Summer 2018

Wednesday, June 13th

The kids got to the house at about 4:00 in the morning and I was waiting for them in the driveway. It was fun to see Shelby riding in the front passenger seat since she is now old enough to. We came in and got them situated in their rooms and went to bed. I heard the back door shut at 7:00 am so I jumped out of bed to see who was up and, no surprise, it was Trey and Judi. We went down to look at the new grass we planted by the clubhouse. We then came in and looked at the Disney room and then Trey and Judi ate some cereal for breakfast. Shelby then got up and was outside petting Daisy. We went down to look at the grass by the clubhouse also and then Lizi got up too and came to look at the new grass. Shelby, Lizi, and I came in to eat breakfast and then we went outside and played in the sandbox and threw the frisbee around. Jenna then woke up and came out to play also. We came in and had the Disney Pin Draft and traded pins. After the pin draft, we did our Easter Egg hunt and had lunch. We then took Jenna and Alley to meet at the Church for Girls Camp and went to see the movie "Solo." Trey and Shelby liked it but it was too long and confusing for Lizi. We came home and Trey, Lizi, and Judi started playing with the marble stacking game and doing marble races, keeping stats on the races. Shelby and I looked at the auction items for the upcoming Disney Studios Auction. We then had dinner and went outside where Judi and Lizi played in the sand box while Trey, Shelby, and I played frisbee. It was a fun day!

Thursday, June 14th

I had to go to work at 6:45 this morning so all the kids were asleep when I left. But Trey and Lizi woke up first and watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Once Shelby and Judi woke up, everyone at cereal for breakfast. Then Trey, Lizi, and Judi played the marble game while Shelby went outside to play. They then went into St George to get some clothes for Lizi and some paint for the swing set and had lunch at In & Out. They came home and watched The Little Mermaid - except Trey who played on his Ipad. Lizi and Judi then played in the sand box, Trey played in his room, and Shelby was outside with the pets. They then set up the pool and had fun splashing around in it. They also had a water fight, jumped on the tramp, and played in the Sand Box. I came home and We all played kickball except Lizi who played in the sand box. Trey and I then threw the frisbee around while Shelby, Lizi, and Judi played in the sand box. Trey would throw it right over the little pool and I would dive into the pool to catch it. It was so much fun. The first time I did it, the kids in the sand box heard a big splash and turned to see me on my back in the pool in my clothes. They asked if I meant to do that! We then came in and Trey played with the marble game and was joined by Lizi and Judi. We then had dinner and went back outside where all the kids then started playing in the sand box until Shelby came inside and went to her room. I found her in there and we had a fun talk for about an hour while Trey, Lizi, and Judi kept playing in the sand box outside. Everyone came in and we got ready for bed. Our bed time routine is fun. We say family prayers, read the children's Bible, each say an article of faith, and then play a Bible Character game where we describe what happened to some one in the Bible and then see if anyone can guess who we were talking about.

Friday, June 15th

I went to work again today early. The kids got up, ate cereal and played outside for a few minutes before they drove about 3 hours total to take Shelby and Alley to Girls Camp. Shelby was nervous to go - as I would have been but I am very proud of her for going. They watched Jungle Book and Wreck It Ralph on the car ride. When I got home from work, Liz went back up to Girls Camp to be a part of Testimony Meeting and to bring Shelby back home. They still haven't come home as I type this at 10:45 pm. Trey and Lizi were watching a "Studio C" on Trey's tablet and Judi was playing on the Ipad, all at the kitchen table. I had them shut the electronics off and we went outside to play. Trey, Lizi, and Judi all played in the sand box at first. They made a large pond which reminded me of the pond I made in my back yard when I was their age. Lizi built a large hotel also and they also made water slides into the pond. Trey and I then played Frisbee while the girls kept playing in the sand. I love playing Frisbee with Trey! Trey then went back to playing in the sand box and Lizi and Judi ran and jumped in the pool on the lawn. We then came in and had Macaroni and Cheese for dinner and then went back outside. We had so much fun playing a Frisbee game - first though, Lizi and Judi pretended to fly with towels draped around their backs while Trey and I tossed the Frisbee around. Then Lizi and Judi pretended that Trey was the "Bad Guy" and would try to run by him and not get hit with the Frisbee. If they could intercept the Frisbee, they would chase Trey with it and try to hit him. Judi had a blast playing with Lizi, and Lizi was so patient with her.We then came in and Trey and Lizi watched Disney cartoons while I got Judi to bed. I joined them and watched a couple of cartoons too and then I got Trey and Lizi to bed.

Quote of the day: As I was getting ready for dinner, I placed 3 of our Disneyland plates on the table in front of 3 different seats. I asked Judi where she wanted to sit or which plate she wanted - Tomorrowland, Frontierland, or Adventureland, and she said, "I want to sit next to Lizi where ever she is sitting."

Saturday, June 16

I heard a little rustling around in the Living Room a little past 7:00am so I got out of bed to see who was up, expecting it to be Trey. It was actually Lizi. I put on a show for her and I jumped in the shower. I then went in to check on the other kids and found a sleepy Trey was sitting up in his bed, just waking up. Shelby had gotten home from Girls Camp at 1:30am so she was still sleeping. I went in to wake her up because Trey was wanting to hike Mollie's Nipple and I knew Shelby had said that she wanted to do it as well. So we all came out and ate some cereal and got ready to go. The kids all did really good considering that in Texas where they live, there isn't much elevation gain on their "hikes." We enjoyed watching a half dozen hawks (or birds of prey, as they call them) flying around us scanning the surrounding area for any unsuspecting rabbit or mouse. We headed back down - Trey leading the way and moving at a very rapid pace while Shelby and Lizi decided to employ the "bum-buster" technique to get down in which they slide down on their rear-end. We got home, had some lunch and then went out and set up the slip and slide on the lawn. After about 30 minutes, we decided to set up our big water slide down into the pit, which was a lot of fun! We probably spent a couple of hours on the water slide before coming inside to watch a little "Studio C" and play with the marble game. We then had dinner and watched "Pirates of the Caribbean before heading to bed.

Sunday, June 17

We woke up and got ready for church. Trey loves his class, especially a boy named Corbin because they have similar sense of humors, I think. When we got home, the kids gave me their presents and we watched the U.S. Open golf tournament and ate our Father's Day Dinner. While watching the US Open, Shelby made Father's Day signs for Grandpa Hubert and colored them in. During the middle/end of the Open, Shelby got a book and started reading it in the chair next to me and Trey, Lizi, and Judi went out to play in the sand box. The kids then had a web chat with their mom for 71 minutes. After their webchat, we played a game of kickball and then we learned how to play croquet. We also took some zucchini bread over to Sister Arscott for her birthday. Shelby then started making a bracelet while Trey, Lizi, and Judi played outside. It is fun to watch those three run around with towels over their shoulders pretending to fly! Judi has a blast with it and the smiles on Trey and Lizi's faces would indicate that they are enjoying it as well. We came in and had a light dinner and the kids watched some videos of the new Pirates of the Caribbean ride and looked at pictures of Star Wars Land. We then got ready for bed and I played a few songs for the kids on the Ukulele which Lizi loved.

Monday, June 18

I got up for work and all the kids were still sleeping. Lizi got up first, shortly after I left and all the other kids got up about 30 minutes later. Liz took everyone to the all-abilities park in St George and the kids had a blast! They spent the whole day there! They came home just before I got off work and Shelby, Trey, and Jenna all came out to the golf course to meet me after work and we played 4 holes. Both Trey and Shelby had putts for par on the par 3 4th hole! I was so proud of them! While we were golfing, Judi and Lizi played outside at home in the clubhouse and on the back yard making "wings" with their towels over their shoulders and running back and forth pretending to fly across the lawn. We came home and all went swimming at the Arscott's home - something the kids had been asking to do repeatedly ever since they arrived in Utah. We swam for a little over an hour and then came home and the kids played in the sand box for a little bit, digging a large moat around "Tom Sawyer Hotel." We came in and got ready for bed. The kids have liked me playing good night songs on the Ukulele to them and I love doing it! Fun day!

Tuesday, June 19

We slept in a little today and then went to Zion National Park. Jenna, Shelby, Trey, and I wanted to hike Angel's Landing and so Liz decided to come too and take Lizi and Judi up to Weeping Rock and ride the tram. Zion is so busy now that the trams were standing room only. We got to the Grotto Trail head and took some pictures and got on our way about 9:45. The kids did really good despite it being totally different than what they are used to with the extreme vertical elevation gain in such a short amount of time, coupled with a bit of rock climbing/scrambling. Trey was a little tired on the way down. We came home and had cheesy shells for lunch and then watched Robinhood. After the movie, Trey wanted to play croquet so Shelby, Trey, Liz, and I played while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. We then had a light dinner and the kids went back outside and Shelby went to the flying saucer while Trey, Lizi, and Judi played in the sand box. I then came out and Trey and I threw the football around for a little while when I got a phone call from my Brother Patrick telling me that my Dad had passed away. I let the kids know and they handled it good. Shelby joined us as we threw the football around and both she and Trey did a good job catching the football. It was so cute to watch Judi and Lizi play so good together in the sand box too! We came in and got ready for bed. We talked about Grandpa Hubert a little more and then I played some Ukulele songs for them as they went to sleep.

Wednesday, June 20

I went to work today. Lizi and Trey woke up first. They watched a movie while the other kids slowly woke up. They then had breakfast and played outside in the sand box. Trey came in and played on the Play Station. Liz took Shelby to get her nails done while Jenna played with the kids. Trey was playing in his room with his legos when Liz got home and Judi and Lizi were out in the Sand Box. They all then went outside to play in the Sand Box, each building their "room" in the hotel they made. Trey and Shelby met me at work at 3:45 to play golf with me. We played 5 holes and Trey had his first ever bogey on hole 4. Shelby hit a great chip shot on hole 5 to about 3 feet. We came home and ate dinner and watched Little Mermaid II. We also booked our trip to Alabama for Grandpa Hubert's funeral. Trey set up croquet while I was booking our trip and was really excited to play. Yesterday we had a talk about being a good sport and not pouting which Trey ha struggled with but tonight I could tell he was going above and beyond to be encouraging to everyone. We then came in and got ready for bed.

Thursday, June 21

I went to work and Liz painted some windows in the morning so Jenna watched the kids. Trey woke up and played the play station a little bit. Then Liz took him to a pawn shop where he bought a minecraft game for the play station. Shelby, Lizi, and Judi had a fun time playing outside. When I got home, Trey was waiting for me out at the street. He had a surprise for me - he set up all the Croquet pieces so we could play a game. Shelby also had a surprise. She was playing the Ukulele for me when I came in the door and then handed me a paper with 5 massages and asked me to rank which ones I wanted first. She then spent 30 minutes massaing my feet, head, hands, and neck! It felt so good! Shelby, Trey, and I then went out to play croquet while Lizi and Judi played in their room. We then had some dinner and Shelby, Judi, and Lizi went outside to play while Trey kind of wandered around trying to figure out something to do - he wanted to play the play station but I felt he had played it enough today. We then spent a few minutes in the Disney Room looking at the old Disney maps and then got ready for bed.


Friday, June 22

We woke up around 4:00am to drive to Las Vegas so we could fly to Atlanta and then drive to Birmingham for my Dad's funeral. It was a lot of travelling - about 9 hours each way. It took 2.5 hours to get to Vegas, then 4 hours to fly to Atlanta, and then another 2.5 hour drive from Atlanta to Birmingham. We tried to get tickets to Birmingham but tickets were about $1,000 a piece and with 8 of us going, that was way too much. So we got the tickets to Atlanta for about $420 each. We got into Atlanta at about 4:00pm and to our hotel at about 6:30pm. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn and Suites Homewood in Birmingham. The kids went swimming when we got to the hotel that night and watched a little TV. We then all went to bed.

Quote of the Day - (Trey put down the armrest on the airplane and Judi, who was sitting next to him put her arm on it). Judi: "Trey, do you want to rest your arms?" Trey then put his arm on top of hers and Judi responded with, "Ahhh."(as in "so relaxing.")

Saturday, June 23

We slept in as long as we could and went down to get the hotel's breakfast at about 8:45am. We then came back up to the hotel and got ready for the funeral. It rained really hard in the morning. We got to the Highlands United Methodist Church about 11:45am and were greeted first by Becky, Grandpa Hubert's Wife. The kids then waited on some chairs and ate some food while I stood with my brothers and Uncle Maurice, Alex, and Andrew in a receiving line. We did that for 2 hours and then all went upstairs for the funeral service. The kids all did really good and were really patient for having to wait for about 4 hours total. It was a good service - Uncle Maurice gave a really good talk and Ryan Green did a really good job on a song she sang. After the service, Uncle Maurice invited us to his house for food and to visit. We had a good time there and Trey got to see the house I was in when I was just born. Uncle Bill Satterfield walked us over there and we took a couple of pictures by the front of the house and mailbox. We stayed for quite a while and the kids got to play with their cousin Ethan Green for a little bit. It was a fun visit. We came back to the hotel and we all went swimming. We then came in and got ready for bed.

