Tea at the White House

Jessica was able to participate in the "Tea at the White House"  project with her school.  She was supposed to pick a famous person who would have been asked to attend "Tea at the White House" in their lifetime.  She decided to pick Amelia Earhart.  The reason she picked her is because she was adventurous and brave, qualities she admired in a person.

She got all decked out in her pilot suit and goggles, and did a great job on her poster.  It was fun going to her classroom and seeing all the work these kids put into their projects.  The costumes the kids had on were also amazing.  They all did such a great job.
Here is Jessica with one of her good friends, Rayla.  She was Betsy Ross.  We were able to go around to everyone and ask questions about their people.  It was quite informative, and I even learned lots of new things!
Jessica's Dad stopped by to meet the famous Amelia Earhart.  Good job Jessica!  We were proud of you and the great job you did.  (And it was nice because she did most of the work for it, and we didn't have to worry about it!  Thanks!)

Father and Sons Outing

Last weekend, Dave and the boys were able to go to the Fathers and Sons camp out.  Tyler couldn't wait, as he was sick last year and not able to go.  This is the first year Kyle went, and Dave was a good sport for taking him.  Kyle kept saying "go night-night with daddy!"  

Dave said the worst part was setting up the tent.  There were a million flies landing on them while they set it up, he said it was pretty awful.
But then they got to have some fun.  They rode on 4-wheelers, thanks to those that brought them.
And Tyler was able to shoot some arrows.  He said these two things were his favorite part.
Here is Kyle and Tyler having some breakfast.  Dave said he enjoyed hanging out with his boys.  He especially liked when Kyle woke up Saturday morning nice and early when the sun came out, and Dave asked him if he wanted to climb into bed with him.  Kyle of course said yes, and Dave got some good hug time with him in the sleeping bag.  I'm so glad the boys got to spend this time together.

And the girls of course had a great time themselves.  Friday night we met up with friends at the San Tan Mall, and had dinner at Paradise Bakery.  Then it was off for some fun shopping.  (I'm glad my girls love to shop as much as I do!)  Saturday morning we rode our bikes to Target and picked up some birthday presents for parties the kids have coming up.  It was a little hot, but the slurpies at Target helped.  It was fun spending time with my girls.  Thanks Girlies!!!!

Golf Getaway!

A week and a half ago, Dave and I got the chance to get away for a night.  We went to the Arizona Grand Resort, formerly South Point Mountain Resort, for a fun weekend.  

Here we are in the golf cart.  Dave and I used to go out and hit balls when we were first married, and I took a golf class when I was at BYU, but I hadn't played in about 12 years, so it has been fun to take the sport up again.  Dave's excited as his dream is for us to play golf every day of his retirement......
Dave's brother Jeff and his wife Kari also went.  It was fun being with them.  We are so lucky to be living so close to them, and love spending time with them.  Kari is also taking up the sport of golf, and I told her once all our little ones are in school, it will be fun to go out golfing together more.

Here are the boys standing on the tee.  Can you tell who is who?  Don't worry, I can.....
And here I am with my new clubs Dave got me for Mothers Day.  I've never owned golf clubs, so it was exciting for me.  

After golfing, Dave and I headed to the Arizona Mills mall for shopping and dinner.  Then back to the hotel.  The next day Kari and I got massages while the boys golfed again.  I don't get them very much so it was a nice treat.  Then we went over to the water park they have there.  It's a fun place with water slides, a lazy river, and a big wave pool.  If you've never been there, you should check it out.  We took our kids there last summer for a night and they loved it.  They have great rates in the summer.  It's a nice getaway, without all the drive time.  And when you book the room, 4 passes to the water park are included in the price of the room!!  

We had a great time, and thanks Dave for the fun weekend.  It's always nice to have some alone time without the kids, even if it is only for 24 hours........

Kelsey's Walking!

Well, the time has finally come and Kelsey is starting to walk.  I must admit, I haven't been to excited to have my baby start walking, but it is so cute to watch them do that Frankenstein walk when they are first learning.  She can now push herself up to standing, and walk a few steps.  She still prefers to crawl, but it's fun to see this little person learn a new skill.  She is pretty casual about it and doesn't get all excited about it.  She seems to have a pretty laid back personality, and so hopefully she'll continue to be that way throughout her years.  (Ya, right, I just know I'll be in for it during those teenage years....)  The funny thing is, Kelsey loves to get a pair of shoes and put each one on her hands, and crawl around with her shoes on her hands.  She has a shoe fetish.  She's always crawling around with someone's pair of shoes on her hands.  Now we just have to teach her how to wear them on her feet where they belong!!  

Happy 11th Birthday Jessica!

Well, yesterday our sweet Jessica turned 11 years old!!  I can't believe how grown up she is.  For her birthday, she decided she wanted to go with 3 friends and get pedicure/manicures.  She has never done this before, and has wanted to for a long time.  So, I took her and her friend Rayla, Brynn, and Jessie to get them done.  

Here she is chilling out in the chair getting her toes painted.  The girls all loved the massaging chairs, and some of them looked like they were about to fall asleep they were so relaxed.  Her friend Jessie was laughing so hard when the lady was using the pumice stone on her feet, it tickled her so bad.  It was pretty funny.
Here they are with their pretty nails.  They loved the flowers they got on their thumbs and big toes.  They all picked such different colors, and of course Jessica's was the brightest!!
Then we headed over to Streamers for some good food, and yummy dessert.  Jessica and Jessie shared the skookie, and the servers all sang to her.
Then the girls posed for some photos.  They kept being silly and making funny faces, but I made them take a normal one.  (Such cute, fun girls!)  Jessica had a great time with her friends and was grateful they could all share in her special day.  

We are so thankful for Jessica.  She is our oldest and we are lucky to have her.  She is such a great example to her brothers and sisters and I'm thankful she is in our family.  (Here is where I get to brag about her.......)  She excels at everything she does.  She is a wonderful pianist, plays the flute in band, is a star out on the soccer field, gets straight A's in school (and in both ALP classes), and I could go on and on about how great she is.  But most importantly she has such a good heart.  She cares about others, and always strives to do what is right.  Happy Birthday Jessica, you are truly AMAZING and we love you!!!

Girls Retreat

So, I just got back yesterday from our ward Relief Society Women's Retreat.  It was up near Flagstaff in the mountains, and it was so fun.  (How can you not have fun with a cabin full of women, good food, and good friends!)

Here is the gang in front of the cabin.  It was so nice of Tina to let everyone stay there and share her beautiful cabin with all of us.  We were able to enjoy a nice dinner together, followed by a wonderful fireside where we were reminded to "fill our buckets" with good things, and to render more service to others.  We then spent the night looming little beanie hats to give to the humanitarian center.  It was so fun to visit all night, and I really enjoyed being with everyone.  I loved being with so many good friends that I look up to and admire.  We were up till about 3 in the morning, and luckily I got to sleep in till 9 am the next morning. (That was nice!  I can't remember the last time I did that.)  
After leaving the cabin, Jenifer, Erin, Melody and I hit the outlets in Anthem.  It was fun shopping with them, and I tried to get a shot of Jenifer browsing the clothes at the Quicksilver store, but she wouldn't look at me for a photo, so I took what I could get.  (Sorry if you didn't want me to post this Jenifer, but you're just too cute to resist!)
Then we headed for home.  Erin and Jenifer got to sit in the back, and I was laughing at how it looked like we were on this big, long road trip and we only went for one night.  I guess women just have lots of "stuff" wherever they go.  

Thanks girls for the fun.  I look forward to next year!!!! 

Yummy Ice cream!

So, last night was 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins from 5-10 pm.  Last year when I attempted to go, we went around 7 pm and the line was crazy long so we didn't go.  So this year we decided to go right when they opened at 5.  Well, we get there about 10 minutes before 5, and there is already a line forming.  I was actually surprised there was a line, but thankfully it wasn't too bad.  We wait, and finally at 5 they open the doors.  The line moved SO slow at first, and we were starting to wonder if we should just go next door to Fry's and buy a gallon of ice cream, but we stuck it out.  Good thing, because the line picked up and it only took us 20 minutes to get our ice cream.  I was so glad we waited because it tasted SOOOO good.  I didn't realize it, but they let you buy as many scoops as you want for 31 cents each, up to five scoops.  So of course Dave and I decide to get all five scoops, and save some for later.  (Our kids weren't too happy with that since we only let them get one scoop each.)  It was so fun to get to pick FIVE different flavors, when I usually just get to pick one.  I got Heath crunch, cookie dough, Oreo cookies and cream, fudge brownie, and pralines and cream.  (All so delicious!!)  So, we took our ice cream home, and I did save some for later.  We went home, had dinner, and last night while watching American Idol I heard the ice cream calling to me and I couldn't resist.  So I polished off the rest of it.  YUMMY!  Thank goodness 31 cent scoop is only once a year!!!  (Excuse me now while I go run a million miles to burn off all those calories!!!!)