HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today is my Mom's birthday. Happy birthday Mom! We love you very much!

My Rose Bush

In my flower garden in the front yard is a beautiful red rose bush. Every year it continues to bloom beautifully. I had to take a picture of how pretty it is right now.


The problem is, I'm not really good with rose bushes and have had several people ask me what I do to get such a beautiful rose bush. NOTHING. I'm terrible.

I know you should do all kinds of things in the fall, cover them, put hay/straw around them, fertilize, etc. I always forget in the fall and then just trim back any dead branches in the spring. This rose bush comes back beautifully every year. The reason? My Mom says that it is because it was planted with so much love. So here is the story of my rose bush. When Jayce was in Kindergarten his class took a field trip to Lone Pine Nursery. Jayce saw a beautiful red rose bush there that he wanted to buy for me. We finally went to Lone Pine Nursery so that he could buy me a rose bush for my birthday. We walked around from greenhouse to greenhouse until he found the PERFECT red rose bush. It had to be RED because that was the one that he saw on the field trip. The problem was that there were several red rose bushes but they were not in bloom. Jayce had to find one that was in bloom so he could see that the rose bush was for sure red. We took it home and planted it in the spot that Jayce picked out, right in the front flower garden. He told me that he wanted to plant it there so I could see it every day when I left so I would know he loved me. It was so cute!! When they planted it, Jayce and Brodie brought out the post hole digger and their Tonka trucks to help dig the hole to plant it in.

So as you can see my rose bush and Jayce continue to grow.
I had to take this picture quick, even though the sun was shining in Jayce's eyes, because "Mom, I'm not in Kindergarten anymore".

Quotes

I love quotes and sayings. Now that vinyl is the rage it is easy to put a quote or saying on wood, a wall, glass, tile, etc. I like reading quotes and sayings in people's houses, at stores, on the Internet, and anywhere I see them. I like to give a gift with a quote or saying on vellum and a picture behind the vellum. I like picture frames with quotes inside of them. I found this quote today and really liked it so I wanted to share it:

Ice cream melts, flowers wilt,

the leaves of autumn fall.

Sunsets fade, seasons change,

and children don't stay small.

Balloons pop, snowfalls stop;

do Summer's last? Never!

Weekends fly, today will die, but...

FAMILIES ARE FOREVER

It seems like our summer is flying by and the weekends are too short. Our kids are growing so quickly but this quote made be remember that the most important thing is that our family can be forever.

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY

We have been having a little bit of problem with Harleigh remembering where she can and can't ride her bicycle lately so we took it away for a couple of days. Last night she got her bicycle back, only for the rainstorm to hit for a few minutes. I went outside to tell her it was time to come in and heard her singing "Rain, Rain, GO AWAY, Harleigh wants to play and wants to ride her bike". I just had to laugh and have her pose for a picture. Luckily the rain didn't last and she was able to play and ride her bike.

Sugar Swim

Harleigh started swimming lessons this week at Sugar Swim. She was a little nervous about the first lesson yesterday, but said she would give it a try, JUST A TRY. I knew once she got in the pool she would like it. Today she couldn't wait and started asking every 15 minutes if it was time to go. She called me at work at 10:30 and told me to come right then and pick her up to go. Finally Grandma had to give her a watch to keep track until it was time to go, since she still had a few hours to wait!

We had "FUN, FUN, FUN"

This picture is for Michelle. I finally down loaded my camera and all of the dance pictures. I love the picture of Harleigh and Michelle. Thanks Michelle for being such a great teacher. We're looking forward to another fun year in dance!

JUST ADD WATER

What do you do on a hot afternoon? JUST ADD WATER!!

We set up the pool, slip and slide, and a sprinkler ball in Grandpa and Grandma's back yard and the girls had a blast. I found these goggles for the girls at The Dollar Store and got more than my money worth. They wore them everywhere, as you saw in this post and in past posts.

Stylin'

The girls wanted their hair braided before we headed to the Riot Zone. Their hair turned out cute. But even CUTER was when they decided to do their Dads' hair!

PATIENT DADS

We had a RIOT!!

We went to the Riot Zone one evening while Todd's family was here. It was a, well, a RIOT!! Everyone had a great time and there is nothing better to take away the stress than to get in a go cart. It brings out the kid in you. One lap around and we were all laughing and having a great time. Well some of us took it a little more serious than others. Like....

CARA!! Those go carts brought out a NASCAR driver. She was determined that she was not going to let anyone pass. It became our challenge to pass Cara.

They have smaller go carts for the little kids. Harleigh and Kayla took advantage of those. They were the only ones on the course the entire time we were there.

And if the go carts didn't relieve the stress, try the bumper boats. It was a blast crashing into each other and trying to get everyone wet. Except teenage boys, they don't play FAIR!!

And to top it off we played a few rounds a miniature golf, rode the Shuttle, did some rock climbing and played on the inflatables.

No one would be serious for a group photo so I told them to act CRAZY!

And they did...no problem with that!

A Taste of Our Summer

The highlight of our summer so far has been a visit from my brother Todd's family from California. I was able to take vacation and we had a lot of fun enjoying everyone's company. We tried to do as much as we could in the short time that they were here. Golfing, floating, Riot Zone, playing games, water fun, barbeques, visiting, sleep overs at Grandpa and Grandma's, and fireworks were just some of the things we were able to do. Most of all we were able to make some memories and the kids were able to enjoy their cousins' company.

SPLASH PARK AND CAROUSEL

Harleigh, Cara and Kayla had fun cooling off at the Porter Park Splash Park. My brother Todd braved taking the rest of the kids golfing at the Municipal Golf Course. I think I got the better end of the deal. I sat in the sun and watched the girls play. After the Splash Park they took a ride on the Carousel.

We floated Box Canyon in Island Park and then from Warm River to the Ashton Bridge. I think that floating the river is always a highlight for everyone and something we try to arrange everytime my brother's family comes home. This time my sister-in-law, Tammie, arranged for a large raft from BYU-Idaho. It was great!

BOX CANYON

Dallin, Logan, and Jayce are ready for the rapids.

Maryanna and Brodie heading out.

Brodie hauling the big boat to shore.

WARM RIVER

While they are waiting to float Warm River the girls put their new Dollar Store goggles to use and looked for fish!

I'm not sure what they would have done if one would have actually swam by them?!?

Harleigh and Kayla are only six months apart in age. They were quite the buddies!

THANKS DAD AND MOM!!

We floated the river and then Dad helped tie on the boats and take us to our next destination! Mom and Dad ran the shuttle while the rest of us sat back, enjoyed the river and the scenery, and a FEW water fights.

Adding Photos

This picture was taken last year. It was my birthday gift. Since my birthday is so close to Mother's Day, it was a combined gift. We had driven over to Jackson Hole to go swimming at their Recreation Center and I love the old time photos. We hadn't had one taken since Harleigh was just a baby so it was time for an update. I'm still learning about this blogging and decided to add a photograph, but since I haven't down loaded any recent ones from my camera I'm trying one that was already on the computer. I'll get the hang of this, SLOWLY!!

Setting It Up

We're new to this blogging and decided to give it a try. Be patient while we get the hang of it.