It Came!

We have been waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting and it finally came! We are so excited.

I looked out the window at 7 am this morning and I found Cameron outside sweeping off the trampoline so that no grass would be on it.

(This window is apparently filthy! Could someone come and clean it please?)

No and Yes List

Today Cameron was mad at everyone. It might have to do with the fact that no matter what time he goes to bed he gets up at the crack of dawn. Just a thought.... He was carrying around a clipboard this afternoon and when I got a look at it, this is what I found:



If you are on the NO side of the list you are bad and if you are on the YES side you are being good. Poor Mitch got thrown in to the bad side of the list and he wasn't even home to do anything. I did enjoy however that Mitch "might" be on the good side, hence the question mark.

One tired dad...three happy kids

Yesterday Mitch built the kids a sandbox. I have been hinting, hounding, and pleading for him to do this for months. The kids love to dig in the dirt and were making a mess of my plants and were getting so dirty! Who says nagging and whining doesn't pay off :) (Actually it doesn't, Mitch was finally inspired by a friend!) I am sure that I might be singing a different tune in a few months when sand is being tracked all over the house but for now we love it.



Mitch bought golf course sand so it is really nice. It is great for building sand castles! Not the kind that is more like gravel that is mainly good for digging. He also bought a can of Critter Ridder. As you can tell, we just love our neighbor's cats that use our entire yard as their own personal litter box. Hopefully this stuff works!



This morning a 9:00 am-



Thanks daddy!

A Sucker

Yep, that's what I am.

While at Wal-Mart the other day Cameron found a MUST have item, a tennis ball the size of a small basketball. He wanted to know if we could PLEASE get it. Being the sucker that I am said sure because I love you and it is pretty cool too...

The Next Street Over

We have some good friends that live on the next street over. The kids like to walk over there and see what is going on. It is a cul-de-sac so it is fun to have a chance to play in the street!





Jason let take Cam take a ride on his motorcycle. I love the look on his face while riding. Cameron told me that he is almost old enough to ride it by himself. I don't think so!



This is just a random picture of Natalie at Lake Wilderness this week. Just look at those buns!

The Last Hurrah

Our cousins are moving to Connecticut!
We will miss you guys!!!





Two cousins- and at this age are good frenemies!



We spent one last hurrah with our cousins at the Crossroad's spray park. (I might add that I think the spray part of that sentence is lacking..it could definitely use more water!) I am going to miss having Kierstin to hang out with and the kids will miss the cousins, but we are excited for their new adventure! And hopefully we will be able to visit them!!

Alumni Mile

Last week was Issaquah High School's 2nd annual alumni mile. Last year Mitch and a good friend he ran with in high school came up with this idea and put it on. It is a cool event and they hope as the years go on that they will get a bigger and bigger turn out of past runners. Mitch did a good job organizing it and putting it on.

This year they decided to put in a lollipop race for all the alumni's kids. The kids ran a 200 m. Cameron crossed the finish line first and the look on his face was priceless while he was running. Such determination!

The Lord is my Shepard

Cameron came home from church very excited about what he learned in class. He told me that he learned about shepards and sheep. He talked about how sheep know their shepard's voice and the sheep will follow the shepard but not a stranger's voice. He continued to tell me how we are the sheep and that Jesus is the shepard and that we need to follow him. I was beaming with joy while listening to him. He was listening in class and he understands! Later that day I found a paper lying on the counter (something he obviously made in class). I asked him about it. Cameron said "Yeah, I am the sheep that is why my name is on the sheep." Then I said, what is that red thing on the sheep's back and the orange that you drew? "Oh, that is the sheep's cape and the orange is the fire coming from under his tail." I just about died laughing. Of course the sheep has a cape and fire, why wouldn't it? Okay, so he is a 7 year old boy.

Day 10- Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

After a week of sleeping on the floor, no bedtimes, eating on paper plates so no dishes (I am contemplating doing this permanently!) it was time to say good bye. All week Anna slept on the floor between Cameron and Julia. It was so cute. On the morning we left when I came into their room to get them, Cameron and Anna were sharing a pillow. Very sweet.

Thanks Utah, it was fun!

DAY 9- Last Day

On our last day Kara and I went downtown and saw a 3D IMAX show about the Hubble telescope. It was something I had wanted to see but no one was interested in going with me. When I found out Kara wanted to see it too, we made sure that we went together. We had a nice lunch and show before going home to all the kids.

During the hot afternoon while Kara and I were gone, the kids and Mitch went to the park and played in the shade under some trees. They couldn't help but climb some.

We spent the late afternoon into the evening at the indoor swimming pool. What a fun pool. My kids wish that there was a cool pool in Seattle like this. So much fun!

