Lake Tahoe

We went to stay with the Smiths in Lake Tahoe for the third year in a row.  I'm so glad they keep letting us come! We love our time with the Smiths and the Clarks (I love those girls!).  And we get to hang out in one of the most beautiful places. 

The kids rode their bikes on a fun, new bmx track, the boys especially loved that.  We went on some hikes and explored some old railroad tunnels. We had two great days at the beach with lots of jet-skiing, kayaking and playing in the sand.  The girls formed the "sewing club" and turned Amanda's laundry room into their headquarters. We had a cute talent show where all the kids performed. (Danny made an origami gun, Rachel drew a self-portrait, Aaron told some jokes, and Seth and Ruby danced). And we stopped in Carson City and Rhyolite on the way home.

 

Delayed 10th Anniversary Cruise

We celebrated our anniversary by going on an 8 day cruise in the Caribbean. It was fabulous.  Grandma Zonda watched the kids at our house and she did such a great job; the kids loved it.

We snorkeled in Cozumel, went to a Mayan ruin in Belize, rode a zip line in Honduras and swam with sting rays in Grand Cayman.  We loved being on our own schedule and being taken care of on our cruise.  And, of course, we ate all the time.  Our motto for our trip was "Let's go, we have things to eat!"

Utah for 4th of July and Gma Donna's 80th birthday

This year was Grandma Donna's 80th birthday! She's such a fun grandma! We rented a big house in Salt Lake to stay for the week.  We got together at Tanya's house to celebrate.  She had a huge blow-up water slide that the kids loved.  And a trampoline and slip n slide. We filled her backyard with all the cousins. 

There were tons of fireworks restrictions this year because of several forest fires in the area, so we couldn't do fireworks at Tanya's or at our rental. We watched the Pleasant Grove City fireworks from a church parking lot where we also set off our own fireworks. Danny was really excited about lighting the fireworks this year.

We went to temple square and the church history museum. The kids had a great time.  And we timed it just right to be able to walk around the grounds and then we headed into the museum just as it started raining.

After three days, Bob and I left for our cruise and the kids all stayed a few more days.  Grandma Zonda and Aunt Kristal were so nice to take care of the kids in Utah and then drive them home to Las Vegas.

School's out! Visalia here we come!

School got out and we left for Visalia.  This has become our summer break tradition.  We love it.  It's low-key and fun; just what we need after a busy school year.  It's also when the frogs hatch at the retention pond near Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Tiny frogs are out all over the place.  Such great entertainment for our five kids.  Seth even got in on the catching this year.  Ruby like to watch, but didn't want to touch.

Bob came out with us for the weekend and then flew home and we stayed a few more days.  We went to the waterslides and the movies and lots of parks.  It was a great visit.

Lollipops and Naked Guys

Today's after-church activity was to make Jolly Rancher lollipops.  Place a number of Jolly Ranchers on a tray, place them in an oven at 250 for 5-10 minutes, take them out and then press a stick into the melted candies.  The kids thought these were the best things ever.

The second activity is probably a little less common in our neck of the woods.  In other areas of Vegas people pay good money to witness a show like the one that was put on here today.  You get your show for freeeeeeee.  Naked guys flexing their muscles. 

It all started when Aaron came up and flexed his bicep for me.  Jean thought it would be a good thing to visually document his shirtless 6-year old body and that he would appreciate it later in life.  We 'progressed' from there. . .

Welcome to the gun show!  Ka-pow!

These guns are of such a high caliber they need a carry & conceal permit. 

Commence the six-gun salute!

Kissing the guns

A little arm wrastlin' never hurt nobody

Our Little Bird Ruby

We have a little bird named Ruby.  She eats like a bird.  She talks like a bird.  She is as light as a bird.  We think she's a parrot because she can repeat several words.  She has no feathers and doesn't fly so well though, so she must be some kind of rare, flightless/featherless parrot.  A one of a kind - rare indeed.

Ruby loves to be near Jean when she's pecking away on the computer to fix a website.  The two of them have worked out a compromise that allows Jean to get some work done and to allow Ruby some mom time.

Here are some photos of their agreement. . .

Beleive it or not, this arrangement works out pretty well for both parties.  Jean gets some work done and Ruby feels like she's getting some attention.  All sides are satisfied. 

I've tried it a couple of times, but it's kind of hard to see the monitor. I know, I know - I'm a woos. I guess I haven't evolved to meet the demands of the ever-fluid working-from-home environment. 

Jean's got some mad working-from-home skills!