SWIM LESSONS

Bailey happy to have the hose

Spraying herself in the face

Berek

Tayler




Makenna

Wow, what a fun summer we have had. Lots of boating, swimming, playing, and working hard. The kids did swimming lessons for two weeks and finished last Thursday. For the final day thier teacher did something real fun. She through in a bunch of coins and let them dive for them all at once. They even got to keep all the money they found. It was a crazy rush and so funny to watch. They had a really neat teacher. We are starting up again in two weeks.

Now for our Bailey. She loves to play in the water. In the picture, she got ahold of the hose and not only was drinking it but trying to squirt Dad. She loved it. She has such a funny, cute sense of humor.

Happy Birthday Tayler #4 !!!!!

The party is just starting, looking at the fun

things that they gave for the kids to do.

Our BIG #4 Birthday Girl

Just Tayler and Chuck E.

Chuck E. dancing with Tayler

Present Time!!!

Yep, Tayler had a birthday. She had been looking forward to her birthday for 6 mo. During that time I was asked quite often, "How many days till my birthday." Well it finally came. We had been so busy, ad you heard in previous blogs, that I didn't and knew I wouldn't have much time to plan a party. SO......... this year I let her decide what she wanted to do. She had her choice between a Build a Bear type party, Monkey Dooz (they do your hair, nails, makeup), and Chuck E. Cheese. I thought it would for sure be the girliest party ever. Nope, it was Chuck E. Cheese. SURPRISE. Well, we sent out her invitations, ordered a cake, and got supplies, all of them Tinker Bell.

Now Tayler's day. She woke up so happy and ready to go to her party at 8:30 am. Not gonna happen. We gave her her first present, necklace and bracelet from Cookie Lee. She loved it! Then off to swim lessons. She made sure to tell everyone it was her birthday. After we had to go pick up a computer at Best Buy, so she then got present #2, a Disney Digital Camera. It doesn't take the best pic, but for her its perfect.

We then came home and waited for Dad to get off early and for the 3:00 party. It soon came and she had a blast. For 3 hours she played games. We can't forget that Chuck E. came out and danced with all the kids, then just her. She loved every present. She sure got plenty. All of her friends came. She loved it. I think this was one of her favorite birthdays.

I can't believe my little Tayler is 4. She is very proud of it too. Time goes by so quickly and they grow up so fast. She was my baby, now she's a beautiful little boy crazy girl . I love you Tayler, you are my sunshine. Happy Birthday Tay.

Pageant Time

Click to play Make your own Smilebox Makenna has so much fun doing the miss Tri-City little sister program this year. Before we went, she got to get her hair, make-up, and nails done at Monkey-Dooz. She loved every bit of that. What little girl wouldn't like to be pampered. We came home and got her dressed in her dance out fit and off we went. She was wonderful and we were so proud of her. The dance was so cute, they all did an awesome job. Right after the dance we changed her into her dress. It was the evening gown part of the competition. She looked just like a princess! Aunt Kathy and Leasha did a beautiful job on her dress. We got many compliments on it. She was the most beautiful girl there!!! I'm sure you all agree. She loved doing it and even cried when it was over. She loved having a big sister (Kendra Calloway) and that is what she is going to miss the most.

Miss Tri-Cities Fashion Show

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

My friend, Missy, made a few of these and put them on her blog. I loved it, so I decided to try one. There are 4 pages to it total. Once your on the "PLAY" screen, to turn the page, click on the bottom right corner. You might and might not see the arrows, my computer cut them off. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Missy, for the idea. LOVE IT!!

Our Week

WOW! What a week we had. Busy busy busy. Berek & Makenna started a fitness camp this week at the high school. A bunch of their friends were doing it so they decided to follow the crowd, which I'm glad about. This goes from Mon-Thurs till Aug 9. Then Makenna had Activity Day Girls Camp this week from Wed. till today. She had so much fun. They learned cooked and made crafts from all different parts of the world. She loved it!! She is also doing the Little Sisters at night until next Sat., when they have the pageant. They are just learning a dance and walking through the program. Tayler has just been hanging out with me and once in a while a friend will call to play. Mostly were buds. We did get to go boating this week, only once, and it was only Jared, Berek, Tayler, Bailey, and I (Makenna was at practice). But we know how to have fun even in small numbers!!!! I think this is the busiest we have ever been, but the kids are loving it and that is all that matters.

Woman to Woman : Keeping Your Marriage Alive

Tips and Tricks - Keeping your marriage alive: Whether you've been married for 38 years, 8 years or are a newlywed, you've probably picked up a few keys to a happy marriage, one which is nurturing and continues to grow. Maybe your marriage has struggled, but you've found a road back to each other and have insights to offer those in a similar situation.What would you say are the three most key elements in your marriage that keep the romance alive and the heart aflutter?"

