4th of July

Well our 4th of July is the big reason for the trip home every year. We had such nice weather building up to the 4th. We thought is was going to be so nice to have cool weather and we wouldn't sweat to death playing wiffle ball. Well just because every day was nice doesn't mean it is going to stay that way. On the 4th it just poured all day. I couldn't believe it. We hoped it would let up but no can do. We didn't let it ruin our day though. We went to the parade anyway. Lucky enough we knew someone living along the parade route so we sat on their front porch. It kept us dry which we were grateful for. Then we made our way to my cousin Kristi and Dustin's house for the festivities. We ate lots and lots of food and visited with family for a while still hoping it would stop raining. We have an annual wiffle ball tournament that we were not going to miss. Since it didn't stop raining we decided the game must go on, and it sure did. I opted out this year because I really needed to keep an eye on the twins. It gave me an excuse to stay dry. Jeff, Jake and Zach all played however. Jeff and Jake got on the same team and Zach got on a team with my brother Terry. Zach lasted about a half and inning before he got too wet and tired to continue. He curled up in a ball on the lawn chair and fell asleep for a few hours. He did get a few good innings in though. It was his first year getting to play and he was so happy to get to. In the picture of Zach hitting, Jake is playing catcher.

The games continued on most of the day. Jeff and Jake's team got into the final game for the championship. Jeff got really into the game and when it came down to the wire he sacrificed his body for the team. He made Superman slides into home plate on one play and then the same dive into 1st base on another play. His slide into home was very graceful but the one into first base didn't go as well. Both of them resulted in a very big muddy mess as seen in the picture. The other picture is of him trying to hit a home run. He didn't get it on this hit but he did get one later on in the day.

The babies had a lot of fun playing in the rain. They got pretty cold so after a while I had to change their clothes and keep them inside. There was a lot of mud puddles to play in so they really enjoyed themselves.

I got a short video of the games as they were being played so the viewing audience could get an idea of how crazy the rain was that day. We had a great time but are really hoping that we can actually come to Indiana and have a 4th of July without any crazy weather. Here's hopin'.

Playing in Indiana

We have been having a lot of fun with family in Indiana. We will be here for another week. Jeff left a few days ago to go back to work but will fly back to Indiana and drive home with us. The kids are missing him already, which of course he loves. I wanted to post a few of the fun things we have been doing. We have had a chance to go swimming twice. The weather has been pretty good but definitely not for swimming. I guess there is a trade off. We have also been playing a lot of Wii with my nieces and nephews. There have been many heated tournaments with some fun memories happening. My favorite was watching Jeff do the Dance Dance Revolution. The man has rythmn as you will see.

Like I said before we have gone swimming and the kids have loved having so many kids to play with. The water has been really cold but they of course will have fun anyway. Here are some pictures of us swimming. The first is of Ryan. Doesn't he look like he is having fun. The babies kept climbing up the life guard chair. We caught them in the act. Luckily, my brother Terry is assistant manager at the pool so we didn't get into too much trouble. The next two are of Alex and Zach. Jake spent most of his time going off the diving board and down the slide so we didn't get any pictures of him.

Jeff got to go to an Amish barn raising. He said it was just like out of a movie. They drove up to the house and all the horse and buggies were everywhere. They started working and Jeff said he was amazed at how they worked together. We went back later and they were almost done. I couldn't believe it. Definitely a cool experience we were fortunate enough to see. Dad is really good friends with the Amish in Orleans so they welcomed us and let us watch. They normally don't like pictures taken but from far away it was alright. We got some good pictures.

We have had many long days and short nights. The twins and boys have held up well but one of the days we were returning home Ryan gave out right in the middle of playing. I had to add this picture in because I couldn't believe he fell asleep with the toy in his mouth and it stayed there.

"The Twins" 2nd birthday

We celebrated Alex and Ryan's birthday this past Sunday. They turn 2 on June 26th but we are leaving for Indiana that day so we celebrated early. Of course they don't really understand but they loved having everyone over for a party and of course the presents didn't hurt either. They got a couple of cute outfits and a few toys and the best was the cheetos. They wanted those right away. I decided this year not to spend all the money on a store bought cake so I used a cake idea from a magazine I got about a year ago. I have never really been a baker or decorator but I must say it turned out really well. I was pretty proud of myself. If you can't tell it is a dragon. The boys loved it and that is all that matters right? Alex once again did not enjoy people singing to him. He doesn't like attention drawn to himself. Ryan really didn't know what to think about it but at least he didn't cry. Enjoy the video.

