The simple joys of boys...

Snowflake visits are always great...my kids love it! Derek went to work with Grandpa and Dad. He had fun playing and being with the boys.

Darrell was building a rock retaining wall and found a horny toad. Derek loved playing with it and it occupied his attention for a long time. He built a special house for the toad in a green bin. He had a bottled water cap filled with water and grass to eat...too bad the frog doesn't need that:) Darrell eventually let the poor creature go before it died.

Scoop on the Coop

Well, the chickens have moved out of the coop to another owner. It was getting too much for me manage so now Darrell has transformed the coop into a very darling play house. So far the kids love it! They actually go outside and play more than the did.

There is a kitchen and table installed directly. We had a blast going to Goodwill and purchasing pans, pots, spoons etc. Darrell even got a toaster oven to bolt in place. They also have a phone and clock nailed to the wall (no pic of that ). Emily will practically live out there when the weather cools off, she already loves to play out there when it is hot.

Baby Sling

I bought this sling when Emily was a baby, and Sarah loves riding in it now. I don't remember to use it very often, but when I remember to use it, she loves it. I couldn't carry it in her all day but if I'm just wandering for a bit straightening things up or doing light chores, she likes to help by strengthening my back:)

Child's Play

It amazes me the imagination that is blossoming in our little boy:) He can entertain himself for a long time. He spends hours playing army, star wars, restaurant and church. Thus illustrated here:

If you can't tell, he has created a pulpit and a sacrament table:)

Isn't she Beautiful?

Sarah is growing soooooo fast and is smiling a lot now. I caught a couple cute smiles on camera and just had to post them. It has been an adjustment, but I'm starting to know what she wants. She is somewhat temperamental...due mostly to the fact with 2 other kids I have not taken enough time to just hold her and get to know her. But, I'm trying very hard to make sure and enjoy her more and hold her not just when she is crying.

Random bit of information - A few days after Sarah was born we took her to the pediatrician and asked about her frenulum (the little thing under your tongue-I had to look up the actual word online:)). This is the part that if tight makes a baby "tongue tied." The doctor said not to worry about it unless she was having trouble nursing, at which time he could clip it. Well a week or so ago it just clipped itself. She was on her tummy and when I picked her up she had pink tinged spit up on her blanket. Darrell looked in her mouth and noticed it had "popped." So weired! But it didn't seem to bother her too much. Anyway, that's all for now:)

4th of July

On the 4th of July we went to the Heber firework show. We got there around 6 pm to sit around and wait until it was dark. I was a little worried about the long wait...especially having Sarah, but it was very relaxing. The kids ran around and played. Derek at one point was insistent that he was starving so I gave in and bought a bag of kettle corn...yummmy! I'm glad he was starving:)

Emily surprisingly did well with the loud noises. As long as she was held with her ears covered she was fine. At one point Sarah (grandma) said Emily was shaking but she didn't cry.

Baby Sarah did wonderful. I think she enjoyed being outside. For a long time she just laid on the blanket looking around. She skipped her usual evening fussy period and when we got back to the house she went straight to bed and slept a good 5+ hours (wonderful!!!).

There was a slow line of cars to get into the parking lot and we worried about getting out after the show, but amazingly we got out in less than 10 minutes, including the time walking back to the car. It was a fun time and I'm glad Darrell and I didn't turn around when we saw the line to get in (we almost did).

Snowflake

We spent the last weekend before the start of Darrell's school in Snowflake. This is Sarah relaxing and enjoying the nice cool weather...we are very envious of the nice temperatures. It is always hard to return home when temperatures are over 105 degrees for days.

This is Derek with his amphibian friends...he found 6 frogs and spent probably at least 3 hours playing with them in the pool. I can't believe they survived. When he was finished, he put them back in the hole where he found them...hopefully still alive and thriving in Snowflake:)

Here is Jeannie holding our little Sarah burrito. And yes the 3 children eating ice cream cones are eating their dinner...it was a busy day:) I suppose ice cream for dinner one night won't kill any nutritional needs;) There were definitely no fights over finishing dinner!

One of my favorite parts about visiting Snowflake is the kids are outside practically ALL day!! Emily loved playing in the sand and collecting pine cones. Jayden is pictured here trying to bury himself in the sand:) Emily was helping with the process too by pouring the sand on him and pushing his head in the sand while saying "down," every time he tried to get up. He didn't seem to mind too much though.

Bike riding was another favorite outside adventure. Sharing the bikes is a bit of a challenge but they managed fairly well. I don't have pictures of kids on swings, but that too was one of the lures of the outdoors...we did have a few tiffs over that. There are more than 3 bikes to share but only 2 swings...Emily and Jayden just didn't quite get the math:)

Last, but not least, who can pass up eating watermelon while lounging outside in chairs during the beginning of a storm. The terrified look on Emily's face in the first picture resulted frequently after each round of thunder. She is not a lover of loud noises.