Picture this...

It is a great morning... Jacob and Iree are both helping me clean up the house without moaning... I had good music blasting upstairs while I was doing laundry, cleaning toilets and helping the kids with their rooms.

All of a sudden I get that sick feeling like, "I haven't seen or heard Mason for a while"... as I make my way down the stairs I see some cute, little, pink footprints on my carpet... and then I found this...



Our neighbors had given us some leftover birthday cake and It was sitting on the counter... my little man snuck downstairs and decided to eat, jump, stand on and track that cake all over my house. Seriously... this little boy has had one mischievous week!!!

When I was taking the picture I had to tell Jacob and Iree to stop laughing and I had to hold it back as well. When I held up the camera Mason instinctively smiled and I said, "Oh no... this isn't funny!" And then I got this concerned little look. Mase is a blast, so much personality and spunk!

"On the Road Again"

We have been on the road just about every weekend this summer. I thought I would give you a little view.

Here is the routine...

Kids all sit separate! Heather and I switch off who sits in the back with Iree. (To meet her every need :)) Chuck is the DJ until we can't handle anymore unknown songs... then we listen to Kids Bop, Nursery Rhymes, Thriving Ivory and finally we blast Les Miserables while everyone sings along.

This summer has been full of memories... can't trade that for anything!!

This weekend we headed to Idaho to try out the Snake River.

Mason eating endless crackers and cheese... without the crackers of course.

Heather surviving her few hours in the back.

Markos at the wheel...

My view of Chuck's head... very nice hair cut I might add!

Sunny said she wanted to try wake boarding...Jacob hadn't even used his board yet... all it takes is a girl to say she'll do it and Jacob is on board!

Sunny did great... she got up and lasted a few... next time she will be jumping the wake.

Jacob giving in to pressure and giving it a shot...

He did great and I am sure he will be passing up our skills in no time.

Sunny surfing... she loved it and wanted to keep going.

Michelle giving surfing a shot.

You can tell Kevin is a natural in the water... He figured out surfing on his first shot.

Heather always gets to go last because she is goofy footed... we have to change all the fat sacks and ballast tanks so she ended up surfing in the moonlight! Lucky!!

Check out the video!



On the river at sunset was amazing... So peaceful and beautiful.

Spencer finally gave in to Mr. Sandman... sweet dreams!

Kevin was the first to slalom behind the boat... Not really a slalom boat!!! The wake is a little too big for those fast slices and turns...

Look at that form!

Mark trying it out... looks a little too fast for me!

The tube is always a favorite... especially Jacob and Sunny... they love to get whipped around.

Kevin and Sawyer... I love close-ups with the telephoto lens.

Michelle trying out the wake board...

"It's too big"

"plug nose, plug nose" I loved watching Michelle crash... almost as entertaining as Chuck... sorry Michelle :)

We had a blast hanging out with Michelle and her Fam... The Snake River was great, we will go again for sure. The only mishap was wakeboarding through 2 feet of water and sandblasting the prop... everything seems to be ok... wouldn't be an adventure without one mishap a trip!

Air Force Museum

We took a little day trip up to Hill Air Force Base and the Air Force Museum with Andy and fam. The kids loved it and I did also. Seeing these amazing planes from the Wright brothers to now just blows me away. Jacob and Jaquelyn were especially interested in how fast each plane would fly... they would run to each plane and read all about it. I can't beleive this has been so close to me and I have never taken the kids... it is also free but I loved it so much I had to stick a few bucks in the donation box.

Again... I forgot my camera so these are from my phone. Urgh!

Afterward we met up for lunch with Great-Grandma and Grandpa at good-ole Golden Coral. Very fun day!

Tomato Thief!

If Mace can sneak out the door he runs to the tomato plants and picks one. Most are not ready but he eats them anyway. He eats them like apples... and then smiles with a red stained face.

"I want to see the wheel spin"

I went out to the garage and found Mace like this... He wanted to see his wheel spin so he used the helmets as jacks... Just like dad!

When you have a brother turn 4o it means you're getting old.

We had a fun party for Andy and reminisced about old times...
Happy Birthday Old Man!

Andy lighting the 40 candles.

The kids can't wait to dig in.

Fun at the Beach.

Julie and the boys came up early for Andy's party so we had a great time in the sand.
Kathryn in the sand.

Fun in the water.

Austin tormenting the boaters.

Kirby showing Mace how to fish

Mace loves Kirby and is always tagging along. Kirby is so nice to Mace and helps him with anything.

Playing in the sand.

That's a first!

We had a great weekend trip to Yuba Lake with Andy and family, Heather and Chuck and my neighbors Blair and Emily... and I left my camera in the car!!! I think this is the first time I haven't been snapping shots when out on an adventure. I am sure everyone appreciated the little break! But now I am sad that I can't document the fun moments. We had a great time camping and playing on the beach and of course surfing...

I can guarantee I wont forget the camera again... I am so annoyed that I don't have pictures. I know I am a little nuts but this is my life and I want my memories to be recorded... every moment! I love looking back and laughing, crying, reminiscing at all the moments...I am in the process of having my blog printed into a book.... Check out how at Blurb. I love scrapbooks I just cant find the time to do it so blogging is my journal and now my life's book...

Saturday Trip to Idaho...

We went up for Sunny's Baptism and had a fun filled day. Food, baptism, swimming, Chinese food, park, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and as usual a late night drive home.

Lunch at Pizza Hut before the baptism. The kids were so excited about the quarter necklace machine... we ended up with a star fish, anchor, bikini, and cross necklace... now I am working on convincing Jacob not to wear it.

Grandpa and Sunny before her baptism.

Swimming at the Rupert Pool.
Wanda catching Joseph.

Anna and Claire.

Kevin and Spencer... he was loving the water.

Jaquelyn, Sunny and Grandpa diving for the rings.

Andy, Karolyn, Wanda and Joseph.

Todd and Claire.

Grandma catching Sawyer.

Scott and Jacob being crazy as always.

Michelle and Sawyer having fun.

Scott and Jacob squirting everyone!!!

Our big family took up a big portion of the pool.

The kids playing on the Tank outside the pool.

After dinner we headed to the park to let the kids play some more.

Mason and Sawyer racing down the slide.