What Boys Do For Fun

 Steve took our boys camping with the Ward boys this weekend while Nicole and I took the girls shopping.  They camped two nights north of Sun Valley.  The tents were comfy, the food delicious and the mosquitoes plenty.  Carter came back with almost 20 bites on his forehead.  (He looked a little deformed.)  After looking at some of these pictures, I'm just glad they all came back alive.

This is what summers are for...

 

Working on those scout requirements.  Carter can now make breakfast!

Yep...these guys have similar tastes in camping gear.

Please don't tell any law enforcement that my 12 year old learned to drive this weekend.

Beautiful?  Yes.

Dangerous?  Most likely.

Would I have cried like a baby driving down this?  Absolutely.

It's a really good thing I was not there.

 

The face of happiness!

Tidbits of Nonsense, Oh I Mean Knowledge.

If you've ever wondered what a I-phone looks like after being accidentally thrown out a Land Cruiser going 60 mph, wonder no more...

This is it.

 But the phone still works if you don't mind glass shards in your ear.

(FYI:  I think this is picture is hideous and I am...and forever will be in protest that it comes up every time I call my husband.)

 Steve just wishes he knew what this app would have looked like when the phone took its flight down the highway.

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Looking for super classy wall decor?

Look no further!

My mom, sister and I found just what you need at the local decor and furniture warehouse.  Who knew tacky wall hangings could be so fun and so insightful?

I'll let these truths speak for themselves.  Some of them are SO good they don't even need an explanation!

 (I was always taught the four dirtiest words were H___, SH___, D___ and Fart.  I guess I was mistaken.)

 This one was just to remind my kids that we will never get a dog...not even the kind that keeps your books in place.

 Oh...how true.

 If only I had this on my pantry door!

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Steve and Brian Ward took the boys camping all weekend.

Nicole and I took our girls shopping in Boise.  

It was the logical thing to do.

 They had a blast and were honestly angelic the entire time.

 Who wouldn't be shopping with their best friend?

 At the Gap, Saylor was introduced to her first very own lip gloss...with sparkly stars.

Her lips (and cheeks and chin) have never been so moist and shiny.

 There was only one mishap that involved two little girls and a manikin.

The girls killed him.

"My friend Jada was sitting on that fingy (thingy) and then I sat on that fingy and then that guy just fell down.  It was crazy"

I couldn't help myself from laughing and either could the sales lady...thank goodness.

The aftermath.

(Poor guy lost his arms, legs...and pants)

Andrew Turned Twelve on the 1st

My oldest son turned 12 earlier this week.

We celebrated quietly without a lot of fan fair. 

 But, the celebration started early in the morning and it involved $$$$ from both sets of grandparents...

lots of $$$$$$, so the boy was happy.

We also completely surprised him with a Ninjago Lego set.

He thought his bike was his only gift, but we tricked him.  The smile on his face when he opened his present was priceless.  

(Can I admit that I think it is fun beyond all reason that my 12 year old is still happy with Legos?)

Steve also surprised him with donuts for breakfast.

(Is that a donut or a Buick?)

Everyone was thrilled with that!

 For lunch, we told Andrew he could chose anywhere (within reason) he wanted.  

He chose Dairy Queen.  (Dairy Queen?  Really?)  Apparently he thinks the hamburgers there are the greatest.

 Carter agrees.

 Saylor was more fond of the ice cream.

 Andrew asked for a simple cake with chocolate frosting.  I made it four layers with alternating chocolate and fun-fetti.   Steve found the Lego candles.  I thought they were perfect.

 Everyone was happy for Andrew...but Saylor.  

Happy 12th Birthday Andrew!

We love you to pieces...even enough to lose our minds and let you have a huge group of 11 and 12 year old boys at our house next week for a late night party. 

 (We must be crazy.)

We Tried To Leave Town

There was a mix-up with the championship meet sign-ups.  Neither Andrew or Carter were signed up and by the time we realized, it was too late.  There were some pretty sad boys around our house for a while.  To remedy the "I can't go swimming" blues, we decided to take the kids to Boise to visit the aquarium, visit cousins, and to do a little school shopping.  Steve also had an appointment to look at computers for the new office.  We were all loaded up in the car by 8am Saturday morning ready to roll.

Here the kids are watching a movie on the portable player.

Don't they look enthused?

At Mountain Home we stopped for our usual Dixon family pit stop. (meaning...I drank too much caffeine on the way and needed to stop)  On our way out of the gas station, our car would not go into gear- not reverse, not forward...nothing.  Our transmission went out.

So, we did what any family would do...we called a tow truck and then took the kids back into the gas station to loaded up on cheddar ruffles and sour patch kids.  Because such things help in times of crisis.

After a lovely short ride with some scary looking but very kind tow-truck drivers, we found ourselves at the GMC dealership in Mountain Home.  They confirmed that our transmission was indeed broken and that they could not even order the part we needed until Monday, the part wouldn't be in until at least Wednesday, and our car wouldn't be ready until Friday.

Nice.

The icing on the cake?

There were no, as in zip, as in zero rental cars available in town that would fit our freakishly gigantic family of six.  We had to call my poor parents to come and get us.

We made the best of the two hour wait by eating junk food and watching the Olympic games on the dealership's cable.  It was a perk.

None-the-less, some of us were pretty disappointed about missing out on fish and cousins.

Not necessarily in that order.

Some of us were down right upset.

But we made the best of it and begged a ride from the dealership to the local Wingers restaurant.

Soda and popcorn make everything a little better.

 (YES, this is after the kids already ate a huge bag of ruffles and a few other items from the dealerships vending machines.  Were raising our kids to be stress eaters.  Lovely.)

 I even found out Wingers has a gluten free menu.  BONUS!

Steve was the happiest of all.

 His culinary dreams came true when he found out this Wingers offered...

Fried Chicken and Waffles!

This is a dish Steve has wanted to try for a very long time.  His gluteny (not to be confused with gluttony) feast did not disappoint.

However...a simple gluten free salad was a little pathetic compared to chicken and waffles.

My dad made it to the restaurant just as we were finishing up and right as the wings we ordered for him came out of the fryer.  He ate his lunch and then we piled into his car and headed for home.

Our car is very similar to my parents' car and as all three boys crammed themselves into the back, Andrew exclaimed that we weren't allowed to have any more kids because we all wouldn't fit into our car.  

I'll take that into advisement Andrew. (Insert eye roll here)

After we got home, Steve and I talked about the day's events and how thoroughly blessed our family had been.  Things could have been so different, but we lucked out in every way.  For instance:

-Our car stopped working at a gas station and not on the freeway in the middle of nowhere. (gas stations have food and bathrooms!)

-The tow truck was there in 15 minutes.

-There was a dealer who could fix our car 5 miles away from where we broke down.

-My parents were in town and able to come get us.

-I was not by myself when this happened.  The Acadia is my primary vehicle.

-The entire repair is covered by warranty.  (SCORE!)

Our family is truly watched over and we are very grateful.

To reiterate this gratitude, we had a family home evening lesson taught by Carter last night on gratitude.

After Carter read about gratitude in the new FSOY pamphlet, each of us took our turn telling what we were grateful for.  Each of the boys said lovely things like family, the gospel, our home and Dad's job. 

Steve said, "A beautiful wife, four wonderful children...and bacon.

I'm so happy the kids and I came before bacon. 

Hot Summer Days and a Few Phone Pictures from Whenever

It's hot here.

By afternoon, swim lessons are done, chores are "done" and the kids are itching for something to do.  Because of some small hiccups with cleaning their rooms, the boys are not allowed to watch tv (I'm a tyrant) so...the only logical thing to do is play outside in our cheap kiddi pool  that has killed more spots in our lawn than I care to share.

By the the looks on those faces, I don't think they are missing the tv.

Yes...Andrew is swimming in his shorts.   Notice the lawn mower all by itself in the background?  He was supposed to be mowing, but it got too hot and pool full of grassy water is just too tempting.

I'm hanging my head in modesty shame over the fact that my daughters tummy is showing while wearing a swimsuit.  It was either her tummy or her nipples.  I chose the tummy. 

I think the water was a little cold.

Not quite sure how this pool is surviving these four kids.

 It was worth every penny.

Had the camera out so I snapped a garden shot.  My squash is taking over, but my zucchini died.  How in the world do you kill zucchini?  

The front yard.  

The flowers are still growing and I'm hoping they all last the rest of the summer.

 My hanging baskets have risen to a new level of high maintenance as they now require watering three times a day.   I can't leave town because of my silly flowers.  Its a little ridiculous.

Before I killed the zucchini plants, I harvested enough to make a batch of bread.

My kids were in heaven as this is the end-all-beat-all best zucchini bread in the world.  This is NOT an exaggeration.  It is soft with perfect texture in the middle with a crunchy delicious top.  

Seriously the best.  

Unfortunately it is NOT gluten free and I can't duplicate it gluten free. 

I have tried...many times.  The taste is close, but the texture is way off.

Carter danced and cheered when he smelled this in the oven and after I answered the most important question the correct way, "No Carter...it is not gluten free."

Wheat flour is a beautiful thing.

Did I mention Colby started violin this summer?

He's pretty adorable...but needs to remember to keep that violin up. 

I'm envious of my childrens' young brains and how they can pick up a new skill quickly.  By brain has since left that phase.  I have a hard enough time remembering to remind him to practice, let alone try and play a new instrument.  

He's becoming a rock star with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Stare"- trust me.

Yes...we take naked dolls to Costco.

The best pizza I have had in almost a year.

Hoping I can pick up a bunch more next time I am in Boise.

Yet another new swimsuit.

I have an addiction....but in my defense it is for next year.

We've been going through all the boy's clothes in preparation for a new school year.  

I had Andrew try on his clothes that fit this last spring.  It seems he grew ape arms over the summer.  He will be getting new clothes come this winter- ones with longer sleeves.

Lastly, it has become a habit for Princess Saylor to crawl into bed with Steve and I most nights.

Last night, neither of us were willing to put her back in her own bed.  (Steve put her back once, but it didn't stick)  Anyone have two year old repellent they are willing to share?

This would have NEVER flown with the boys.  I'm not sure what it is going to take to keep her in her own bed and even more, I think Steve and I are both too tired to enforce it.