Floats, Faces and Fun - take 2

I have been doing my week in review and keep deleting photos and text when I am moving pictures around! So, here we go again....

Monday, we met the cousins at the Days of 47 parade Float preview. We stood in line for an hour to get the kid's faces painted. We had a great time and then we headed to Rog & Cozette's house to pick up their kids. Both R&C had to be at girl's camp this week, so we got a cousin sleepover! Luckily, we got to go to a bbq and swim party at McCleary's that night! I was the only adult in the pool, but I had 6 kids to watch over! Well, 7 if you count when Drake Morgan started playing jump in the pool with me! I felt pretty good that night when I had everyone sprawled out on the family room floor, tucked in their sleeping bags and ready for bed! Tuesday, I got up, made pancakes for breakfast, started teaching piano, helped Amanda with Ella because she was really fussing for her first feeding and monitored the other kids all day! Later that day, I had to take Amanda new clothes as Ella had pooped all over herself and Amanda's Justin Bieber t-shirt! I changed Ella and her clothes while Amanda, fully grossed-out, changed her shirt! Amanda making her vote count!
Issac, Aidan, Zach and Brandon
We made homemade rootbeer!

The kids got a kick out of the fog....

Brandon asked me 'Why don't we have homemade rootbeer all the time?

Floats, Faces and Fun

Ok, I have been working on this post for an hour! I keep deleting pictures and text everytime I try to align the post! So, it's now going to be a couple of posts...hopefully it makes sense!

Wednesday, more piano teaching, Cozette's mom came to pick up the kids around 1:30pm, and Brandon got to go to Matthew's birthday at Lil' Flippers! He had a blast! Finally, Mike came home from Grand Junction. He was completely worn out. I was a little worried about him driving home!
Amanda got to drive while Sydney was knee boarding!

Thursday, we got the big Fat Boy order. Amanda's comp soccer team had a fundraiser selling Fat Boys. She did really well and thanks to all that ordered from her! But, now she had to deliver as many of the 22 boxes as she could because we don't have an outside freezer! We decided that we needed to make a run to Salt Lake that night. The girls and I headed south and Mike & Brandon delivered a couple to work people. We had about 4 left from the neighborhood to deliver by the time we were done. Some creative packing of our little inside freezer and we were set!

Brandon being a monkey!

Hugs for Dad!

Friday, we needed a dinner out! We have been sooo good about not eating out as much. So, we headed for our favorite, sushi! It was so delish! Saturday, we got up really early and headed to Echo to go boating. Amanda wakeboarded first and she now understands why Dad likes to ski the early morning water. She even got outside the wake! Yea! The water stayed so nice for a long time! Sydney tore it up on the knee board and then they tubed! Mikey got out on the tube this trip. We had a great, great day on the lake! It started getting really crowded around 12:30, so we pulled the boat out and headed to Taggarts for lunch. When I put our name on the waitlist, the guy told me 30 minutes. So I headed back to the car with the family to find a parking place. Apparently, the parking there is also used for the groups running the Weber river. We were trying to find a spot big enough for us and the boat we were towing! It didn't take 30 minutes, but it took a bit. By the time we got back to Taggarts, the guy had already called our name! He put us back on the list and we waited and waited. We were so starving by now-it was probably 2pm and we had only had breakfast at 6:45 am and shared some beef jerky on the boat. Brandon was losing it and the girls were tired and hungry. Finally, he called us back and we enjoyed really yummy food and saw a couple of neighbors (Lallis and Browns) to boot!

After getting home, putting the boat back in storage, and grabbing a quick nap, we headed to the fireworks stand and bought some more fun for our day! We just sat out on our driveway and watched our fireworks and could see the neighbor's doing some more illegal ones-so we got quite a show! Then, we also saw two police cars drive by....soon, the neighbor's firework shows ceased and we just sat and talked as a family on the driveway on this great night! It was a perfect end to a great week!

Now, Mike is back in Grand Junction....

Week/month in Review

I have been thinking a lot today about our summer. It seems to have been short because June was sooo rainy, but then it seems like it's been long now that we are in the middle of July. Maybe I just have two personalities....hee, hee.

