Summer Part II

*Disclaimer: This is really, really, long. And possibly quite boring. I'm sorry.*
So now we're at the first of July. For those of you who may not know, the first of July is Canada's 'Independence Day'. It is also my annual family reunion on my Dad's side. It is one of my most favorite times of the year. I love my family. We eat and laugh. And that's about it. This year, Dad got a new toy to play with on the farm and the kids loved going for rides as often as he would take them.

The town we invade for a few days also hosted a triathlon. We had, I believe, 2 kids teams, 2 adult teams and 2 individuals enter from our family. Jen and I waited at the finish line and I was able to get a picture of some of our kids as well as our runners finish. I think it was a lot of fun! Too bad Jen and I couldn't get a team put together. Sigh.

So, here are the kid's riders coming in.

Note the helmet hanging from the handle bars. For some reason that cracks me up.

Runnin'!

Now, I only got the backside of my cousin Kristin coming in because she was seriously so fast, I did not even expect her. She was like, a minute behind the kids. And she was an individual entry. And I'm pretty sure she schooled ever other person.

Here's Dad coming in. He was our other individual. He did really well too. After one of his marathons I asked him how he did. He said he won for his division, 47 year-old retired police officers from Calgary. I think he won in his division for this triathlon too. Way to go Dad!

Here's Maren and Celeste (I think, the picture's not that great. But I think I remember they were running together. In fact, did Celeste do an individual and Maren do the run with her? Someone help me out. Not that it really matters, I guess. Sorry to ramble.)

And here comes Eric.

Best cousins, ready for the parade to start.

At the races. Timothy was not able to come this year so Mom is there, telling Kaylee to run her little heart out.

Emma, totally concentrating on beating everyone.

I love this because it's my two favorite three-year-olds. And they are both totally confused, running in opposite directions. Awesome.

Now for the 4th of July. I invited our family to an annual BBQ and 'tank wars'. (I invite myself to stuff all the time. It's really rude.) Anyway, everyone makes a 'tank' out of something plus fireworks and then they are matched and set at each other and lit and we watch the war. It's really entertaining. So, these are the tanks. (Please note the one that looks like a rose bush was the hostess'. She put pictures of her children on the roses. She is absolutely hysterical. I want to be just like her when I grow up.)

The war. I didn't get very good pictures because it's really kinda dangerous. So dangerous in fact that when I invited us, she said we could come but the kids had to watch from the kitchen window.

And then, I just had to share what I learned this year. Montana is possibly the only place where you can buy professional grade fireworks at the corner store fireworks stand. So, this firework came from our neighbor's house. The picture isn't great but let me tell you, it's really insane. Normal people shouldn't be able to handle such explosives. My family should be exhibit A on that argument.

Summer Part I

So, we inherited a camper trailer and were able to use it (a few times) this year. The girls absolutely loved camping. We are thinking this will be a fun thing for our family.
This is how Eli camps.

And the girls, being themselves.

I love sitting around a fire, just hanging out. We went camping really close to home for our maiden voyage and invited some friends out for some hot dogs and smores. They've got a baby just weeks younger than Eli.

The end of June Timothy's brother and his family came home for a visit. It was awesome to see them. We haven't seen them in four years so it was great fun for the kids... and the big kids too.
Isaac is not really a public humiliations kind of person and anyone who has met me knows, I am. So, I decided to make some posters to hold up at the airport. It was awesome because it's a small airport. There were like, two other people waiting so we really stood out! I'm hoping they were slightly embarrassed. (but not too bad, promise I won't do posters next time guys!)

My sweet niece Alexis loved Eli from the minute they got here. She was so tender with him.

Beautiful babe.

We were in Missoula so of course, we had to take Alexis for her first carousel ride (Eli's too.)

I took this picture sitting on a horse but you can see Linda and Emma (brown shirt) closest, then Kaylee (orange shirt) next to Isaac, next to Jen with Alexis on Jen's lap. Not everyone is looking but oh well.

