Birthday time

My mom and sister Shaina were going on a cruise over Owen and Sadie's birthdays so we had a party for both of them on the 13th. We had planned on having a water party but it was overcast and raining off and on so we had to change plans. We started with lunch and then went to the pinata. Rick and I spent many hours on the it and it caused me a bit of stress but it's worth it for my kids. We made one side Mickey Mouse and the other side Minnie Mouse. They loved it.

After the pinata we opened presents. They were so spoiled again this year. I don't even know if I can list everything but I'll try. Owen got a spiderman toy and toy story dart board from my parents, a cool wooden toy that I don't know what to call or even how to explain from grandma Wirsch, a cars book with flashlight from Willie, a frisbee and water shooter from aunt Halie, a play bbq from Sadie and some cars pj shorts from me that I made for him.
Sadie got a princess tea set from my parents, a wooden magnetic train set from grandma Wirsch, a princess book with sounds from uncle Willie, a trophy and pony from aunt Halie, a ball and princess camera from Owen, a couple shirts and pjs from us and a pair of silky pink pj shorts that I made for her.
Together they got a Thomas the tank engine book from Isaac and a trampoline from us.

wearing the shorts I made them.

loved all of her reactions, they were priceless!

So excited about her new clothes!

Next we had cake and ice cream. Since I was already stressed about the pinata I decided to take it easy on the cakes. They both wanted funfetti cake and Owen wanted Cars 2 and Sadie wanted a Princess cake. I made Owens cake blue with red frosting and cars cake toppers and made Sadie's cake pink with pink frosting and princess dress up toppers.

It did rain on us a little but we just moved under the patio. The part was a hit and I was very pleased with the way it went. The only thing that would have made it better is Jason, Katie, Callie and  Madison.

Family Camp 2012

On July 2-4 we went up Payson canyon to Camp Maple Dell for family camp with Rick's side of the family. Rick was in charge of the 12-14 year olds and my mother-in-law and I were over the 3 and 4 year olds so both Owen and Sadie could participate in age group activities, since neither of them were three yet. When we got there Monday morning we set up our tent and got everything unloaded from our car and then Rick took Owen down to the lake to see some cows. Sadie was extremely tired so I stayed back with her and tried to get her to nap. While laying down we heard a bunch of noise and looked up and a heard of cows were walking through our campsite! Sadie loved the cows. I was so busy trying to show her all the cows that I didn't get my camera out till they were starting to run away so that's what the pictures are of. I did catch pictures of the one straggler of the bunch. Each day kinda went the same: wake up, have breakfast, age group time, family time/lunch, age groups, family time/dinner, campfire and then bed. Sadie has been at the stage where she absolutely hates changing her clothes. She only likes a few of her things and throws the biggest fits when we change her (sometimes even if she chooses something she likes). So she pretty much wore pjs the entire time. Since I was one of the leaders I really didn't have time to fight with her about it so we would just shower and put clean pjs on at night and she would wear them the next day. She's such a stubborn girl. With all of her fits, her and I had to miss out on doing a lot of things but Rick and Owen were able to do a lot and have fun. While there, a couple of things we did were canoeing, archery, crafts, we made and raced a covered wagon, made a rope and many other games and activities.

Sadie with the straggler

This is one of the things Sadie and I missed out on. Owen raced against his uncle Willie's wagon and Owen got second place. His prize was a bull head necklace.

Sadie doing her own thing...

Our group was mostly boys

Playing with playdoh

Feeding ants cookies and gathering leaves/sticks, etc. for a nature collage.

Owen had a lot of fun making his picture.

This is the only proof we have of his picture. He was so proud of it. I don't know what happened but we didn't come home with it. :( Guess I need to help him make another one.

his mouth is full of gumballs

he was so good at archery! And he loved it!

