July 1st - We started with the Graveside Service for our precious Brody.
It was a beautiful, hot day. The service was also beautiful. Brody will always have a place in our hearts, we love him dearly. We were able to get some nice photos, but somehow Cindy and Ken were hiding, so we didn't get a photo of them.
After the service and luncheon, everyone came to Blackfoot to help Randy and Courtney move out of their house. They put a lot of it in storage and moved the rest into our home! It was 95 degrees, but they worked fast and furiously and were done in less than 4 hours.
While the heavy lifters were busy moving, the kids had a great time playing with their fancy fake sparklers. They are foam and light up, very cool invention. Molly thought she'd check out Maden's Monopoly game.
After the moving, Cindy entertained the kids. She pushed Clark and Molly in Ryder's fire truck, and helped pick up pine cones. She found a kitty to hug at the neighbors house. The kids had fun running in the empty trailer.
The city of Blackfoot held fireworks on Saturday, July 1st. We borrowed the Matsuura's driveway and had our own little show, then watched the City's fireworks. It was the perfect location and a perfect ending to a long day.
July 2nd - Cindy's Birthday!!
It's been a really long time since we've been able to celebrate Cindy's birthday with all of us. Celia made this fun cake. If you count the candles and figure out which are the tens and which are the ones, you'll be able to know how old she is.
Since we were all together, we got a picture! We just used the timer on my phone, but we're all in the photo! We missed Sydney though!
In honor of Cindy, some of us wore "super" shirts.
We had to get a Sibling picture, it was a difficult task to get a good one! But not as difficult as .....
This was just not happening with these little grand ones.
It was a fun day, with games, eating, nail clipping, pine cone picking and a fun four wheeler ride with Annie as the driver.
July 3rd
Some of us went to Maden's game and Ken played with Ryder and his magic track.
July 4th
We started off going to the parade in Idaho Falls. It was a fun parade, you'll have to ask Cindy if you want to know the 3 top entries. Cindy and Ken brought all the kids a patriotic shirt, don't the look cute! It was so fun to have Cindy and Ken here for these occasions!
Back at home, the kids played on the slip and slide and ran through the sprinklers. Brian and Randy got the fun job of blowing up these balls.
Jared and Nikelle went camping with the Bair's. Molly loved the 4-wheeler rides.
July 7
Molly loved posing in front of our huge lilies.
Brian's family and Randy's family went camping down by Bear Lake. Clark had a nap while they were on a 4wheeler ride.
July 8 - Bear Lake
We met up with Brian and Randy at Bear Lake. We were on the Idaho North Shore. The lake is really high, it didn't leave a lot of beach, but we had fun anyway.
Blake, Randy, Jared, Courtney, Nikelle, Molly and Ryder went for a little jaunt in the boat. Randy and Jared water skied, but we only got a picture of one of them!
Randy, Courtney, Nikelle and Jared decided to jump in the water. Molly and Ryder were going to just stay on the boat with Grandpa, but Molly decided to jump in too. She is a little fish! Ryder not so much.
Fun on the beach! Ryder had a nap in Courtney's arms. It was nice to find some shade sometimes.
Molly loves the water, she loved jumping off the boat to her daddy.
This is the maiden voyage for the tube. It was a hit with most everyone that tried it. Maden especially loved it.
July 12
Blake and Courtney and Ryder went to tend Molly while her parents went to the temple. They had a great time playing!
July 12 and 13 - Ogden, Utah
Celia and I took Maden, Annie and Clark on a little trip to Ogden to watch my nephew, Logan play in the Bugle and Drum Corps. We left early in the morning and went to the Treehouse Museum, then checked into the hotel, then went to the Bugle and Drum Corps.
The kids love the museum! Clark loved the trains the most.
There are a lot of fun activities. Clark loved to walk on this little ledge like his brother and sister were, he had a fit when we had to leave.
Maden and Annie got to be on stage in a little play, they loved it!
The Drum and Bugle Corps was held at Weber State Stadium. We are not exactly sure which one is Logan! It was a great show!
Hotel fun! It was great fun to ride the luggage cart, play with the bubble wall in the lobby, and swim. Maden and Annie slept in my room, they thought it was great fun to have a sleepover in the hotel.
July 14
More boating, wake boarding and skiing at Jensen's Grove.
Jared, Nikelle and Molly came down before taking Nikelle and Molly to catch their plane to New Hampshire. Ryder and Molly thought this pillow was a funny hat. After they left we put some water in a little wading pool, Ryder would only throw balls into it, but Courtney and I cooled our feet off nicely. Blake and Randy and Jared are looking up boat covers, must be a serious search!
July 15
Brian and the kids visited the cows at Uncle Bart's house.
July 16
Just some Sunday evening fun, Clark swinging, all of them watching some TV on my bed, all of them riding the 4-wheeler with Courtney and trying out Celia's new ride. We missed our Molly!
July 20
For Christmas, I gave Maden and Annie some Tinker Crates and Kiwi Crates. Every month we get a new box with different activities. This time Maden got a bottle rocket. It was great fun! Annie's was a Physics carnival. We got Grandpa involved and it was so fun!
Nikelle sent these cute pictures from New Hampshire. Molly loves Minnie! They had fun on the beach of the Atlantic Ocean!
July 22
Blake had to fix a fuse in my car, it was in the most stupid place ever! He had to turn into a contortionist, but he got it fixed!
July 23
We celebrated my Dad's birthday. It's really on the 21st, but we celebrated with him on the 23rd. Annie helped make the banana bread we used for the cake. The kids call him Grandpa Chin Chopper, or just Chop.
July 24
Maden, Annie and I went to Logan with my Mom and Dad (Paul and Beth or Grandpa Chin Chopper and Grandma Beth) to pick up my nephews Ryan and Samuel. We had lunch at Chuck a Rama, then drove to the Golden Spike and to Thiocol to see the rocket boosters. We brought DVD players and they had a great time watching movies while we were in the car.
They all had fun flattening a penny at the Golden Spike visitors center.
We had to go the Train house to see the trains, pretty fun to see such old trains. The rocket boosters were huge!
When we got home, we went to the Pioneer Celebration at the Ball Diamonds. We ate, played with produce in water, played kick ball, ran the bases, and played with water in the back of a pickup.
July 25
Ryan and Samuel came to play with Maden and Annie while Grandpa and Grandma went to the temple.
We tried out the Blackfoot Community Center, I thought it was kind of lame, but the kids loved it. They loved running and jumping on this big blow up trampoline thing the most.
In the afternoon, they ran through the sprinklers and did the slip and slide. It had been 90 and above for at least 2 weeks, but not this day, of course it was cold and windy. Maden and Annie and Ryder had a great time with Ryan and Samuel!
July 28
Ryder helped Grandpa vacuum, then pick up pine cones. We went to Texas Roadhouse. Clark tried to be the cutest baby at the baseball game. Sure is a cute smile!
July 29
Moving day again! Randy and Courtney moved out of our basement into an apartment. They thought they were going to be with us for longer, but an apartment opened up for them. When they got done with the moving we celebrated Courtney's and my sister Lynne's birthdays. (Their birthdays are on August 1st, but we celebrated on the 29th because Lynne was here too.)
July 31
We went to Idaho Falls and met up with Brian, he had ridden the motorcycle, so we got some pictures of him riding. Molly's being a little fish again, this time at Rigby Lake.