Wordless Wednesday: Tea Party

(ally and ashtyn, june 2010)

Hometown Holiday

This year for the Fourth of July we decided that we were going to stay home and have a Hometown Holiday. We have lived in our home almost 4 years and we have never gone to our towns festivities. I think our Fourth of July plans for the next umpteen years have been planned, we had a GREAT time! So, without further ado...I present our Hometown Holiday highlights. (brace yourself it's kind of long)

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Saturday dawned bright and early for us, although we DID NOT attend the 7AM pancake breakfast we did make it to the 9 AM parade. Can you believe that this is the FIRST parade Nate and I have ever taken our kids to? I know, slap our wrists, we are parade slackers. We had a great time though. Ethan got to ride on the Cub Scouts float in the parade. Evelyn was content to sit on the grass drinking Capri Suns and eating one of the MANY popsicles that they threw out to us. Ryland and Ally had a great time retrieving all of the candy they could that was thrown. This parade was PERFECT, it wasn't too long, it wasn't too short, it was just right. Wait, where have I heard that before? Anyway, we heard some of the other spectators mention that they remember bringing their kids to the parade, back in the day, and it only having 4 floats! Doesn't that make you smile? Four floats, how funny. Anyway, ours was rockin with around fourteen. I know, times are changing. Let's just say at this point, I was already diggin this Hometown Holiday.

Next up was fair-like activities in the city park for the better part of the day. One of the things they do is foot races. Are you kidding me? If I had known about this we would have been here years ago! They start out with crawling babies and go all the way up to the elderly. It was so much fun to watch. I think they ran about a 50 yard dash. Nate and the three older kids all ran in it. They did great and had a ball doing it.

I am not really a competitve person, but you present me with a foot race and I get excited. I was so way bummed that I am still healing from my stress fracture, it took everything I had to not say, "Whatever" and do it anyway. Next year, next year, next year. I can't wait. Still, Evie and I made quite a cheering section for the Little Mills Kingdom. Between you and me.....I think I would have been a contender. Just saying. :)
They brought in a huge rock climbing wall, and Ally LOVED it! She stood in line three times I think for that thing. She did pretty good too, I was impressed with her climbing prowess.

As for rides, there wasn't much. This bad boy was a total throwback to my childhood though and each of the kids had a great time on it.

The older three kids all enjoyed riding the ponies. Having had a couple horseback riding lessons last year Ethan and Ally were antsy to take control of the reigns and get a move on it. Yeah, that wasn't gonna happen, but they still enjoyed it.
Archery was a huge hit with Ryland. But, what boy doesn't love bows and arrows? Ethan, Ally and Nate all tried their hand at it too. They all did pretty well too. They had balloons on a wall as targets but they also had these foam-like animals that the kids could shoot. They looked like they had seen better days but the kids loved it.

There was also a HUGE slip n' slide. Think of the slides they have at county fairs, then add ice cold water and mats to ride down on. I think Ryland and Ethan will save that for last next year. They froze their little tushies off the rest of the day. There was also BINGO, a sawdust scramble, "fishing" for the kids, a "wrestling" performance (that's better left unexplained), and an airplane candy drop to name a few. It was super fun.

After we got home and had an afternoon nap we took the kids to see the new Karate Kid and get some pizza. Have you seen that movie? It was great. Then it was off to the Fireworks.

Ally cracks me up. Before we left the house I told the kids to get some warm clothes on. This was Ally's idea of "warm clothes". Doesn't she have a great sense of style? I told her to "strike a pose". hehe Isn't it great to be eight?

There was another candy drop at the Fireworks show. Where is Ethan, the tweenager? He's off being cool with his buddies. Stinker.

While we waited for it to get dark there was a live band, the candy drop, concessions and......

Parachuters! Six to be exact. The last one brought in the American Flag. Just prior to the Fireworks there was the Pledge of Allegiance, we sung the National Anthem and there was a Flag Ceremony. It was awesome.

I think we spent our city's entire annual budget on the fireworks show. It was amazing. Although next year we are just gonna do blankets on the grass and no camp chairs. Our necks were killing us by the end. I have never been that close to the fireworks before. It was amazing. Have I said that already? Our Hometown Holiday was AMAZING!

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Sunday evening my Dad and Fran came over for a BBQ. We then went for a walk around the neighborhood, played some games and waited for it to get dark again. Nate surprised me on Friday and hung our flag on our house. I was so excited!
Nate did a great job with the show and enjoyed having a couple of willing helpers too. Mom on the other hand is a little nervous about letting the little helpers help. It's a constant struggle between Moms and Pyro's.
Monday, July 5th, 2010

Most of Monday was spent doing yardwork. On Friday Nate and I started another yard project and had hoped to have it finished by the end of Monday. Alas, there is the age old problem of not having enough hours in the day. So, hopefully I will get to show it to you later in the week. This weekend also marked the beginning of Nate's annual waterfight with the neighbor boys, Devin and Austin. Nate took Ethan, Ally, and Ryland over in the dark of night and ambushed them while they were doing their fireworks show with their family.It was awesome. They totally nailed them. Let the games begin.

