Friday Night Fights

There were no thunderstorms tonight,

so we had to water our lawn.

The kids, led by Bentley, began a war against the sprinkler.

They fought a good fight, but I think the

sprinkler won. By the end of the battle, the kids

were wet and cold, and the sprinkler was going strong.

Some notes on photos from tonight -

2nd photo down, far left - Milo tried to ride his hot wheels

while he ate corn on the cob with one hand.

Not as easy as it sounds.

3rd photo over - Milo is the little orange dot on the

sidewalk in front of the amazing mountains.

I love where we live.

The photo under Milo and the Mountain - John is handsome.

Photo bottom right - a classic "Jonah face."

Top right photo - Milo's crooked smile.

2nd row, far right side down - Ruby takes the sprinkler

head on and loses her skirt to the weight of the water.

I also like the one second from the bottom on the left,

where the three boys are running for their lives.

It's nice when they are all on the same team.

Today

Maxwell got a new bike!

The kids made a fort in the backyard and played

Uno while it rained around them.

We reintroduced them to fresh cherries.

The boys' favorite part - spitting out the seeds.

Rain Dance

So far, this last week of summer freedom

has not disappointed. Today, I had time

to make a small batch of jam and some bread.

Then, I watched the kids play in the rain.

It was wonderful to have TIME.

Here are a couple of shots of Bentley playing in the

rain seven years ago. He loved to splash.

Today, we got an awesome storm and all the kids

BUT Bentley played around in the rain.

Milo was nervous at first, but decided to leave

the shelter of the carport once things slowed

down just a little. Bentley and his friend stayed

at the front window, warning against lightning.

After the storm, the kids walked their friends home

and found a huge puddle in the cul-de-sac down the street.

Milo was stuck here with me, but the rest of the kids,

including Bentley, finished getting soaked to the skin.

Elf Bugs

A week ago, Jonah woke up with a sore ear.

His left ear was a little red, and as the day went

on it got bigger and bigger and bigger.

By evening, it was really red and swollen.

We think it must have been an allergic reaction

to something - probably a bug bite of some sort.

Jonah has a different theory.

He decided that he had been bitten by and Elf Bug,

and he was turning into an elf.

He was certain that his right ear was pointier,

even if it wasn't red and swollen,

and he asked us all to call him, "Elfie."

Luckily, when he woke up the next morning,

the swelling had gone down significantly,

and by that night it was almost back to normal.

Poor Jonah was a little disappointed to not

finish his transformation to Elf,

but his mother was relieved to have him back to normal.

Here's the photographic evidence of his

near-elf experience.

top photos - first evening

second row - the next morning

third row - second evening

Pioneer Day

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah!

To celebrate, yesterday our ward had it's annual

Primary Bike Parade and Ward Breakfast.

We decorated bikes with our kids the night before,

although the boys were more interested in

"cool" than "pioneer."

Milo sat with John and me to watch the parade,

but did take advantage of a lack of supervision

to take off and grab Ruby's bike.

She didn't mind; in fact, she gave him a good push.

Jonah wore his new backpack in the parade.

He also slept in it the night before.

Anyway, July has been awesome.

Aside from Scouts and piano lessons,

we've been unscheduled.

We have one more week of freedom,

and then two weeks of swimming lessons,

1 week to get ready for school and for the rodeo,

and then school starts!

Here's to enjoying the last week of July!

Family Reunion - Day 7

The plan for our last day in Idaho was to get up,

eat breakfast, load the car, and get on the road.

As usual, this took a longer than expected,

but by 11am(ish) we were ready to go.

We said goodbye to my family and then drove

by the Temple (where the grounds are torn

up for some new landscaping) and left town.

When we got back to our home, the kids decided to

pretend that they had lived in Idaho, and our

"regular" home was actually "new" to us.

Therefore, they didn't know any of the rules

because they'd never lived in this house before.

Pretty convenient, huh?

We had a great time with family and good friends.

I'm so glad everyone could make it!

Family Reunion - Day 6

By Day 6, we were all pretty worn out.

Sitting in a cool theater for a couple of hours

sounded really nice, so we all* went to see Cars 2.

*All = Spencer, Brianna, Mom, Greg, Mindy, Warren,

Becky, Bubba, Kenna, Kylie, Brianna's sister, Natalie,

Natalie's 4 kids, Brianna's Mom, John, Bentley,

Maxwell, Jonah, Ruby, Milo, and me

After the movie, we ate a late lunch, and waited for Pa to

get home from work so that we could try out

the much anticipated (by the kids) and much dreaded

(by their mother) potato guns that Pa purchased.

The packaging for the guns said "safe" or "harmless"

over and over again, which made me nervous.

However, I don't think we ended up with any injuries.

The bad news is that my Dad sent us home with the guns.

Thanks Dad.

The best part of the potato guns was watching Milo.

He made the best faces every time he pulled the trigger.

Once we'd exhausted our potatoes, we retired to the

house, where Warren helped the boys assemble

their very own Warhammer figurines.

Grandma rounded most of the kids up for a quiet game

of "Go Fish" - a lifesaver after their previous game

of SCREAMING ALL AROUND THE HOUSE.

Then Grandma got to hold Bubba while the "grown ups"

(John, Warren, Spencer, and Brianna) held a

Mario Kart wii rematch. (New York was victorious.)

Family Reunion - Day 5

The day after our big Independence Day celebrations,

we took a long morning getting ready for the day,

and then went to Blast Off with just about everyone.

(My Dad and John had to work, Milo had to nap.)

1 - some of the grown ups played skee ball and earned

lots of tickets for the little people to cash in

2 - Mike and Greg can't stop shooting things

3 - can you find three boys in the ball pit?

4 - Maxwell on the rock wall

5 - Bubba does his thing while everyone else plays

6 - Kylie and Ruby play dress up

7 - Ruby liked the rock wall so much that she

framed her Primary talk around it the next Sunday

8 - Jonah and the wall

9 - Please click on the collage so you can get a better

view of Bentley climbing the wall. He really

wanted me to redo the collage so his photo would

be bigger, but I wasn't willing to start over.

10 - Kenna tries the rock wall

11 - rock wall spectators

Not pictured - lots of laser tag games and the kids

spending their "tickets" (it took forever)

After Blast Off, the older kids and I picked up

John and Milo and met up with some good friends.

I'd hoped to meet up with all 3 of these girls, but

my friend, Jenny, just moved even further west.

Here are the four of us as roommates at BYU (98-99).

(l-r me, Jenny, Jamie, and Alisa)

It was great to see these girls and their families.

We got to do a little bit of catching up,

but I think next time we'll try a girls' lunch out.

It was pretty difficult to complete a sentence,

let alone have a conversation without one of our (12)

adorable children cutting in with a question or complaint.

1 - Mark and John grill hamburgers and man-talk

2 - the kids bonded over computer games - what else?

3 - Bentley and Jamie's oldest boy decide to golf . . .

4 - so John takes the three oldest boys to "the pit"

(Mark went to a scout meeting)

5 - Ruby and Jamie's 3 year old were screaming, hitting,

and hair pulling within 30 minutes of meeting.

Then, Jamie brought out two strollers

and a short peace ensued.

6 - To prolong the above mentioned peace,

Jamie's older daughter gave wagon rides

7 - Jonah and his fellow 6 year old longed to

follow the older kids to "the pit" but a nearby canal

forced them to stay home with the women and kids

8 - once again, Jamie's older daughter keeps the peace

9 - group photo!

It was not easy to get all 12 children to sit for this.

10 - this one was a little easier

Alisa, Jamie, and me

11 - Milo made friends with Alisa's baby girl

(her little girl wasn't so sure of him)

12 - beautiful sunset on the way home

Family Reunion - Day 4

The Parade

My parents' lawn is the best place to watch the parade.

The kids all got snow cones from the YW and YM.

Bubba didn't seem to be impressed by the parade.

The bottom middle picture shows my favorite

parade entry this year. One of the high school

cheer squads was led by the guy in the neon shirt.

He was out there busting a move. It was awesome.

Fireworks - Take 1

After a semi-restful afternoon (with only 1 major mishap),

we made homemade raspberry ice cream (tradition),

and had our first firework show of the evening.

1 - making ice cream

2-6 - the kids and their sparklers

7 - Hugh was probably the most excited about

the sparklers. I think he said it was his first sparkler ever!

8 - Milo sample the ice cream. Yum.

9 - Warren sets off Mindy's fireworks.

(Thanks guys!)

10 - Milo thought most of them were a little loud.

11 - We were so glad to have Hugh, Emily, and Cleo with us!

12 - Ruby takes it upon herself to do cleanup.

Fireworks - Take 2

After our mini-display of fireworks, most of the college

kids walked down to the river for a front row seat

to watch the city's big time firework show.

The rest of us waited a little longer, and then met

by the train tracks for a cheap seats view of the fireworks.

1 - Mindy and Greg lead out on our walk to the tracks

2 - It was a beautiful night

3 - Waiting for the big show

4 - Maxwell and Bentley goofing off.

The goofing off didn't stop even after the fireworks

began. Taking the kids = waste of time.

5 - I had hoped to watch the show with John,

instead, we tried to keep track of our kids.

6 - Jonah watched the fireworks with his dream parents.

7 - Mindy's ipod touch entertained the girls for a while.

8 - Greg, John, and Milo wait for the show

9 - A glimpse of the Idaho Falls Temple from our seats.

Fireworks - Final Show

Spencer and Brianna had purchased fireworks,

so after the big show, we got the kids ready for bed,

and let them stay up for one more show.

1 - Jonah demonstrates his sparkler technique

2 - Milo made the rounds during the fireworks.

Here he is sitting with Hugh and Emily.

3 - Bentley dodged getting ready for bed - he's the only

kid not wearing pajamas.

4 - Ruby and her sparkler.

5 - Ruby pouting and sitting with John and Cleo.

6 - Hugh, Cleo, and Emily getting in on the fun

7 - Spencer and his lovely assistant, Ruby

8 - Spencer tempts fate by sitting near

Milo and his stick of fire

9 - Maxwell liked the little exploding things

(probably because he didn't have to pick the

confetti and streamers up off the grass the next day)

10 - Spencer set off this round of fireworks

11 - Milo watching fireworks with Pa

(The night before, Milo marched over to the neighbors

and informed them that he didn't like their fireworks.

He never did become a big fan, but softened a little.)

Family Reunion - Day 3

I took close to 500 photos while we were in Idaho,

and since I rarely have pictures printed these days,

I thought I should at least put them on the blog.

But it's really difficult to narrow it down to a few!

I tried to pick the ones that best show our trip,

and then put them in collages. Boring, I know,

but hopefully a good way for us to remember our trip.

1 - Sunday was Bubba's blessing day, and his Dad

remembered to name him Daniel Floyd.

(and not Bubba Floyd)

Daniel looked so handsome and happy.

He's wearing the same suit his Dad wore 30 years

ago when he was given a name and a blessing.

2 - Ruby climbed a wall made of cinder blocks, and

somehow pulled the top block down on herself.

Her forehead, nose, and the back of her arm each

were scraped pretty good, and she had a bruise

and a cut on one of her feet. The block was huge,

though, so she was lucky to only have a few scrapes.

3. A photo of all 5 H* boys.

Mikey, Greg, Warren, Daniel, and Spencer.

I took a bunch of pictures, and couldn't get a good one

of all five boys. I picked this one for the blog because

Mikey makes faces on purpose most

of the time when I take pictures of him.

I figured he wouldn't mind an accidental goofy face.

4. We're so happy that we got to spend a week with

Spencer and Brianna. New York is too far away!

I like this photo because Spencer is relaxed.

He is usually sort of awkward in photos. :)

5. John looks good, and he's not in front of a computer.

Just had to document both of those facts.

6. Grandma and Kylie. The girls were good sports about

sharing their Grandma with their cousins for a week,

but they are probably glad to have her back to themselves.

7. Aunt Deb tried to teach Milo to pump.

One of his favorite things to say is,

"You push me on the swings now?"

8. - Grandma with her other Idaho girl, Kenna.

9. Mikey and Super Jonah.

After the blessing and the luncheon:

1. - Mikey got the unenviable task of helping the boys

put a DVD on for rest time.

2. Greg came home from Portugal with a whole

new view on fashion.

3. Warren's friend, Zach, played soccer with Jonah.

Jonah was thrilled, but Brianna remains his favorite person.

