{Domes}

I even talk about leaving for the weekend and before I can even get one foot out the door Todd had already done this:

Like father, like son.

Made me a little nervous to what I'd find when I got home from Boise...

{Cabin Adventure 2010}

Aren't family reunions the best? This year's great cabin adventure did not disappoint.

We "wheelered".

(Love these two's twinner squishy cheeks!)

This year all the "big girls" wanted to drive themselves. Elizabeth is a very responsible driver. Caroline and Elyse are speed demons!
We participated in a little friendly late night blackjack.

(Where we experienced the "Curse of the 15"!)

Here's where the Gadorade caps from last year made another appearance. This time with added creepy eyeballs.

We not only fished, we CAUGHT!

(Look close, I promise Caroline has a tiny fish on her line!)

...whether we were excited about that catching part or not is another story. Nothin' like fishin' with girls! There is no way these two were getting any closer to a fish!

We indoor s'mored.

...some of us enjoy the sticky goodness more than others.

We bathed children in sets.

Thank goodness the cabin has 3 tubs!

The big girls offer a spa service.

We made bat wings!

Because every family reunion requires some kind of craft.

...and generally had a rockin' good time!

The end.

{Uncle Sam, You Rock!}

Ah, the 4th of July... we the people are big fans. Three cheers for America! A big THANK YOU to all those people who sacrifice so much make it so wonderful!

We went to Menan, where usually I see all kinds of people I never see except at Menan on the 4th, but this year it failed me. Where we you guys hiding!?! The kids all had fun at the carnival, then we headed out for the parade.

Cutest parade bystanders ever... and yes, we got our chocolate milk.


It was surprisingly chilly for the 4th of July...

...so Beanie made herself a "cozy nest".

Then we were off to the Partyson's for a BBQ and some prefirework fireworks. This smoke bomb rainbow was brought to us by Adam's brother Dave. You can see the family resemblance by the propane torch in his hand.

The "Supervisors":

The little kids still don't really understand the joy of a really noisy firework (who knew a boring metal garbage can could resonate like that?!?) Laura tries really hard to respect that fear.

Todd, however, gets a big kick out of it.

Now comes the time where we as sane adults give several small children pointy sticks that we have set on fire and told them to run around in circles.

This video is a perfect little slice of my kids' personalities. Caroline dances and sings skipping along happily (love her "awww..." when her sparkler goes out). Elizabeth practices writing her name perfectly in cursive while Louis attempts to light a bush on fire. I'm so proud.

I'm happy to report there were no you'llpokeyoureyeout incidents this year. Then off to the big Menan fireworks (where I still didn't see anybody I know). But Caroline dutifully "oohed" and "ahhed" for each and every firework, so that pretty much made up for it.

{Happy Birthday Lou!}

(...and I'm only a whole month behind on posting this. Call me "Super Mom"...sigh...)

My baby is three.
(Sorry, I need a moment to compose myself **deep breathing**)
THREE!
But have you seen a cuter three-year-old? Love this little man.

So we were so excited be able to have enough room to have a little party at our house. Lou was completely spoiled (and he knows it).

We at BBQ style.

We opened presents.

We were all amazed by the innocent looking sucker from Aunt Leis that really contained a caterpillar. Lou ran over immediately to inform her of the serious problem. Now he takes it to bed with him...

Todd and I got him his own little wheelbarrow. He thinks it's the funnest thing ever, but really we've decided it's time to start his indentured servant training.

Auntie Laura and Uncle Adam always give the "fun" present. This year's was perfect!

How many grandfathers does it take to assemble a basketball hoop made for 2-5 year-olds?

"I don't recognize this paper thingy, are these... instructions?!?"

After presents we set the kids loose on all things water fun.

Aiden boy:

...and miss Maren (don't I have the cutest nieces & nephews?!)

...love her belly!

Elizabeth, Angelina and Elyse enjoyed the age-old sprinkler under the trampoline trick.

Caroline became a quick master on the slip-and-slide. Check out that form!

Lou's still working on the concept... (sorry this video is sideways!)

A leetle chalk art competition between elementary teachers is always fun. Grandma Marge vs. Katey. It's so important to inspire these future graffiti artist at a young age! Graffiti with Grandma!

After an whole day's worth of attempts, and snapping and whistling, and saying, "hey Louis! Over here Louis! Louis. Louis! LOUIS!" One good picture of the birthday boy smiling at the camera. Priceless.

The long asked for blue race car cake: