Kara's Party

Having a summer birthday must be tough... especially when you move a week before your birthday. Hence waiting a couple of weeks before inviting some girls over from Church to celebrate with and get to know Kara better...


Kara's cake - cupcakes bunched together... made for easy serving, no cutting, no silverware, no plates!
















Part of the entertainment - Disney Sing It on PS2... the girls all had a great time! Thanks Grandma!!!!:
















Jeff also had a good time singing Hannah Montana with the girls (which broke the ice with some of the more shy kids):
















Blowing out her 9 candle....

More Vegas Pics

Does anyone besides me think it's incredibly cute how Brooke pops a pose in every picture?


in the 'Coke bottle' at Coke world:

















at the top of M&M world with a view of New York, New York & ESPN zone in the background:
















The sleepy lion at MGM Grand:

Vegas Trips

Even though St George has an airport, flying to Concord for Jeff would have been challenging from here. The best alternative was for him to fly out of Las Vegas which meant the girls got to do a road trip (times 4)...

The last trip we dropped Kari off at the airport to fly home (sad) and had a few hours before Jeff's flight came in (and he was home for good - happy!). That brought Kara, Brooke, and me to the strip for some fun & free entertainment! We had not been to M&M world before so we decided that would be a good place to start.... we had time to squeeze in the movie at M&M world, go to Coke world, and walk through MGM Grand (and see the lion) before heading back to the airport to pick up Jeff.

New York, New York:

















The Golden Lion (as Brooke called it) at MGM Grand:
















The outside of M&M world, Coke world, and an awesome food court we ate in while waiting for Jeff:
















The girls waiting to see the 3D movie "I Lost My 'm' in Vegas" at M&M world:

Kari

Kari will be mad at me, but I must blog about her visit!

Jeff was in California (bay area - Concord) the past couple of weeks and between airport trips (4 of them), I found Kari along the way and brought her home with me! :)

We had to keep busy somehow... so out came the sewing machine and this is what we made:

Aquatics Center

To keep cool this summer we've been frequenting the aquatics center near our home... I miss the free pools at Green Valley, but at least this pool has a water slide, diving board, and all kinds of other fun for the kids...

Insurance

Today I am shopping for insurance - it's been awhile since I've had to do that... and I'm not the one getting the commissions this time, so that's no fun either!

Kara is 9!

How are the years going by so much quicker? How is my baby already 9?

Look at this picture from this morning:















Such a wonderful girl! I love her energy and enthusiasm. She is so beautiful and full of life! She's so smart and loves to learn. She is so good with her hands and loves to knit and crochet (already!). She always wants to learn a new craft. I'm glad she has developed such a love for reading and thirsts for knowledge of all subjects (except math, but that's ok). She's happy to be in a new area and has already made new friends at Church, which we're really excited for! We'll have a birthday party for her in a couple of weeks after she's gotten to know the girls at Church a little better.


Every year Kara loves to see her birthday sign - this was posted in the hall outside her bedroom door. She said she was happy to see it first thing this morning!


















Every year we hang up streamers or ribbons in the doorway to her bedroom... this year she was still half awake, so I had to hang them in the hall. I guess this way Brooke can enjoy walking through them too!




















Kara, Mom & Dad love you and hope you have a special day! Hope this is your best birthday yet!

Jeff's new toy

This is the first home we've had where we are in charge of yard maintenance... We got a lawn mower from the store over the weekend. On Monday when Jeff went to mow the lawn, filled the mower with oil and gas, and then the starter cord would not budge. Super frustrating! We looked through the owner's manual and searched online but couldn't find any way to get the cord to retract.

Last night we took the lawn mower back to the store... they had discounted the mowers by $30-45! We returned the one that didn't work and got the next model up and still got $5 back in change! When we got home the mower started right up! Jeff said he was actually looking forward to mowing the lawn! :)

Summer Fun!

We have a nice grandma in California who sent a Summer care package yesterday!

As I type, this is what the girls are enjoying on this hot (over 100 degree) Summer day... how's that for quick blogging?




The dog likes running through it every few minutes and then remembers it's wet and takes off again...

Happy 4th of July!

On the 4th of July we went to a park in St George during the day and then made our own fireworks show at night. We had our cousins to enjoy it all with!

Jeff and the girls near the park:
















Jeff & Kara's favorite part - the hot dog eating contest!:
















The kids enjoying our fireworks on our lawn (as the fireworks got bigger and louder, Kara got further and further back - she eventually ended up with her stool by the front door):
















Some of our fireworks in the street:

pics from weekend 5

Sadly, the park day had to come to an end:













































I love Utah sunsets!

Pictures from weekend 4

Park fun: