Reason for lack of posts lately...

We rented this game for the Wii over a week ago and have not been able to turn it off! It is unbelievably addicting, so be prepared to play awhile if you happen to turn it on. Me, Chad and even Keek have been really enjoying it and I'm sure my little Sam and Emmi will to when they get old enough. We loved it so much that when we had to take it back to Blockbuster we ran over to Wally World (Walmart) and bought our own copy. Has anyone else played this? Or are we the only ones addicted?

My favorite quote by C.S. Lewis

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. I looked all over and finally tracked it down on the internet. I thought it was worth sharing... enjoy!

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of–throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." C.S. Lewis

A Little Lady in Wyoming

Saturday, Chad, myself and the kids spent 8 long hours in the van to make a trip up and back to Star Valley, Wyoming. It was worth it to see the special lady above, Chad's grandmother Isabelle, turn 93. We had a big party for her and got to see lots and lots of family. Chad's little brother Tyler (and Russ) helping Sam across the monkey bars.

Grandma Hunsaker had 6 boys and 1 girl. My father-in-law Kirk is second from the left and is also second from youngest. Sadly, Grandpa Hunsaker died shortly after Chad was born, so I have not met him yet. But, from what I hear he was a great person, like his sweet wife. Well, our little bunch of the family tree with the birthday lady, except 1 who couldn't make it. As you can tell Emmi had spotted the cake was not interested in taking a picture. This is the best one I have, sorry!
They went all-out for the kids and seemed to jump from one activity to the next. The favorite had to be the pinata and all of its yummy candies. Keek's about to take a big swing.After the pinata finally ripped opened, look who got right in the middle of it and grabbed all the suckers her little paws could hold!! I caught ya Em! Twice we also caught her outside trying to crawl inside the big oven thing. We had a good time and the kids did really well in the van considering we don't have a DVD player anymore. Happy Birthday Grandma, we love you!

Summer Means...

Sparklers. The 4th wouldn't be the same without them. How can something so simple be so fascinating and dangerous? (Yes, my big brother J, will not hold one because they scare him!) My boys weren't scared, but you can see by the pictures how intrigued they were by the lights. God bless the U.S.A! Swinging. As we have been able to spend more time at the park lately, we have discovered Emmi's love of the swing. It is by far her favorite thing to do in the summer. Here she is with her Aunt Kristin at our 4th of July barbecue. Swimming Lessons. This is the first year I have put my boys in swimming lessons and I am glad I did. They are both well on their way to knowing the basics of swimming and staying out of danger, which will put their Mama and Grandma at ease. I was able to put them in a different class, but at the same time. I put Sam in his best friend Eden's class (pictured above) and Keaton in his best friend Tanner's class.

Keaton with his teacher during a lesson. Sam, Keaton and Tanner The Beach. Okay, we haven't gone to the beach, but to the reservoir which is just as good to us! The boys bring their buckets and dump trucks and go crazy playing in the sand and splashing in the water. We go with Sidni and her kids and make a day of it. Sidni's youngest Maddix and Emmi playing in the shade. We are so lucky that Sidni shares her huge canopy with us, so we don't bake in the sun. T-Ball. Keaton has finished his t-ball games for the season and is already talking about playing next year. Nothing is more American or summer-ish than that!!

Happy Birthday Kim!

This week I want to give a shout-out to my mother-in-law Kim, who had a birthday this past week. I think that she is a remarkable woman and would like to share a few things I love about her. First, I love her huge supply of energy. I have never met anyone who is constantly on the go like she is. Kim always has a full calendar, yet still is able to help out anyone if needed. For example, I felt comfortable calling her at 3 a.m. when I went into labor with Emmi because I knew she would help take care of my boys.

Second, she is a terrific listener. Most of my time spent over at her house is in conversation with her, and I love it. We have a lot in common and can talk for hours with no interruption. Chad always shakes his head when I am on the phone with her because he knows that it might take awhile, but what can I say? The first night Chad took me home to meet his family I remember sitting at their kitchen table and talking with Kim and (hubby Kirk) for a long time. They are both so easy to talk to, and I remember feeling a connection right away, like I had known them for years and I was coming home. I knew then that I was meant to be in their family. Kim has also been a great listener when it has come to my anxiety issues and has always been genuinely interested and sympathetic to them. This especially has meant a great deal to me.

My third thing I love about Kim is how she cooks. I have learned a lot about cooking from watching her these past few years, and she never ceases to amaze me with her delicious dinners. She has taught me how to "eye it" when it comes to measuring, (which in the past, always ended in a disaster for me) and how to substitute ingredients. One time the two of us were making apple cobbler for dessert and to save on fat, Kim didn't want to use butter. So she grabbed a fruity flavored water from the fridge to use instead. I thought she was kidding, but she wasn't and we both got a good laugh. Her cooking always ends up so good no matter the substitute, I don't know how she does it!!

Finally, her love of the gospel. You can always count on Kim to do the right thing, and to attend her church meetings even if on vacation or sicker than a dog. She became a convert to the church at a young age, and her commitment to it is very evident. She is a great example to me of how to serve in the church, no matter the calling and how to live a righteous life. Kim is a wonderful lady and I am so grateful to her for raising my sweet handsome hubby and for letting me be a part of her family. I love you Mom, and I hope you've had a great birthday!!

Picture Time

As you can see by the new header, we were able to get some pictures taken with an awesome photographer just a few weeks ago. This is our second year having Angela Lilyquist take our family pictures, so naturally I would highly recommend her if anyone out there is looking for a photographer. Her website is http://www.lilyquistphotography.com/. She took so many good pictures, I had to post just a few more of my favorites.. enjoy!!

The Big "Scip-po" Sleepover

My siblings, parents, sweet Grandma, (and my little fam of course) went down to Scipio ( or "Scip-po" as Sam says) for the weekend. We stayed in a cute remodeled farmhouse and really had quite a party! Like my sister Erin has said on her blog before, there is not that much to do down there, but it was very relaxing to just visit, play outside, sleep and eat and eat and eat! My brother in-law Rob, was generous enough to give Tanner and Keaton rides on his motorcycle. I think they are too cute in their helmets!!Keaton and Rob, just taking off. You'll notice there isn't a picture of Sam, he opted out of this one, saying it was "too scawey."The grass was pretty high when we got down there until Rob gave the mower a ride too. We were joking that if he didn't mow it, we might lose my little Peaunt out there, ha ha ha! Again, he was sweet enough to give the boys rides and again, Sam opted out.
Peanut and Sam on the swings. Thanks Grandpa B for all the pushing!!
"Damma" brought down lots of bubbles much to the kids delight. My boys are finally learning how to blow them on their own, however we did have a little incident where one of them got too close and got a mouthful. This is Sam, my sis Erin and Grandma Hess.Again, this is my niece Lauren and Sam with the bubbles. I took this picture because this crazy boy insisted on wearing his "dinosaur jacket" although it was about 4:00 in the afternoon and over 80 degrees. What a kid!!
One of my favorite things I did during the trip was play Guitar Hero, with which I have become obsessed. Since I first started playing about a month ago at my parents house, I have asked Chad if he would play with me and he kept saying no. Well, imagine my surprise when I came inside the house to find him playing with my Dad! What a turkey! I don't care, because I think he played enough this weekend to get the bug too and will hopefully let me get my own Wii in the near future- hee hee hee! My cute Dad is actually really good at this game and kicks my butt, my Mom really isn't as bad as she says she is, and we got my Grandma to try a few songs and she wasn't half bad either! Go Grams! Thanks again Erin and Rob for letting us all come down and stay, it was a great weekend!