4. Spencer and Brianna with the two youngest nephews.

5. Visiting with family, friends,

and the missionaries after dinner.

6. Warren brought over some wii hunting game.

It was a big hit with the little boys and big boys alike.

Greg took it seriously.

7. The family gathers round to watch Greg hunt.

8. Mario Cart madness.

John, Warren, Brianna, and Spencer played,

and then had a rematch, and another one,

and another one . . .

Family Reunion - Day 2

We started the second day of our reunion

getting family pictures taken at the park.

After the formal pictures, I took one of Jonah

with Spencer and Brianna (his dream parents).

After pictures, most of us went to the Zoo.

It was a busy Saturday morning, but we had fun,

and more importantly, didn't lose anyone (for long).

Plan A had been to go out for lunch, but we

were all pretty tired, so we got take-out and took it easy.

Then we got to spend time with more family!

My Dad's sister, Deb, and her husband, Stu stopped by.

After dinner, we got Ruby to sleep, and then John

and I took the boys and went with Warren's family,

Mikey, and Greg, to join Spencer's in-laws for fireworks.

I got to see my friend (and Spencer's sister-in-law),

Karlenn, before she left for China,

and the kids got to run wild in the pit before fireworks.

It might be difficult to see, but in the picture with

John working on his computer in the front yard,

there is a cat near the sidewalk. Milo liked to follow

the neighbor's cats around during the daytime,

but one night he woke up screaming,

"Cat in the house! Cat in the house!"

After I calmed him down, and assured him there

were no cats anywhere in the house,

he went back to sleep (with me, but still).

Family Reunion - Day 1

At the beginning of the month, John and I packed up the

kids and drove to Idaho for a reunion with my family.

Here is our 1st day in Idaho in 6 photos.

1 - The missionaries left their bikes at my parents' house

while they went to a dinner appointment.

Greg suggested spray painting the bikes pink, but

settled for streamers in their back wheels.

My Mom only had green, red, and white, and Greg

was happy to the colors of the Portuguese flag.

2 - My parents and Mindy set up a little pool for the kids.

Ruby, Max, Jonah, and Milo enjoyed swimming.

3 - Bentley was too cool for the pool,

but he did sit on the swing and watch the others swim.

4 - After dinner, John and I left the kids with my parents

and drove to Rexburg to see Hugh, Emily, and Cleo.

Or rather, we drove to Rigby, where we were stuck

in traffic for a while.

5 - We missed the first performance,

but were there in time to see Hugh sing in a skirt/tunic.

Then we got to chat with Hugh, Emily, and Cleo

before heading back to my parents' house.

6 - All four of my brothers were together for the first

time in 4 1/2 years. And what did they do on this

momentous occasion? They played the wii, of course.

Laws of Attraction

iPhones and/or iPods attract my children.

Spencer came to visit last week, and it didn't take long

for Milo to spot his iPhone. One by one, the kids

(and a friend who happened to be here) joined Spencer.

One and a half weeks later, and the iphone

attraction is going strong. They kids are going to be sad

to see Spencer (and his phone) go back to NY tomorrow.

July Five

We just got back from a family reunion/4th of July

Celebration with my family in Idaho.

I left my computer at home (gasp) so I'm late

with my July photo. Whoops.

This one was taken just after we got to the zoo.

Bentley was not happy to be there. He is too cool for school.

Or the zoo. He likes pink again, and has discovered Beyblade.

Maxwell also likes Beyblade. He and his brothers

went game shopping with Uncle Warren and are now

the proud owners of War Hammer figures.

He likes pink, but not as much as Bentley does.

Jonah is still crazy about soccer. His Aunt Brianna

has always been one of his favorites, and since he

"discovered" soccer, she has become his #1 person in the world.

(she played soccer in college and will talk to him about it

and tries to play with him even though she just had foot surgery)

Ruby was in heaven with her cousins in Idaho.

They were happy to play all sorts of girly games with her.

She likes wearing clothing that shows her shoulders,

bossing people around, dancing, singing,

and wearing swim suits (shoulders again).

Milo is the Question King these days. He is constantly

asking things like "what you doing?" "what's that?"

"where we going?" "who's that?"

He also likes to randomly quote Kid History,

and to change the words to Justin Bieber songs.