DAY 8- Miniature Golf

The Stuard family is very competitive group of miniature golfers (Just ask Laura and her last place ribbons from Parkland Putters.)



I thought it would be fun to take the kids miniature golfing, they had never been before. Although Matt might have another word other than "fun" to describe his golfing experience.

We learned a thing or two about taking kids golfing. 1- There is going to be crying involved 2- The idea of staying off the green while others are golfing is a mind blowing idea. 3- As is the idea of not touching your ball. Okay, so we have a few things to work on. :) To give them credit, Cameron and Julia actually did rather well after they got the hang of it!







Natalie was so cute with her golf club. I wish I had taken a video of her swinging her club because it was adorable! Her club was so small. All in all we had a good time. Mitch did beat me in the end, but I was the only one to get a hole in one!



The Olander's on the other hand did not enjoy their golfing experience. With everyone crying (I think himself included) Matt escorted his family into the car when they were only half done. I think he is still trying to rid himself of the memory.

DAY 7- The Old 'Hood

We spent most of the day recovering from the previous day at Lagoon. We stayed home and let the kids play. Later that day I took a stroll down memory lane and drove past all my old stomping grounds. We showed the kids where I went to elementary school, the church that I was baptized in, my old houses, and neighborhood (I am sure they will grow up remembering the time their parents drove around looking at boring stuff). It was really fun seeing all the places that I remember as a kid. It had been awhile since the last time I saw any of them. I didn't think to take a picture of any of the places except one, the Superette. The Superette was a building we would pass while walking to school. We were forbidden to go stop there and never to go in. To this day I have no idea what the place even sold. Just that it was off limits. When I saw it, it made me laugh...



For the record: I beat Kara at Ticket to Ride every time we played. :)

DAY 6- Lagoon

We spent a fun, hot, crowded day at the One and Only--Lagoon. The kids love it and it was fun to watch them on the rides. Some of the rides there are old classics. I remember riding on them as a kid. It was a nostalgic day for me.



Seems a little familiar!



A timeless classic!



Cameron was brave enough to go on the white roller coaster and through the haunted house. Anna could never convince him to go on the Wicked roller coaster. I don't blame him-- that thing looked scary! I wouldn't go on it. Anna might be a small, sweet looking girl but man she is a dare devil! Julia and Natalie loved the ride called The Dragon. It goes really fast forwards and backwards. My favorite ride of the day was The Bat roller coaster. You are strapped in with your feet dangling above the ground. It feels like you are flying. Lots of fun.





This was the first ride we went on and it scared Julia to death! It was called the Ladybug ride. It lifts you up high and then drops you. Julia is still talking about how much she didn't like that ride. I have to say that I didn't like it either.

This ride soaked us. Everything I was wearing was drenched! Good thing it was hot, hot, hot...

We ended the day on the carousel. Mitch rode a goose. The kids thought it was hilarious.

We got a map of the park while we were there. Cameron has now spent a good deal of time analyzing it and pouring over it and memorizing each ride. He is ready to go back for more!

DAY 5- Temple Square

We spent the afternoon walking around Temple Square and enjoying the sights. Looking at the Christus statue is still one of my favorite things to see. The kids were loving all the water fountains and we had a hard time trying to keep them out of them.





We walked around the Joseph Smith Building and loved this view! One of the things Mitch and I wanted to do while in Salt Lake was to go to a session at the Salt Lake Temple. We had never been. I was SO disappointed when I found out that the temple was closed for maintenance the entire time we were there. On a positive note, we got to park for free saving us 10 bucks!





We also walked around the Church History Museum. I would have loved to been able to read and enjoy everything there. Not possible with six children. They had a I am a Child of God exhibit that the kids enjoyed. Cameron's favorite thing to see was the Conference Center. We didn't go on the full tour this time, just too long but we were able to see the auditorium where the prophet speaks to us during General Conference. What a beautiful building it is.





Our last stop was to the Salt Lake City Cemetery. I was very excited to see some of the prophets buried there. It was cool to find President Hinckley grave. I probably could have spent the whole afternoon there looking at all the old graves of pioneers and other "famous" church leaders but I was the only one really excited about walking around a cemetery in 90+ degree weather. We did find a few of the prophets before we left. Next time I am going back by myself with a map!

Later that night we went swimming at the Murray outdoor pool. This was the same pool that I learned to swim in and spent a lot of time there as a kid each summer. As kids , Kara, Katie and I would ride our bikes to the pool and spend the entire day swimming. It was fun to bring my kids to the same place. Cameron and Anna jumped off the diving board and all the rest of them enjoyed going down the water slide!