Father's Day 6/16/13

Okay, so I'm a bit behind.  I wanted to post the cute picture I took of the kids for Benjamin to take to work.  It came out funny looking but cute...just take a look.

This is the picture I ended up choosing.  Can you read their feet?  (We heart/love Daddy)  I got the idea from a friend on Facebook.  Such a cute idea.  Now look at the bloopers.   :)

Would've been really cute but Bracken forgot to show us his feet.

Inara and Bracken are super cute here.

Inara's making sure we can read her feet.  Braddock is smiling cutely and holding the marker.  

Still can't see Bracken's feet.

I don't even know what happened here.  Braddock fell over, camera askew, Entegra doing jazz hands and Bracken's feet.  At least sweet Inara is looking at me.

The kids thought it was fun to have their feet drawn on and kept laughing because it tickled too much.  Benjamin enjoyed his gifts.

Happy Independence Day! July 4, 2013

We had quite the busy day.  Actually, a busy weekend.  I'll just start with the one day.

We started the day by enjoying breakfast at our Church Breakfast.  The kids put on their 4th of July shirts they had made, mostly by themselves, and off we went.

While we were at the breakfast we learned where the local parade was and followed a couple of people and enjoyed that.  Talk about candy!  Those parade people threw TONS of candy.  Some passed out water and one even passed out popsicles.  It lasted for about 2 hours but it was worth it to see one of the Young Women's group float.  They made a temple on their float and passed out "Pass Along" cards.

After the parade we went home to cool off and try to get Bracken to take a nap, which of course didn't happen and instead he fell asleep in the 5 minutes before getting to the place for the fireworks.  We found a perfect place to sit and wait for the fireworks and this year we were there for about 5+ hours.  We always enjoy that though.  This year was the easiest we've had for waiting for the fireworks.  We have this half tent thingy that provided shade, we brought blankets, food and water in our cooler, a soccer ball, glow sticks and sunscreen. Plus the weather wasn't too bad.  It was mostly sunny but not too hot and a nice breeze would blow through now and then.  As always, our fireworks were spectacular!

Daddy, Bracken, and Inara enjoying time in the sun playing soccer.

Entegra and Braddock cooling it in the tent-ish thingy.

Inara and Bracken enjoying a movie

Mommy, Braddock, and Entegra coming back from a walk. 

(Let's just pretend I look better in this photo, okay?)

"Sissy, you have sparkles on your behind.  Don't worry, I'll get them."- Braddock

Tackle Time

"I have glow sticks everywhere!"

"Oh yeah, I'm busting a move."-Entegra  "Sissy, your so embarrassing."-Braddock and Inara.

Sitting calmly and watching the fireworks.

Independence Day 2012

We always enjoy our 4th's of July.  We enjoy taking our dinner with us, scouting out a spot hours early, sitting in the sweltering heat, and figuring out what to do for those many hours.  Eventually, someone always has to use the restroom and it's our great excuse to buy a soda and sit in the air conditioned restaurant for as long as we can.  This year, our brother-in-law came with us.  In the morning, we attended our church Scout group breakfast.  In the afternoon, we went downtown and listened to some live music, visited booths and went on a "hay ride".  Entegra enjoyed playing card games with Daddy and Uncle Jon or as they've been calling him, Uncle Jonny.

The fireworks were great as usual.  They were probably a little too much this year.  I think it went on for over 20 mins!  Bracken was scared most of the time, which makes sense since the fireworks percussion sound ricochet through our bodies.  If I'm remembering my years correctly, Bracken even managed to fall asleep while I was holding his ears.