New Editions to the family

A month or so ago Jeff convinced me we needed a new edition to the family. No not another child, I'm not totally crazy, but a UTV for the "family" to play with. We purchased a used Yamaha Rhino from a guy in St. George. He has taken the boys out a few times in the canyon and they love it. We got them all their own helmets and it is just like heaven for them. Ryan and Alex love to play in it . Jeff plans to use it this fall on his big hunt. He drew out for a big Bull Elk and so hopefully the Rhino will come in handy when he has to haul that big thing out of the canyon. Here are some pictures of the babies playing on it. I must admit when Jeff brought it home it was bigger than I expected. It is like a small Jeep. I like that though. With the seats and seatbelts, it just seems safer to me.

We also bought a little swimming pool for the backyard. Small and cheap but the kids don't know any better. To them it is water to play in. We filled it up the other day and the kids played for a couple of hours. I was amazed how Alex loved wearing the goggles. They had so much fun together.

Baseball and Kickball

We have been spending many nights in June at the ball fields. Jake is playing coach pitch baseball and Zach is playing kickball. It has kept us very busy. Jake loves hitting the ball but when it comes to fielding, it is a whole new ballgame. We caught him one game upset because they have too many boys on the team so a few had to sit out the fielding part. When he found out he didn't get to sit out he was upset. That's our Jake. He does have fun though. He has met a few new friends and gotten really good at batting. We are working at not being afraid of the ball when catching but it is definitely a long process. Here are a few pictures of one of his games. The first is him batting. The next is after fielding the ball he got so excited and was caught in a great jump. Then the next is of him playing catcher. This is his favorite position because he doesn't have to move much. The last two pictures are of getting ready and then getting a kid out. He was so excited. We will miss his last two games because of vacation. He is sad but ready for the trip.

Zach has really enjoyed kickball. I am actually coaching his team and we have been having so much fun. All the boys are 5 and let me tell you, controlling 8 boys all 5 years old can get a bit crazy. They have learned so well though. They have running the bases down really well. I am the most proud of the fact they don't all run for the ball and kill eachother just to get it. The weather has been great but the last few games it has finally gotten fairly warm. When the heat hit it got a bit harder to keep them focused. Most of the game was reminding the boys to stay on their feet and don't lay down on the field. Imagine 8 boys all laying down and standing on their heads because they are soooooooo exhausted. It is really fun and I am so happy I got a chance to do it. I think Zach has liked having me coach. Here are a few pictures of his game. The first is him standing in line getting ready to kick. As you can tell he is really focused. He is telling his dad he is a loser. How impressive. The next is of Zach getting ready to pitch the ball. The next two are of him kicking the ball and running his bases. The last one is him trying to concentrate while playing in the field but not doing a very good job of it. At least he was trying I guess.

Art City Days

I am very behind on my blogging. My list of things I need to write about is getting longer so I figured I better get started. We are leaving for Indiana in a few days so I am going to try to post a little bit each day before we leave. I hopefully will get caught up before we go. Of course then I will have more to post but I can't worry about that yet. Too many things to do and not enough time to do it in. On to the updates. We had Art City Days in Springville a few weeks ago. The week is filled with fun activities but the best part of the week is the firemans breakfast and parade on Saturday morning. This year, Jeff's grandparents were the grand marshalls of the parade so instead of riding in a cool convertible, we went big and all the great grandkids rode with them on the fire truck. It was so much fun. All the kids loved it and Ed and Beth did a great job. It was perfect weather. Jeff "worked" at the firemans breakfast. As you can see from the pictures you will understand why I put quote marks around the word worked. Here are some great pictures of the breakfast, ride and then watching the rest of the parade.

Zach's big Day

We have been fighting an infected toe for a few weeks now. Zach has been fighting as we have been trying to fix. It all came down to a doctors visit. Zach went ballistic at the thought of someone touching his toe so we had to book an O.R. and knock him out. Well over 5 hours later and lots of money, as you can imagine, a 15 minute surgery is over and Zach is on the mend. I wanted to post a few pictures and a hilarious video of him awaiting his fate. Before the surgery they gave him a tylenol mixture with another drug to calm him down so taking him to the O.R. wouldn't be too tramatic. When the medicine kicked in, well lets just say, he was calm. Jeff and I couldn't stop laughing. I am glad he was out of it or he would have been really mad at me. It was just so funny. He really did a good job though and we are glad he is on the mend.