Summer Lovin'

So this is just the month of July rolled into one blog! I'll never get caught up if I don't do it this way!!

This is one of our favorite beaches down at the lake by our house. The only one with a sandy beach which is great for the kiddos! I love this picture of them :)

We stopped one day at this hot dog stand called Neiner, Neiner, Weiner. I think it's hilarious so I had to take a picture of the joint!

This is when the boys became member of the "Weiner club" thus the stickers on the hands. If you don't know my boys personalities very well this picture sums them both up!!

Nothing like lazy days in the sun! Not a regular occurance here in Washington!!

I took this one day when I had one of those mom moments where I just couldn't wrap my mind around where all the time has gone!! She is getting so grown up and looked so OLD! I just wanted to take a picture so I never take for granted how quickly these days go by!

Her hat from Aunt Shannon! Only Makenna could look so cute in a purple hat!!

This is down at the marina right by our house. The boys love swimming here!

My cute Makenna!

Brayden trying to stay warm!

Nothing like a good game of touch football down at the lake!

Boys baseball season...

The boys played baseball together this year on the same team! Which was a first, it was SO great! Nothing gives me greater joy than to watch them play! And Brandon coached as well and to see him taking time and investing it into his boys makes my heart overwhelmed!

Brandon giving Brayden a pep talk while he is on deck :)

Brayden did such a great job this season. He was able to play up so the entire team was 9 and 10 year olds and then my cute 5 year old Brayden was out there showing them ALL up! He actually played 1st base! And his batting was amazing! He definitely made us all proud!

He actually only struck out once the entire season!

Proud to say this is the swing that emptied the bases and got Ben a triple! That a boy!!

Ben had a great season as well and played his usual short stop and pitcher. He really is just excelling and improving each year. He has real focus and just a natural ability. The best part is he has such a love for the game! Great season boys! Come spring we'll do it all over again :)

Ben turns 9!!!

Boy 9 seems unreal! He is getting so grown up! Same sweet Ben just growing into an even sweeter young man!

Brandon explaining the treasure map....

the boys diggin'.....

the pirates found the treasure! (see if you can find Brayden in this picture, LOL)

making their pirate flag!

Ben got his first mountain bike!

He got Heelys!! He has wanted these forever!!

Ok, so here I'm sure he was wondering why he has wanted them forever! It definitely didn't come naturally for him!

Ok good old mom thought 'wouldn't it be SO fun to get the boys boxing gloves?' Now you can see the look on Ben's face here that I may have made a poor choice on this gift...

So note to self....this gives brothers a reason to hit each other!! And 9 years of frustration were unleashed on Brayden during this moment!

Ben happy birthday buddy! We love you so much and you add so many amazing things to our family! Your contagious smile, your giving heart, your concern of others and their feelings, and your sweet and gentle spirit are things that this family can't live without. We are blessed to be able to call you son and brother! We love you xoxoxo

SLC trip....part 2

Here is the much anticipated second part of our trip, LOL! We stayed with my Dad and Bon for the second week. We did so many great things and I had to just pick a few pictures! We were always busy doing something. We had a wonderful time!

The kids loved this water slide! Makenna more than the boys even. I had to go with her so we went on it together at least 20 times!!

She loves the water as much as her brothers!

The fountains is always free fun! Such a great idea....wish I had them in my backyard!

The kids did this fun art project with Grandma. They painted sun ceramic tiles to decorate Grandma's back yard...they turned out so great!

This night I went to help Bon at work and my dad took all 3 kids to a movie and then back home to make us dinner. He had them help with the menu and took them to get the ingredients. They greeted us at the door and seated us. We did get great service!!

Plus we got super adorable waiters like this one. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone! Thanks dad you did such a great job with the kids!! I have a hard time with all 3 at the movies and he did it with no treats, LOL.

Oh Brayden can always brighten my day!

Do you think he is into this video game?? Quite intense!

After bowling the got to go work their magic at Deal or No Deal. Brayden's a risky kid and would never do well at this show for real :)

We celebrated all 3 kids birthdays since Papa and Grandma won't be here to celebrate with us. They each got their own pinata! Nothing says Happy Birthday like a pinata!!

Makenn's princess crown pinata. She started getting upset that she was hitting it and ruining it so we ended up taking the candy out and it is now hanging in her room, LOL. The difference between boys and girls!!

And they all got to choose their favorite cake for the celebration. Grandma and Sue whipped these up in their free time! I honestly don't know how they do it all!!

Thanks for a great trip and amazing memories....we love you all SO very much!!

SLC trip....part 1

So this is part one of a two part series. The kids and I went to SLC for two weeks the first week was spent at my mom's and then the second we went to my dad's. So here is the first part of our trip! I had to narrow it down to just a few pics!

The whole fam at Lagoon!

I haven't had this much fun at Lagoon in such a long time! It was perfect weather and Ben can ride ALL the rides and Brayden can ride most so it made it SO much fun!! It was great to have Grandma there for Makenna so I could enjoy my day with the rides too! My brothers set aside the day to spend with us too so it made it that much better for me! :)

Such a great pic! We get this wagon and I think everyone BUT Makenna rode in it :) That is Brooke, Scott's cute girlfriend, and Makenna pushing Scott around.

My adorable kids! They had such a great time with all the rides!

Grandma with the kiddos. I think they got in the hot tub almost every night with her!

Playing video games with Uncle Scott doesn't get much better than that!

All my boys!!

Grandma and Makenna....little miss was having a rough day and just wanted to be held for the entire day! Makes 90 degree weather that much more enjoyable ;)

We love our deck!

There is nothing better than our deck in the summer! This night we roasted hot dogs and had smores! It is great family time! And much better than camping for me since I still have all the amenities of home..namely a potty!

What, do I have something on my face???

The festivities of this night were too much for these two!

Makenna and her bedtime entourage. She has so many things, babies, and toys that are needed to be with her for this big event that I have no idea how she finds room for herself!!