O Christmas Tree

Due to a lot of sickness this month, our holiday celebrating has been kept to a minimum.  We even tried to make a list of the activites we wanted to do the most.  A Holiday Bucket List of sorts.  And we only managed to check off a couple of things. 

One of the few things we did manage to do was make Ice Cream Cone Christmas Trees.  It's fun, easy, and delicious.  And you can even do it if kids are sick.  (As long as mom gets well long enough to make it to the store to buy the supplies.)

A Giant Snow-person

We've had no shortage of snow this winter.  One snowy day Dan, acompanied by the three boys and several neighbor kids, built a giant 7 foot snowman.  (or snow woman.  Dan tried to convince me it was a girl.)

He, or she, had a fire bowl for a hat, sunglasses for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and pumpkins for a mouth.

Caleb, Tyson, Eli, and Nolan

Dan and his new girl friend.  She gave him the cold shoulder. 

The Great Pumpkin

Dan's pumpkin patch did very well again this year.  The boys loved carving their pumpkins.  

Lila enjoyed watching from the crook of my arm.

Preston's finished product

Nolan's pumpkin

Tyson's 'Harry Potter' pumpkin

Jungle Jim's Playland

Our trip to Jungle Jim's was a huge WIN!!  

Indoor, clean, air conditioned, non-crowded fun.  

Plenty of benches for me to sit and watch. 

Unlimited rides for the boys.  

What more could we ask for?!

Fireworks!!!

Since our Fourth of July was firework-free and half the family was asleep for our city fireworks, we decided we'd better make an effort to attend at least one fireworks show this summer.  So we put the kids in their jammies, grabbed our pillows and blankets and met Grandma and Papa for their city's fireworks.

The fireworks were great, but I think the glow sticks were the biggest hit of the night.

F

Field Trip: Welfare Square

Our final field trip of the summer was to Welfare Square.  It was a little more exciting for me than it was for the boys.  But it was good for them anyhow.  We learned a little about the church's welfare program and saw how they are feeding the hungry and clothing the naked worldwide.  We watched them make cheese and bread, and package honey.  We saw the Bishop's storehouse, which gave me a chance to talk to the boys about our many blessings.  The highlight of the tour for the boys was the sample of chocolate milk and cheese at the end.  They declared it the best they'd ever tasted!

Watching the volunteers make HUGE blocks of cheese

Mmm!  Tasty!

Can I have some more, please?!

Ward Summer Party

Q: What do you do when your ward hosts a pool party and you are too pregnant to keep up with your kids?  A: Invite your favorite babysitter to come along!  

Anika was on Nolan duty.

Tyson spent the evening with his best friends.

Dan was on Preston duty. There are no pictures of them because Preston was too busy being a little fish to bother with having his picture taken.  

The Car Show

We stumbled upon a car show while driving home one day.  We thought the boys might like to see the restored classic cars.  That lasted for about five minutes.  But the little boys found other ways to amuse themselves.

Preston thinks it's hilarious to meditate.  He will strike this pose and chant,
"Um chicken, chicken.  Um, chicken, chicken."

I adore this little face!  I honestly don't remember why he was so happy.
I'm just glad I had my camera out at that moment.

Who doesn't love to wrestle Daddy?!

Love this!

Who needs to go to the gym when you have these two to bench press?!

Summer Fun

When I realized how pregnant and tired I was going to be all summer I worried about my boys.  I wanted them to have a fun summer even if their mom was lame.  Thankfully Dan has been around enough to keep them busy.  Unfortunately, Dan didn't take many pictures when they went on adventures without me.  He has taken them to Seven Peaks, to the movie theater at least twice, to Father's and Sons, swimming at a nearby pond, and other things that I just can't remember right now.  Sometimes I felt well enough to go with them.  This night was one of the times I tagged along. We went to Trafalga for a little mini-golf and bumper boats. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

The Aviary

One scorching hot day, we decided to visit the aviary.  

Preston loved chasing this peacock

Nolan loved this "Rio" bird

Our neighborhood traveling group

Did I mention it was HOT!!!

Overall we enjoyed our visit.  But I would HIGHLY suggest going on a day when it's not so hot!