The 24th

This summer has just been a summer of FUN!! It seems like we're always doing something! Saturday the 24th was a VERY busy and FUN day! It started early in the morning with Ken running in the Cowley Pioneer Days Road Races. He took first place in his age category! He won a blue ribbon and T-shirt. Then we went to the Parade and the kids had a lot of fun!

It was fun to see Grandma driving the American Colloid Float. She had picked up CJ, Quinn and Carissa and had them on the float as well.

Ron Micheli was in the parade as well. We're hoping he will be Wyoming's next governor!

Assessing the goods! :)

Taysum thought this green car was pretty awesome!

After we got home, we jumped into our swim suits and went to the wading pool at the park. It was still early in the day, so it was a little cooler than when we usually go later in the afternoon; the nice thing was we had the whole place to ourselves! Here is Ken testing the waters...

Taysum really enjoys the whale slide!

We bought some diving sticks that were on clearance at the store and the kids had a lot of fun throwing them in the pool... and having Daddy retrieve them, of course! :)

Wrapped around her pretty little finger!

After the pool and lunch, I got this crazy idea to make Bailey a dress for my brother Matt's wedding. The colors were yellow and white. I found some yellow and white eyelet material at our fabric store and I broke out my great Aunt Betty's sewing machine I inherited about 8 years ago. I am NO seamstress (I'm way too impatient) and I didn't have a pattern (other than in my head). It didn't turn out exactly as I had planned (I think I made it too big) but it was yellow, right!? I actually ended up redoing the straps the night before we left for the wedding! The funniest part of making the dress was my model. Bailey was down for a nap, so Taysum was it! The first time I tried it on him, he said, "Mom... I think this is for girls." I tried to explain to him, but he wasn't convinced. Then he was really worried that Ken would laugh, so we hurried and took it off. I needed him one more time and after much pleading, he said in a very disgusted voice, "Dad, I have to go do princess..." He wasn't very excited about being a model, but he was more than thrilled for Bailey to try on her "princess dress." She woke up pretty grumpy from her nap and didn't care much for it. So, this will probably end my adventures in sewing for a while! :P

After the dress, I ran to the store real quick for a couple of things to bring to a pot luck dinner we were going to later that night and then I headed to the Hyart. One of my favorite things to do is to volunteer and the Hyart. It's one of my most favorite places in the world and I just love everything about it!! Even the smell! They have people volunteer to take tickets and do concessions and then you get a free pop and popcorn (any size) and you can go to the movie for free if you'd like! It actually equates about $12 for the 1/2 hour - 45 mins. that you are there. It's really great! The best is when they ask Ken and I to do it together and then it's a free date; we just have to pay a babysitter!

After that, I met up with Ken and the kids at my Grandpa Anderson's 86th Birthday Party! We had a pot luck dinner at my Uncle Dan and Aunt Meg's garden. It was a great time and it was fun to see our family. As a surprise, my Aunt Vicki and Aunt Kelli came, too! It was really great to see them!

Tyler, Ken, Mykel and Aunt Meg

The Birthday Boy's bride

Mom and Aunt Kelli

The Robertsons and their new little boy Kelvin (the blanket he's in is one that I gave them; I crocheted the edging)

The whole fam damily (as Uncle Dan likes to say...) ;)

Taysum, Bailey, Gavin and Carissa

Lindsay, Celeste, Chad, Dad and Hayden (well... his stroller anyway) The kids just couldn't wait for the cake!

We ended up singing "Happy Birthday" twice... the second time was for the camera.

Grandpa and Celeste

It was a super busy day, but lots of fun! Good times, good food and good family... what more can you ask for, really?!

Just Hayden

These are just some fun pictures of Hayden. He loves this little duck that hangs from his car seat handle. He plays with it a lot and I love in this picture how you can see that he fell asleep playing with it! We recently moved him from his Pack and Play bassinet to a baby crib. He looks so little in it!

He really enjoys the mobile we put on it.

