Giddy up

I have a problem.  I can't stay away from the Box Elder County Fair.  I don't think I attended the festivities last year though....I don't have any pictures...but 2011 is such a blur!  I blame it on sleep deprivation.  On Wednesday night my parents met me & my kids and helped me out so i could get Caleb on some rides.  After the kids ate some pizza & 'stick-bread (Caleb's term for a breadstick) we were off!  I was kind of nervous because (I think I've mentioned this before) he tends to freak out a bit at times.  So I have waited almost 5 whole years to put him on any rides.  Well - he LOVED all of them.  HOORAY! 

 He loved when the spaceship was "up high".

Choo-choo!

Jordon & Dylan participated in wild cow saddling in the Bull, Broncs & Barrels at the rodeo grounds.  Boys are so weird.  Neither of their teams won, but they both ended up on their cows at one point & Dylan barely missed getting a concussion when he got thrown off of his...but they were both grinning, so it must have been a good time.  No stitches for Jordon this year!  Hooray!  (Jordon is in the blue up on the cow...Dylan is in the black suit coat)

Caleb really liked watching the horses & cows run around & kept asking if he get get down in that dirt.  Who knows, maybe in 15 years he'll be putting a saddle on a cow!

By the time we got to the rodeo Taylor & Rylee had had ENOUGH of their stroller.  As soon as Jordon & Dylan were done with their thing, we left.  I'm glad that my mom & dad & Ashley were there to help me out.  I grabbed myself a fabulous rodeo cheeseburger & a coke for my ride home.  It was the best coke ever.  It could've been bigger though.

 

Eva, Taylor & Rylee (no - Taylor doesn't have a bloody nose.  It's marker)

When Casey woke up on Friday morning we decided to go use the rest of our tickets so he could see Caleb ride some rides.  Caleb was so excited to go!  I was excited to go so that I could get my yearly carney corn dog.  Y U M

His favorite ride was the dragon roller coaster. 

After Casey left to go to work the kids & I walked around looking at the animals.  I showed Caleb that the white rabbits have red eyes & he said, "Do they need some eye drops?"

I wasted 2 tickets sending Casey on the big yellow slide.  I thought that Caleb wouldn't go down -but he told Casey "I want to go down by myself."  He grinned the whole way down!

Caleb thought the pigs were awesome.

Quack-Quack

Taylor & Rylee were so good.  I think that the sun made them sleepy though.  The zonked as soon as I put the car into drive to head home.  (Rylee in blue, Taylor in brown)

Recent Randoms

I hope that you are prepared for A LOT of pictures!  I've been told that the collages that I've started making aren't the best for viewing purposes - so here ya go!  Full size photos.

I love this picture of the girls playing in the water at Mantua reservoir.  Can you guess who is who?  I can't.

 Playing dominos & reading.

I seem to be on the floor reading A L O T,

We went to Casey's Uncle Darin's house for Little Valley Days in Mantua on July 21st.  Best local firework show I've ever seen.  Caleb left his glasses on the whole time, Rylee oooohed & ahhhhed & Taylor cried.  Caleb did learn that we weren't kidding when we said the sparklers were hot.  He just HAD to touch it.  Best way to learn I guess.

Eating delicious Teddy Grahams.

I've taken all 3 kids to the pool twice this year.  Once with Casey & once with Angela & Blake.  Go figure - I don't have a second to get my camera out at the pool.  I'm just trying to keep track of everyone & make sure they don't go belly up (& keep the girls away from random old lady strangers who want to share their drinks with them).  I need to invest in another one of these boats.  Both girls & Caleb love it.

Toni Stark  (AKA Caleb) exhausted from saving the world.

BATH TIME!  What cuties.  (Taylor left, Rylee right)

We get irrigation water every Tuesday.  The kids usually love it.  Taylor & Rylee were filling up their buckets & dumping them out.  This was also their first official pigtail day.  They didn't stay in - I need to find better elastics.

Taylor loves the laundry basket & she FREAKS if Rylee gets in with her.  It's comical.

Casey, Caleb & Allie had quite the assembly line pureeing apricots one afternoon.

Friday nights are the best.  We get to play in the gutter!

Rylee swinging away.  Both girls love the swing.  I remember Caleb despised the swing at this age.

More reading!  This day was awful - I had the girls dressed in the wrong color...was calling them the wrong name....up until after nap time.  Mother of the year award...right here.

Allie & Caleb love to enjoy their daily yogurt in the high chairs.  Yes...that is Caleb's "I'm enjoying myself" face. 

Ribbit...ribbet...is it e or i??

Frogs.  Creepy little things.  My parents house has the grossest frogs ever.  They are cleverly camouflaged little suckers.  Many years ago I was playing with my little brother Jordon in the sand box & we came across...an alien.  It was the only logical explanation.  So - we freaked for a bit - then came back out & dug all around it and it was a huge frog.  Did you know that the hibernate??  I didn't!

This guy lives in my mom's garden.  Caleb thought he was pretty awesome.  Jordon picked it up & they pee all over when you pick them up.  GROSS.

 Caleb was a lot braver than I thought he would be! 

 Casey was fun to watch pick it up.  I think it creeped him out.  He was pretty jumpy about it.

My brave guys!

On the fourth of July we made some cute shirts & went out to my parents house.  We struggled getting a good picture - can you tell???  (Taylor is on Caleb's left & Rylee is on his right)

WiCkEd

Oh my goodness. My mom, sisters, Aunt Karla, Cousin Keri & myself have had Wicked tickets in our possession for MONTHS. I wasn't even very excited to go. . . but oh my heck. It was sooooooo goooooooood. At the end of Act 1 I was trying so hard not to cry because I'm the notorious cryer of the family. I had a big lump in my throat & my bottom lip was quivering & I sneaked a peak at Angela & Ashley out of the corner of my eye & they had tears streaming down their cheeks. Wimps. So....I let the tears fall after that. Angela got a CD for each of us & I can't stop listening to it. Even Caleb sings along to a lot of the songs. I still get chills & tear up if I try to sing along. What a fabulous musical. I WILL go again!  We all ate at The Cheesecake Factory after the show - Y U M.

How did I manage to escape the madness you ask?  My dad & brother, Jordon, actually said yes to babysitting Caleb, Taylor, Rylee, Griffen & Blake.  WHAT TROOPERS!  I heard through the grapevine that my twins are like 2 little tornadoes.  It was so nice to get out without them for once - but I was happy to see them all when we got home.