A couple of tired girls. They played hard!

I just love this. Sometimes these girls are so sweet and best friends. Sometimes, they're not.

Some Afters

So, again, I've left this for so long that it is completely overwhelming to even think of all the pictures I took with the intent of posting. But, I've decided I need to start somewhere. And since my whiny sister keeps whining to see the after pictures, I decided to start there. That, at least, is doable. Now, these are not yet completely finished, but they're good enough for now.

So, here is the exterior of the house.

A little sad looking. I don't know if you can see the top stair where Kaylee is sitting but it is crumbling really bad.

And here are the afters...

I guess I haven't taken one straight on yet. Sorry. But still, huge difference! And we love it. Like I said, it's not finished yet, I need to do another coat of paint on the front door and then some black shutters. And maybe someday paint the foundation. When we get bored.

Now, here are the befores of our floor. This vinyl was so nasty. The stuff in this first picture is vinyl tiles. I don't know about any of you, but I cannot stand them. We had tiles in our last house and our last apartment in Rexburg. They get to where they start to move and then dirt gets in the cracks and they peel up when you mop. It's disgusting. If you have them, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude.

Here you can see we had three different types of flooring in one space. It was lovely. And the carpet was really dirty.

And the afters...

I realize that in the lighting here you can't tell what color this is. If you look under the table in the first picture, that looks right on my screen. It's a cherry. Anyway, I absolutely love it. It is so pretty and nice to walk on and I can clean it.

So that's that for now.

Gettin' a good start in May!

We've had a busy May so far. Which is sad. It's only the 5th. Consequently, happy Cinco de Mayo! (I've been thinking about using the word 'consequently' in everyday conversation. But now that I read it, it doesn't sound right. Oh well. Hope I used it in proper context.) So, here's what's going on. I got out the high chair for Eli to sit in while I make dinner and stuff. I'm not sure he really likes it yet, but I loved this picture because he looks like Dr. Evil.

My mother-in-law came up last weekend and sent Timothy and I out Friday and Saturday night. It was AWESOME! We haven't had a real date in a long time. Anyway, we went to dinner Friday night and I took some pictures because Melissa always takes pictures when she and Brad go out and it always looks like fun. Have to tell you, I was actually embarrassed to be taking pictures in a restaurant. And, I looked fat in the pictures. So, I'm not posting them. But here's Timothy, enjoying his chips. (Thanks Jen and Isaac for dinner!)

So, we attended a wedding last night and it's kinda a long story as to how that came about. But, the bride asked me yesterday morning if Emma and Kaylee would be her flower girls. (yah, you read that right, 9 hour notice. Perfect.) Fortunately, Abbey's flower girl dress from my wedding fit (kinda) Kaylee and Emma had a pretty dress that worked. They were super excited about the whole thing and even sat while I did their hair. (I had to duct tape the hem of Kaylee's dress because it had come undone. I'm a real good seamstress... and the ribbon got ripped off the bottom of the tulle, but it was still cute.)

Here they are, waiting for the wedding to start.

So, she wanted to have the girls carry her train down the aisle. So, they did.

So, this is what Kaylee wanted to wear this morning. Just this. I said no. So, she put it on herself. I just laughed and got the camera. I made her change before we left the house.

Because this is what it looked like outside. I finally convinced her she wouldn't be warm enough.

And my handsome man. We went to the doctor today for his four month check. He weighs 17lbs 10oz. Two months ago, he was in the 10th percentile for his age. Today, he was in the 90th. When the doctor walked in she said, "Well, isn't he... thriving!" I love his rolls and smiles and sweet little laugh. I am glad he is healthy and loves his food. He is such a good baby.

P.S. Please note that I did two posts tonight. Sorry for the length of the next one.

