Flash back to October Conference

Turns out that building a fort to corral dinosaurs and other assorted figures is a great listening-to-Conference activity.  :)

Splash Pad!

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to the splash pad!  (What did we do when we were this age?  I certainly don't remember having these!)

WE like to meet our friends Christy, Katie, and Sophie there.  Kaci and Sophie are only a month or so apart and I hope they can be great friends like their mamas.  :)

I apologize to my boys...they were here too, but they are much harder to catch on camera because there are some concrete stairs that the older kids always end up using as a water slide. 

Cute sisters!

There's one of my MIA boys!

I thought Kynzie was sad because she was missing out...so like any good mother would do, I made her join in the fun

Looks like I misinterpreted her sad face earlier.  She really was hoping NOT to get wet! :)  The older girls were so excited to help her enjoy it, but looks like it wasn't happening today

Here's a close up of that sad little face. 

Kaci had fun though!

And just for a good measure, here's a picture of my other MIA boy around the same time.  Yes that is a real snake in the "bug" catcher Mason got for his bday and no I was not excited about it like he was.  :)

Bowling and Jumping with the Whites

This summer we signed up for a kids bowl free program where the kids all got two free games a day (we didn't go every day though ha), and we only had to pay for shoes.  They also had $1 hot dogs and corn dogs so it made for a great outing.  We met our good friends the Whites there a few times and had so much fun!

Sometimes I succeed in making Kaci's hairstyle really cute and so I usually try to snap a picture to document it.  :)

Getting ready to bowl!  The kids always liked to choose different names like Pokemon, Hulk, or Curious George (I'll let you guess who chose which one) to represent them when bowling.

He was usually a little more excited than he is letting on.  :)

Kaci really got into it and loved bringing her ball over all by herself

Makynzie, as always, was the perfect onlooker and was content to watch from her carseat

Brielle and Kaci sharing some candy...

The whole group!

These girls are such cute friends!  The pictures below, I stole all of them from Chantel.  I don't know why they are so big and my comments don't show up.  We also had a fun time going to a Jumpy place with the Whites.  I never brought my camera, but here are some great shots Chantel got for me.  

The best part of places like this is that it is such a great place to get rid of excess energy!

Sprinkler fun

Summer would not be complete without some fun in the sprinklers!

Aquarium Visit

A year or so ago I was able to get a great deal on season tickets to the Aquarium from a deal site.  We have been able to enjoy these passes several times in the past year and since they expired at the end of August, we made sure to use them one last time before school started.

The kids are always excited to see all of the animals here and were all talking at once and trying to show me things.  They especially like the glow in the dark jelly fish, octopus, anaconda, sharks, poison frogs...well just about everything!

Petting the manrays (with stingers removed) is definitely a highlight every time.  The boys (especially Carter) always walk away with a soaked shirt.  It is really cool when they come right up to you and you can pet it though!

I love this one of Kynzie trying to escape.  :)

There was a penguin for each of them to compare themselves to...

Flashback to Meeting Phoebe

These first two pictures are courtesy of Cindy...  On December 31, 2011, we were so excited to welcome a new cousin, Phoebe Anne.  Even though we live relatively close, the first opportunity that we had to meet her was when she was about three weeks old. 

Even though I really wanted to see Phoebe and Cindy while they were still in the hospital, I think it worked out better for everyone to have the older kids have a little bigger space than a hospital room to visit in, and I'm sure it made for a longer, less stresful visit.  They always love seeing Lyla and she was so nice to share her things with them.

Kaci loves to pull her shy personality out whenever we are around people she hasn't seen in awhile.  She is getting quicker and quicker at warming up though and letting them see her true personality. 

We had an extra treat of having Grandma there who was helping with Phoebe.  She wasted no time in giving all her grandkids love and even had jello jigglers waiting for the older ones because she knows it's one of their favorites.  Just a few days ago, 8 months later, Carter asked me, "remember when we saw Lyla and Phoebe and Grandma had Jello Jigglers?"  They obviously made quite the impression.

Makynzie and Phoebe first time meeting on earth.  Phoebe was born a month early and so was extra tiny.  It is fun to see the difference in size of these two. 

These cousins were dressed in the same onsie, definitely a sign of their shared good taste.  :)  Kynzie's was a newborn size and Phoebe's was a preemie.

In this picture, I was asking Makynzie if she was talking to her soon to be born cousins, Scarlett and Jack.  She would just flash this huge smile and keep cooing and staring at the sky.  I think she was!  :)