Blake has gone to build a log cabin and bake bread...

Yep! Our Blakey has gone to Pioneer Camp in Cedar City. By the crocodile-sized tears I got from Brooklyn and Lincoln last night, you'd think she was never coming home! Those two just kept clinging to her, making it super tough for Blake to leave. Brooklyn said, "I will miss Blake...I like her!" She literally cried herself to sleep last night. Anyway, Blake gets to pretend she's a Pioneer for the next few days. It should be fun for her. I'd like to see them try to get her to wear a bonnet, though. She's super OCD...especially when it comes to wearing certain things!

By the way...this may be my last post before I head up to girl's camp next week. It has been crazy trying to get everything ready, but I am looking forward to it! I love camp! If anyone could drive by my house next week and make sure it hasn't burned down, I would appreciate it!

Conversations

My dad called me the other day and told me about this conversation he had with Lincoln...

"Papa, you're getting gray hair. You're old enough to be a Grandpa!" -Lincoln

"Lincoln, I'm your Grandpa!"-Papa

"You are?"-Lincoln

"And Nana's old enough to be a Grandma!"-Lincoln

"Lincoln, Nana is your Grandma!"-Papa

"OH!!!"-Lincoln

Not really sure who Lincoln thought Nana and Papa were all these years! Now he knows they're his Grandparents, though!

Conversations with Dylan are starting to be hilarious!

Today she told me:

• She wanted to play "Fweeze Tag"


• Have "Di-saur Ticken"


• Wear her "Fip Fops"


• Watch "Wubzy"


• She told Lincoln to "Shut-up Tupid!" (We are trying to discourage her from that one, but it's tough when the kids think it's cute to hear her say it)


• "Mom, I went Potty Toyet!"


• She wanted some "Beetos" (Doritos)

She's growing up way too fast. I love this stage, though. It's so fun! She is absolutely adored by all of us, and the center of our world right now!

I overheard this one between Brooklyn and her friend Parker today...

"Parker, do you want to do make-up?"-Brooklyn

"No, I don't want to do make-up."-Parker

"Well, I'm going to go see if Jenna can play then, because she will do make-up with me!!!"-Brooklyn

My New Retainer

Hi I'm Blake I got the idea of posting something on my mom's blog from Taylor my older sister. Well I got this retainer piece at the top of my mouth.Why did I get it? Well because I have my dad's teeth and he has rotten teeth.First I went to the dentist just for a check up.They counted my teeth then saw a little hole in my tooth. Or should I say big hole in my tooth.So I had to come to the dentist again.They gave me a filling,crown and pulled my tooth!Ouch.At my dentist they have this thing called Mr. nose. It works like this they turn it on and puts it over your nose [it smells like vanilla ice cream] and its a type of gas that makes you very sleepy so you won't feel a thing.So the next timeI had to come again two days ago wich would be Thursday.They had already made my retainer so they put it in early.That day they were suppose to pull my other tooth and give me a filling but they put my retainer in pulled my other tooth and gave me a filling.So I got a blue lagoon from Tropical Smoothie and came home.That's how I got my retainer.

George Washington

I am so proud of my little "General"! Taylor was amazing in her class play! She had so much to memorize, and she didn't miss a single word. The kids recited the entire Declaration of Independence at the end of the play. I have to admit that I got choked up. I always do when it comes to patriotic stuff. Plus, her teacher was playing "Braveheart" music in the background. That made it more dramatic...
This school year was great! TaylorBlake both made the "A" honor roll, Taylor made it into GATE, and Blake made it into GATE for next year. Blake played ALOT of practical jokes on her poor teacher who is deathly afraid of spiders. Taylor learned how to make a powerpoint presentation on the computer (for reals, 3rd grade-I can't even do that). Lincoln learned how to read and spell. The Kindergarteners got to try "hot" lunch at the end of the year, and Lincoln said he wants hot lunch everyday next year! Yeah! I get so tired of packing lunches. The kids are excited to sleep in the next 6 weeks, and so am I!

Little Moments

You know those moments when you're supposed to be the stern parent, but you just can't help but laugh?! Well, here's one....

"Mom! Lincoln slapped me on my leg, and turned off Guitar Hero!" -Taylor

"Lincoln!"- Mom

"Yeah, I know, I'm going to my room."-Lincoln

You gotta love it.

