Pioneer Day fun…

DAY ONE:

We had our own little staycation for the weekend of the 24th. Thursday, the kids and I set up camp in our backyard, literally, so we could surprise Joe.

We set up the tent, put out the sleeping bags, and even set up the fire pit. This is my kind of camping, no dirt and a (flushing) bathroom a few yards away.

We cooked hot dogs…

Joe bench-pressed the kids…

We played some ball…

Played on the slides… And even played a little four-square… Beau LOVES Daddy!! Once he sees Dad, he is off and running….kind of….

Me and my girls… And of course, we ended the evening with s’mores… I think they were a hit!

We told stories in the tent until bedtime. It sure is a lot brighter and noisier when you camp in your yard, but the kids finally fell asleep. It was a great way to start the weekend!!

DAY TWO:

We got up bright and early after a surprisingly restful night in the tent. Joe had to work for a few hours, so the kids and I ate breakfast and watched the parade on T.V.

We met Joe for lunch then ran a few errands….

Like getting some shoes for Colin…Poor little dude couldn’t find any that matched this morning. Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a little swimming. We saw Ethan’s family for a little while, and then they left and we had the pool to ourselves. We were going to sleep in the tent again tonight, but decided not to. Probably a good thing since it rained and everything got soaked. Maybe tomorrow…

DAY THREE:

We packed up the kids and headed to Cabela’s. It’s just such a cool store! We walked around and looked at all the great animals and Colin kept asking when he could have a fishing pole…. We are a bear family, so they loved seeing all the different bears.

Peek-a-boo……. On to our next adventure… We took the kids to lunch at Ikea and bought a few things…how can you resist Ikea? Then, of course, time for more swimming. We took the kids to G-ma and G-pa’s house, but everyone was getting out of the pool. So, we played with cousins and visited instead. Beau was really wanting some ice cream…. Man, what a weekend. Oh, but we’re not done yet…

DAY FOUR:

Ahhh, Sunday, a day of rest.

Nope.

We had to meet at church early because the ward choir was singing and I am currently the ward choir director. Sacrament meeting was amazing, we had two young men speak – a missionary that is leaving and one that just got home. The ward choir was fantastic (which I don’t take credit for, we just have awesome people!!) After we sang, I waited for everyone to go down before me so I could grab all the music. So, I started going down the stairs AND I TRIPPED. Yep, face-planted in front of the ward and ALL the visitors there. Of course, by the time I was walking down, the second speaker had already stood up, so he paused to make sure I was okay….

Whatever.

I probably should have been more embarrassed than I actually was. I leaned over to Koko and said, “You know, on t.v. when people fall down it’s to make people laugh…and no one’s laughing!” She just looked and me and said, “Oh mom…..I was laughing!!!”

That a girl.

The rest of church was (pretty) uneventful, until Emma got sick. By the way, THANK YOU to all the kind souls that helped her in her time of need.

We finally got home and got to take naps. Heaven!

We invited Grandma and Grandpa Heugly over for tin-foil dinners and s’mores since we were still on staycation. It was a great weekend! Happy Pioneer Day everyone!

What do you do with Dad’s old shirts….?

…..Make them into the girl’s new shirts, of course!

To learn how, click here. Thanks Dana!!

Floats a-plenty…

Whew, we have had enough sickness at our house!! It’s July for crying out loud!! With five little ones, it seems like someone is always getting better from something, and we have been spending quite a bit of time in “quarantine”….meaning either we don’t go anywhere, or we do it in shifts. This week, it was the stomach flu…

Well, yesterday we had a bright shining moment of health so the kids and I headed over to the expo center to see the Days of ‘47 floats that are going to be in the parade on Friday. We walked around for a preview and even voted for our favorites. We missed having Joe with us, but he had to teach a class. Love you Dear!

This was the one Koko and Emma voted for:

This was Colin’s favorite: Camri loved this one:

I loved these two: Made entirely from quilts that will later be donated to the Humanitarian Center:

It wasn’t very crowded when we were there, so we waited in line for a little visit with Howdy Da Clown. Camri got a flower… Colin got a sword and sheath… Emma got a tiara… Koko got a flower…Technically Howdy couldn’t make one for Beau because he’s so teeny, but he made me a dog… On our way home, we (I) decided to hit Albertson’s to pick up a few things. 11 boxes Capri Sun, 6 boxes Cheerios, 3 Spray-n-Wash, and for dinner – bread, cheese, and salami: $25.18. Oh yeah, it was a good day.

Here’s to your health!!!

Wildcats, playgrounds, and ribs

My (wonderful) sister and her family stayed with us last week. They were visiting from Kentucky, so we had to make the most of their visit and remind them why they should MOVE BACK TO UTAH.

First, we took the kids to East High – home of High School Musical. Summer school was in session, so there were lots of people and the kids were pretty shy at first. They warmed up pretty quickly though, and were soon dancing in the hallways… One highlight was seeing Sharpay’s pink lockers…There were a few teachers there that let us into some locked classrooms, so we could see the actual rooms where the movie was filmed… We got some great shots outside too. The infamous gym where Troy Bolton stole everyone’s heart and won the big game… Look at all those great kids!! “Don’t mess with the flow, no, no….stick to the status quo!” TROY BOLTON’S LOCKER!!!! Swoon….. What team? Wildcats! We had a great time… After East High, we grabbed some lunch and some slurpees and headed over to Liberty Park. They have added a new splash park, thankfully, because the other one was out of order on the day we went.

We had a great time, and the kids were exhausted by the end of the day.

Of course, the next day, we had to keep the party going and we headed over to Boondocks.

My camera’s battery died, so we didn’t get pics of the rest of the day. Let’s just say that five years old is too young for the bumper boats, and Colin had minor meltdown…

The week was filled with long talks, a little shopping, and a lot of playing. Friday, we had the rest of the family over for ribs and potatoes. Joe really shines when it comes to ribs…they were a hit! We even had a surprise visit from my brother and his wife from Colorado! My nephew got his mission call to Long Beach, Ca (Spanish speaking) so they were down here getting mission stuff and going to the temple. We were too busy talking and playing to take pictures, but here’s a few… Last, but not least, we had to go eat at Morelia’s. Yum, yum, yum!! It was a great week and we miss the Bells already. Kentucky, I hope you know how lucky you are to get them!