overwhelmation

OVERWHELMATION
yes i just made up a word and honestly i like it. I realize that it's been like a month since i posted and i realize that i've lost all my faithful readers but...i mean...come on...life is so much fun and particularly busy in the summer months. So here I go with an attempt at a farewell post to summer.

We went to Lagoon. Lizzie loved all the rides and cried her eyes out when she couldn't ride Wicked but still she needed to grow another 4 inches in like 20 minutes and it just wasn't happening but she did get to ride The Bat and she had a great time doing that.




Lizzie and Abby are now professional drivers thanks to the bumper cars at Lagoon. We'll have to stock up on some super good insurance.



I had my 10 yr reunion and it was super super super cool. It was really good to see these fab girls and catch up on what's going on in their lives.

I was really glad to get to see Jenn. We've been friends since Jr. High and I was a sucky friend and lost contact with her after I left CEU. She looked fabulous but was even more fabulous to talk to. I really hope we can see each other sooner than another 10 years.



While we were in my hometown we were able to see a parade. The girls were so cute with the whole candy throwing business. The streets were lined with lots of kids and it was a major competition for each piece of candy. Each time a float would come up the girls would line the street holding hands hoping for some candy.




And if some stingy float went by without throwing candy at my adorable girls this is what they looked like.


They still loved the parade and probably have six or seven new cavities because of it.

You may ask yourself where is Will in all of these pictures. Well he was off doing something like this to his face:

Will has issues with not bumping, bruising, scratching some part of his body on a daily basis. I guess that's just what you get when you're as crazy as he is.


So this fire was pretty darn close to our house. Started in the grass field that should be a park across from our house. Some darn kids were playing with something in the field and took off but the fire dept. was pretty quick to get it out.


secretly I hoped that it would burn and kill all the grasshoppers and their little eggs but I guess it was a smart thing to put it out and not risk hundreds of homes catching on fire.

Speaking of fire...He was on....


Jeremy was able to play Ultimate Frisbee with L-3 and won for like the 5th year in a row. I love watching Jeremy play he's so super talented!
Cheering on the 2nd place team. It was a close close game but L3 totally won it!




The entire team with their winning medals. The team was huge this year I think maybe next year they might do two teams.

The girls were super proud of their Daddy and his amazing jumping abilities.


The last bit of summer Gma and Gpa Rawlings "kidnapped" Lizzie and all the older cousins for a weekend and ended it at Bear Lake so we tagged along to enjoy the last bit of summer.

The kids dug in the sand and played in the water.

Little Kambria looked like a movie star in her hat and glasses.

Lizzie and Savanah were super proud of their sand castle adorned with mini sea shells.

Gma and Gpa with almost all of their grandkids just missin little ms. leah. Anyone know how to get 7 kids and two adults to look at a camera for 3 seconds?


This made me remember the start of our summer in San Deigo...in some ways that seems like ages ago and yet it was just a matter of weeks. I know in just another matter of weeks it'll be a new year we'll be done with the holidays and maybe then i'll be able to breathe a little easier. but then again i know that where i am in my life is just as a busy mom and i'll be here for a little while. so you'll have to excuse the small spaces between these posts just know that when those happen i'm really just loving life and trying to experince it all with all my heart.

Duck Fork Quick post #2

(this really is a short post I took over 125 pictures and have just posted 10 a very hard task if you ask me!)

The weekend of the 24th we went camping with my parents and my Older brother's family. Normally we camp at Pete's Hole above Joe's Valley but this year my Dad decided on Duck Fork and Wood Tick Flat. The last time I remember camping here was with my Grandma and Grandpa Orr when I was like 12 or so. It was a total trip down memory lane and luckily we had brought our 4 wheeler to go down those lanes.
Jeremy had lost a tie down on the way up to camp and decided to take his 4 wheeler to go back looking for it...umm the roads were a little bit dusty. But he totally pulls of the mad scientist look and thus gets an A.

Will and Abby were inseparable this time around and went hiking everywhere. Abby was always gathering flowers wherever she went.

The flowers were unbelievable this year. They were fragrant and oh so vibrant I only wish I were a better photographer so that you could get the grand effect. It was beautiful.
Our campground had this super cool tee-pee that we thought the kids would love playing. Turns out they were scared it would tip over but still made for something cool to look at.

Jeremy loved taking the kids for 4 wheeler rides and Abby loved to go. She got to wear a cool "blue hat" and go and pick flowers every where (honestly I wouldn't let them pick flowers but they were in overabundance this year.)

Abby looking super cool in her blue hat and oh so ready to go!
Some of Abby's flowers that she picked. I'm not sure if there are many of those white flowers left Abby picked millions of them and cried her eyes out when I made her leave them there but luckily I have a bush that grows the same sort of flowers in my backyard.

This was the coolest trail I've ever been on. There were so many beautiful shades of purple. I took most of the pictures on the back of the 4-wheeler while we were moving otherwise I'd have stopped for hours and hours setting up the right shot. It was so gorgeous and a fun ride too! Lots of streams to go through and a bridge and some good climbs. It was marvelous!
My mom and Dad with all of their grandkids. They sure had a great time playing together and Mom took the kids for hikes while Dad was deteremined to have each kid catch a fish. Whenever we go to the Mountains now Abby asks where's Grandpa because she's pretty sure that's where he lives. I'm pretty sure she's close to right.

3 quick posts post 1 The Fray

So I have soo soo sooo much to post so I've selected just five of my favorite shots from each event and posted them. Mid-July Me and Jeremy were able to go to The Fray with Jeremy's brother and wife. We had such a great time and made me really miss the early days of our marriage and hanging out with them with less kids around. We started the night out at Texas Roadhouse my new fav place to eat....I like me some steak!

Sorry Mike. Tricia looked way too cute in this picture and since you can't seem to keep your eyes open in any picture you get to look kind of funny.


After Dinner we got to the concert and went to go get something sweet to snack on. Tricia paid the outrages amount of $5.00 for a bag of Cotton Candy and I grabbed a strawberry banana smoothie for the enormous amount of 5 bucks as well. Jeremy was frugal and smuggled peanuts in his cargo pockets of his shorts from texas roadhouse.


but at least my purchase made for a great photo!

It's alright to say it, awwww we look so cute! um ya you'd better believe it.

We listened to great music. Laughed at some seriously drunk people and all in all had a ridiculously good time. Enough so that I think we'll do it again sometime soon!

Today's funny moment. Pretty sure this is going to be it for the day but please read and enjoy!
Read this.

Randomness abroad in abundance

Alright, for my eight loyal readers I give you my random post. As of lately I've been obsessed with clouds and sky and the different color of blues that come with the different areas of Utah. I'm really not that great with my camera yet but I've been trying to capture the different shades and moods of the skies.


I loved this one because I thought that the sky and mountains were so grinding against each other. If they were to continue their pattern into each other there would be a cool plaid sky/mountain effect.

I loved the sky and lighting of this particular picture Lizzie was just putting on sunscreen. I don't know why I even took this picture but I love the lighting.

At The Fray concert it started out so blue and then these dark clouds started rolling in only to make a beautiful sunset with strips of colors everywhere.
These are the kind of blue skies I just love. A dark blue with wispy clouds as if one of my kids got into the q-tips again and shredded them all over the sky.

The girls took swim lessons after the 4th of July and Lizzie discovered that she's part fish and Abby discovered why the little Mermaid wanted to get out of the water so bad. Abby hated putting her face in the water consequently Abby didn't pass her class but Lizzie passed with flying colors. At least Abby's class was absolutely adorable. Abby was the smallest and one of the youngest by quite a bit but she still had a good time playing with her "friends"
Lizzie was great to watch after Abby and make sure that she had a good time at the pool every day.

Jeremy was lucky enough to take a week off of work and have a "staycation" with us. It was super cool to be able to go around locally and have fun with Jeremy. We went and spent an evening in the mountains, went swimming, finally made it to Lagoon, had bbq's with friends, made an outing to the discovery museum and other such funness (i'm saying that's a word despite the red squiggily line).

Enter picture of Will dressed as a cow-boy, not the kind with a hat and boots but a boy dressed as a cow pushing a pretend lawn mower...yes he is adorable.

Lizzie channeled her inner-cowgirl and did her best to get the super plastic horse to move.

Will was truly at home driving the kids around in the stationary car. Abby brandishing her "got milk" gangsta sign..
When we were at the discovery museum it was opening night of Harry Potter and the half blood prince thus they had an entire show of Harry Potter Magic. The staff was dressed in wizarding robes and this guy carried around his trantula. All other kids hid behind parents when the spider came close except for Lizzie who insited on holding the huge hairy arachnid. Seriously that girl has some serious gumption!
This witch was awesome! They showed the kids how to make dragon toothpaste, snow, snakes and other cool stuff. They had a drawing afterwards and Lizzie won a flashlight with the dark mark on it...ya that's cool.

At one of our great bbq's Will and some other boys found lots of mud to play in. Will thought his beloved bear would like to play with him. After soaking the bear in the mud Will went to put the bear back in his mouth where the bear permantly resides. Will discovered he didn't like the taste of muddy bear ears and threw him to the ground in the ultimate sign of rejection.

Luckily bear was washed and Will now chews happily on it's ears and nose with glee.

Thanks for sticking with me through this random post. I still need to post official posts of our staycation, lagoon, The Fray and camping but this should hold you over till then. Thanks again to all eight of you who read. Please leave more comments on what else you'd like to see on this haphazard blog.