Pioneer Day Celebration 2013

Our stake had their annual Pioneer Day Celebration.  I didn't bring my camera for the Friday night dinner and am kicking myself for not getting pictures of the huge monsoon storm we got caught in.  It was HORRIBLE!!  In the middle of eating it started raining and then it started to pour.  After that there was a huge gust of wind that brought a sheet of freezing rain.  It was insanity!  In the middle of the downpour Taylor of course turns to us and says she has to go potty.  Tyson and Hayden then chime in that they have to go too.  Jason runs them out in the pouring rain to the port a potty and missed the hail that pounded all of us under the tent.  He did however get a wave of water that rushed into the port a potty and soaked Hayden's clothes that she had taken down to go potty.  The scariest part for Jason was when he came out of the port a potty and saw the one Tyson had been in on it's side.  Thankfully Tyson had come out and found me under the tent with the baby and Darrell.

 

 We were needless to say a little gun shy about going again on Saturday :) The kids talked about the dunk tank for an entire week and made a beeline straight there for their first activity.

 I always think Taylor will chicken out but if Tyson's doing it, that girl is right behind.

 She slipped off the seat right after I took this picture so she was dunked twice :)

 Hayden didn't even try it, she just looked at them like they were crazy.

 Tyson was obsessed with this blow up. The line was forever but he had to do it twice. 

 At the end of the night they have a huge fireworks display and the kids had some snow cones to cool off.  It was muggy and over cast the whole night.  Everyone was watching the sky after the Friday night debacle.

 They started the fireworks a little early to try to beat the weather.  Ryan was not a fan.

 I tried to sneak in my scone eating while the kids were distracted.  But I got caught :)

 Hayden and Parker decided to dance while the fireworks were going off and then a huge one went over and Hayden...

 ...hit the deck.  Hilarious!!!  She is our constant entertainment :)

They had to cut the firework show short due to a shift in the wind.  All the ashes were falling across the road onto private property.  Right as we had packed up and were headed out to the car a huge sand storm swept up and attacked us.  We had to walk single file to try to help block the dirt from getting the baby in the stroller and not be hit by the cars as they were trying to leave.  It was outrageous, we could barely see three feet in front of us.  When we got home Hayden was seeping dirt out of her eyes and everyone's hair was full of dirt.  There were quite a few baths taken after 10pm over here.
Jason has decided that we need to have t-shirts printed that say, "We survived Pioneer Day 2013".  He also has these suggestions for t-shirt slogans:
                      "Pioneer Day 2013, the year we had ark races",
                       "Pioneer Day 2013 Wet T-shirt Champion",
                "My kids are afraid to eat outside, thanks Pioneer Day",
                                 and my personal favorite
                          "Pioneer Day 2013, welcome to hail".
                              He is a funny fellow, gotta love him :)
                                 Until next year Pioneer Day!!!!

Wet n Wild

Wet n Wild with friends. 

 Jason had to work all week and I decided to be brave and take the kids by myself to wet n wild because we were going to meet up with some friends.

 The kids of course had a wonderful time.  I saw Tyson maybe twice the entire day.  He loved having a buddy to run around with.

 We have to smuggle snacks into the park but I'm glad I do, the kids are always "starving"!!!

 The girls went on these slides over and over again.  I love that the pool is not too deep and the kids   feel so independent that I don't have to go with them. (I do think the lifeguards at the top and bottom are a little too strict though )

 The girls got talked to for doing a train down the slide and then they got talked to for "swimming" in the water at the bottom and they of course got talked to for running.

 Ryan likes going into pools of water but if water splashes her she loses it.  I even tried to get her to put her hand in the running water by the kid area but she starts clinging and trying to crawl up your neck.

One of these days I will actually get on one of the rides at Wet n Wild.  For now I am content to sit in the wave pool and float along in the lazy river :)

Taylor's birthday party

This year Taylor decided to have her birthday party at Build-A-Bear workshop.  We met with our party leader and she sat the kids down and told them the rules of Build-A-Bear.  They had everyone sign an autograph bear for Taylor to remember all the friends with her on her special day.

 Then the kids picked out what color of bear they would like and were told to put them on their heads to walk over to the filling station.

 Each kid got two hearts, on the first heart everyone made a wish for Taylor's birthday and then put that heart into Taylor's bear.  Later Tyson told Taylor that he wished that she could have $100 so our family would be rich!  Hilarious!!  The second heart was for the kid's own bears and they went through the Build-A-Bear ceremony before putting the hearts in their own bears.  I can't remember it all but one part was to rub the heart on your nose so your bears knows who they belong to, touch the heart to your knee so your bear will need you, and then kiss the heart and make a wish.

