Gabriella and Mariah vroom, vroom
If one bucket is good, two buckets must be really good
Gabriella finally got a chance to play in the sand with Joshua. Mom has been fighting it all summer and she finally gave in. They had so much fun together. Joshua hates when Gabriella has to take a nap, she is his new favorite playmate. He misses his big sisters when they are at school. Mom is glad he and Bree get along so well.
I wonder how long we can trick Joshua into thinking that mowing the lawn is really fun. Little does he know that as the oldest (and only) boy in our family he will be doing this chore more times than he can count. Kris can hardly wait to pass the mower onto his son. Isn't it a rite of passage or something?
You would think I would have learned after having 4 children that when they are being strangely quiet I should not assume they are playing nicely. I can almost guarantee that when I go search for them I am going to find a mess. Well, this time was not any different. Gabriella had found the white out and had managed to cover the front and back of her legs. She worked very hard. What you might not know about white out is that is DOES NOT wash off of ANYTHING. I could not scrub her clean, so for about 5-7 days she was painted white. You might also want to know that white out is poisonous, so I definitely win the mother of the year award.
Yummy berry picking, needless to say we did not come home with many berries!
Yes, not only is she eating a shovel full of sand, but I am watching her do it and taking the time to get a good picture of it.
This is her big brother Joshua trying to sneak a shovel full of sand into Gabriella's hair, I wonder where she learns to be messy?!?
It was so much fun to get the kids ready for school this year. They were all so excited and ready to jump back into a new year. Mariah missed her friends, Samantha missed her teacher, and Joshua is just ready to be a big kid. I cry every time on the first day of school and I hope I never get to the point where I don't feel like crying. I love being home with my kids, to go places with them, and watch them play together. I am so grateful I am able to stay home and be their mom. They make my job very rewarding and I can't think of a better career I could possibly have!
What you can't see in this picture is that Gabriella was fighting to get her way out the door to line up by the school kids. Not yet little Bree, I get you all to myself this year!
Sweet Samantha will be in 2nd grade this year. Don't you just want to sit by her and be her friend?
Sassy Sammie. She got about 8 inches cut off. We had hoped it would be enough to donate to "Locks of Love" but it wasn't quite long enough. She is so spunky with her new hair, it fits her personality well.
Mariah went for a less dramatic (I don't know if I can actually use that phrase when referring to Mariah) hair cut. She just got a trim and then had a side bang cut. She loves the bangs and feels very grown up with her new style.
I think all the kids would agree that one of the highlights of our vacation was hiking with Grandpa. He took us on a trail up near the Bountiful temple. We stopped at the creek and let the kids put their feet in the water. We were not able to stay too long because it was getting dark. It was a beautiful night and the view of the city is always amazing at night. 
Little Boston loved those cheetos! Don't you just want to kiss that messy face? Well, maybe after a good cleaning.
Here are all the kids taking a much needed break from swimming. It was a great way to spend the day!
One of our first outings in Utah this summer was to "This is the place" state park. (Or is it the right place.) My two sisters, my mom, and I went with all 10 kids! We had so much fun walking along the old fashioned streets. We wandered into old shops, pretended to take care of all the chores in an old house, rode a pony, pulled a handcart, went to a pretend school, made wool, rode a train, and just about melted to death in the heat.
The kids loved getting popcorn and a toy at the ZCMI general store. I loved the rows of candy jars! Thanks for the toy and treats Grandma!
We might start making our own wool, it keeps the kids busy and it must be cheaper than buying it. Oh yeah, we don't have a sheep. Well, it seemed like a good idea.
I don't think Joshua has ever held this still for so long. Maybe it was because the teacher just explained to the kids what she did with the paddle if they misbehaved. I think we might need to introduce the paddle to our primary children at church...
We got a good feel for how the pioneers felt as they pulled the handcart. It was about 95 degrees out. I had to remind the kids that their cart was empty and they had shorts on and they had on good shoes and they had a paved road. Maybe we didn't get a real feel for what they pioneers had to do. I am sure grateful for their sacrifice!