Sunday, June 24

Today was a travel day. We slept in until about 8:30am and then went dowm to the hotel lobby to eat. We came back up to the room and I put on Beauty and the Beast for the girls and Trey played on his tablet while we got all packed up. We left the hotel about 11:30 and started for Atlanta, stopping to eat lunch at Wendy's just outside of Atlanta. Judi and Lizi sat by Mrs Liz on the plane ride back and Trey and Shelby sat by me. We watched The Force Awakens on my phone. We ended up getting back home about 11:30pm and went to bed.

Monday, June 25

When I woke up, Lizi was standing in my door way looking in at me. When I walked out to the living room, Trey and Judi were already up on the couch. Judi wanted to play breakout so Trey, Judi, and I played breakout while Lizi played outside. Shelby got up and we all ate breakfast. Their mom wanted to do a webchat today so they each took turns on the computer. While Lizi was talking, Trey, Shelby and I shot the basketball outside. When we were done, we got our bike tires all pumped up and rode our bikes to check the mail. As we were coming back, the mail man dropped off today's mail so Shelby and I rode back because I was expecting a Disney Auction catalog. We then came in and Trey and Shelby played Mine craft on the TV while Lizi and Judi played in the pool outside. I then made some lunch for everyone and we got our Disney shirts all made up. We then played Speak Out we went outside to play. Trey, Shelby, and I played Frisbee and Lizi played in the Sand Box. We then came in and watched Swiss Family Robinson and ate dinner. After the movie we went back outside and Shelby went down to the flying saucer while Lizi, Trey, and I played Frisbee. Then Trey decided he wanted to be the goalie and Lizi, Judi, and I tried to throw the frisbee past him into the swing set while he tried to stop it. It was a lot of fun. After playing outside, we came in and had baths and got ready for bed.

Quote of the Day - Trey while playing basketball: "I hold my breath while the ball is in the air. It's just a habit that I have."


Tuesday, June 26

When I woke up, Trey, Lizi, and Judi were already in the living room. Trey and Judi were on one couch playing on Trey's tablet and Lizi was sleeping on the other couch. Trey was playing a golf game and he even got me to play one game, which was fun. When Lizi woke up, she and Judi basically played together all day. They really play well together! Judi is having such a good time playing with her that during one of her prayers on our food, she added, "...and bless Lizi because I love her so much." That got a big smile out of Lizi! Anyway, once everyone was up, we ate breakfast and then headed for the Disney room to open the new lamp that we just got in the mail. The kids had so much fun playing in all the shipping peanuts and the big box! After we finished with that, the kids went outside to play for a little bit. I had Trey and Shelby go outside to pull weeds. I give them a dollar for every bucket they fill. I also made a deal with them that they can only play on the Playstation for as long as they pull weeds. After about an hour, Trey and Shelby came back in to build Disneyland on their Mineraft Playstation game while Lizi and Judi stayed outside. Judi informed me at bedtime that Lizi's favorite thing to do is to play in the sand box but Judi's favorite thing is to play on the swings. Once Trey and Shelby had played for about an hour, they went back outside to pull some more weeds. We all came in for lunch after a while and then Judi and Lizi started playing with the playdoh machine. Liz, Trey, Shelby, and I played Canasta and Liz and Trey beat us pretty good! Trey and Shelby got back on the play station. Trey and I then went outside to play frisbee, Shelby hung out down in the flying saucer and Lizi and Judi played in the sand box a little and then came back inside to play with animals and princesses inside. I made a light dinner since we had eaten a large, late lunch. We then went back outside to play frisbee - Me, Trey, and Shelby, while Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. I then came in to put Judi to bed. Trey and Lizi were on Trey's tablet and Shelby played the piano. We then all went outside. I sat on the porch swing with Shelby and Lizi and we had a good chat. Lizi then went to play in the sand box and flatten out the big "hotel" that they had made a couple of days before. Trey came outside and went back in a couple of times, ending up on his tablet. We then came in and got ready for bed. I had a good chat with Lizi while I was tucking her in and then another great chat with Shelby. I love my kiddos!

Wednesday, June 27

I went to work in the morning and the kids went to the Sand Hollow Reservoir. Trey came to golf with me after work. Shelby was feeling sick so she took a 4 hour nap. Judi and I showed Trey and Lizi the Puppy Dog Pals "Ol Snapper" episode. Trey and I played some frisbee outside and Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. Shelby came out for a little bit to play some frisbee too. I came in to put Judi to bed while the kids played outside for a little bit. We all then went to bed as well.

Thursday, June 28

I had to go to work again this morning. The kids all went swimming at the Washington Rec Center. After work, Shelby, Trey, and Jenna came to golf. We all played poorly and it was extremely windy. When we got home, the kids played with the pets for a little bit and then we came in for dinner and watched a movie. We watched the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. We then got ready for bed.

Friday, June 29
I went to work again today. While I was at work, Lizi said that she and Judi had a fun time playing in the sand box and I'm guessing that Shelby and Trey played a little play station because it was still on tonight. Liz took everyone to the Washington Rec Center to go swimming and they had a blast. Trey and Shelby then came out to the golf course to go golfing. We all played much better today. It is really fun to see Trey and Shelby's improvement from when they first got here. I wish I could help both of them get really good, but it'll take more than 5 weeks in the summer. When we got home, Lizi was watching TV and Trey went right in to bed since he still isn't feeling so hot. Jenna made dinner for everyone and we all ate except Trey who was sleeping. Shelby and I went out to throw the football around. She has a really good arm! She told me about an experience with one of her teachers who brought a football and asked for some one to throw the ball to. Shelby gave him a target with his hands and he threw it to her. She caught it and threw a great spiral back to him, surprising him. I could tell that Shelby was proud of herself. Judi and Lizi played in the sand box. Trey wandered outside after waking up from his nap and then went back onto the couch to watch some TV. Shelby and I sat on the swing outside and chatted and then we were joined by Liz and Jenna. We all came inside and started getting ready for bed. Lizi wanted me to sing "Child's Prayer" to her before I played the Ukulele songs. I was going to skip "Lava" which is typically the last song I play because I thought the kids were sick of it but Lizi asked me to play it.

Quote of the Day: while riding in the golf cart, Trey says, "Riding on a dirt road in a golf cart is a great way to mix a drink mix in a drink."
                                   