Valentine's Day 2013

The kids all enjoyed their Valentine's Day.  Inara was able to pass out valentines this year and thought it was the best thing ever.  Bracken bought the girls flowers, Carnations, sadly I never got the picture taken.  Bracken handed the flowers to them really fast and I couldn't get the camera out fast enough.  Inara had a huge smile and a, "Aww, Thank you, Bracken."  Entegra thought of me during her class party and brought home a cookie.  She said, "I didn't like it, but then I thought about you, Mom, and thought you might like it."  It was really nice of her to think of me during her party. :)

St. Patrick's Day 2013

This St. Patty's Day, we decided to enjoy pancakes, but not just any pancakes.  Rainbows, pots of gold, and 4 leaf clovers.  We also enjoyed green smoothies made with collard greens, a banana, half an apple, and a bunch of frozen pineapple. YUMMY!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Entegra and Inara's Christmas Party

The girls threw a Christmas party yesterday.  They had a great time!  The kids played the XBOX kinect Adventure game, decorated graham cracker houses or rather...decorated as they filled their mouths with the candy pieces.  They ran around the house and played.  After 2 hours of that we sat them down to eat pizza and watch The Polar Express.

Helping Daddy make reindeer noses.  Pretzels topped with a Hershey kiss and m&m's

 Kids decorating felt Christmas tree (from a friend) over,

 and over, and over again.

 

Memorial Day 2012

Our Memorial weekend begun with a day at the park...well, we went for a short hike and played for maybe 30 minutes.  It was really hot and humid, and it hasn't even hit 90 yet.  There were all these stops on the hiking trail that were little exercising stops.  It was very nice out there.  We also went to the animal shelter just to look.  Bracken is terrified of dogs, especially when they bark.

On Memorial Day we started with some cleaning and Benjamin mowed the backyard.  Later, we filled water balloons and played in the sprinklers.  The kids had a blast!

After playing in the water for a while, it was nap time for the little ones.  After they woke up it was time for our BBQ.

We had a great day and weekend.  So much fun!  We ended our day with Family Home Evening, and the kids redeemed their tickets for prizes from the prize box (tickets from doing chores).  Hugs, Kisses, and Good night.  The kids fell asleep pretty quickly, I certainly felt drowsy from all that sun.  What a wonderful feeling.

Flashback: Thanksgiving 2011

Benjamin arrived safely home after his trip to Spain the same day as my Mom, and sister Aislinn arrived.  We had pizza, sang Happy Birthday to Aislinn, and Inara, and they blew out their candles. We all ate yummy cake that Entegra and Inara made and decorated.  That was Saturday.

Sunday we went to church.  After dinner we went outside.  My mom, Benjamin, and Entegra made a maze out of the leaves in the back yard.  We had fun running around it.  I wish I'd taken pictures of that.

Monday we just went into town and shopped around a little.

Tuesday we went the Harpers Ferry in West Virginia.  It was really wet and kind of cold.  I think the kids handled it pretty well though.  We visited several little museums, bought the girls hats (because we couldn't find an umbrella anywhere), and went through the wax museum about the life of John Brown.  My mom, sister, and I all attempted to stand in 3 states at once - West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia.  We got as close as we could.  In order to do that exactly, we would've had to stand in the rivers and that wasn't an option.

Wednesday we went to Jamestown.  It was awesome.  Sadly, I didn't realize there was the actual Jamestown down another road, but we got to see a Native American village, Colonist colony (Jamestown-ish), and three historic type ships.  I loved it, thought it was great!

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving.  I'd like to think I did a good job planning and preparing the food.  We had a nice dinner and then went out for roller skating.  I had such a good time.  Entegra had a really hard time to begin with but after a lot of patience, I was able to help her around several times, and she ended up really liking it.  Inara enjoyed going around a couple of times, but Bracken had to sit on the sidelines with whichever of us was taking a break.  (Originally, I had understood that they allowed strollers on the floor, but apparently only on specific nights.)
We had a pretty good time, but ouch on the ankles and I had quite a biff at the end.  Full on, trip and slide right on my belly - hilarious - my elbows were killing me the next couple of days.

Friday, Benjamin and I went out for Black Friday shopping.  Not terribly successful but we got a gift card out of it.  Later I went out with my Mom, Kathy (I guess it's about time I name her), and Aislinn.  Clothes, clothes, wonderful clothes.  We were a little more successful.

Saturday we just relaxed, then it was time for Mom and Aislinn to fly back home.

Sorry Mom, it was just too funny.  I had to put in this picture of you "relaxing".

We had an eventful and fun week, and hope to do more again next year!