Fourth of July 2010

The party started on Saturday this year--cousins, Toy Story 3, cookout in the park, ice cream, softball games, golf for the guys. Then Sunday we went to church, ate, and relaxed. Monday was the usual 4th activities: parade, park carnival, Hall party, more softball games, and the fireworks. This community loves this holiday (I've even heard many say they love it more than Christmas...)! We look forward to it every year and this year didn't disappoint. Happy Independence Day!!

June in Review

I noticed it has been an entire month since I last posted. There are several reasons for that (although most of them are not documented by photo). Here is a little rundown of our month:

--Zack and Colin took part in a basketball camp the first week that school was out.

--A trip down to southern Utah for Zack to play in a soccer tournament. Just Zack and I went, stayed with friends, ate out a lot, and had a good time. We won a couple of games but did not place in the tournament. The other kids got to stay with Grandparents which they quite enjoyed.

--Came home for a few days and then back down to southern Utah (this time with all the kids) for Zack to play in a basketball tournament. We mostly swam at the hotel for entertainment. We won 1 game and lost 3 but we still had a good time.

--Started the yearly swimming lessons. We are mid-way through these and learning a lot (I hope). We sent Zack off to his first scout camp for a whole week! He seemed to have a good time and came home very dirty. He got his first class rank and 5 merit badges.

--John picked Zack up a day early and brought him to meet the rest of us in West Yellowstone where we were having an Allen family reunion. The other kids and I went up on Wednesday via Rexburg, ID, where we met the rest of my family from Washington. Before we headed up to Yellowstone we visited Bear World. The kids loved it and we saw lots of bears so that we did not have to worry about chasing one up in the park. We did get a lot of good looks at other animals in Yellowstone though, and of course great scenery. The kids enjoyed hanging out, swimming, and some short hikes. We also got to see "Beauty and the Beast" at the Playmill in West Yellowstone. It was very good. I did actually take some pictures of this trip so I will post some of those in no particular order. Thanks to my siblings and parents for a great trip!

Up next: Getting ready for the 4th of July this week. From the looks of my neglected yard, I will have plenty to do!

A few pictures from the end of the school year....

Kade's tumbling program at preschool.

McKena's first grade program. She recited a poem about apples and sang really well.

Kade's birthday today. Can't believe the baby is 4!


Kade's end of preschool program.

We are ready for summer! We have spent the last couple of weeks finishing up programs and concerts, soccer games, graduations, and finally, today--school. Ready or not, it is here and at least the kids are excited. I can't believe another school year has come and gone, they are sure flying by. Now on to a summer of sports, camps, vacations, swimming, and hopefully a little relaxation. Have a great summer!

Dance Recital

Choir concert
Our snow last week
Dance Recital

Okay, this has been a really bad month for blogging! I haven't taken many pictures and then for some reason I don't have the energy to post them. We have been deep into soccer season which keeps us quite busy but we enjoy it. The boys' teams have both had good seasons. There are only a couple of games left, now that the weather has turned warm. McKena completed another year of dance. She had her recital 2 weeks ago and it was really cute. She does a good job but claims that she doesn't want to keep taking it--she'd rather take piano lessons. I'd like her to keep going just because I feel like it helps with coordination (something that I have always lacked).

May has been full of ups and downs (mostly downs) with the weather. We even had a couple of days with snow. Finally, a couple of days ago it turned warm and beautiful. I spent yesterday planting flowers and John dug a big hole to fix a broken pipe. We do this every spring. We also put the tramp up and moved the swing-set (it has never moved in the 9 years we've been here). McKena and Kade jumped on the tramp with the sprinkler. It was lovely.

McKena also had a little school choir concert. She has been going early 2 days a week all year to be in this choir. It was really cute. I told her I would take her out to eat after and she picked Big J's. She will also have her school program this week. Busy, busy.

So, school gets out on May 27th! I can't believe another school year is coming to an end so fast! I don't know if I'm ready. I could use a few more weeks!

Kade

Like most 3 year old little people, ours is funny. Today, during lunch, Kade had a little role play between his apple slice and grilled cheese. All I caught was "You will never be the dragon-warrior." I guess it's a good thing he can play a little Kung-Fu Panda with his food, he certainly doesn't eat it!

Spring Break 2010--Yea!

Something is wrong with this picture--I don't want to talk about it. On the flip side, it is 10:30 in the morning and we are all still in pajamas. I can't complain about that. We have a whole week out of school and no plans. If you think this causes me a little anxiety you are right. If you look carefully at Zack's face, you will see an injury. Zack bought himself rollerblades with his birthday money. As any decent mother would, I suggested the helmet, knee pads, elbow pads....he doesn't need them.

Anyhow, if you want to visit an area that it has snowed everyday for the last week, you are welcome here!

A Hobby for me!

I've decided to try taking up sewing again. While my Mom was here she made this skirt for McKena, and I have since made another. The bottom picture is just part of a small quilt that I am making posted here because my sister wanted to see it. I'll try to take a picture when I finish it, as that is my goal, since I have many other unfinished sewing projects. So far I have enjoyed it so hopefully I'll have more projects to come.