Saturday, June 30

Despite a sickness that has swept through our family, we had a really fun day! I woke up with a little sore throat this morning and when I went to the living room to see who was up, the only kiddo that was awake was Lizi. We hung out and talked in the Disney room for quite a while until Shelby and Judi got up. Lizi and Judi started to play outside while Shelby and I sat and talked in the Disney room. I new Trey must still feel pretty sick since he was still sleeping. Liz cooked us some breakfast and then Shelby practiced on the Ukulele while Judi and Lizi played outside in the pool and sand box. Trey just kind of took it easy all day, taking a bunch of naps and drinking a lot of orange juice and water. We watched the Incredibles - actually the kids watched it while I took a nap out there in the living room. When it was over, everyone went outside to paint the dog house. Shelby and Judi wanted it purple so purple it is. We didn't have quite enough paint so Liz had to run back to the store to grab another can. Shelby wanted to work on a puzzle so she, Lizi, Trey, Judi, and I all went to work on the puzzle. It is the Disneyland 60th anniversary puzzle - 1000 pieces and they are very small. It has been fun even though we are no where near close to being done. We had dinner and then Lizi and Judi played in their room. Lizi hung a blanket from Trey's top bunk to make like a fort and they had a fun time playing in there. Trey helped with the puzzle a little more then went to lay down and Shelby and I worked on the puzzle. Just before bed, we decided to try out our new Disney lamp that is in the shape of a castle with the lamp shade looking like fireworks. It looked really neat in the dark.

Sunday, July 1

We woke up and went to church. Trey had a great time with a friend Corbin Beutler, and Lizi and Shelby each made friends with girls named Kaitlin in their classes. When we got home from church, we worked on the puzzle in the Disney room. We then had lunch and the kids had a webchat with their mom. After the webchat, I spent time just talking with each of the kids on the back porch in the shade. We then came back in and worked more on the puzzle. Trey went to lay down in bed so Shelby and I threw the football around and Judi and Lizi played together. It was so cute to see Judi and Lizi playing with a big trailer that was "going to Disneyland." Trey also played a bit with Judi doing marble races while Shelby, Lizi, and I worked on the puzzle. Lizi went into Alley's room and did some "dub-smashes" with Jenna and Alley. We also all played Disney Scene It twice which was a lot of fun. Shelby played on Liz's phone for a little bit while I went outside with Lizi and Jenna and watched Lizi play in the sandbox. We then petted Daisy and Wendy for a bit and Trey came out to tell us that dinner was ready. After dinner we watched some videos of Grandpa Hubert winning the 1977 US Open and a video made when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was about time for bed so the kids went outside quickly to pet the animals and then we watched 3 Disney cartoons, and all talked a little on Jenna and Shelby's bed before going to bed.

Quote of the Day: Lizi - "Texas is my least favorite state besides North Korea, or something."

Monday, July 2

I went to work early. The kids went to Costco in St George and watched Alice in Wonderland. Trey and Shelby came out to my work to go golfing with me and they both did really good today! Shelby hit some really solid shots and Trey made a bogey on hole 4 (he missed about a 2 foot putt for his first par ever). When we got home, Trey went to lay down for a little bit, Judi and Lizi played inside with Kinex and Shelby and I went out to pet Figaro who normally only lets the kids pet him when he's up on the wall. Today, he came to me as I was changing my shoes on the porch swing and stayed there when Shelby came over and sat down next to me. He even got up on Shelby's lap. I went in to get Lizi and Judi to see if they wanted to pet him too. He stayed there for a second and let Lizi pet him for a little bit. Shelby and Judi picked tomatoes from our garden - 36 tomatoes and a ton of cherry tomatoes, and then we all got up to the table and ate dinner. After dinner Shelby, Trey, and I worked on the Disney puzzle in the Disney room while Lizi and Judi played with cars outside by the pool. I then put Judi to bed and while I was doing that, the kids went outside. Shelby and Lizi were practicing for the 4th of July race. Trey then came out and got some race practice in too. When I came out, I started timing all the kids to see how fast they could run. Lizi recorded the fastest time! It was a lot of fun!

Tuesday, July 3

I got up early for work. Shelby was on the couch and woke up when I was eating breakfast. The kids had a lazy morning, watching TV. They had pancakes for breakfast, played Sorry!, went to get snow cones, and watched Aristocats. Shelby, Trey, and Jenna then came out to play golf. We all played pretty good. When we got home, Trey went to take a nap because he wasn't feeling good. Shelby played the Ukulele on the couch with me and Lizi and Judi played outside in the sand box. Trey woke up from his nap and came to help Shelby and me on the Disney puzzle. I then put Judi to bed and Shelby, Trey, and Lizi went outside to play. They were able to pet Figaro and even hold him, and they played in the sand box. Then they came in and went to bed.

Wednesday, July 4

We woke up and ate a quick breakfast before heading over to the 4th of July parade. After the parade, where only Lizi and Judi tried to get the candy this year, we went over to the fields to do the races. Shelby and Trey were nervous, I could tell. Judi went first and finished second in her race. Lizi was next and she also finished second. Trey actually ran a really good race too, but finished about 4th. There were a ton of boys in his race! Shelby has grown almost 3 inches since last November so she is still trying to get used to her extra long legs and she stumbled a bit in her race so she didn't do as good this year. But I was so proud of all of the kids for trying! After the races, I brought the kids home and I went to work. While I was at work, the kids made tie-dye t-shirts which I'm looking forward to seeing when they're done! Trey and Shelby came out to my work at about 3:30 and they golfed while I finished mowing greens. We came home and started our traditional Star Wars Marathon on the 4th of July. We watched episodes 4-6. During the first 2 episodes, Lizi and Judi played together outside in the sand box and with their big trucks through the grape arbor. We then put Judi to bed and Lizi came in and watched episode 6 with us. Fun day!

Thursday, July 5

Judi actually got up before all the kids today, and Shelby was just a bit after her. We hung out in the Disney room for a little bit. Soon Trey and Lizi were up too and they all went outside to check on the pets. One of their favorite things to do now is to check to see where Figaro is and try to pet him. Over the past few days, Figaro has become a little more used to the kids and has let them pet him while he's on the ground instead of only when he's up on the wall. We ate breakfast and then got ready to go to the store. We went to Uinta golf to get Jenna's Driver fixed (Shelby accidentally broke it while golfing), and then to Costco to buy snacks for the Disneyland trip. After costco, we came home and Trey, Lizi, and I had naps and Shelby and Judi worked on the puzzle in the Disney room. We then had a little lunch and went to see Incredibles 2 which was a good movie. Lizi actually thought it was scary which is unusual for Lizi since she's the bravest of all the kids. After the movie, we came home and took all the pins that we want to trade at Disneyland off of our pin boards and put them on our lanyards. Trey went to lay down again - he's not feeling good. He and Liz just got back from the doctor who told him he had strep throat. Hopefully we can get rid of it before Disneyland! The rest of the kids went out to play in the sand box for a little bit. We then got ready for bed early tonight.