In the evening Nate's brother Daniel and his wife Jen came with their little girls Sydney and Mya for a BBQ. The kids had a great time running around together. Can you believe Sydney and Evelyn are only three weeks apart in age? There is definitely a height discrepancy going on. I hope those two are joined at the hip all of their growing up years like they are right now.

Ethan and Ryland were playing some sort of "boy game". I think Ethan is liking being older and having a younger brother to do his bidding. He wore poor Ryland out having him push that car all around the driveway. I remember hearing him say "pretend it's a lot more boyish", about his pink and purple Barbie ride. To make sure it looked more "boyish" he had his stash of waterguns placed throughout the vehicle.

It was a great Fourth of July weekend and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Swimming Lessons

Ethan was in level 5 again this year. He is doing so great, he just needs to work on his strength, and not belly-flopping when he dives. More on that another day....hehe.

Ally had a close call drowning about a year ago so is now a little fearful when she gets in over her head. She was pushed a bit this session (level 4) and even though she was scared she did everything her teacher asked. It was awesome, I can't wait to see how much she has improved by her next lessons in August. I don't even want to think about what is in that water that is pouring out of her mouth. Ewww!

Ryland (level 2) is a real treat to watch. Everything is "Mom! Watch this! Mom! Watch that!" He is too cute. I was especially grateful I was snapping photos when I got the bare bum gem! That was priceless. Wanna know what he did the next three days of lessons? Undies under the trunks.

Evelyn (level 1) improved the most since last year by far. Last year she wouldn't get in water deeper than her ankles. This year she actually would put part of her face in the water. She was like a little fish. It was super fun watching her come out of her shell.

It was super fun watching the kids increase their swimming skills. This coming from a mom who can't go under water without plugging my nose. I know, I'm a swimming loser. It's all good. Atleast my kids won't be. Can't wait to do it all again in a couple weeks!

Photo Shoot Sunday: Fourth of July 2008

I remember this photo shoot well. It was midday, terrible lighting, but I knew it was my only chance to get a photo of the kiddos together that day. I remember being excited that we actually had a nice spot in the yard for some photos. Even after all of our years in our Ogden house I never really felt like there was a nice spot for photos in that yard. I had been laboring day in and day out at this point and had almost finished the beds in the front by this point. Perfect for a photo shoot, even if the kids didn't agree. Typical. Here are the best ones. Enjoy and Happy Fourth of July!

Potty Training: Round One Goes To Evelyn

It's finally potty training time in our neck of the woods. Here it is July and we are just barely getting around to this. I for one thought she would be trained by Halloween or maybe Christmas. Of last year. Nope, Evie had other plans. If you recall we got her a Betsy Wetsy doll AND a pink princess potty for Christmas. Nope, nada. Early June we were still not making much headway. Whenever we brought up the subject she would flat out refuse. I could tell it crossed her mind every now and again though. I distinctly recall one evening I was in the kitchen making dinner and she was coloring. I hadn't said a word about going potty when out of the blue, she looks at me and says, "YOU go Potty!" Finally one day I said, "That's It!" It all began the afternoon I caught her trying to change her own poopy diaper. Yeah, that's not happening again! If you are big enough to try and change your own diaper you are big enough to go potty in the big girl potty. She didn't agree. So the next day, Ethan's birthday no less, I cracked the whip. The other three were pretty easy once they were ready, took about three intensive days and VOILA! no more diapers. Evelyn is definitely cut from a different cloth. Here are some of the highlights of that day.

This photo collage is of Evelyn telling me that she had just peed her pants......Again. She doesn't like it, she walks funny when she does it. It's actually kind of cute and funny, but don't tell her.
This photo collage is about 30 minutes later. She came up to me just like this, again telling me that she had just peed her pants.....yet AGAIN. My favorite photo is where she is pointing at it. Let's just say, she won this round. We are currently on the next round of potty training with Little Miss Pee Pants. Check back next week to see who wins that one. Right now....it feels like a toss up.

Flashback Friday: Celebrating the Hale's

This weeks Flashback Friday is dedicated to my Mom and her wonderful husband, Bob. Three years ago tomorrow they were married and sealed in the Ogden Temple. It was a beautiful day! Here are some photos from that wonderful day.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Hale exiting the Temple.

After the luncheon we took some family photos with them, here is my brother Travis and his family with them on their special day.

Our family, Evelyn was just 8 days old. If you look closely you can see her breathing monitor under the bench by Ethans feet. What a crazy time that was, we are just so grateful we were able to make it to the wedding.


My sister Jennifer and her family.

My nephew Brice with Mom and Bob.

Ryland, Tyler, Garrett, Ethan, Shaylen, Sawyer, Ally and Ridge

Don't they make a good looking couple? We are still so happy for them and are so glad to see them so happy together. We will say it again, "Welcome to the Family, Bob!"

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my cute Mom's birthday. I love her so much, it's not even funny. I cannot believe how unbelievably blessed I am to have her as my Mom. The more I know her and know of her life the more amazed of her I am. There is not a better Mom out there for me, she is simply the best. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you more than you know!