What A Beautiful Day!!!

Have you ever said to yourself, "This sure is a good day to be outside!" That was definitely the case at the annual Hopekids festival. We had such a good time on a very beautiful day. There was so much for the kids to do. They had a rock wall, petting zoo, pony rides, crafts, food, even Pirate Family Pictures. We had a blast. It is something we never miss. Once we tell the kids the Railroad Park Festival is coming up they count the days in anticipation. What a fun filled day with a lot of great memories!

I love this picture!

They had lots of paints for the kids to get artistic!

Conner thought black was a pretty color, he wouldn't pick a different one.

We love the Merry go Round.

Every year they hold the Hopekids Festival at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. The train ride is one of the best parts.

The boys are in the back riding in the mini cattle car.

Reagan wasn't to sure about the pony rides.

Conner loved his pony. He wanted to know if he could bring him home.

Reagan loves Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

Rylin and Tanner had a contest to see who could make it to the top of the rock wall first. Needless to say Tanner is afraid of heights, so he lost!

Here is Tanner playing carnival games. All the kids won lots of prizes!!!

The kids got to make spin art frizbees, (or as Conner calls them Rizzzbees.)

All you can eat snow cones and cotton candy, yum. (What a mess!)

All the Star Wars Characters made an appearance. Reagan didn't want anything to do with the Storm Troopers.

Turning 8 Really is Great!

Tanner recently turned 8, and had his birthday party, baptism, and Hopekids Birthday Bash all in the same day. (we have been extremely busy) His baptism turned out really great. His Grandma and Nana gave the talks and they did a really amazing job. He had a great experience. I am so proud of what an amazing boy he has turned into. He is an awesome helper to his parents, sisters, and brother. He has been a very strong and brave boy throughout his life, and I am greatful to be his mother. Happy Birthday Tanner. I love you more than there are stars in the sky!

Summers Almost Over !

Where did the summer go? It seems like it just flew by. The kids really love all the summer activities that living in the heat bring. Mainly swimming. Grandma got a new house with a swimming pool, and the kids just love swimming in it. The last time we went swimming there it was a little cold though. I guess that's the sign that summers almost over. We have a really neat underwater camera, so we thought we'd share some of our swimming pics!

Do you think this guy had a bad day???

A couple of weeks ago one of my friends called and asked me if I knew anything about a fire that was happening at Jeff's work. She lives right across the street, and she was hearing lots of little explosions and was seeing a ton of black smoke.I didn't know what was going on, so I called Jeff to see if he had heard anything. After some calls he said that a truck was on fire in the Southwest Gas parking lot, but he didn't know how bad it was. I was out and about around his work at the time and drove by to see what was going on. The truck was completely burnt to the ground. I called my friend and told her what the truck looked like. She couldn't believe it. She new something was going on because of the little explosions. Needless to say this guy had a bad day!!!

This is for you Rylin!!!

Rylin had her 6th birthday the other day. She had a great party at Peter Piper. She loved all the presents she received. Thanks to all the family for making it on a school night. Rylin is such a special girl. I don't think, as a mom, I tell her enough how much I love her. From the day she was born I thought she was the most beautiful little girl I'd ever seen!!! It didn't matter to me how much she cried, and it was a lot, I thought she was so perfect. As she grows and gets older I can see what a special person she is. She is so sensitive and caring. She has such an artistic streak. I tell her she's going to be an artist when she grows up. She loves to draw and paint. Her biggest smiles come when she gives someone a drawing or painting she's made for them especially. She loves her brothers and sister very much. She also loves her alone time too. She is a very private person, I think she gets that from her mom. I love how much she loves school. She doesn't want to miss even when she's sick. She makes me and her dad laugh when she's trying to tell a fib with a big grin. I tell her she needs to work on her poker face. Rylin I want you to know that you are special!!! I am so glad Heavenly Father let me have you for my little girl. You are full of special qualities that shine so bright. Happy Birhtday!!! I love you more than there are stars in the sky.

Traveling Back in Time !!!

Tanner and I got a chance to go see Walking with Dinosaurs. I think it was the coolest thing we've ever gotten to do together. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to see a dinosaur in real life this is the closest thing to that experience. The animatronic dinosaurs looked so real!!! They were made the same size the dinosaurs would have been in real life, and they were huge. We got to see baby dinos hatch out of eggs, dinos fighting with each other, dinos eating plants and even other dinosaurs, we even saw one dinosaur poop!!! Tanners favorite dinosaur of all was the T-Rex. They had a mommy and a baby. The mom looked really scary and she roared a very loud roar. My favorite dinosaur was the Brachiosaur (Little Foot's Mom) it was so big it almost reached to the top of the U.S. Airways Center. It was a great show. Both Tanner and I walked to the car saying, "That was totally awesome!" We really appreciate Hopekids for giving us the opportunity to go. It was a great memory maker. Tanner and I before the show started.

Robin's Favorite Dinosaur!!!

Dinos fighting.

Mommy and the baby T-Rex hugging. (These were Tanner's favorite Dinosaurs)

This was the comet falling out of the sky that caused the dinosaurs extinction.