Friday, July 6th

For some reason, I didn't write anything about this day but in looking at the pictures, Shelby and Lizi spen some time going out to pet Figaro and the rest of the pets and Trey and Judi did car races in our living room. To do the car races, we use two cereal boxes that we put togeter and put pillows underneath, making them like a chute for the cars to go down. We have had so much fun with our car races! We also took some time to get our things packed for Disneyland and Sea World.

Saturday, July 7th

We headed down to California for our annual Disneyland trip. We usually go to Sea World every other year as well. We left early so we would have time to stop at El Torro Memorial Cemetery to see Grandma Judi, Great Grandma Bobbi, and Great Grandpa Rowlands' graves. After the cemetery, we went to Newport Beach. The kids love to build a castle and surround it with walls to protect it from the ater coming in. Innevitably a big wave will come and force them to hurry and try to rebuild the walls that the wave destroyed. Also while playing in the water, a rather big wave broke just behind Trey and took him under for a little bit which scared him a little. After the beach, we went to check into our hotel, the Del Sol, which is right accross the street from Disneyland on Harbor Blvd. One of the things I love doing is walking to get our tickets to Disneyland the evening before our first visit. It's a favorite part of the trip for me. 

Sunday, July 8

Disneyland/CA Adventure

Quote of the Day: - Lizi "Trey reminds me of Tomorrowland. Shelby reminds me of Fantasyland."

Monday, July 9

Disneyland/CA Adventure

Quote of the Day: - 

Judi: "Lizi, are you going to be ok on Grizzly River Run?"

Lizi: "Yeah."

Judi: (Gives Lizi a hug) "Be careful!"

Tuesday, July 10

Disneyland/CA Adventure

Quote of the Day - Shelby (on our way from the Hotel back to Disneyland after our naps) "Daddy, is it morning or afternoon?"

Wednesday, July 11

Disneyland/CA Adventure

Thursday, July 12

Disneyland/CA Adventure

Friday, July 13

Sea World

Saturday, July 14

Sea World

Sunday, July 15

After getting home around midnight, we got up early for church and actually made it there early! We came home from church and Judi and Lizi went outside to play while Shelby and Trey did car races inside. We took a break to have some lunch and the kids had a webchat with their mom. After the webchat, Judi and Lizi went back outside and Trey and Shelby resumed their car races. We then put the pins we got at Disneyland on our pin boards and put our tickets and fast passes into our binders. Lizi and Judi went back outside to play in the sand box and on the swings and I did car races with Trey while shelby played in Trey's room with the princesses. Shelby then came out and started doing some scrapbooking with Jenna. We then ate some dinner and then we all went out side and the kids all had a blast playing on the swings and with the animals. It was so fun watching Trey swing the bean bag swing towards Lizi and she swung on the swings. Every time Lizi would hit the bean bag it would make a deep "thump" sound and we all laughed. We came back in and started getting ready for bed.

Monday, July 16

I went to work this morning and just a few minutes after I left, Lizi came and jumped into bed with Liz followed shortly by Shelby and Trey. They had a lazy morning, watching TV and painting bird houses. Trey and Shelby came out to the golf course after work and played golf with me. Shelby only played 2 holes because she wasn't feeling well. She hit a couple of really good shots! Her swing is drastically different than it was a month ago when she started. When we got home, Shelby, Trey, and I watched Antman while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. We ate dinner in the middle of the movie and after dinner, Lizi and Judi played in the Living Room while we finished the movie. When the movie was over, Lizi and Judi went back outside and Shelby, Trey, and I finished the Disney puzzle we had been working on. I had so much fun working on it with them. We then got ready for bed and I played the Ukulele for them as they went to sleep.

Tuesday, July 17

I went in to work early again today. As I was eating breakfast, Lizi came into the kitchen and said hi. After I left, the kids jumped on the trampoline with the hose going and with water balloons and had fun. They also watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and Judi all came out to golf with me after work today. We had a lot of fun! Lizi hit some really good shots for her first time golfing. When we got home, we ate dinner and then it started to rain really hard! So we all started filling up our buckets with the roof run-off water and then dumping that water into the lady bug swimming pool. We had a blast. After it stopped raining, Trey wanted to work on his chipping by trying to chip the balls between the swing set and even more specifically through the green swing on the left. He actually made one through! Shelby, Lizi, and Judi all picked tomatoes - 146 of them and 74 cherry tomatoes too! We then came in and watched Disney cartoons before our normal bed time routine: Get in PJ's, Brush teeth, say prayers, read scriptures, go over Bible Heroes and Articles of Faith, Play the ukulele.

Wednesday, July 18

The kids all slept in longer than normal today. I guess I've been having a bit too much fun with them! Lizi was the first one up and we talked in the Disney room for about an hour before Trey woke up. It was fun to spend time with Lizi since most of the time she and Judi are "tied at the hip" or I'm golfing with Shelby and Trey. When Trey got up, he wanted to work on his chipping in the back yard so we went out and hit a few chips. Shelby got up and we all ate breakfast together. We then got ready to go on our hike down to the river. We first hiked to our normal spot and then we hiked up river to find a deeper swimming hole. we had a lot of fun in the water and on a rope swing. Lizi was a dare devil on that rope swing! Trey, Shelby, and I found a perfect spot to float down the river. We headed back and got a snow cone on the way. When we got home, The girls went to Lizi's room to play princesses while Trey and I went to the Disney room to race cars. We started a car race circuit and the first race was called the Disneyland Classic. Shelby joined us for the second race - the Disney Pins Classic, held on the tile floor by the Disney pin boards. we had SO MUCH fun doing the races! I can't wait to wake up tomorrow so we can do more! After the races, we all talked in the living room for a while since this is the last night in Utah. We then did our normal bedtime routine and went to bed.

Thursday, July 19

What a tough day today was - the day the kids go back to Texas. All week the kids have been praying that the days will go slow and that they will miss their flight back to Texas. This morning, i woke up and had a shower. When I was finished getting ready, I noticed that the car race track had been set up already for races today! So I knew Trey was up. haha. Lizi was up shortly after and Trey went to wake up Shelby so we could start the races. Lizi and Judi went to eat breakfast while Shelby, Trey, and I started the races. After racing cars, Shelby and I threw the football around while Lizi and Judi played in the sand box. Trey got his wedge and started working on his chipping in the back yard. I have been really impressed in the last couple of days at how hard he has been working on his golf game. Shelby and I then went to ride bikes and Trey got the race track set up in another room (we have 4 different rooms we do races in and the floor is different in each one so some of the cars do better on certain floors). Shelby, Trey, and I raced cars again while Lizi and Judi built a fort in their bed room. The fort actually turned out really cool! We then had some lunch and packed some last minute things before leaving for the airport. There was a moment that I really teared up as I saw Trey walking toward me with a resigned smile and his backpack on. I'm sure going to miss him, and Shelby and Lizi too. In the car, I sat in the back next to Shelby and Trey. We just chatted and enjoyed each other's company. I got a gate pass and went with the kids through security at the airport and we waited for their mom's flight to get in. When it was time for them to board their plane I watched them until they were out of sight going down the tarmac. Shelby and Lizi waved while they were in line while Trey was telling his mom all about his time in Utah. I could see Shelby's hair flip around just as she went out of sight indicating that she had tried to turn around one last time to see me. I teared up as I walked away. I walked back toward the gate a time or two just in case one of them happened to come back out of the tarmac, even though I knew they wouldn't. We had such a fun time together, it's always difficult to see them go.

