girls camp or bust

Said goodbye to this girl for a week this morning!  Her first year at girls camp - and let me just tell you she was one excited girl.  I can't blame her...camp is awesome! I absolutely loved it as a kid.  I hope she has a great time! 

 with all her gear in the back of the van....she doesn't pack light :)

...other than that today was pretty slow - Jax and I played some Mastermind..

 My cute friend Eulalie brought me some fresh mint from her garden to chop up in warm water for my throat...it is so soothing.  She is so thoughtful! 

 And...despite the fact that I feel nasty....I took the kids to the park for some tennis.....but more on that later :)

over the weekend

 to recap the weekend.... 

I've been drinking smoothies every morning...you know trying to up the fruit intake.  My efforts did not keep me from getting Lia's cold - boo.  So - I feel gross, but life continues.

 This cute pic of Lia in the backyard is a bit of a flashback to my adolescent years....I spent quite a bit of time in my mom and dad's driveway painting posters,  backdrops  etc. for school and church activities.  Here Lia is painting a giant skull on a sheet for their girls camp skit! Awesome! 

 Lia continues to hone her braiding skills - and I'm loving it! 

 Friday Tyler worked a half day.  When he got home we took the family to the Chalk on the Town festival in downtown Appleton and then our for ice cream.  I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this activity more than anyone else.  The kids gave me a good word as we walked around to the different artists drawing on College Avenue...stating they were quite sure if I had entered the contest I would have one....perhaps next year?  I appreciate the vote of confidence anyway! 

 Love these people....so very much! :)

entertaining the troops

Yesterday was another fairly uneventful day - everyone feels pretty yucky still, so options for activities are fairly limited. I am hoping they turn a corner soon! :) 

Here are a few photos from the day.

Lia surprised me after her shower by coming out of the bathroom with this adorable french braid wrapped around her head.  When mom has no braiding skills ... you learn how to do it yourself! Awesome! Go Sis!

In an attempt to get the troops to eat a bit more than they have been - I bought Wendy's and Pastry Pixie cupcakes for lunch.  

We also watched Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 as we ate....and it was just as bad as all the reviews promised it would be.  :)

 What should really be documented about the day is that I spent about 3 hrs playing Monopoly ( a game I truly don't enjoy) with my two oldest kids.  

So if they ever claim that I never made any sacrifices for them...well I beg to differ.

Today we might play a rousing game of Yahtzee..... oh give me strength.

Sick Kids...in the middle of summer :(

Lia got sick on our trip last week...and her cough and congestion are really hanging on. Being sick in the middle of summer is a total bummer.  Last night Jaxon went to bed at 7pm with a bit of a fever as well.  So.. we are really not very exciting people at the moment - just trying to rest up and get everyone well SOON.  Lia has girls camp next week and is already worried that she won't be well by Monday.  This is her first year of camp and she is so excited - so hopefully by Monday she will be feeling ready to go! :)    Lia has a really crumby appetite when she is sick - so I attempted to make a fun dinner last night.  My mom's Sloppy Joe's, fruit salad, chips, punch and homemade fudgesicles for dessert.   I  thought the kids would love it ...but due to everyone being a bit under the weather I think Tyler was the only one who was impressed! :)

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well...ok Maggie did like dessert :)

I love making Popsicles in these molds I bought a few years ago.  This morning we made some raspberry/banana ones for later today....so yummy!

 * a small side note* - Yesterday Tyler and I went to the baptism of a cute 9 yr old named Noah.  Noah's grandparents were here for the baptism, and had come all the way from Mexico.  Tyler conducted the baptism in both English and Spanish so the grandparents could understand what he was saying.  I thought he did a great job...it seemed to me that it would be awfully difficult to flip flop back and forth the whole time - but he did great! Way to go Ty - you're pretty cool! :)

Summer - thus far :)

nothing like a huge gap in the blog -  ( like a 4 yr gap?)

When we last left off  Lia was turning 9 - and she is now a few months away from 13. So - here's the thing... I have realized recently the importance of keeping a personal record - and the time I was keeping the best record of our day to day lives was when I was blogging consistently.  I love to look back through the posts of years now past and think about how our family has grown and changed.  so..  - here's to recommitting right? 

I begin with a (very rushed and not at all thorough) recap of our summer so far. 

First of all the kids wrapped up a great year of school - Maggie, Jax and Lia on their last day (2nd, 5th, and 6th grade).

 and summer officially began...

 mom tried to have them do some scrapbooking  - this last apx 1 day :)

 

Maggie took a dance class with her sweet friend Alli ...and all of the kids signed up for parks and rec tennis! :)

 

 We had some girls night fun.

 While the boys enjoyed a father and son camp with the ward.

 We picked some ....  (a lot) of strawberries at Oakridge Farms.

 and or course celebrated the fact that we have the coolest dad around on Father's Day- nothing says love like a candy gram right?

 Lia giving dad a break and grilling up something delicious for dinner! :)

Jax was subjected to makeover from his sisters..

 Dad and Mag attended a Father/Daughter activity for activity days! 

 We went to the Drive In :)

 Jaxon went to 11 yrd old scout camp! 

 We went to the Greenville Zoo with friends where Maggie did her best to convince me to take home a bunny....note the pleading eyes. 

Our friend Pat Meegan was nice enough to take us rock climbing....we couldn't quite convince Jax to give it a try...but the girls LOVED it.

 Someone (Lia) got glasses.....and got photo bombed by her brother.  Her glasses are super cute.  The funniest comment she made while trying them out of the first time... "oh, mom...i can see your eye wrinkles so much better now..."  ah parenting....good stuff...

We celebrated the 4th  - with the ward breakfast and fireworks in downtown Neenah with friends....oh and some festive clothing items...courtesy of mom. :)

 oh...and Tyler wore some blinking glasses ...because he gets that way on holidays :)

We drove to Iowa for Jaxon's checkup... No big changes in his treatment for the moment.

 As always he was a total trooper :)

 Then we to drove to Nauvoo for a  small family trip :)  The children though having a jacuzzi in our room was pretty big time.

 We were able to see the Nauvoo and British Pageants while we were there.  As always we were inspired by the Faith and Dedication of the early members of the church.  There is such a special spirit in Nauvoo - I don't think I will ever get sick of visiting.

 Our Friends Brent and Mary Ann Weed  and their 6 children were part of the pageants this year and we were thrilled to see them all dressed up and doing their thing. Truly amazing people and friends.

 Here's Lia doing some dancing with their oldest son Robert.....lets just say she didn't hate it. ;)