Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Summer Happenings


 Elmer Reunions
 
 We had an awesome vacation to Utah where we had a reunion with the Elmer and the Wilder side of Casey's family.  Some of the highlights from the Elmer reunion were swimming (of course), money hunt, amazing race (for Porters age group), rockets, playing with cousins, Karaoke night,  and fun was had by all!  Then we headed up to Park City where we had a really nice memorial for Grandpa Art and spread some of his ashes over his favorite ski run on Alta (the other part of his ashes were spread in California), we did the alpine sides, watched fireworks, playing at the park, flying remote airplanes, and celebrating Poppy's birthday.  The only negative of the trip was the extreme heat that had all the adults on edge:) but didn't phase the kiddo's. 
Porter, Maya, and Bennett got to stay with Grammy and Poppy and drive back to Washington where they stayed for an extra 10 days!!!  While we boarded a plane and headed back home.

Chick-Fil-A 
 When we got home someone told us about Chick-fil-a having a Cow Appreciation Day where we got free chicken for dressing the boys up like the Chick-fil-a cow.  It was fun.  The boys were pretty cranky, but Casey and I had Fun. 

The Bunny Park
 We took field trip and went to the Bunny park in Dublin.  The kids were surprisingly easy to keep track of even though the splash park was crazy busy.  It's been a tough summer trying to keep everyone busy and entertained, so this trip was a much needed enjoyable time for us!




 The Corn Field
 
 They say the bunnies are so large because they feed on this gigantic corn that is right down the street, so we decided to head over and check it out.  They were huge and the kids had a good time running around the field for a while. 
 The Palmyra/Niagara Falls Trip
 We also took some time to leash up the children and go to Niagara Falls with the Porter clan. 
 It was drop your jaw amazing:)


 The whole Gang minus me and mom.  We must have been taking the pictures.


 A family picture minus Ender
 The kids had a blast together as always!  Then we headed to Palmyra where we continued the good times. 
 I don't have a picture of it, but Brad and Jessica did a fun game for us in Palmyra where they had duct taped a huge ball with random toys and goodies dispersed throughout the tape ball.  We could work on unwrapping the tape ball until the person next to us rolled doubles on a pair of dice, then it was their turn until the next person rolled doubles.  The kids loved it, but we did the adult game after the kids were in bed, and I think the adults loved it even more.  Definitely one of the highlights!
 We stayed at a nice place with a big yard and plenty of room for everyone.  The weather was beautiful so we took advantage of the yard space.  We played kickball, tag, lit sparklers, and foursquare. 



 The place we stayed was within walking distance of the sacred grove, so we walked over there one day and it was a really nice experience.  The kids did their best to be reverent, and they each took some personal time to say a prayer while we were there. 


 As we were walking through the sacred grove I asked Miles "Why is this place special?"  He didn't know so I tried to get an answer from him by asking "Who said a prayer here?"  and he proudly said "Moronhi!".  That kid cracks me up!

Gender Reveal Cake
 I went to my moms for CRAFT WEEKEND!!!  I love craft weekend.  I wish we could do it more often.  While we were there we went to an ultrasound studio and found out what type of new baby we would be welcoming into our family in September.  I covered my eyes so my mom and Sarah would know what the baby was then the plan was they would make a cake that was either pink or blue, and I would cut the cake with Casey and the kids when I got home.  I couldn't handle the suspense, so I called Casey and begged him to let me find out early, and lo and behold it was a GIRL!!!  Needless to say we are pretty excited around here about this new little lady.  Now if we could just pick a name.  I love the name Lemon but I do not think I'll be able to convince Casey, so we will continue to rack our brains. 

 Last Day of School Party

We decided to celebrate the last day of school with a huge water fight.  Dad even came home early from work for it!  While the kids were at school I filled up TONS of water balloons, and put them in a bucket by the gate with a big sign that said "These are your weapons, we are armed and dangerous.  Come find us.  Dad, Mom, Bennett, Miles, and Ender."  A great time was had by all and Dad made a great target:)