Jim and I just returned from our getaway to San Antonio, Texas. I know it's kind of random, but we had never been there. I loved it! I would definitely go back! We ate out in peace and quiet, and saw 5 movies (You have to see Mamma Mia!). Oh, and the highlight of my trip would have to be seeing the world's largest cowboy boots! Ha Ha!

Memory Lane

I saw this on Kristin's blog and I thought it would be fun to try, even though I have the worst long-term memory ever!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Goodbye Kindergarten!!

I have never been so relieved to have a school year almost over. I will not miss Kindergarten one bit! I feel like all I do is drive my kids around. Lincoln has been riding his bike in the morning with the "group", but trying to pick him up from school, load his bike in the car, then rush to get Brooklyn from pre-school every Wednesday and Thursday has been stressful and crazy. I am sooooo sad that Lincoln's getting so big, but I will love having him in school all day next year! The dynamic is so much different when I just have my two little girls home! Now that I think about it, I don't remember when I only had 2 kids at home...

Anyway, he has grown so much this year! I feel really blessed to have had Lisa as his teacher. She knows him, and I know that she has been a HUGE part of his growth. He is so much more mature. No more melt downs, and he minds me soooo well! I love it! We have grown very close this year. Our favorite thing to do after school is come home and play Guitar Hero. If you haven't seen him play, you should check out the video of him on my blog. He's insane!

He is also reading really well! He's always the one to remind us about reading scriptures before bed, because he's so excited to try reading them himself. I actually think reading scriptures has really helped improve his reading.

Lincoln's saying,"The Cubs are going down!" to his little friend.

OK, blogger won't let me upload the video from his program and now I'm ticked off. I've been trying to load this thing ALL DAY!!! Ugggggghhh!

4th of July

Fourth of July was OFF THE HOOK! We had a blast! We spent the day with family and friends. We swam, we ate, we swam and ate some more...when it got dark we started the fireworks. You know your fireworks are good if the cops show up! We got a warning, but they didn't really seem to care what we were doing. We always have illegal fireworks in our neighborhood, but I've never seen it like it was this year. Everybody had illegal fireworks going. It was pretty amazing. We didn't come inside until about 11pm. The kids loved it!

I took a TON of pictures. I posted some of my favorites. Sorry there are so many, but it's my blog, right? I can post as many pictures as I want!

Brooklyn is yelling, "Yeah! We beat the boys!"

Jim spent a while throwing all the kids in the air.
Yes, I know I have other children besides Diddy, but she's soooo cute!
The kids had a belly flop contest! I cringed everytime someone did a belly flop!The kids were writing their names with the sparklers!
Robby is always working, so we were glad he took a break to hang with us!
Dylan's first sparkler! Future Pyros. I'm really scared for when they get older. They couldn't stop lighting things!

Well, I hope everyone's 4th was fun. This was the most fun we've had in a long time! I hope every year it gets bigger and better!

Tagged, Taylor's Costume, Silly Boys

I got tagged! This is my first time! Thanks, Linde. What do I love about the 4th of July...everything! Despite the scorching heat, I really look forward to summers in Vegas because I love the swimming, the barbecues, and the 4th of July. I have alot of memories of the 4th growing up. Where do I begin?

We used to spend the week of the 4th filling up kiddie pools full of water balloons. We would have a huge party in our cul-de-sac, and invite the whole neighborhood. We would have 80-100 people show up with food and fireworks. My parents band "Smooth and Easy" (Yes, they were in a band) would play music after the food and the games. Then we would shoot off fireworks all night long. It was a blast! One of my most vivid memories of being a kid.

We do kinda the same thing, now, only not on such a big scale. We will be swimming and barbecuing with all the neighbors and friends. Looking forward to:

• Not having to do anything.
• Swimming
• Dressing the kids in Red,White, and Blue. At least the little ones. My oldest 3 don't let me dress them.
• Watching Dylan and Brooklyn get scared of the fireworks.
• Watching the neighbors in the next cul-de-sac over shoot off their $3000 dollars worth of illegal fireworks.
• Visiting with friends.
• All the yummy food
• Seeing what trouble Lincoln can get into!

Now I'm all excited! Ok, now I tag April, Kelly, Kristin, and whoever else wants to!

I am finally finished with that costume. I don't know if you can tell what it is from the picture...I am still not allowed to tell who she is in the play. Very soon, though. I also made her some khaki pants to go with the jacket. She is soooo excited! I'm really proud of her, and I can't wait to see the play!

I think I said once that these boys will jump a ramp with anything...