 Here is Taylor right before stuffing her bear.  She named her bear Snuffy.

 Hayden had to be right after Taylor, she named her bear Fluffy.

 After all the kid's bears got stuffed they had to be "washed".  Air blew out of the nozzles and the kids brushed the extra fur off of their bears with these fuzz brushes.

 Taylor fell in love with the bride bear the moment we walked in the store so she chose an outfit as close to a bride dress as possible and chose a wand for good measure :)

 Klara and her bear.

 Tyson and Spiderman, aka Stinky the bear.

 Becky and her bear Ownya.  I only remember that name because it was out there.  When her Mom came to pick her up she said she is the worst at naming things.

 Hayden and Brinley with their finished bears.

 Sadie and her super cute bear.

 All the kids with their finished and packaged bears.  I was so glad we got to the mall and home without losing any of these cute kids! 

 Taylor chose a Costco cake for her birthday.  I sent Dad with her to order it and this is what I get.  I just have to shake my head :)

 Taylor was so excited to open presents.  She had quite a haul.

 The girls loved pulling out all the tissues paper and throwing it everywhere. 

It was such a fun party and really different from the normal parties we usually have I may even try it again for Hayden and Ryan.  Girls are so easy to do parties for, they follow directions and are so sweet.   

July 12x12

July 12x12

Friday was a pretty casual day around here.

Tyson and Taylor are on this kick of getting up early and watching TV.  They were up before 6am!  I think it was all the TV watching they missed while on vacation, they're trying to meet their quota :)

 I sent Jason off with Taylor to get an oil change so I could wrap her gifts.

 Jiffy Lube is right next to Sonic so Jason brought home lunch.  We are huge oreo sonic blast fans, everyone got one.

 While cleaning Ryan refound this ride on toy.  She only goes in reverse and then gets stuck, hilarious!

 One day our house will be exactly how I want it but until then poor Jason has his daily projects.  We recently replaced two doors in our house and Jason's job today was to get the trim up around one.  Don't feel too bad for Jason I also have daily projects.  Now that the door frame is up I have to caulk it and paint it :)

 After lunch Tyson and Taylor went to play at a friend's house and here is Hayden showing how bored she was without them. 

 For dinner I made a recipe out of the Shadow Creek Cook Book.  Honestly one of the best cookbooks I own.  Swiss Cheese Chicken, thank you very much Josie!  Every time I cook I tell the kids don't worry it's your favorite, and this time during dinner Tyson announces, "It is my favorite!"  How can you go wrong with chicken, cheese, and stuffing?

 I made dinner super early so I could send Jason off to work with a meal.  He has such a weird schedule now so while we love when he has 7 days off in a row, we pay for it with night shifts and long days.  He either works 6am to 6 pm or 6pm to 6am.  The problem is he also has a 45 minute commute each way so the days he works we do not see him much.

 Ryan is in crazy teething mode and is not eating very well so for diner she had 5 bites of applesauce, frozen vegetables and 3 bites of our dinner.

 If this girl is not napping she is on the stairs.  It is exhausting and stressful!  I am constantly torn between letting her learn to do the stairs by herself and also not wanting to be in the ER all night with a concussion.

 In trying to get ready for Taylor's party I went in her room and checked how she had cleaned.  She had stuffed so many toys and things into her closet and play area that no one could get in either place.  I knew it was going to be a long night so I found my old VHS copy of Thoroughly Modern Mille and dug into the mess.  Tyson is now worried that all Chinese people kidnap girls and hates how Muzzy talks.  I sometimes wish he could just watch something and not be so serious!

 Tyson is really into sleeping in the girls room lately.  Jason and I made the huge mistake of watching the new (and totally fake and set up) show on ABC called Whodunnit? while he was in the room.  He of course got traumatized by the first episode and is worried that there are murderers in the world.  I love that he is sensitive but it gets a little much sometimes.  In other traumatizing Tyson news I also had to sit him down and have a very serious talk.  We found out yesterday that our neighbor 3 doors down on our street is a pedophile and we had to talk about never letting anyone touch you inappropriately and telling your parents if you are ever in that situation.  Horrible!! 

I am so excited I remembered to do my 12x12 this month.  I love how they show a glimpse into a real day :)