Many Memories

Here are some other pictures from May and June. There's no rhyme, reason or theme; just some other fun pictures from the summer.

Taysum and Bailey playing the Wii together.

Slip and Slide

Bailey went through 3 swimsuits this summer. The first one was too small by the second time she wore it, the second one we lost at the Legacy Center in Lehi after one use. The third one is really low in the front, but it was the only one we could find! This is a picture of her in the first one.

Sliding with Daddy

Our little flower girl "watering" the flowers

Popcicles at Grandpa and Grandma Anderson's

Super Taysum!!

Taysum and his Thomas the Train Seek and Find book

Playing baseball with hiking sticks Ken made for them

Bailey's "squishy face" this is an after-bath game she and her dad play.

Camp Cutler

We had a really fun weekend together as a family! We went camping!! This is only the second time Bailey has been camping. We left Friday evening and went to the upper campgrounds at 5 Springs. We got there kind of late, so we hurried and set up before it got too dark. Ken was so excited to use all the camping equipment he's been collecting. He got to use his Dutch Oven and he baked a PERFECT cherry cobbler...it was SO good!! He said it was even worth his burnt finger. We also got to try out our new camp stove and lantern. It was SO warm even at night! The kids just had a blast and they did great! We were trying to keep them quiet because we had neighbors, but they had SO much fun!!

(This picture got out of order, so the explanation is at the bottom!)

The mighty mountain men cooking breakfast

Good morning!

Ready for anything!!

Taysum was so proud of the sand/pine needle castle he built

A closer look at the "Dragon Castle"

After we broke camp, we decided to hike to the Medicine Wheel. Ken had never been there and I hadn't been there since middle school or since they restored it. It was really fun to see again. It is a Native American marker bevieved to be used during religious ceremonies. A lot of people have left blankets, beads and other offerings tied to the fence. The parking lot was full when we got there and we were really surprised at how many people were there from all over: South Dakota, Maryland, Colorado, etc.

We saw a HUGE rainbow (sundog) around the sun!

Taysum and Bailey were both exhausted and fell asleep on the way down!

We had a couple scares on the way home...we nearly burnt out our breaks! We stopped (thankfully we were able to!!) and they were just smoking like crazy! So, we pulled over and had lunch and let them cool! That was our "grins and giggles" moment for the trip. (When I was young, we'd go to the mountains a lot and Dad would always want to do something just for "grins and giggles": try to drive through a snow drift, try to drive through a creek, try to go up that REALLY steep road, hike up that mountaing "really quick," etc. Needless to say, no one was grinning or giggling!!) We were very blessed and able to get home just fine! We made one more "diaper" stop on the way home. We pulled over at a construction site. The kids are into "Bob the Builder" right now and they were really excited to see the machines. We let them go see them and Bailey ran right up to one. She was so excited about it. I happened to look down and right next to her foot was a (at least) 1 in. thick SNAKE she was almost stepping on! I haven't been that scared in a long time! I screamed and my first thought was to stay very still and somehow grab her away. Then I noticed that the head had been cut off and it wasn't even alive. Oh man, I was so thankful, but I still snatched her up, held her very very close and told Ken we were leaving NOW!! When we got home we went to the wading pool at the park. We were all really worn out, but we had such a fun time just hanging out as a family!!

The kids were so great the whole time, but Bailey got pretty beat up! She tripped over and over at the campsite and one time she really crashed and burned and scraped up her elbow pretty badly. She also got some splinters in her hands we had to get out with a needle! We distracted her with a movie at home and she said "ow" once and then didn't make a peep the whole time! She also was bit by a mosquito right under her eye and the next morning it was swollen shut! It's looking better today, but she looks pretty beat up! Smiles, joy of living, grins and giggles!!

My First Book

When I was younger, I always wanted to be a writer. It was really fulfilling to do this project!! Thanks to Traci for working with me on it (her pictures make the book for sure!!) and for Ken being so supportive and encouraging!! We're really excited to try a second book. The poems will be in a more traditional form and the pictures will be focused more on people. This has been such a fun thing!!

My Oh May

Wow...I can't believe I didn't realize how far behind I am on blogging! This summer has just been insanely fast and fun!! So...back to May! Taysum was a (very young) member of a Performance Arts group here in Lovell called TaVaci. He has always loved music and this group has been great for him. Everyone has been really nice to him, especially his sweet (and patient) teacher Kelli Steenbakkers (he thinks her name is TaVaci). He pretty much put on his own show during the concert on May 22nd. I know that he knew all the words and choreography, but he danced to the beat of his own stomping feet! :D

A little pre-show performance

Hi Mom!

Singing with the whole group (one of the very few times ;) )

I love you too!!

Kelli was so wonderful to Taysum. At the end of the concert,

she gave each of the students a trophy.

Taysum didn't put his down for days!!

Hanging out in the Green Room afterwards

Future TaVaci star!

Taysum and TaVaci (Kelli)

"Mommy! I'm a star!!"

That day was also Quinn's birthday, so then next day we went to Chuck E. Cheese's in Billings to celebrate his 5th birthday with a Sonic the Hedgehog party. We had such a good time!! Taysum and Bailey are old enough now that they could have a lot of fun there!

Whee!!

3...2...1...BLASTOFF!!

Giddyap!!

B-B-B-B Batman!!

This was so cute, and Bailey's absolute favorite thing!! Ken showed her how to do the Ski Ball and she thought it was the greatest thing in the world to give her dad the ball and watch him roll it. Right after that she would have another one ready and waiting for him. She also did the same thing during the basketball game. They both thought they had the best end of the deal and they made a great team!! Go Team Cutler!!

Bailey's other favorite thing was putting the tokens in the slots

Taysum and Carissa

Bailey was fascinated with the show and had a lot of fun when
Ken took her over to let her see it up close.

Then came Memorial Day

Bailey kickin' it while we weeded and planted flowers.

We bought this hanging plant; it's Fuchsia. I thought they were some of the prettiest flowers I'd ever seen! Unfortunately, it fell a few weeks later and killed the plant! That's my black thumb for you!!

They mowed the whole front lawn this way!

Then had a fun water fight afterwards!!

That evening we had a great Bar-B-Q with the Andersons. This is Grandma and the kids on the front porch bench.

What better way to end the day than with a great story from Daddy!

We are so blessed to live in a country and area where we are free to celebrate the things that mean the most to us! To have a yard to weed and take care of. To be able to be with our family and friends and to worship as we choose! We are so thankful for all those who have given SO much that we may be able to enjoy these freedoms! We are so proud of my dad and Ken's dad who both served their country and went to war to keep us and our children safe! We love you!