ADVENTUROUS BOYS

Boys will be boys right? I never cease to be amazed by their creativity and adventurous spirit. They wanted to build a volcano in the sandbox. My only stipulation was they had to take off their clothes, I'm tired of hosing down crusty, muddy clothes and then washing them twice. They couldn't find a pipe to put into it and I wouldn't let them use the bike pump for fear of never being able to use it on the bikes again so they decided to bury the hose into it. To make it erupt they turned it on full blast and then stepped on it. When they got off the hose, water came shooting out. I thought that was pretty creative. I think this one wins the McGyver award though. In prep for our move this week we emptied our water barrels from our food storage into the grass. Who can lift 300 lb barrels and who would want to? Much better empty. Anyhow... I looked outside to see this yesterday...They took the double swing off the fort and made it a see saw on the water barrel. I especially liked that the older ones sat on the outside and helped the younger two to get on and be safer and still have fun. I'm so proud of them for including them and helping them have fun too. What great kids they are. Nevermind the complete disaster the yard is since they also built a teepee and many other adventures. It all cleans up and the memories are worth it.

a recipe for DISASTER!

What do you get when you mix 4 boys of various ages and agility levels, sticks, fresh air, and 4 very active imaginations with time on their hands? I don't know what you get but I get ALOT of "Kung- fu masters", "I'm dying, save me" 's, some sword fights complete with "Watch it, you hit my fingers!" and a home made teepee in the backyard that they are upset they can't campout in. By the way, I was not the rain cloud preventing the teepee campout, it just isn't big enough to sleep in and we don't have any bigger sticks. I'm pretty used to Jake and Caleb and even AJ sword fighting with sticks but when Levi picked up the broom and AJ was forced to defend himself I had to laugh. I'm probably a horrible mom for not intervening but I figure AJ has picked on and pestered the rest of them for so long... well it was funny to watch anyway and luckily for AJ and me, Levi wasn't in it for blood, just fun. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy my boys!? They are so much fun to have around and so entertaining!

Firehouse Visit

Jake has only one thing left to do to finish his wolf badge. This is from the second to last thing he had to finish. We went on a firehouse tour today. Can I say again how much I LOVE living in a small town. I called the town fire department last week and I had 3 return calls to schedule a tour. The fire captain gave worked with me even when I had to cancel and reschedule a couple of times. He gave me his personal cell phone number so that I would be able contact him easier to schedule a tour. Today, our rescheduled day, I called and he called me back after training and we came in for wonderful tour with not just Jake of course but all 4 kids. The guys were awesome! They got to sit in the firetruck and check out all of the equipment and the bunks and the "cave"/tv room. Thanks so much to the guys at Buckeye fire 701! You guys are awesome!!!!

Trace Adkins!!!

We listen to the radio ALOT. I much prefer the radio to the TV, probably because I can't stand still long enough to follow an entire tv show and the 30 second bits I catch as I walk through the room are pointless. Anyhow earlier this week while we were listening to KMLE they announced that Trace Adkins would be at Cabela's today for a couple of hours. I'm not one of those people who idolizes celebrities since I figure they are just normal people with no privacy. Anyhow, the boys got all excited about it and begged to go and see him. Caleb, "Mom, I've never met a country star, I really want to." Jake, " me too." Suffice to say I was not relishing the thought of standing in a line for who knows how long with 4 children to get an autograph, nevermind that it was around lunch time and nap time. That being said, we went anyway with the understanding that if they misbehaved, we would leave immediately. They didn't misbehave and we got to take a quick pic with him. He signed Jake's hat and a picture for us. I love that he makes me look small!

Happy Birthday Caleb!!!

Don't laugh! Caleb wanted a camoflage cake and this was my first attempt. It looks pretty gross but it actually tasted pretty good and Caleb loved it. I should have taken another picture after I moved the soldiers around and spread them out, it looked better then but oh well. Caleb had a great time with his friends and like I said really liked his cake.

I love Caleb so much. He is such a sweet spirit and a great big brother. I often hear him comforting AJ and Levi and even this morning after Levi hit him with some unknown object, I was out of the room, I heard him start to get mad, then stop and calm himself and when Levi started to hit him again, it's a game for him lately, he told him calmly and gently, "no, that hurts brother." Last week AJ got in trouble and they were in their rooms for bed alone and AJ was crying and I heard Caleb singing "I Am A Child Of God" to him and telling him the story of Daniel in the lion's den, his favorite bedtime story and to calm down that I would be in the room soon, I was putting Levi to bed in his bed. I thought it was so neat that without me there, he kept up our bedtime routine. It amazes me how Caleb can sometimes completely exasperate me and drive me to the brink and sometimes he is the best thing in the world. Every night he gives me a carefully orchestrated series of kisses, it's always the same pattern ( a little OCD?) and always close to 15 kisses before he goes to sleep. It's sort of like our secret handshake. He is tender and sensitive and tough as nails all in one. I love him so much and thank the Lord for sharing this little spirit with me every day. Happy Birthday Caleb!

CONGRATULATIONS KARLA AND GREG

Ryan's sweet sister was married on Saturday August first in Alpine Arizona to a wonderful man named Greg. She looked like a princess and he was her dashing prince. We are all so happy for them and wish them the best in their new adventure!!! We have decided that Alpine is heaven on Earth.

THE LAVA TUBES

On our way home from UT we stopped in Flagstaff for a night. I LOVE camping, it's so relaxing and free for the kids to be able to play and make noise and run all over and just be boys. That being said, a night in a hotel was welcome after sleeping with spiders for 3 nights. The next day we went to the Lava Tubes. This was as far as AJ would go even with flashlights. It didn't help that it was downright COLD in there and we were not prepared for that.AJ had plenty of fun climbing on the rocks outside of the cave in the daylight.

Caleb loved it.

Jake loved it too.

OnE CrAzY BuSy JuLy!!!

So I was incredibly excited about our Maher family reunion and then shortly before that we found out that my sweet Sister In Law Karla was engaged and getting married August First!!! That is another post! We camped in Hatch, UT. So beautiful. The weather was beautiful, just when it would start to get hot, the clouds rolled in and the breeze kicked up and cooled us all off. We hung out and ate ice cream at Henri's in Panguitch, I highly recommend it! We went to Bryce, see my stud husband at one of the lookouts. Getting all the kids looking in the same direction at the same time is impossible but thank you to Karla for trying! I love just hanging out and camping with friends and family. Pioneer Day in Utah is nothing to miss and so of course there were fireworks which the kids loved, most of them at least.We roasted marshmellows, had dutch oven cobbler and laughed ALOT!!!We hiked to a cave and waterfall where the kids and parents alike had fun in the water. It was amazingly clear and beautiful.
Mostly we just spent time together and had a good time. I'm so glad we went. We are already talking about where to go next year. HMMM!