Quote of the Day: (Judi and Lizi on the car ride to the airport) 

Judi: "Why don't you want to talk?"

Lizi: "Cuz...I'm a little sad."

Judi: "Yeah, I don't want you to go to Texas."

Texas May 15, 2018

Tuesday May 15th

I didn't think I'd have time to see the kids on this trip to Texas but I had a couple of hours before I needed to head to the airport so I set up a visit. Trey was on the corner of the Cul-de-sac waiting for me and when he saw me he started jumping up and down! It made me smile from ear to ear! Shelby had climbed all the way up the tree in the front yard and Lizi was waiting by the curb in the front of the house. We had a short, but fun visit today! We went to Allen Bowl and bowled a game while eating Pizza, chicken strips, and a BLT. After our game, we went to grab a snow cone and play Apples to Apples. It was a fun surprise visit.

Kid's Visit December 22-December 26, 2017

Friday, December 22nd

Liz and I flew to Dallas and picked up the kids at about 8:00. Our flight got in to Las Vegas at 12:00am Vegas time on the 23rd and we got back to the house a little after 4:00am.

Quote of the Day - Trey: Liz showed us a really cool picture of a Star Destroyer some one had made of ginger bread since we were going to be making ginger bread houses. When Trey saw the picture, unimpressed he said, "Yeah, but there's not much candy on it. It's all about the candy, Daddy."


Saturday, December 23rd

When the kids first woke up, Judi was so excited to see them, as usual. She read books with Trey and Shelby and then the kids all went outside. Lizi and Judi went right to the sandbox to play, Shelby went straight to Daisy and laid down by her and pet her, and Trey found the kickball and football. Trey, Shelby and I threw the football around for a while and had so much fun. I would throw over-the-shoulder balls to them as they ran to catch them. They also went down to the clubhouse and played on the flying saucer. Lizi and Judi went inside to play with the playdoh machine at this time. We then got our bikes out and rode down in the pit and through the grape arbor. About 3:00, we started getting ready for our family pictures which we had taken by Rachael Pimberton at the Colina Tinta subdivision in Hurricane. The pictures turned out really good! When we finished, we came home and turned on the Vikings game. They beat the Packers 16-0. Trey watched the whole game with me and Shelby watched the first half. Jenna, Lizi, and Judi organized all the presents under the Christmas Tree and then Shelby, Judi, and Lizi started forming the cardboard for their gingerbread houses. Once the game was over, Trey ran over and worked on his as well. We then decided it was time for bed.

Sunday, December 24th

We slept in a little and then I went to choir practice and the kids came an hour later to meet me at Church. After church we had originally planned on going sledding but decided not to due to the lack of snow we have gotten this winter. So instead we had the most fun back yard football game ever! Shelby and Trey agreed at the end of our trip that this was one of the most fun moments! First, Trey, Shelby, and I practiced our over-the-shoulder catches again. Trey, Shelby, and I then played Liz, Jenna, Holli, and Rob in 2-hand touch football which ended in a 14-14 tie. Trey caught a great touchdown and Shelby made some great catches as well. It was so fun! Lizi and Judi played in the sand box while we played our game. After our game and after dinner, we came in and started decorating our gingerbread houses with candy. After decorating our houses, we went to St George to look at the famous castle house decorated with Christmas lights. It was amazing and looked like Small World from Disneyland. We had some hot chocolate and then headed home. Once home, we got ready for bed. Jenna, Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and Judi, all camped out in the living room by the tree. Once they were asleep, Liz and I did our traditional "Green Beard" and brought out the Santa presents.

Quote of the Day - Lizi: Jenna got in the driver's seat of the van to drive us all home from church and Lizi asked, "Does Jenna have her driving degree?"

Monday, December 25th

Christmas Morning! Trey woke up at 6:00am and was promptly sent back to bed. Shelby, Trey, and Lizi all got up around 7:30 and we waited for Holli and Rob to get to the house from their hotel. Everyone was up and at the house around 8:00am. We took a few pictures in front of the tree before we started. After pictures we did our "Green Beard" treasure hunt which the kids had fun doing. We got our candy and then started opening presents. Shelby didn't know what her favorite present was when asked but she got a My Life doll, pizza shop legos, a Disney memory book, personalized calendar, slippers, Disney pins, and Tsum Tsums. Trey's favorite present was a Monorail. He also got a football, personalized calendar and puzzle, grossery gang figures, football and baseball cards, Disney Pins, and Tsum Tsums. Lizi's favorite was an amusement park lego set. She also got a My Life doll, personalized calendar, Disney Pins, and Tsum Tsum's. We were done unwrapping presents by 9:30am and the girls immediately started playing with their legos while Trey started putting his Monorail together. We took a break to go outside and play catch with the football. Shelby, Trey, Lizi, and I all stood in a square and passed the ball around. We got to 27 caches in a row! We came back in and resumed playing with legos and the Monorail. The girls brought their legos over to Trey's Monorail and created a Disneyland in our living room. Shelby got her monorail out and I got mine down from the Disney room and so we had 3 monorails going on the track! At 2:45 we headed out to go see the new Star Wars movie - The Last Jedi. Trey and Shelby really liked it and are big Porg fans! They both said it's their favorite Star Wars film ever! When we got home, Rob, Holli, Trey, Jenna, Liz, and I started a Monopoly game while Shelby, Lizi, and Judi played with the Monorail and legos. The power then went out for 2 hours so we lit candles and Trey, Lizi, and Judi sat on the couch and played the Ipad while Shelby and I played the Ukulele. When the power came back on, we decided it was time for bed.

