July 4th- Part 2

On the morning of the 4th, we went to meet Adam's family up at Wasatch State Park in Midway to camp for the weekend. It was really fun hanging out with them, as always. I took so many pics and tried to narrow it down...

Scott and Christie- Thanks for sacrificing for us and sleeping in a tent for 2 nights so we could sleep in the motorhome! 

Making scones for dessert- yummy!

Grammy and Ollie

Me and my honey!

The boys spent so much time watching the bugs that came to see the lantern. They smashed a lot too.

4-Wheeling- we had so much fun! I just wanted to stay out forever. The breeze was so much cooler the higher we got and the views were amazing. We even went through a bunch of streams- I loved it!

Adam's dusty face after our ride. We were laughing so hard at him- it looked like he had used some horrible tanning cream or something!

I didn't know my face was just as dirty until we walked in and Megs let me know! :)

We brought 5 fuzzy caterpillars back for the boys. There were swarms of them all over the road. Good thing Adam was with me, since he dared to pick them up! They have been playing with them non-stop, even since we've been home.

Grammy and Elliott. I always think they look so much alike- especially in her little kid pics!

All tuckered out from the late nights.

Once again, S'more hands. This time we tried peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate- it was yummy (if you like peanut butter!)

My boys.

With Grandpa. He made us laugh the whole time- even when he got sick. ;(

Tanner and Megs. We would love to welcome this kid into our family someday! My favorite thing with Megs was when we were playing a game and we all had to write down a fad that we did once and were really embarrassed for. She guessed I had the mullet. Thanks Megs- I'm glad you have such confidence in my past syles! Ha! Let's not forget the chocolate- Bliss! 

We got to sleep in the motorhome- it was so much fun for the boys. Elliott only fell off the bed he was sharing with Ollie a couple of times. It was so nice having a bathroom right there too, oh and air conditioning!!

Feeding the ducks on the way out. I think they all had full bellies when we were done.

We really had a fun weekend. We hung out at the condo, and at the pool and even went to dinner for Meg's bday one night. We always have a great time laughing together- and lets not forget the awesome food! Thanks Karen and Steve, for planning this trip and letting us come- we loved it! We missed you Ames, Cody and Kenzie- it wasn't the same without you guys!

4th of July- Part 1

I guess technically, this was on the 3rd. We went to the Riverton parade with my family. It is such a long parade- I loved it. I guess it was worth the hour wait in the hot sun....

The kids all lined up waiting for candy!! Trevan, Ryeder, Bailey, Elli, Ollie and Elliott 

This group of  jeeps drove up on eachother's wheels- the kids LOVED watching it! I can't believe they had kids in the back of the jeeps- I would be so scared, but they are probably just used to it. 

Before the parade- we look so hot and miserable!! The umbrella helped a little, but we were dying until the parade started and we forgot our woes!

The boys being transformers.

The long awaited fireworks. The boys seemed to inch closer and closer to the street and they all had the next one ready to be lit, "Pick mine Brian, pick mine!"

Funnies

Today Elliott was telling me that he wants to be a police officer when he grows up. He changes his mind often, the last few being a fireman, a guitar player or a worker- someone who builds houses. So he was telling me that he wants a police truck instead of a car. Then he told me he would take me for a ride in it, but he would drop me off at home before he went to get the bad guys, because it would be too scary for me. I thought it was sweet! :)

We were at Target and decided to eat our lunch there. I ordered PB & J for Ollie and when we sat down, the kid came out and said they were out of that and to choose something else. So I asked Ollie if he would rather have a turkey sandwich or mac and cheese. He said, "No. I don't want those for lunch. I want jelly beans!" Funny!

Ollie Jack

Our little Ollie. He's such a handful, but so cute at the same time- I think that deserves a post. So here are some of his favorites right now....

He loves his little blankey and used to cry when we put it in the wash. Now he loves to put it in himself and  loves it even more to get it out when it's fresh, clean and warm. It makes him so happy. I love that he lets us call him our baby still. If we ask if he's a big boy or baby, he will say baby (unless he's done some great new skill and then he lets the praises fly!) Here he is snuggling with his warm lovie, which he will often share by rubbing it on our faces. 

His favorite toys right now are cars!! Or anything that moves. He brings them to me all day. If I'm at the computer, my lap will be full. This was tonight while I was making dinner. He brought me all the cars and wanted me to hold them. I read an article the other day about our kids trusting us with their little treasures. I'm not sure if that's what he's doing, or if this is the way he includes me in his play, but it's pretty funny. 

He also loves his bike. I thought this was a funny picture because he was going around and around and you could see the tracks. Usually he just follows E around, but he never uses the pedals. He goes pretty fast down sloping driveways too. Sometimes I just can't watch, but he's always fine.

Some of his other faves include saying prayers and always asking for Daddy to come home safely, chewing gum, (if he could have some in his mouth every second he would be happy!!) picking strawberries from our patch every morning, tantrums (when I tell him no he says, "No, YES!") naming off my sister's whole family, "Benny, Elli, Addie, Linds, Brian...." he does this at least a few times a day! Reading books over and over and saying his favorite parts, being sneaky and telling me, (when I'm putting him down for a nap) "But it's not nighttime, see?" and points to the window. Or I'll tell him something fun we'll do when he wakes up and he'll say, "But I'm already awake!" Some of his favorite phrases include, "Me want some" and "Way over der" or "You wuv it Mommy?" after he has colored a picture or if we're eating something yummy. He's fun to have a conversation with because everything he says is so cute, in fact I think he talked more on my one phone call home from camp than E did. 

He tells me all the time that Adam's "motorcycle is fast. It's 85." 