He is laughing, grinning and giggling more and more and we just love it! He is such a smiley little boy and he makes us all so happy!

His two favorite toys: his duck and Mr. Green Bear

I think we have a finger/thumb sucker. The funniest part about it is how LOUD he is about it!

This little video is of him laughing... one of my favorite sounds in the world!

In the Park

A couple weeks ago, we went to the park for Family Home Evening. It was so WINDY! but we had fun and got a couple cute pictures.

Five Springs

I think I've mentioned before that Taysum and Bailey have really enjoyed dress up lately! They like to dress up and put on a show! Well, last week, Taysum decided he wanted to put on as many dress up outfits as possible... this is what he came up with!! Then he wanted a picture of just him...

Then he wanted a picture of his leg and toes... then his other leg and toes... and then his face...

Needless to say, it was a very entertaining 20 minutes or so! :) What a Taysum Guy!

That evening, we went up to Five Springs for Family Home Evening. I've been wanting to go up there for a long time now, but it has been so cold and rainy and just crazy... but finally we made it!! This was Hayden's second trip to the Big Horns, but his first to Five Springs. Five Springs is just an absolute haven for me!! It's in the way top of my top five (no pun intended) favorite places on the earth! It's just absolutely beautiful, it's close, not too crowded at any given time and we went there all the time as a family when I was growing up. Our family had our favorite camp site right across the bridge.

The night we went, we were the only ones there! I had packed dinner, so we ate up there, too. It was so great and the kids just LOVED it!! Hayden and I were the last ones to cross the bridge and as I did, looking at my family in the same place where my family growing up had been together so many times, it just really hit me and was a very special moment! I can't explain it! So many times as a teenager, I would daydream about my future husband and kids and showing them places I went growing up. I'm pretty sentimental and it is just so fulfilling for me to be there with them! We had a lot of fun!

Hayden was so calm and content as usual!

I could hardly get Bailey to hold still enough to even get a picture of her! She was just EVERYWHERE!

Taysum was excited to show me all the pine cones he gathered to throw in the river.

My family in one of my favorite places on earth!

Puddin' face!

The one thing Ken doesn't like about me taking the pictures all the time is, I'm never in them! Well, hon... give me a few more Zumba classes and then maybe I won't be such an unwilling subject... maybe...

There were some beautiful flowers on the trail to the waterfall...

Bailey taking a rest on the trail... literally!

We made it to the falls!

Taysum and Bailey are part mountain goat! Ken said in this picture he looks like he's encouraging the kids, but really, he was pretty nervous and just trying to keep them from falling!

Bailey found a little cave to hide in...

Hayden hung out by the falls with me

We tried out the automatic timer (that's why the picture is kind of slanted) and got a picture of all of us at the falls (the falls are behind the camera). Bailey didn't really like waiting for the camera...

On the way down the mountain, Ken let me hop out of the car and take a few shots. My Dad always told us this was Santa Claus' cave... I have never made it over there to check it out to see if it's true!

The road off the highway to Five Springs is actually the old high way; which is just unbelievable to me! I can't fathom trucks hauling freight back and forth across the crazy 5 MPH switchbacks up a very steep mountain! I've always trusted my Dad's driving, but it would make me nervous going back and forth on the way up and down. It would seem like we were SO close to the edge! I guess I've passed that on, because Taysum was getting a little nervous as well. Bailey was so funny, because she would get excited about seeing this blue lake. Every time we came around again she would say, "Look! Another blue lake!!" So here is one of the "many" lakes she saw! There was an INCREDIBLE sunset on the way home and we had a great time watching it change...the clouds, the colors... it was the perfect ending to a perfect time together!

So...you know how you get kind of goofy when it's late and you're tired...well Ken and I were in this state and we decided to have a camera flash challenge: who ever could keep their eyes open during the flash would win a back rub...drum roll.........

Ken Try 1

Ken Try 2

Kim Try 1

And we have a WINNER!!!