This will be a dry post. Mostly just for journaling purposes. Sometimes I forget to write down the everyday stuff and someday someone might find that interesting. Someday, I might just need to know a date that something happened....

We have mostly been home during the day. Amanda has been home more (due to girls and their friend issues.....they never end), and instead of pushing her out the door, I have been enjoying the time that she is home. The older she gets, I know that she'll be off doing things and not being home. So, I have chosen to chat with her and enjoy the time. Today, she did go swimming with Hanalee H. These two haven't hung out in awhile, so I'm glad to see them doing that today.

Amanda has been tending the Bott's baby, Ella, who is just tiny....we're talking 8 weeks old, maybe? She tends Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays from 7:15am to about 1:30ish. It's a great job for her. I'm sure it's teaching her a lot, but it's a lot of responsibility-so she took this week off. I stay home while she's tending, in case she needs help. I have gone to help a few times or watched the baby when Amanda has soccer, and it's fun. She's so cute and cuddles. But, it does make me glad we are done. I don't think I could start over now. Our kids are at great ages.

Amanda also has soccer speed training and soccer practice. She had a fundraiser, selling Fat Boys, and it was a blessing to get some help with the fees! Thanks to all our wonderful family, friends and neighbors who purchased the yummy ice cream!

Both girls have done another art class. I am trading piano lessons for art lessons and so the girls are getting 3 sessions this summer. They love art and are quite good! They must have a little Grandma Gib in them!

Sydney has been helping our neighbor, Natalie, playing with her 21 month boy, while she feeds her newborn twin boys. She's quite overwhelmed....who wouldn't be. So, Sydney heads over there when Natalie doesn't have someone there to help. Nat says she's been helpful. I think it's great service. Natalie and Chris keep asking what they can do for Sydney and she's good and just says nothing! I like to play with Drake! Her bff, Abby, is back now and so they have been having a great time playing! Today we went to lunch with her and Rachel, Lucy, & Brooks. It was fun, but short as Brooks threw up! Poor kid!

My friend, Elise and I got pedi's last week. It was so nice to chat with her while we got our feet pampered! I was using my Mom's day gift card and so it was even better! Then, all spa services were 20% off for July! Jackpot!



Saturday, Mike took Amanda to the Justin Bieber concert (see post), I dropped Sydney and Brandon off at Roger's house for Elyse's swim bday party and I headed to Rachel Medina's baptism. It was so great to be there with with Staci and her family...and so great to see Bud & Kay. We love them so much. Kevin did a great job and we headed to their house afterward for yummy lunch and Michele's Vintage Cupcake mini-cakes. Yum! My parents came up to Staci's after Elyse's party and brought Sydney and Brandon with them. It was fun to visit with my parentals, too. I love them so much, too! Sydney showed off her cute tie-dyed t-shirt she had made in activity days. It looks professional! Everyone said that Mike gets 'father of the year' award for taking Amanda to the concert!

I also saw a new doc who is all about getting my thyroid, hormones and weight under control! I was feeling relief after chatting with him. It's a continuing saga....my vitamin D was way low again, so I'm back on some super-supplements.

Sunday, Mike had to go to Grand Junction, CO. Their manager over there died in his sleep. He was 58. Scary. So, Mike has to go help get things moved around and under control. He'll probably be there next week, too. He works so hard. We can never thank him enough. I hope someday he can get the rest and relaxation he so deserves!

I had recipe group on Tuesday night. It was good to get there this month. We did freezer meals for Natalie. We learned how to make Nicole's mom's 1 hour bread. Yum! We stayed later than usual and it was great! My cute girls watched Makell's, Beckham, so she could come. Not that it was hard. He and Brandon hung out and did Star Wars stuff. I love Star Wars!

Yesterday, I taught piano, took dinner to the Taylor's and got the house ready for Mikey to get home! He drives when he goes to Grand Junction. It makes me nervous. So, I'm always relieved when he makes it back. I was a crying mess when he left on Sunday.

