and returned late the 27th. It was a very quiet house with both of them gone. They really had tons of fun repelling, shooting shot guns, pistols and black powder guns, swimming, and water games just to name a few. And plenty of food to eat. Kaden said he really didn't miss us because he was having SO much fun. That is different from last year, so I'm glad about that.

16 Years

On June 24th Phil and I celebrated 16 years of marital bliss. How did we celebrate? Well, he was at scout camp, so a good friend and I went to dinner and a movie. It's nice to have friends that help you celebrate your anniversary when your husband is gone. Then we went out Sat. night. It was nice to spend some time together. We both can't believe it has been 16 years.

Cousins

Thursday, June 26th, Phil's brother Brad and family arrived. Brad and Shelly were attending a conference in the Cities over the weekend, so their two boys stayed with us. They are 15 and 16 years old so the kids thought it was SO cool to have "teenagers" in the house. We really had a lot of fun and enjoyed the time we got to spend with them. It had been about 2-3 years since we last saw them and they both had changed a ton. Then on Sunday Brad and Shelly returned and stayed until Monday morning. It's always nice to have family come and visit.

Miscellaneous Activities

Besides the above activities we have been busy swimming, playing at the parks, and a few bike rides. Kaden and Kyson have been busy with swimming lessons this week and the girls have been busy reading and practicing piano. We switched teachers and they are both doing really well.