This is a pretty cool topic, if you ask me. As I have said before, I am a short and sweet person and may I add simple too. When we were first married I didn't know if we were going to make it through the first year. That first year is crazy, but now, I see eternity ahead of us and I love it.

Jared is my best friend. I enjoy every minute with him and when he is not here, life can be quite boring. The first thing that I learned has made us closer is to put each others feelings first. If you do that, someone is always looking out for you. Make them the most important person in the world. I am happier when Jared is happy and I would bet he would say the same. If there is something that is important to him, it is important to me. And I love seeing him happy!!

Next, spend time with each other. When kids are asleep, enjoy the peace and quiet together. Find things you both like to do and do it!! I even have tried things that at first I really didn't have that much of a desire to do, but he loved it......now we both do. I guess what I'm saying is if you don't feel you have much in common (which happens sometimes) try something new and make it happen.

Last, joke. Laughter makes the world a happier place. Our family is full of jokesters. We laugh alot. We sometimes laugh when we feel like crying. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing Jared in a real giggle. He's so dang cute when he giggles. LOVE IT!!

Now I just want to add one more. Jared and I rarely if ever fight anymore.I'm not saying we don't disagree, we do, but they just don't turn into fights. We have learned after many fights in the past that you can say anything to anyone as long as you do it with love. I know that sounds funny, but our tone in our voice and the choice of words we use makes a huge difference. We try not to point out what the other is doing wrong but try to see what we did to make the situation what it is. We apologize for our part instead of insisting the other. Somehow all this softens the hearts on both of us. We have both realized we have our own opinions on certain things, and that's okay. He can have his and I can have mine. Neither one has to be right.

I love being married to Jared. I could not been given a better man. I love him and I know he loves me. He shows me daily. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is my Jared. :)

Join in! Leave a comment and leave link at Morning Glory's and Lei's blogs.

Family Fun

Berek, Tayler, & Gabe on the tube
My Makenna
Bailey & I floating in the water
Bailey repossessing the boat

My brother Rob and his family came to visit us last Friday through Sunday. When they arrived on Friday we decided to have a little bit of a laid back day. We went the the bakery outlet and got our huge grocery basket of day old bread and took the kids down to feed the birds. The kids loved it but I can't say Rob did.

Then on Saturday we took them out on the boat. It was so fun. Jared and Berek wake boarded. Berek is getting really good at going in & out of the wake and Jared is hitting some good air. I love watching him. Sometimes I forget I'm suppose to be driving the boat!

Rob surprised everyone and jumped in fully clothed, even his socks. That was the one shocker for the day. Then later on he stripped down to his undies and rode in the tube. I guess I should explain--he forgot his swim suit and didn't realize what he would be missing out on in the boat so he didn't go buy one, I guess he didn't need one by the way the day turned out. My sis-in-law, Brandi, and I rode on the tube. First time for me in 3 years!!! I was a little chicken I guess, okay alot. It was so fun though. She ended up flying out of her seat and on my lap. I was laughing so hard I had to have Jared stop the boat 'cause I couldn't hold on. The day was great, all the kids had a turn on the tube, and I can say it was the funnest boat trips we have had yet!! Thaks Brandi for taking and sending me the pictures!

Happy 4th

I don't have any pictures for this post. The reason why??????? I was having too much fun myself to remember to take the pictures. We went on another campout with our fun, exciting, awesome friends, Amparans!! We started on Tuesday morning. The kids and I got up and were out of the house by 8:00 am. We had to make sure we got our camp spot. So, we arrived at Fish hook (our favorite place to boat now) by 8:45 am and set up camp. I was wondering how it would go with me and the kids setting up the tent and getting everything put together, but it worked. We rand home to get another load and were finally camping by 12:30. Jared got off work by 2:30 and our early weekend began. We boated till late that night.
Wed. morning Makenna was in the 4th of July parade so we went to that and of course got lots of candy. I will post her pic later. Then quickly back to camp again for more boating. It was so crowded that day it wasn't worth it so we pulled all the kids on the tube, and later that evening the adults & babies all went out till about 9:00 pm. I loved that time of night on the river. It was the best. Then back to camp for SMORES. Camping is not official till you have smores.
Now Thursday. We got up at 7:00 am, ate some pancakes, and began the last day of fun. The water was so beautiful and smooth. It was the best morning ever. This was Jareds moment. The water was great, no boats around, so he had a perfect wakeboarding morning. He is getting awesome. I am jealous! Then all the kids got their chance at either the wakeboard or skis. Berek is doing great too. He makes it look easy.
It was another great camping trip and can't wait for one more... WE LOVE TO CAMP!!