Tuesday, December 26th

The last day is always the hardest. Knowing all day that later that day we have to go to the airport seems to make time fly by even faster and gives all of us a since of desperation that we need to do everything we possibly can as fast as we can so we can fit in as much as we can. That was no different for me today! We woke up and had some cereal and then went outside to play catch with the football. We then came inside and played a few games of Stratego. First Trey and I played while Shleby, Lizi, and Judi played with the Monorail. After 3 games, Shelby came over and she and Trey played 2 games. It was so fun to watch them play! We then had Pizza for lunch and then went out side to play catch with the football. We also rode bikes in the pit and played by the clubhouse. Shelby even got to hold our rabbit, Flower! We got finished packing up and then headed for the airport at 4:15pm. Holli and Rob went with us since their plane left a couple of hours after ours. We sat in the terminal for a couple of minutes together before our plane left and then boarded the plane. None of us slept for more than about 20 minutes. We talked about Star Wars, and all the fun we had in Utah together. We got to Dallas about midnight Dallas time. I miss the kids already!

Kid's Visit October 20th-October 23rd, 2017

October 20th: 

Liz and I met the kids at the Dallas Airport at about 9:00. Shelby and Trey came running through the airport to give me a hug. Trey almost knocked me over! The kids were ready to come to Utah! Lizi asked if could "go to Utah now." So we went through security and got to our gate. We practiced shuffling and then played UNO and "Go Fish." Our flight left about 10:45 and arrived in Las Vegas just before midnight, Vegas time. We got back to our house just before 4:00 AM.

October 21st:

We arrived at the house just before 4:00 AM and went to bed. Judi was so excited to see the kids and followed Trey around like a puppy dog in the morning! After we ate breakfast, we went to the Copper Rock golf course (where I work) and hit some shots on hole #7. The kids also had fun playing in the sand box and having an "Easter egg hunt" by trying to find all the balls that we hit into the desert. After we had fun at the golf course, we went to Walmart to pick out pumpkins to carve. Trey decided that he didn't want to carve one. We got home and set up the tables in the back yard and chose what pattern we wanted to do. Shelby chose Tinkerbell, Lizi chose a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, Jenna chose some ghosts, Judi chose Minnie Mouse, Liz chose a haunted castle, and I chose the Cheshire Cat. While we carved pumpkins, Trey played outside on a new swing we set up by the clubhouse and inside on his Ipad. After carving pumpkins, Trey, Liz, Jenna, and I played knock out while Shelby, Lizi, and Judi played in the sand box. Trey did really good in knock out eve winning a couple of games. Shelby also loved spending time with the pets, feeding the rabbits from her hand and loving on Daisy. We came in and ate dinner and watched the Swiss Family Robinson before getting ready for bed.

October 22nd:

We got up, got ready for church and ate some breakfast. Poor Shelby is one of only 2 girls in her rowdy Sunday School class full of boys. Trey has Sister Arscott as his teacher. Lizi said that her teacher was awesome because she got candy! When we got home, Trey went for the pogo stick and increased his record to 1749 jumps! I think he got a little scared from the day before when Jenna got 500 jumps, sort of close to his old record. Lizi and Judi flew a kite and Shelby did a photo shoot with Jenna so they had some pictures for their room. They also did a short webchat with their mom. We came in and had lunch and played the piano for a little while. For lunch we made a blueberry pie for Trey (his favorite) and a pumpkin pie. The kids wanted to trade pins so we got our pin boards down from the wall and traded pins for a while. We then went back outside where Shelby loved on the pets and played in the sandbox with Judi and Lizi. Trey, Jenna, Liz, and I played knock out. During our game, the girls started riding bikes and when we finished our game we joined them. They had fun making stop signs, speed limit signs, and even a gas station sign and parking places. At one point Smokey looked like a crossing guard and Trey laughed so hard as Smokey stopped traffic! We then came in and had dinner and watched the Mighty Ducks. After the movie, we lit our pumpkins and got ready for bed.

October 23rd:

We woke up and ate breakfast. We had to leave for the airport at 9:00am. The kids asked if I was flying on the airplane with them back to Texas and were so excited when I told them I was. We did our Magic card trick and played UNO and Go fish. We had a fun visit and I'm so excited to see them for Thanksgiving!

Summer 2017 June 13th-July 6th

June 13th
Liz and I arrived into DFW at 4:30pm and waited to meet the kids until 9:40pm. Our flight left at 11:10pm. When the kids arrived, they were all so excited to go to Utah! Since the checked bag was 3 pounds overweight, we stuffed some of the weightier items in our carry-on bags. I sat between Shelby and Trey and Lizi sat by Liz, something she loves to do since Liz is the one that packs all the snacks. Lizi slept for a long time, Trey for about an hour, but Shelby and I didn't sleep at all, although we tried. Once we realized that we weren't going to be getting any sleep, we just talked for about 2 hours. It was fun! We arrived at our home at about 3:45am on the 14th.

Quote of the day - Shelby: "Don't worry Daddy, I'm still sportsy."

June 14th

Despite getting home at almost 4 in the morning, the kids woke up around 8:45 and were ready to play! We first went out to the yard and Shelby picked and ate some apricots and we petted the animals (Daisy, Lyndee, Chewey, and Smokey) and then came inside for breakfast. After breakfast, we all started working in the sand box, digging out all the hard dirt so we can get new sand in there. All the kids worked so hard and I was so proud of them! After digging for about 2 hours, we laid t the water slide and then we took a break and went to walmart for toothbrushes and to get supplies for a new water slide we're making. When we got home, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch and then Shelby and Lizi played with legos and Trey worked on his pin board (Liz made him a bigger one so he had to transfer all of his pins). We then went back out side and Shelby, Judi, and I played in the clubhouse while Lizi played in the Sand box and Trey hit golf balls into the pit. We then started digging in the sand box again and put dirt around the edges of the water slide and began filling it up with water. I think Trey was the first one to try it out and we all played on the water slide for about 3 hours. Trey and Judi were the last ones off of it! Shelby and Jenna retreated to the trampoline to dry off. Liz got a little cold so we got her a towel to dry off. Trey and I then played a couple of games of knockout on the trampoline before we all came in to have pancakes for dinner. After dinner we all played inside working on legos, pin boards and playing star wars with Trey's lego set. We then watched Disney cartoons. Donald Duck seems to be everyone's favorite to watch, and Shelby especially likes his Grand Canyon cartoon.After Disney cartoons, we said prayers and Lizi informed everyone that she was hungry (as she always is) :-). We then all went to bed.

Quote of the Day - Shelby: "I love Utah life. It's relaxing and fun."

