New Spice

Love the Old Spice commercials with the man in the shower, then on a yacht, then riding away on a horse?
And you love BYU as well?
Then you'll love this.
{thanks Rachie for sharing it.}

Soaring Sacrament

In all of my years of attending church every Sunday, I don't believe I have ever witnessed a Sacrament tray go down...that is, of course, until yesterday. Azure was walking the tray full of bread down the row to me {we were sitting on the very back row, so it was full to the brim}. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
It seemed to happen in slow motion though. Azure held out the tray just beyond my reach, turned her head to look at something, and let go. I was holding Emmett, or I'm certain I would have leapt from my chair, diving heroically to save the blessed bread. Alas, that's not how this story ends.
The tray crashed to the ground, spilling the sacrament all over the gym floor, the boy in front of us, and in my church bag. The little deacon whisked up the empty tray and was off. I gathered up the bread and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. I'm sure I should have thrown it out, but didn't see a trash can nearby, and since Emmett was squealing for me to give him some, and he hadn't really eaten lunch before we came, and I didn't feel like fighting him since I was there with the kids by myself...my sweet little baby got an extra helping {or rather, 30 extra helpings} of spirituality.

Party in the USA!

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love the music. I love the food. I love the warm weather, and I love the low stress. Because it fell on a Sunday this year, we celebrated ALL weekend long!

FRIDAY

Dan started the day of with a dirtbike ride, I went to lunch with some girls I used to work with, then we came home, gathered the kids, and headed out to Manitou Springs. We hit the new Rudy's BBQ with the Lovejoys {the meats and banana pudding are great - but steer clear of all of the bland sides}.

After dinner, we headed to the outdoor penny arcade. {not exactly sure why they call it a 'penny' arcarde} but it was so much fun!
SATURDAY

Our ward threw a GREAT Family Fourth party. I think the Primary leaders planned most of it, and they did a fabulous job! There was a pancake breakfast complete with fresh fruit & cool whip toppings, followed by the Kids' Parade, waterslide, outdoor games & races, and a big fat waterfight that Dan ended up in the middle of {of course!}.

Later, Dan went shooting with Peter L., then came home to join us for some pool time. We met up with some new neighbor friends there, and just had a nice evening getting to know them. The girls are instant friends.

McKenna, Bella, Azure, Kyla

SUNDAY

We went to church decked out in red, white & blue, went to Grammy's house for the classic roast & potatoes dinner {delish!} and then headed up north with Dan's family to get a good view of both the Flying Horse and AFA fireworks shows.

MONDAY
The celebrating continued, since everyone had the day off work.

Woo-hoo! We had Grammy & Grandpa, Megan & Carter, Emily, Kacey & kids, and the Lovejoy family over for a BBQ, games, and s'mores. Oh my lands. We had such a good time! Everyone brought lots of food, we played badminton, ladder ball, and bocce ball, while the kids jumped on the trampoline, played on the swingset, and got completely muddy in the dirt pile behind our house. Funny how with all of the fun things we had set up to do, the kids' favorite thing was playing in the dirt. Go figure!

Who doesn't love a good s'more? Apparently Carter. He's NEVER had one. Not ever. We tried, but couldn't convince him to attempt it tonight - but we all had at least 2 or 3 - and enjoyed every ooey-gooey bite!

Thank Heavens for the Fourth of July, For our Freedom, For our Blessings, and for this BEAUTIFUL Country We Live In! God Bless America!

Workin' It

Photo by Joyana

This is my Sweet Husband at work. Isn't he just adorable in his Jenco shirt? And he's got pics of kids on his desk, and one of Bella's drawings hung up behind him - so cute. He works so hard for our family, and I am indescribably grateful for him. So thankful that I am blessed to be able to be a stay at home mommy, because he is a hard working daddy! Of course, his work doesn't just end at the office...he puts in some overtime at home too.

Here he is working at home, on Azure's Leprachaun Trap project.

{I know, that was months ago, but it seems to fit here too.}

Yes, he actually busted out the drill to work on a kindergarten school project.

Dan with a glue gun? So crafty. Love it!
The girls had a great time with him figuring out the best way to trap a little green guy.

And here is the creative final project. You'll notice there are four leaf clovers and gold stuck on the house, as a lure for the leprachaun. You'll also see footprints, guiding him right where he needs to go. Then you'll notice the vial of green potion that will make the leprachaun really sleepy. Then of course, the trap bed. Once he's sleepy, he'll lie down on the "bed" which is actually hollow, and attached to a trip wire. Once the leprachaun falls through the bed, it pulls the wire, which knocks down the straw, which closes the blue lid, and voila! You've got yourself one trapped leprachaun. The best part is... it's all fully functioning. Incredible, right?
Great WORK Daddy! Love you!

Did MY kid say that?

We try to teach our children to be honest. Which is a good thing. However, they have not figured out that to be honest does not mean that you must share any and all observations out loud - for all to hear. Tactfulness. That's what they're missing. This makes for some terribly awkward moments, including classics, like the time Bella continued to ask me whether our Wal-Mart checkout lady was a man or a woman, because she had a dark mustache. Loudly. Several times. Even after I tried desperately to shush her. Mortified, naturally.

And then there are a few new ones, like when meeting our new neighbors for the first time a few days ago, Azure stood in their entry way and announced "Whoo-ie! It STINKS in here!!!" Again. That was awesome. A very proud Mom moment.

Sadly, last night - Calvin joined the ranks. We had a couple over for dinner, and out of the clear blue, Calvin turns to me and says, "He's big and fat!". Of course, everyone at the table heard, including the man he was referring to. I tried quickly to explain to Cal that that is not a nice thing to say, and that he needed to apologize. Naturally, that just inspired him to declare the same observation again, with even more gusto. I was so embarrassed. The only thing that got him to stop the repeated offense was a threat of an early bed time. I apologized. But the damage was done.

It's looking like our next several FHE's will be on manners & tactfulness. Aaaah!