Friends, Food, and shopping!

Yes, we are at Jumpin Jacks once again. We took our friends along; Julia and Naomi Ogles. We learned that they are officially moving out of our neighborhood and will then get a new Bishop. Very sad for us, but great news for them!
Friends and making funny faces will never get old.
Caleb joins in with the group.
This is one of the blow up ships...the Titanic. We never fail to meet other friends unexpectedly there.
Zachary wanted to pose for the camera on the sinking ship.
Caleb and Zach were posing up at the top of the ship before sliding down. There are tables set out for the parents to keep and eye on their kids, and usually I'm walking around with the kids, but Zach and the girls took turns following around Caleb so I could make a grocery list for our family reunion coming up this weekend. Two hours later I'm finished with my list and the kids are ready to go.
Caleb being cute!
The girls and their new friend.
The gang is all here and getting a little tired. It's almost time to go.
The kids head up for one last slide which turned out to be two, but who was counting.
It was lunch time and I made a deal with the kids...eat at wendy's then be my helpers for the shopping trip to walmart. As you can see they chose to help.
We then went to Walmart to get the non perishable foods for the reunion trip. The kids were a great help even when the carts were getting heavy. Then they all piled on the carts and I got to push them to the car. 1/3 of the shopping is done now only 2/3 to go (costco in Ogden and one last Walmart run on Friday)

Grandpa Stitt comes to visit!

Grandpa Stitt came to visit and help Grandma drive back home to Virginia. The kids enjoyed playing Baa Baa black sheep, a memory game, with them one night they were over after we all got back from another round of Jumpin Jacks.
The next night, Tuesday, July 14th, we went to the Woodhouse's neighborhood pool and had a picnic dinner with everyone. This was also a monumental day because Kirsten got braces on her 4 front teeth. This is "phase 1" of her teeth straightening process. She was a little sore, but still in a good mood. It was rather hard to eat the subway sandwiches though and we had to break it up in pieces.
The kids loved having grandma/pa here. Come and visit anytime!

Filling the seconds, minutes, and hours of our summer days!

The kids were playing quietly downstairs one morning and when I went to investigate they were on the sofa, or should I say, " in their horse carriage." I thought it quite creative.
Here is the side view and more funny faces.
I went garage sale hunting one saturday morning with some friends and found this chalk board/ white board easil for $10.00. What a steal. I had some dollar store side walk chalk and then got some white board markers and a roll of paper for a total of $10 more dollars and wa la ...nice gentle used easil for $20. The paper hooks to the middle dowl and then feeds through the top for coloring or painting.
The kids didn't waste any time trying out the newest toy.
Our neighbor and friend, Andrew got his mission call to the Dominican Republic West mission and heads out to the MTC on Aug. 12th. I got to watch the youngest of the 7 children clan while Andrew went to the temple for his first endowment session. Joshua is the latest addition to the family and is a little doll.
Hailey, just steals my heart every time I see her and she calls after me..."Tafnun..."
We got a new tarp cover last November for the playset in the back and are just now getting around to sanding down and staining the wood so we could put it up again. I made some adjustments too. The new grip handles on this side to get up the ladder and some more boards to keep the kiddos from falling out the openings. They've never fallen, but I'm always on pins and needles with worry anyway...until now.

4th of July FIREWORKS!

Starting around 9pm, we headed over to the Douglas' for the neighborhood fire work show!All the kids got the glow in the dark sticks that bend to form necklaces and bracelets.
Here is the friendly neighborhood crowd with the kids starting out with the poppers or snappers that yo throw at the ground to pop. Then we moved on to sparkler.
We then took full advantage of the great treats everyone brought and sat back to enjoy the show. We brought along the wagon for the boys. They had a great front row seat for the action. We got a little smoke because of the wind factor, but what a great show!
Kirsten was the ever helpful big sister and helped Caleb cover his ears for the big BOOM as the explosive fire works went off. It was pretty cutie! Our kids are the best...when they want to be!

Home Depot activity July 2009

On the 4th of July we headed to the monthly home depot activity! This time we had the choice between helicopters and bug catchers. The boys chose to make the helicopters and Kirsten chose the bug catcher...these ones are a little more durable than the dollar store variety. We all had fun!
It started to rain-pour just after we finished building Zach's copter so we headed inside to finish the other projects.
Kirsten's bug catcher is taking shape! Here she is pushing in the pins to secure the netting.
It takes all Caleb's concentration to pound in those nails for the base of his helicopter. I love this look...I think we just missed the tongue hanging out!
Caleb is loving his new helicopter and is spinning the propellar.
The happy gang after everyone's finished their projects.
We are heading to the van after the photo shoots. Their aprons look so cutie!

Baby Ellie Grace is here!

Ellie Grace Woodhouse was born on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 @ American Fork Hospital @ 12:45 pm. She was 16 inches long and weighed 5 lbs. 7 oz. She is a little angel and we all think so. Here is Rachel the proud and happy new mama!
The newest family portrait with baby Ellie. Rachel and Danny Woodhouse.
The proud new uncle Nathan was the first of all of us to hold baby Ellie. We all thought she was soooo tiny, but I guess we just forget now that all of ours are turning into giants.
Caleb got a turn to old Ellie with a little help from Grandma. He was so gentle! He loves his new cousin!
Zach of course was in line next to have a turn to hold the newest cousin around.
An last but not least was Kirsten's turn. She finally has a little baby girl to hold even if it's not a sister of her own a new girl cousin will have to do.
I too got a turn to hold sweet baby Ellie. What a sweetheart she was. I wanted to snuggle her close, but had to resist because of the cold that I had. Now I know why my kids hated those surgical masts, they're sufficating.
However, Caleb had no problem putting one on and saying "cheese" My other sister-in-laws were there visiting too.

"The Best day ever!"

Grandma volonteered to watch the kids while I had an all day marathon of visiting teaching. The kids got hot and pulled out the hose. Grandma was getting wet from the dripping of the hose and eventually just got on and jumped around too. What a ball they had!
Caleb would have a fit when he got jumped too high and ended up down for the count, but the fun still continued.
Caleb started taking breaks and helping grandma spray the kids with the hose.
The happy jumpers at Jump N Jacks! We got the kids summer passes to go to this warehouse with a bunch of blown up fun houses and slides. We have only had it a month and have gone once a week so far and we still have 2 months on the pass. Great fun and a great way to tire the kids out without baking in the sun.
The kids are starting to wind down after about an hour! Kirsten found a comfy spot!
Grandma and Caleb take a wild ride down the 2 story slide! AHHHHH! hold on.
Nathan too took a running jump down the slide.
Kirsten is coming down, but trying not to go too fast. She's starting out kind of sideways. She thinks that she has finally mastered this slide without getting skin burns on her elbows from trying to slow down. You can see Caleb headed up for more.
When Zach has had a fun day meaning we go anywhere...he declares that it was "the best day ever." If only everyone could be this content.

SLUMBER PARTY WITH GRANDMA

Slumber party in the basement with grandma Stitt. Grandma Stitt came drove out to Utah in the middle of June to drop off Caitlin to BYU and to wait the arrival of Rachel's baby. The kids got some quality time with her. The boys went on a McDonald's date with her while we went to Kirsten's Activity day's play and dinner. They had a blast and only came home at our insistance.
Caleb is coming in and telling everyone that it is time to get up. The "rrroar" of the lion flashlight helped to motivate everyone to move.
How many kids can fit in one sleeping bag...3 of mine did!
These are the binocular toys the kids got at Sonic one time. Leave it to my boys to find other uses for them.