New Play Set

 Kevin was going to build us a really great play set, but with his time crunched on the farm it just wasn't going to happen soon. After much convincing, I was able to plead the cause of the kids needing something sooner than he could arrange for and that his time could be spent doing the other things he didn't have time for. :) He agreed!

 We found a used one on ksl and were able to drive up to take it apart and then set it up soon after in our yard. The kids were so excited and begged to sleep in it. We couldn't say no, so they grabbed their pillows and sleeping bags and were immediately ready for bed. The dogs were great security too!

Kevin put the swings up soon after and it has been a great source of fun since!

Nephew Visit

 We were able to have 3 of my nephews stay with us because their parents and sister went to Hawaii for just over 2 weeks. The boys helped on the farm by moving sprinklers and doing chores where ever they may need to be done. Fortunately for them, six kids makes light work so a lot of the time was spent as they chose, playing video games. Ryan got to do more things since he was older. Not sure if he loved it but he was a good sport. He learned to drive a stick and hauled manure and also learned to change filters on the equipment with Kevin.

 The kids played with the puppies!

 They tried some fun meals like cheese fondu!

 Here is the evidence of video gaming.

 Making cookies! Fun story: I left Ryan, Sam and Samantha (aka the twins or thing 1 and thing 2) with the assignment to make cookies while we were at the Cub Scout day camp. Thing 1 thought it would be great to add chocolate chips to no-bake cookies. Not to mention they misread the recipe and added 1 1/2 cups of cocoa powder instead of 1 1/2 Tb. That made for some very DARK cookies. Then it was successfully burned, so it looked like tar with bits of white oats. Tasted horrible. I had them make it again so they could feel success, plus we wanted cookies still!

 Here is Thing 1 lifting a foam weight. You can tell it was pretty heavy. ;)


We went swimming at the aquatics center and rode horses another day.
They enjoyed the mini motorcycle the most and the 4 wheeler when it worked. We were so glad to have the chance to get to know them better and spend time with them. We miss them and hope they are having fun unpacking from their move!

KayDee is 7!

 For KayDee's birthday we went swimming at the local pool with a mix of cousins who live near us! We had so much fun and were so glad so many made it! We swam for HOURS and many received sunburns for lack of reapplying sunscreen. We used a lot of my aloe plant on my nephews! Even my kids burned! They had such a great time and loved the simplicity of the pool with floaters! After swimming we had graham crackers and leftover frosting from the cake.

 Those who could make it met at our place later and had cake and ice cream with us. We had a great gathering with Grandma and Grandpa Laub, Aunt Roni with her kids, Uncle Travis and Aunt Bree with their girls, my 3 nephews, and a couple of Samantha's friends we picked up at the pool. Our house was pleasantly full!

It's KayDee's spotlight moment! We love how KayDee is learning and growing. She has grown up so much this year by learning to read with more confidence and becoming more independent in taking care of herself. She finished the Let's Play Music program and still loves to play the piano. She is very proud of her musical composition she titled "Flower Petals Falling" and can play it so well. She can read chapter books and has done well on all math, even adding money. She loves school and has enjoyed catching ladybugs at recess under a specific tree. She loves to play with her small dolls and make dresses for them, and loves to build with legos (especially pink ones!). She loves to ride her bike, jump on the tramp and play outside. Lately she has loved collecting grasshoppers and pretending to take care of them like pets.
KayDee likes to take her scriptures to church and likes reading scriptures with the family from her very own. She also is very generous and loves to share. She is very helpful around the house and likes to mop the floor. She can clean the bathroom sink and helps put in dishes and takes them out.
We love KayDee and are so glad she is in our family! She makes us smile!

We adopted 9 puppies and their mom.

We adopted 9 puppies with their mom and now they are old enough to give away! We will miss these cute puppies! The kids have had a blast with them. We are keeping the mom and have named her Gypsy.