We are looking forward to the last day of art (I'll have to post their pictures), boating tomorrow night and a hot, but great, weekend! Mike will probably go to G.J. on Sunday again. We are going to have Rog & Coze's kids sleep over while Coze goes to girl's camp (she's the new YW pres in her ward-so both of them are going), the Pioneer Days float preview with the cousins, and Brandon has a couple of birthday parties to go to. So far, we haven't done anything on our list of stuff to do during the summer....better get busy on that!

So, if you read this far, congrats....it's over.

1st time at Echo!

On Friday, we took our friends the Francis' up to Echo. Amanda also took a friend, Brinley. Syd, Brinley and Amanda....I made Amanda wear a shirt because her elbows and shoulders were still raw (serious scabs! Poor girl!) from Monday's boat trip. She didn't like it much, but it helped.
When we first got there, it was sooo windy! I thought we weren't going to be able to get behind the boat at all. Mike told the girl at the gate to make the wind stop and she said she would do the wind dance. It must have worked because after about a 1/2 hour, the wind died down and we were one of two boats on the lake! This is why we LOVE Echo!

My handsome man, Captain Mike

Zoe, Sydney and BrinleyTaylor, Casey and Amanda

Nicole and Kash

Kash and Casey with Taylor in the background

We just rode the tube for most of the night. I went out with Brandon and Zoe. Thanks to Mike's smooth ride, the kids were super brave and were doing tricks like standing up, turning around and showing off. They didn't want to get back in the boat!

Then, the other kids took a nice long turn. We were losing sunlight when Amanda decided she wanted to wakeboard. So, we got her set and she got to ski in while the sun was setting. Beautiful sunset and a beautiful girl!

We almost made it to Taggart's before the closed, but not quite. It's a little restaurant in Taggart that has great desserts and a beautiful setting nestled in the mountain. So, we made our usual stop at the 7-11 in Morgan for some slushies and ice cream. I love this boating tradition. I'm pretty sure the kids and Mikey love it, too. I would do this every night because it's so fun to be together as a family enjoying the great outdoors! We were so glad the Francis' could come. They are a fun family!

Bieber Fever

Just a quickie: Mike took Amanda and her friend, Liz, to the Justin Bieber concert tonight...well, I guess it was yesterday now as I'm posting at 12:15am.
Mike took the girls to dinner at Ruby River and then headed to the E Center.
Can you just see the joy in their faces?

Amanda has been working and saving up her babysitting money so she could go to this concert. She even bought her own concert t-shirt. We are so proud of how hard she has worked and that she paid her own way.
They had great seats and even moved closer to the stage. Amanda said Justin looked right at them! "Squeal!" So cute...Mike said they were really cute dancing and running back and forth from their closer seats back to him. What a great memory!

Final Fourth

Yea for a holiday Monday! It was so great to have Mikey home for the holiday! We were able to play all weekend and it did all of us some good.

We finally were able to take the boat out for the first time this summer. It rained all of June and then we had to get some repairs done on the boat. So, this was the first chance we had. Normally, we would not go on a holiday, but decided to try Willard. Mike called our nephews, Brock and Corvin and they met us there. It was fun to see them. It had been awhile. Mike was in his element, teasing the kids with the music he would choose and his dancing! It's fun when your kids start to get embarrassed! We put on Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA and would sing and dance.

This red and yellow balloon thing is a Christmas present that Mikey got. It holds the rope up out of the wake and helps with the splash in the face factor. We love it! It just makes it harder to take pictures....

It was warm, but not hot and not too crowded until later that day. The kids tubed, went swimming and just had a great time. Mike took Brock, Amanda and Corvin for some great tube rides. Brandon, Sydney and I did some great, mellow rides. Sydney did venture out with Corvin and Amanda a couple of times.

The boys had to leave around 2pm, and so our little family stayed on the lake a little longer. Pretty soon, the water was so choppy from so many boats there that we decided it wasn't going to get better and we loaded up and left. Mike decided we needed sushi for dinner and no one complained! We stopped at Tepanyaki and sat at the sushi bar. Amanda and Brandon can pound sushi rolls. Sydney tried one, but she doesn't love it. She's a good sport to put up with us.

I would love to do this everyday!