I've Been Robbed!

Yes, I've been robbed......of the chance to paint my one-and-only girl's toenails for the first time!

Scott stayed home from church with Mason a couple weeks ago.  It's pretty much a given around here that if you stay home with one of the older kids, you get the youngest as well.  It's only fair, right?  When I got home, I was greeted by a smiley-faced little toddler admiring her pretty purple toes.  I must admit, I was a little mad.  I've waited a looooong time to have a girl and get to paint her cute little toenails.  When I asked Scott why he did it, he said, "Mason was sleeping and I didn't know what to do with Claire.  I figured girls like to paint their toenails, so that's what we did."  I couldn't stay mad for long.  It really was cute.  I just couldn't believe that Scott of all people would be the one to beat me to it.  =)

I'm just glad he took pictures.

He actually did a pretty good job.

Sweet little feet!

First Day of School

I was at my Aunt's funeral on the first day of school.  I'm so glad Scott snapped a few pictures for me!

Mason - 4th Grade

Logan - 2nd Grade

Brady started school a week later.  This is his last year of preschool.  I can't believe we'll have 3 in elementary school next year.

He was so excited, I couldn't get him to pose for a normal picture. 

Quick Trip Out West

My siblings, parents, sister-in-law and I took a quick trip to Utah and Idaho to attend my Aunt Kathy's (my mom's brother's wife) funeral.  It was a trip full of so many emotions.  It was so fun being with my family and seeing relatives I haven't seen in years, but the reason for the trip was so sad.  Aunt Kathy's passing was so sudden and unexpected and she will be missed greatly.  I wish we could have taken this trip under different circumstances, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with so many loved ones.

We first stopped in Idaho to visit my grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad's side of the family.

This is us at my grandpa's house.  We had the best meal with garden fresh corn on the cob and watermelon.  Thanks, you guys!

Just the kids.  I never go on trips with just my siblings.  It was funny settling back into our old family roles.  Suzanne will attest that the family dynamics were quite entertaining.

We stopped at the fair on our way out to see my dad's older brother, his wife, their kids and their grandkids.  What a fun group!  It was so fun to see all of you!!!

The night before the funeral, we went to a special dinner in Salt Lake.  I got to see cousins I haven't seen in forever.  It had been about 20 years since I'd seen Mike, the cousin sitting next to me.

Before the funeral with my dad's sister and her family.....the lighting was a little bad in this one.

We ran out of gas on I-15 on our way back from the funeral.  It was quite the adventure.  We managed to coast to an exit ramp and came to a stop right across from an abandoned gas station.  Go figure.

A nice lady stopped and took Nelson to get some gas.  We were back on the road in no time and got a good laugh at the situation.  My dad swears he'd never run out of gas before.  It was just funny that we were all there to witness it.    

End of Summer

It's so hard to believe the summer is over.  It all went by so quickly.  We tried to squeeze in a little more fun before the kids went back to school.  I decided to be brave and take the kids to Kings' Dominion without Scott.  Thanks to some great friends for encouraging me to be a "cool mom."  The kids had so much fun (and so did I)!

We didn't leave the park until closing time.  We were all happy and exhausted.  The kids did amazingly well....I couldn't have hoped for a better day.

VA BEACH.....

For our last trip of the summer, we went to the beach.  The kids had so much fun boogie boarding and playing in the sand, and Scott and I had fun dreaming of an ocean vacation by ourselves.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  =)  It was all good until Logan got lost.  He was only gone for about 3 minutes, but those were the longest 3 minutes of my life.  I was so happy to go home with all 4 of our kids!

  

These things are harder to pedal than you think.  Of course, we weren't exactly getting too much help from the passengers in the back.  =)

Mason and Logan were fearless in the water.  They definitely didn't get my fear of sharks.  Who knows, maybe someday we'll have a couple of surfers.

Brady and Claire were content to play in the sand and soak up the rays.  

I think the sign said, "Please don't climb on the statue."  Oops!

Texas!

We had a wonderful trip to Texas with Grandma and Grandpa Knight.  We all had so much fun and can't wait to go back!

Real cowboys wear crocs, right?

Claire loved all the attention she got from Grandma and Grandpa.

The boys got to ride horses a lot, and they're starting to get pretty good.  Grandpa is so nice to provide so many fun opportunities for them.  Thanks, Dad!

I think the boys were a little nervous, but they weren't about to pass up this opportunity.  I love these pictures....they're priceless!

Grandma and Grandpa wore us out!  You'd think it would be the other way around, but if you know anything about my parents, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.  Thanks for another fabulous trip, Mom and Dad!!!