Grandma Goes to Colorado

In June Grandma (the queen's mom) went to Colorado to visit the sisty and our cousins. Here are a few of her photos.

Tyson

Mariah

Visiting Santa at the North Pole.

Ariana--I call her Princess Ariana

Jajuan

Isaiah

Isaiah and LOTS of helpers...it takes a lot of people to coach tball! :)

Judging by the photos, I think Grandma had a good trip!

Tilt-a-Whirl

We are a Tilt-a-Whirl loving family. I know, I know...it makes many of you sick. But not us. If I went through all my photo albums, I would come up with a dozen photos of various family members (myself included) on that thing. We LOVE it! As luck would have it, I had access to 2 photos quite easily so here they are for you to enjoy!

The prince, princess, and cousins--August 2009

My sister, my mom, and cousins--June 2010

Climbing Camp

The kids went to climbing camp again this year. I forgot my camera both days when they were doing the outdoor climb. These were taken with my cell phone so they aren't great, but you get the idea. The first two are the princess coming down. I didn't get there in time to see her climb.

The last two are the prince. If you can see the sky blue dot to the left of the crevice and up about 2/3 of the way...that's him! He's in the shadow in the first one and just above the shadow in the second photo. They really had a good time at this camp again, and the weather was in the low 70*s both mornings when they climbed outdoors, so it was really perfect.

Grown-Up Dragon

Here's Andy's much larger dragon...about a week later. He did grow quite a bit, and Andy was able to keep his maiming of villagers and livestock to a minimum. Phew! When he was taken out of the vase so he could shrink back down for the trip home, he left lots of dragon sludge in my vase. Gross!

Now Shelley and Andy have left us, and we are sad and lonely. It looks like they took the sunshine with them as today is windy and a bit cloudy! Bummer.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

They didn't really each get 2 orders of ice cream, but it sort of looks that way from the photos!

I Make Minimum Wage For A Reason

Today we went through the drive thru at Taco Bell to get a soda. The girl who took our order was not the brightest bulb in the pack. As she handed us our sodas, she asked, "Would you like taco sauce with that?" Before we really even had time to process what she had said, she continues, "Oh, NO! That would be gross!" Ya think?

Swimming!

We got to go swimming at Mary Beth's the other day. It was a hot day so cooling off in the water was just the ticket!

It's like ripping off a band aid, Princess. Just jump in!

Ahhh...this is the life!

What did you do Saturday night?

After dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant last night and ice cream for desert, the kids got "busy."

The prince and Andy did a little Flight Simulator action. Andy was really good at landing his plane on the water.

The princess decided it was time to clean her fish tank. It was actually long PAST time.

GROSS! That's fish poop on my arm!!!

How To Build The Perfect Smore

STEP 1: Start by roasting the perfect marshmallow.

STEP 2: Assemble with graham crackers and chocolate.

STEP 3: ENJOY!!!

Delicious!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

We went to the ballgame the other night. We lost: 3-5, but it was a good game. The weather was PERFECT, and a good time was had by all!

Everybody: It's fun to stay at the Y. M. C. A...

When we're not singing or eating, we like to walk around...and around...and around. Hey, baseball's really just a social sport. The prince met a friend at the game. The princess ran into a friend at the game. Good times.

Growing a Dragon

Shelley and Andy are here visiting. YIPPEE!!!

Tuesday we went to Toys R Us and Hobby Lobby. Somewhere along our travels, Andy picked up this dragon. When you put him in water, he can grow up to 600% his original size over a 10-day period!

I was all for that so yesterday I helped Andy begin the process of growing his dragon. If you can't make out the dragon, click on the first photo. The photo will be enlarged, and the dragon should be quite distinctive.

It was only after we began the process that I read the directions and warnings. We might be in for some trouble because it says:

1. Be aware: Dragons eat villagers and livestock.
2. Always keep water on hand for fire mishaps.

WHAT??? What have we gotten ourselves into?

But Shelley assures me it'll be okay because Andy has seen the movie "How To Train Your Dragon" more than once. He should have the skills down...if we don't all perish before his dragon-training skills kick in!

One Last 4th of July Memory

What's up with the funky blurs?

Could This Be Our Next Christmas Card?

I like it!

Time

In the beginning we often left town on the 4th of July because the prince would get really stressed out about the possibility of all those fireworks causing a fire. It was just so much easier to not be in our neighborhood for that week of constant noise, light, fire, and did I mention NOISE!

But that only lasted a couple of years and by the time he was 7 or so he was ready to join the other neighborhood boys in the fun rite of passage...non-stop firecrackers for a week or so. And we learned over the years that really, the bigger the boy (ie: his father), the bigger the noise. Many a year there were sparkler bomb marks in our back yard from that less-than-legal activity.

Three years ago we moved into the city limits where fireworks are not permitted. With the large field behind us, we're happy to obey that law. And besides, we've always had the Four O's to fall back on. But they are moving into the city later this month. Looks like we're back to traveling next year on the 4th! But in the meantime, we had one last 4th of July BLOWOUT at their house last night. A great time was had by all. We really, really appreciate their hospitality.

And to commemorate our many years of fun with the Four O's, here's a small stroll down memory lane.

2008

2009

2010

She's grown out the the "lighting" phase,

but still enjoys the show...

and the food...

and the soda!

2008

2009

This was taken earlier in the day.

I don't seem to have any of him at the

Four O's, but believe me, he was there,

in all his glory.

2010

May you all be so blessed!

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday America!

Enjoy your day!

Cool Shades

If you're going to be driving, you're going to need some cool shades--prescription, no less! They help on the golf course too in the bright summer sun. I just hope he doesn't lose them.

**Sigh**

Great times with my peeps tonight--the princess, Mary Beth, Christian, and Tina--and the best Twilight movie so far. It really left me wanting MORE, MORE, MORE...Can't wait for the final two next year. I'm definitely going to need another Edward poster for my classroom this fall. One is NOT enough!

Eclipse!!!

The princess and I are so excited. Tonight we'll go with Mary Beth and Christian to check out the latest in the Twilight saga! Eclipse opened the other day, and tonight's our turn to CHECK IT OUT! Try not to be jealous, and I'll try not to embarrass the princess too much when I'm drooling over Edward. I love him.

Check me out!

This would be the prince, proudly displaying his permit. He needs to log 50 hours in the next 6 months to get his license. He's got more than 5 already. Our problem will be that 10 of them need to be at night. It doesn't get dark until 10:00 right now! But fall is coming. And in case you're waiting for some horror stories, I don't have any of those yet. He does a pretty good job of driving and has only had a couple of near misses so far and was honked at once. I find it much scarier to let him leave with his friends who drive than to drive with him!