Its the little things in life

The boys hate running errands but for some reason they don't mind going to place like home depot. On the way out they all jumped on a tractor and went for a "ride". Its those little things in life that keep them happy.

OUCH!

Last Wednesday morning started out like all others. The kids were up and hungry and I am still half asleep. I had just pulled cinnamon rolls out of the oven as the two older boys went upstairs to exchange their hot wheels out for different ones. As I was icing the cinnamon rolls I heard a loud crash followed by screams. I went around the corner to check out the commotion and was met at the bottom of the stairs by Carter and Parker both screaming as Parker was covered in blood front and back. I quickly got Parker into the tub to get him off the floor and get him somewhere I could assess the situation. I quickly took a look at the back of Parkers head and saw a sizable gash.
Of course Brandon was out of town in California. He always manages to miss the excitement. Anyhow, I called my mom to come over as I scrambled around the house. Did I mention this is like 8:00 in the morning and we are all still in our pajamas?
Parker and I made our way to the ER. The PA took a look at it and quickly determined he would need some staples. Yes, staples. After hearing that he was going to have staples in his head Parker became very worried about what was to come. So for the next 45 min while we waited for the numbing medication to take affect I was constently asked what it was going to feel like. He was defenitly a worried little boy.
Two hours later with 2 staples in the back of Parker's head we were headed home to take it easy for the remainder of the day.

On the way home he asked me "mom aren't you glad we got that over with?" As if this was a predetermined event he had planned for the day. AHHH!!
I am hoping that this will be a good deterrent and the boys will take a break from the silliness for a while.  We shall see.
Nine days later we headed back to the ER to have the staples removed. This was much easier and less painful. And Parker was one happy camper to have them gone!

Happy 4th of July

We headed to mom and dads house for our 4th of July celebration. Dad manned the smoker and the kids killed some time on the water slide. This has been such a great investment. The kids love it!

After eating way too much we set up outside to watch the firework display.

Before getting started we had to get a quick family photo. What better place than on the back of the mule. A favorite of the kids that turns into a nightly ride. All we need is a rocker and shot gun in the back and we could be the next Beverly Hillbillies.

 I wish I had pictures of the fireworks, but if you've ever tried to capture fireworks with your camera you know its harder than it seems. Each time a firework went off the kids would let out a big 'ew' or 'ah'. Ryder kept calling them 'stars'. Which I guess if you think about it they kind of do resemble stars. Very colorful ones;)

After 2 hrs. of setting off fireworks we were exhausted. At least I knew I was. Ryder was running off pure delirium and chasing him around was getting tiring. Plus we were going to be heading back the next day for round two.

Day 2 of the celebration started out like the day before. The boys were ready to get to Mimi and Poppy's and hit the water slide!

Ryder couldn't climb the slide by himself so every time he wanted to go down Brandon would have to give him a boost to the top which basically meant throwing him. Luckily, Ryder enjoyed hanging out at the top.

Uncle Donnie saw how much fun the kids were having and wanted to give the slide a try. He was a bit big for it but I think he enjoyed it. He needs to get a few pointers from the kids on landing.

Since Amy, Donnie and the kids had to head to the airport early the next morning we had to get the fireworks started earlier than the night before. This night the kids got to get in on the action and do some sparklers.

 Ryder did pretty well but it didn't take long before he wanted to run around and get too close to the fireworks. I wasn't down for that two nights in a row so we came up with a plan.

This is what we came up with... He didn't like it very much, but it worked.

It was a great 4th of July. I hope the boys remember these special times spent with family... I know we will!!

In the summertime

On this day we went to Hawaiian Falls water park. We spent most of the day going from ride to ride. Parker was big enough to go down a ride called 'torpedo'. I wasn't sure he would actually go through with it. Its a ride that the floor drops out from under you and you go sliding down the tube to the bottom. But, much to my surprise he did it. I was very impressed. You have to be a brave 6yr old to do that!! So between all the rides, wave pool, lazy river, and play pools I did sneak in a few photos.

Luke and John playing at the pool.

 Parker, Katie, and Carter all attempted the make it across the pool on the floating logs. Parker didn't have much luck, but Katie and Carter got all the way across!

After a long day we were all wiped out and ready too go. I had to get one last shot of my too cool dudes!

SPLASH!

So far our summer has been a busy one. This past week the boys got to spend lots of time with their cousins while they were visiting from New York.
In order to beat the summer heat and give the kids something fun to do for the day we packed up a picnic lunch and went to the splash park. Its not too far and even though its not that big, its free and the kids seem to really enjoy it.

After some time running in the water we took a quick break for lunch. Then it was back into the water.

Ryder and Luke got tired before the older ones so after a little more persuading to go play it was time to head back home.