4th of July 2009

We had an awesome 4th Of July! It started at 9am and didn't end until July 5th. The kids were great the adults were great and the fireworks were fantastic! So in the neighborhood next to ours they always have a parade for the 4th. The kids love it because they throw out tons of candy- the last 2 years we have gone they have thrown so much candy that it fills up the wagon! So this year we decorated our own candy bags so that we could get as much candy without having to run back and forth to empty our hands. (that is important to little kids) So 9am came around we got all loaded up in the car with our bags and flags and got to the parking lot and there was nothing. We saw one car decorated and we went and asked them what was going on and they said they were the only car in the parade. For some reason it was cancelled this year:( Well the kids were really upset. I said we will just have our own parade later! So we went to Southlands and walked around the farmers market and then played in the water fountains- and then went and bought stuff for the BBQ. That is where we took the picture of the kids in the cart!

We got home and our friend Brandon came over and went with Billy, Loren, and the girls to get fireworks. The little boys took a nap. When the kids got back from getting fireworks and the boys woke up from naps we got ready for the parade. (All of the pictures are on Billy's iPhone I will up load them soon) But we had the kids sit in there new camping chairs and wait for the parade. Well Brandon was on his scooter pulling Billy in the wagon and Loren was riding Mikayla's little motorcycle. They threw out all kinds of candy and the kids were loving it. Amanda and I almost peed our pants it was so funny and cute! Those boys will do anything for their kids! Some of the neighborhood kids came out and celebrated with us! It was awesome- I think that was a better tradition than the other parade:) The boys liked it too because they could ride their toys:) Then Billy's parents and the rain came. Poor Billy had to cook in a down poor. Brandon helped by holding the umbrella over his head:) We ate tons of food and had a lot of fun! We then decided it was time to get ready for the fireworks. We had to get all bundled up because the rain left it pretty chilly. This year we sat on the Aurora Hills gold course. It was nice- the kids ran all around and played until the fireworks started. We saw an awesome show! we had nothing in our way this year! I think this will be our spot from now on- not to much traffic to get home, no light poles or buildings in our way! Here is some video from the iPhone! After we came back home

and set off all kinds of fireworks with our neighbors. Billy and Loren made some kind of explosion called a chlorine bomb- they found it on YouTube. It was kind of fun to watch! Maria and Seth fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep through all of the noise. Overall it was a great year! Hard to believe that 10 years ago on 4th of July was the first time I met Billy! Time goes by way to fast!

We Survived!!:)

Well yesterday was a very interesting day for us. It started as a beautiful day lots of sun and fun. Jessica and Travis came over to our house to pick up some things and then we decided to go eat lunch at Mt. Fugi out at Southlands and then went and played out in the water fountains and then made a quick run to walmart for cat food. We left Southlands at 1:15pm and it was sunny and perfect, got home at 1:25 and it was a little cloudy we put Seth down for a nap and thought where is the Thunder? It was pretty dark- so dark that Mikayla even asked why the sun was going to sleep. So Travis and I went out to ump on the trampoline- I know smart when we know it is going to rain:) And we noticed the clouds were moving very fast in a circular motion right above our heads. The school sirens started going off at 1:45-I looked up and saw a horizontal funnel forming. Travis and I started yelling for Billy and Jess to come and look. The funnel was moving into a vertical funnel. We ran out front and you could see it going closer and closer to the ground. Then the hail started it was pea size at first and in a matter of seconds it was the size of golf balls. It hurt with the wind blowing everywhere I got hit in the head and then in the arm with pretty good size hail. I still have a little welt on my arm. So Jessica and I ran inside and got the dogs and cat and Mikayla into the basement- I had to wake Seth up from his nap and get him down there. Of course Mikayla was very scared and asking all kinds of questions. Billy and Travis were outside taking pictures. We turned on the news and after about 10 minutes they finally were getting calls in from people who were close enough to know what was going on and we found out it hit Southlands Mall. Here are some pictures to see what damage it really did. And the fact that we were there only and hour before. Thank God we are ok and nobody was seriously hurt. A lot of damage but only one person was taking to the hospital and that was because he was trying to take pictures and was picked up by the wind and dropped in a neighbors yard. So Remember if you are in a storm be careful and make sure it is safe to take pictures!!

Mikayla is the one who is the most shaken up from it. She didn't even see it but I think seeing the pictures and hearing everyone talk about it has made her nervous. She slept in our bed last night and that never happens. I told her that today we will go and get a Tornado kit and keep it in the basement! That made her feel better!

Remember when looking at pictures to click on the Southlands Pictures:)

Mikayla's last day of "School of Mommy"

Well it is that time of year that kids are getting out of school and getting ready for summer vacation. I have seen a few friends talking about their kids accomplishments and I would like to fill everyone in with Mikayla's!

This year she did not go to preschool. We missed the cutoff date and then I just didn't find one that I liked as much as the one she went to last year. So she attended "School of Mommy" during Seth's morning nap we would have school. She didn't like it at first- she wanted friends. I really couldn't help with that- but I am proud to say that she is now a graduate of "School of Mommy" and will be going to preschool in the fall of 2009. She has been accepted and will be going to Sunrise Elementary school. This is our home school and I am very excited for her to meet new friends that will live in our neighborhood. She is going to be going 4 days a week in the am. She is very excited and ready to "go to school"

She can recognise almost all of her letters. She has a hard time with lower case letters but she needs something to learn in school right? She can count to 20 with only a few problems with 15,16,17,18- she gets them all in there but not in the right order. She can spell her name and Seth's name. She can not write them yet. She knows all of her shapes and colors. She knows her birthday and most of the days of the week.

She won't be 4 until July but she can't wait. When she is 4 she will do all kinds of things- like picking up her toys, and listing to me and Billy better. Those are her words! We had her yearly speech meeting and she is still age appropriate and doing great. We did find out that a speech teacher will come into her classroom once a week and work on things with the class. I know this will help- I do think that just being in preschool with help her language and clarity.

All 4 of us are very excited for this summer and then for her to start school. I know she will do great just like this year:)

The picture above is Mikayla with "pepper" my Dad's dog!

For Tosha's Table...

So if you take a look at Tosha's table today you will see she has been working on "fixing" photos using photoshop! It is pretty amazing what you can do with it! I was joking with her about us never having random pictures! Soon every picture will be picture perfect. Everyone looking at the same camera and smiling and maybe a person who didn't come in time for the picture will be in the picture!!! So here is my example of photoshop I did not do it My friend Travis took the picture and his girlfriend Jessica did the extras:) I keep telling them they need to make a business out of their talents:)

So what she did was zoom in, remove the drool off of Kayla's lip and hand (don't ask), and add the top of Mikayla's head back:) It is really amazing what they can do now! Mikayla was in a mood that she did not want her picture taken and this was the best one where at least she was looking and smiling at the same time! Thanks to Jessica I have an awesome picture that I will love forever!! She did another one of my stomach when I was pregnant with Seth and it has My hand, Billy's hand and Mikayla's hand on it. I love that picture now that she took away all of my stretch marks and all the other stuff that goes along with being pregnant! Maybe one day I will get the nerve to put them up on here:)