Texas

On July 1st we had to say good-bye to my brother and his family. They would be moving to Texas where my brother was to start his new job as an accountant. They would be moving on the third but we were leaving for family camp the morning of the  second so we had to say our good byes early. It didn't seem like anything different from all the other times we've said bye from our Sunday family dinners when we'd be seeing them the next week. I think it was because we were the ones leaving their house instead of them driving off with their truckload of belongings. It didn't really hit me till we went over to their empty house the day after we got back from camp. It was so sad seeing my kids run around asking "where is Callie?" "where is Callie's bed?" At one point Owen and I were just hugging each other in tears, missing our sweet Callie. I think he and Callie had a special bond. They loved playing together and were always looking for each other. Owen also adores Madison. Ever since he first met her he loved her. Every time we saw a baby or a picture of a baby he would point and say "baby Madison." He even told me he wanted one. He assured me he didn't want me to have one, HE wanted to have one ("one"meaning a baby). Sadie loves them both too but I think she might have been a little jealous because they stole the attention of her brother so she didn't show too much interest. She did play with Callie every once in a while but not as much as Owen. One thing I'm really happy we did was getting pictures taken with Callie. We went to jcp and got some individuals of all the kids and then a pic of the three of them together. It is now hanging in our living room and I love looking at it and seeing my kids look at it and remember Callie. It's just too bad Madison wasn't born yet when we got them. Anyway I need to end this post because once again I'm in tears missing them too much and need to think about something else. Here are some pictures.

Owen and Madison

These two poor little girls were both not feeling very well and wanted nothing to do with picture taking

"tickle tickle tickle" These two are such goofballs!

Hugs

After being bribed with smarties, we get smiles.

Madison was not very happy and her and her mommy were about to leave, so we didn't get a very good pic with her.

This one's a little better. Caught her between screams.

Summer fun

Our family loves the outdoors. As soon as it started warming up that's where Rick and the kids would be all day. Rick was a little excited and planted seeds a little too early outside so not everything came up but we did get a lot of good stuff growing. Some of the plants in our garden are carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, purple beans, peas, cantaloupe, watermelon, beets (which I found out I have a liking for), raspberries, blackberries (haven't gotten any berries yet though), cucumber, lettuce, strawberries, chives, pumpkin, red sweet corn, popcorn and a variety of squash (some of which are volunteers from last year). Once again I'm very grateful for Rick and his ability to do such an amazing job in the garden. He spent many days out in the hot sun turning dirt to get the ground ready to plant. The pictures of the garden here are from June 25th. We also have three fruit trees we planted last year. An apple, apricot and plum. The apple and apricot are on either side or our front yard and the plum is in the back. You can see the plum tree in the second picture of Owen on the right side of him if you look closely. We actually got 3 apricots but I neglected to take pictures before we picked and ate them. They were the most delicious apricots I've ever had in my entire life! I can't wait till next year!

This is after a day at seven peaks. We live close enough that they give us 2 free season passes every year. Next year we will have to pay for Owen though. :( I'm surprised they gave us one for him this year. We got it a month before he turned 3 and 3 year olds have to pay. They asked for birthdays, so oh well, I'm not complaining. He loves going swimming!

 Rick's mom found this slip'n slide in her shed and gave it to us. Owen loved playing on it! Sadly he only got one use out of it before it burst.

He looks so big here! I can't believe it!

 Sadie wasn't interested till later, after I put the camera away. She didn't last long though. She slipped, got wet and didn't like it.

 This is the corn as of 6/25/2012. You can see the peas on the right and behind Owen's head and a squash plant in the bottom right corner.

 Here there is squash, a couple tomatoes, peas, onions, garlic and I think there might be a pepper in there too that I forgot about. Everything's small so it's hard to see in the picture.

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This is our neighbors pear tree which we benefit from. They don't ripen till fall but they are delicious. It also provides great shade in the evening.

Blackberries, raspberries and tomatoes           

along the fence and carrots, cantaloupe,        

and a cucumber. 

 After playing outside on the slip n slide I don't know what went through Owen's mind but after a while I realized I didn't know where he was. I went looking and looked in his closet. This is what I saw first...

 Then I looked a little closer...

 and I found him! I don't know if he was playing and fell asleep or if he meant to fall asleep there but it was a good hiding spot.