And the other day as we were sitting in traffic he pointed to an older guy who looked like a biker, but instead was driving an old camero, with a bandana on his head and said, "Look Mommy, a pirate! But he's not a mean pirate, he's a nice one."

Ollie is our little stinker and we love him so much!

Our adventurous hike

So tonight for Young Womens, we decided to go on a hike, since we weren't able to at camp because of the snow. We had heard there were trails right up above our neighborhood, so we decided to go there and save some time and gas. It was supposed to get up to 98 degrees today, so I started to worry about that, even though we weren't leaving until about 6:30 PM. Also, since we had planned it, I had heard that it was dirty with lots of garbage and such- but it turned out great! The girls had fun, (I think!) we got some exercise and we had some great conversations. The hot wind kept us surprisingly cool and we had views of the whole Northern part of the valley. Along with the cool views, we saw an antelope, a dead snake in the road that looked alive, some HUGE caterpillars (that I couldn't figure out how to get home to show my boys without touching them) and some crazy bug infestations that looked like little army hats walking around. I've lived here for 5 years and had never been up there. We only had a third of our girls due to vacations, injuries, etc. but we had lots of fun!

I seriously love these girls! 

Elliott's latest...

Elliott is obsessed with the motorcycle now. Every time we are outside him and Ollie point it out to me. And everywhere we go they point out the other motorcycles that are "like Daddy's." They love it.

Elliott has never been one to play well by himself. He always wants me or a friend to play with him. But we got this little pool for the summer and he spent all day out there, even when friends went home and Ollie was taking a nap. I think he looks so little in this picture- like he's my baby again and not about to turn 5!

Here are some funny things E has said lately: 

"I wish our house was made of metal and then if something like wind came to break it, it wouldn't break because it would be too metally!"

"I just want a suck thing like Ollie." (He was talking about a candy that you suck on from the parade.)

"When we grow up we need to a have a backyard that is a lot bigger like Grandma and Grandpa's. When our heads all touch the ceiling, then we will huh?"

Mini Reunion

My brother Ari and his family were in from Chicago last week, so we got together a few times. They are so fun to hang out with- we laugh a lot.  I wish we could see them more, and my proposal to get them to start a blog failed. So until next year....

All nine McEntire grandkids: Clockwise from Ollie, Elliott, Baby Addie, Anikka, Stacey, Trevor, Jason, Benny and Elli.

We had 4 year old Elliott take this picture, which is why some of us are slouching! My cousin Justin and his family came over to my house too. It was fun seeing them! Front l-r: Linds, Baby Addie, Anikka, Anikka, Michelle, Jason and Leena (my mom.) Back l-r: Brian, Benny, Justin, James, Tamara, Chase, Mike, Ari, Jen, Adam and me. 

My brother and sisters (minus a few): Ari, Michelle, Linds, my Mom, Sini

Ari's little family: Ari, Trevor, Jen and Jason.

Michelle's fam: Stacey, Mike, Michelle and Anikka

Little Blondies: My cousin Justin's daughter, Anikka, my niece, Elli and Ollie.

Adam showing off....I mean telling about his motorcycle. (The enthusiasm from everyone is killing my "shouldn't have gotten it" theory!! Come on people!)

Ari showing off his new hybrid car, a Toyota Highlander.

Splash Park

We went to the splash park in Riverton on Wednesday, just to do something to cool off. The boys liked it, although they didn't love being "splashed." Their favorite was to watch all the water in the drain and drop rocks and other cool finds in. And they love being with cousins. I think this may become a regular because #1- it's free and #2- it's open before 1:00 (which is Ollie's nap time!!) unlike every pool I know of!! I wish we had one closer to us!

Summer Boys. I love this picture!! These guys have so much fun together! Every time we go somewhere, Elliott asks if Benny is coming.

Elli was fun to play with, we kept going through that circle thing above and would get soaked. We were the only wet ones!!

 Linds and her kids.

Pizza at the park

For family night we ate pizza at a fun park in AF. If you're going on Main St. heading East, you take a right on Center St. It's surrounded by houses, so it's kind of hidden until you turn. Check it out! We like to go there because no one is ever there, so it's really quiet and beautiful. There are cool things for the boys to do (besides the playground.) This bridge was their favorite. They ran back and forth for a long time.

Saratoga Splash

Here are some more pictures from our town day celebration. They had so many fun things for us to do during the week!

Movie night outside on the big screen. We watched "Water Horse" and had yummy treats!
On Saturday, my girls and I ran the race in the morning and then our families met us and we ate the police officer's breakfast. There was a big carnival with fun jumping houses and slides at the park- Elliott loved that. But I think the highlight for the boys was that the police were giving rides in their cars! They turned on their sirens and drove a little faster on roads with no houses. They even used their  speaker to talk to people on the street. They were also giving out sticker badges. We had lots of fun! (Ollie has a baseball painted on his cheek- it got smudged! ;) )
                                              At the parade. Kind of short, but fun.
Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band performed for a while before the fireworks started and the kids were dancing like crazy with their little glow necklaces.  Benny was the funniest to watch! He's such a cute dancer. Ollie, Elliott, Elli and Benny.
Our little family. It was perfect weather that night- we actually got hot walking home! Plus it is so fun living in the same place as my sister! We got to hang out all week in the name of our city! (Although we get to see each other a lot anyway!!)

As if Adam needed another hobby........

Utah Lake

We went to the bird show at Utah Lake earlier this week. It was part of our town days. They brought a hawk to show the kids and answered all kinds of questions. My boys really liked it. It was really hot, so afterward we went down on the docks to throw rocks in the water.

                                               Rosey cheeks.
                                            Ollie, Benny, Elli and Elliott
They could have thrown rocks all day. Ollie kept saying, "Just one more! Just one more!" I have a really cute video of it too, but for some reason it won't upload.