Baby Blessing, Easter and General Cuteness

I guess if I posted more than I do, this would be easier and quicker. But, I don't, so, it's not. So, again, this will be long. Bear with me. Or don't, who will know if you just move on? Anyway, here are some pictures of Eli's blessing weekend. Well, I was really busy so, there's not alot.

Saturday, Timothy's Aunt and Uncle arrived with his Grandma and Grandpa and we were able to spend some time with them. Just as we were starting dinner, my parents and sister and her family arrived. (that sounds like they were being rude... they weren't, that was planned.) After dinner, we had a little fire and roasted marshmallows. It was fun but cold.

Had to get this face. Kaylee really likes marshmallows.

And then the babe Sunday morning. I almost forgot to take pictures but Jen reminded me and we snapped a few right before we left. This is the best one. It really shows his personality. Fat and happy.

So, on to Easter. We headed to Grandma Allred's for the weekend. Saturday night we set up some eggs in the basement for a little hunt. Sunday morning, the girls had a blast finding them.

A four generation.

The girls got to dye some eggs with Grandma, Emma thought it was so neat. Kaylee wasn't too much for the mixing of colors but enjoyed herself.

The hunt.

I had to put this picture in. One of the treasures was a Dora Memory game. Kaylee loves Dora and her face in the picture says it all.

The loot.

In other news... had to put this pic in because we have a very stubborn two-almost-three-year-old. She is super cute alot of the time, a headache some of the time and always a sweetheart. She has entered the 'scared of the dark' phase. One night, I heard her at the top of the stairs, but she didn't come down, so I just waited. When we went up to bed, this is what we found.

So, some of you may remember that we live in a fixer-upper. Well, we are doing some fixing currently. Among the projects, our floor. It is really unlevel. So, we're having it levelled. Well, we thought it was going to get done (thought, long story) and so the kids and I moved out for the week and went, first to Mom and Dad's, then on to Jen's. We have a great week hanging out and just becoming part of the Whitehead family. Which means, a lot of taxi driving. I even got to watch all six kids at bedtime while Jen went to a presidency meeting. Anyway, when I got to Mom and Dad's I was saying how Eli doesn't hold his head up while on his tummy yet. So, to demonstrate, I put him on the floor. And this is what he did for like, 5 minutes. I promise, he just wanted me to look like a liar. (p.s. Don't you love the fat? I do.)

While in Calgary, we went shopping. Jen had mentioned that she might like to get her ears pierced. (Yes, you heard that right. She's... I'm not sure right now, older than me, and has never had her ears pierced. She comes from a long line of chickens. She was present when Mom had her's done. Timothy was with me when I had mine done. Anyway,) I knew that she would never do it on her own. So, while at the mall, we stopped in at Clair's. Please enjoy.

Here she is deciding which studs to get (I believe we settled on 3mm stainless steel.)

The gun. I really should've filmed this instead of taking pictures. She whimpered the whole time. I wish I would've thought of that before now.

Emma holding Auntie Jennie's hand. She didn't want her to be scared.

Done!

As we were walking out of the mall, Jen said she felt like everyone was staring at her ears. It probably didn't help that she was carrying a bag that said, "I just got my ears pierced!"

This was our last night together and we were a little tired. I had found out that our project was not going as planned and I do not handle unexpected change well. So, after everyone made fun of me for an hour or so (and I was able to let out some frustration...aka. crying) I received some counsel from my brother-in-law (who is actually a counsellor). He pretty much told me to suck it up. Mind you, I didn't pay for my session, so I don't think that was real 'counsel'. Anyway, here's how we cheered me up. I think I make this face way better than either of them. And I'm not really sure if that's something to be proud of or not.

On our way home, the girls got to take a tractor ride with Papa. Emma was super excited but it took Kaylee a while to warm up to the idea of the big scary machine.

You see the sandwich in her hand? She was so scared that by the time they got off, she had squished it into two pieces.

All right, so, that's April. Sorry about that. I'll leave you with just this...