Only 2 pictures all week???

It's been a slow week for pictures. We've done a lot of fun things like swimming, going to the park, going to Bounce U, playing 2 basketball games, storytime at the library, and having a lazy movie afternoon while it rained outside, but I haven't taken my camera anywhere. That's so unusual for me. I'm usually snapping pictures of anything and everything. I'll do better next week! Here are the 2 pictures I did take this past week.

Everytime Nick gives Brady a haircut, he teases him that he's going to leave it in a mohawk like this. You can see how impressed Brady is.
I just had to share this chore chart that is making my summer so much easier. My friend Monica (see Monica's vinyl on my favorite blog list) made it for me, and I love it! Amazingly, now that the chores are on a fun chart, my kids seem to think the chores are fun, too. We rotate them everyday, and we have 20 different chores to choose from. A clean house AND happy children...what could be better?

Lake Trip

Nick having some fun on the wakeboard
Grant got a chance to drive the boat by himself for the first time.
Grant took Heather and Brady for a fun ride on the tube.

Steve and Mazee going for a little bit slower ride
Drew and I getting ready to take off
Grant and Nick are the two daredevils in the family
Huge wipe out!

Brady's 7th Birthday

Brady had an exciting 7th birthday. We started out the morning with a party at the park.
Brady was a little embarrassed when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him.
Since our party was at 9 a.m., we had birthday donuts instead of birthday cake.
We invited quite a few of Brady's friends and their siblings,
so we had 23 kids and 8 adults at the party.
Brady loved all of his fun presents.
He also loved spending time with so many of his friends.

I was glad to have Grammie at the party to chase Drew around.
Mazee and Emmy gave Brady these Incredible Hulk gloves, and they were a huge hit!
(no pun intended)

After the party we were SO hot, so we went swimming at the Johnston's neighborhood pool. (Thanks for inviting us Monica)

To end an already fun day, we met my mom and dad (it was my dad's birthday, too) for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. They let Brady sit on a saddle and gave him this cool hat while everyone in the restaurant yelled "Yee-Haw" in honor of his birthday. After dinner we went to see Kung Fu Panda. My kids loved that movie. They laughed out loud throughout the entire show.

I think Brady had an awesome day! Thanks to all of our great friends and family who called, mailed Brady birthday goodies, and came to our party. Brady is lucky to have so many wonderful people who care about him.

Father's Day Weekend

Father's Day weekend was filled with lots of fun family time. On Saturday, my brother Steve and my brother-in-law Ben participated in their first triathalon in Oklahoma City. All of their hard work and training paid off, and they were able to finish with no problems. Steve even came in 6th place. Grant and Brady had a summer league basketball game that morning, so we weren't able to make it in time to watch the triathalon, but after our game we dashed off to OKC to help celebrate.

We had lunch at Abuelos in Bricktown, then afterwards the kids wanted to play in these fountains across the street. They had a great time running around and splashing in the water.

Kaylee
Brady, Kaylee, Drew
Brent
After church on Sunday we spent Father's Day at Suzie and Steve's house. Brady and my dad share the same birthday, and it happens to be this week, so we celebrated their birthdays, too.
The Birthday Boys!
Drew and Nick are best buds
Opening presents
Kool-Aid mustache

Three really wonderful dads

Nick, Steve and my dad

What a Father's Day!

Nick's dad emailed us this photo of him and Shawn. They are riding all over Europe this summer. What a way to spend Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Cub Scout Camp

Grant has been lucky enough to go to cub scout day camp all week. This is his second year to go, and it's quite an adventure. The parents have been taking turns going with the kids, so I was able to go all day on Tuesday and Thursday. Luckily I have great friends (thanks Kressyda and Stephanie) and a great mom who were willing to help out with Brady and Drew so I could go play at scout camp.

Getting ready to go on the zip line
Baiting his hook with a juicy worm
Waiting patiently to catch something
Playing marbles with McKay, Dusty and Cole
Shooting BB's
Archery
Good shot!
Chariot Races
The undefeated chariot racing team

Chariot Racing

Grant, William, Cole and McKay racing their chariot.

Crazy Mama

Grant and McKay challenged me to a race on the zip line. They were pretty excited to have beaten me. That jump off the platform is a little scary...we have some brave boys! The video is a little slow at first, but stay tuned. And, yes, that is ME screaming, not Grant or McKay.

Yikes!

I love to work out. I try to go to the gym every day, and usually I'm pretty dedicated. Since the kids have been out of school for the summer, it's been harder than usual to make it to the gym. I've only been a couple of times in the past few weeks. No big deal, right?

Saturday night I got a phone call of desperation asking me to play the piano on Sunday morning for church. Trust me, if they are calling ME to play the piano, they are completely desperate!

So, I sat down to practice the hymns, and this is what happened.

Yikes!

Guess who was back at the gym bright and early on Monday morning?

Caroline's Visit

Last week our 14 year old cousin Caroline came to visit from Texas. She comes every summer, and we're always glad to have her around. We try and do lots of things while she's here because it's so nice to have help everywhere we go.

We met Heather, Mazee and Emmy at the park one morning.

Since we went camping a couple of weeks ago, Drew has been building pretend fires everywhere we go. He worked on this fire almost the entire time we were at the park.

Brady loves his little cousin Emmy, and as you can see, she loves him, too.

Drew and Mazee--Little Buddies
Drew has dirt on his face, and he's carrying around a bunch of sticks.
Mazee is perfectly clean, even after playing at the park, and I love the angelic look on her face.
That pretty much sums up the difference between these two. Drew is definitely all boy, and Mazee is a sweet little girl, but they love each other so much.


We went to see "Dolphins and Whales 3D" at the IMAX theatre. It was the first time our kids had seen a 3D movie. Drew kept reaching up to pet the animals over his head.

Saturday, after Caroline had to go home, we went to the lake for the first time this summer. Grant and Brady had fun playing in the sand on the beach.

First Week of Summer Break

Our first week of summer vacation was relaxing and fun. I love having Grant and Brady home from school. The kids have been taking swim lessons for the past 2 weeks, and Friday was their last day.

This week we got together with two of my longtime friends, Stacee and Cathy. Cathy and I have been friends since 1st grade, and Stacee and I have been friends since the day she moved to Cleveland when we were in middle school. Between the 3 of us there were 8 kids, and Cathy has one more on the way. We met at Hunter park and let the kids play at the splash pad and feed the ducks.



The waterslide we created in our backyard has been a huge hit this week, but with that much water comes lots of mud. So, now our backyard looks like a giant mud pit. Amazingly, the kids have had just as much fun playing in the mud as they did playing on the waterslide.