June 15th

We started out by eating breakfast and then playing outside. Shelby and I dug out the sand box to get it ready for the new sand coming tomorrow. I was so proud of how hard Shelby worked! Lizi and Trey gave each other wagon rides and we all played a game of kickball. We then went  to town to order the sand for the sand box and came home and rode bikes to the mail and then went down the water slide. After the water slide, we ate lunch and then went back outside to do wheel barrow and wagon rides and play kickball. Shelby and Lizi set up a real kitchen where they would take our order and then serve us the food we ordered. We had our choice of watermelon, apricots, tuna, skittles, spice drops, and candy canes. It was a lot of fun to have them "make" the real food in their play kitchen. We also played ladder ball and did some more work in the sand box. We came inside to watch Zootopia and then had dinner and ice cream. After we ate we played Scene It and then went back outside to give wagon rides. We came back inside and looked at and traded pins. Trey and Shelby also set up pinpics accounts. We then said prayers and went to bed.

June 16th

I went into work for a couple of hours in the morning but when I got home we all ate breakfast and then went out to work in the sandbox (get it ready for our new sand) and play out side. This morning Trey really worked hard with me to get another 10 or so wheel barrow loads of dirt out of our sandbox. I am proud of how good of a worker he is! We then played on the water slide for a couple of hours and then went to pick up Jenna from work. We came back and Trey and I went down the water slide while Shelby and Lizi got their "store" ready to give out some more food. They made creative questionnaires asking if we wanted wagon rides or wheel barrow rides (we had to check a box indicating which one). We then came inside and Trey and Shelby finished adding all their pins on pinpics and then I helped Lizi set up an account and add all of her pins. The kids went outside while I finished doing Lizi's pins for her and the next thing I knew a water fight had broken out and soon Liz was right in the middle of it being attacked from every side! It was fun to watch and just as I was about to get involved in it, the sand truck came and delivered our sand. The kids had so much fun playing on the big pile! They built splash mountain and then Shelby and I dug a tunnel through the sand big enough for Chewy, Lyndee, and even Judi to crawl through! After we played in the sand box we watched Moana and ate dinner. Then it was time for bed!

Quote of the day- Trey, while digging the old dirt out of the sand box: "I'm having a little bit of fun doing this, but mostly I'm sweating."

June 17th

We all had cereal for breakfast and then went out and played in the sand box. Trey and Lizi made pirate ships and castles and had "wars" by making an enemy castle and then throwing sand balls at the enemy castle and then at theirs. I went out there after I was finished eating and made my own castle and did the war with them. We then all went to Home Depot to get paint for Jenna and Shelby's room. Liz, Jenna, and Shelby painted the walls and I think the color turned out to be a little more purple looking than they expected. While they painted I played princesses with Lizi and helped Trey set up some of his car stunt tracks. Shelby took a break from painting and she and I played the "Heart and Soul" duet and the "Peanuts" song on the piano. We then went out and played on the water slide for an hour or so. Trey and I have fun trying to keep each other from flying off the end into the mud and rabbit pellets. Today he tried to slow me down and I was going so fast that we grabbed each other's hand and I pulled him so hard he flew through the air for a few feet! After the water slide, we ate left overs for lunch and then went back outside and had a big water fight - Jenna and Liz against Trey, Shelby, and me. Lizi played in the sand box and Judi didn't want to get squirted. We all got soaked and had so much fun. After the water fight, Trey, Shelby, Jenna, and Lizi played oreo on the trampoline with the sprinklers going (we moved the tramp to the lawn yesterday while the sand truck delivered our sand). Then, after moving the trampoline back to the rocks, Trey and Jenna beat Liz and I in a game of kick ball. We knocked down a lot of apricots off the tree which, in our rules, gives them a run for each one we knock down while fielding (and we knocked 10 off!). While we played kickball, Shelby and Lizi played in the sand box. After kickball, we came in and watched Star Wars Episode 4 and had pizza for dinner. After the movie we went back outside for about an hour and started building Disneyland in our sand box, while trying to keep Daisy from lying down on the parts we had already made. We then got ready for bed.

Quote of the day - Trey while watching the Millennium Falcon getting drawn into the Death Star said: "Man, I bet their ears are really popping!"

June 18th

Father's Day! It was such a fun day! We went to church in the morning. Trey really didn't want to go to primary because there were a buch of kids that he didn't know. I remember feeling the same way when I was his age so I understood exactly how he felt. Well after church he ran up to me so excited and told me he loved it! Shelby, on the other hand, was in a class of rowdy boys and wasn't as sure about it. Lizi was ok with it but said it was boring. After church we came home and they gave me cards they made for me. Lizi made me the cutest card with "Bill" from Alice in Wonderland on the front. She did such a good job drawing him! Shelby made me two really cute cards, one with Mickey Mouse that said, "No matter where I go in the world, or what I do, I know one thing for sure...your love will follow me." That card also had a drawing of a Disney sign that I ended up buying at auction a week later. The other card she made was a cookie that said, "I love you to cookie heaven."

June 19th

The kids had a lot of fun today jumping on the po-go stick. Shelby was doing really good, setting the record of 72 that everyone was trying to break. The kids also had a lot of fun being buried in the sand box by Alley. At first Trey was going to be a storm trooper but alley didn't know how she was going to make one so she told Trey that she was going to do a mermaid tail for him. Trey hasn't moved that fast in quite a while!

June 20th

June 21st

Trey broke the po-go stick record today. Actually he shattered it! He got to 1,100 and he stopped on his own with out falling off! I'm so proud of him because when we first started jumping, he wasn't as good as Shelby or me but he never gave up and he succeeded in breaking the record. We also had so much fun playing with the marble game today. At first the kids were setting up two towers but I showed them how to do four towers and they played with them for hours. Trey, Shelby, and even Lizi for a little while kept stats on which marbles would win the marble race. I think Trey must have filled about 20 pieces of paper with his stats! It was so fun to see them keep stats since I did the same thing when I was their age.

June 22nd

We decided to hike down to the river today. Shelby and Trey wanted to hike Molly's Nipple but Lizi wasn't too keen on the idea so we compromised and had fun at the river. We actually hiked first over to an old grain storage building and a "fort" of sorts made of volcanic rock. We then hiked the river all the way over to where we normally hike down to it. Shelby and Trey had fun trying to swat wasps with my hiking poles while Lizi and Judi happily ate all the snacks on the river bank that Liz packed for everyone.

June 24th

Trey really wanted an ant farm so when we woke up he wanted to go to Walmart to try to find one. We laughed at this since every time we told him previously that we were going to Walmart, he would voice his displeasure. So we ended up driving into St George to find an ant farm and came home and tried to find ants for it. The kids also had a great time playing in the sand box. We soaked the sand box with water and the kids loved playing in the water and sand.

June 25th

After church we came home and the kids and I watched a little bit of the Disneyland Auction that was going on on the computer. It was fun to see how into it Shelby and especially Trey got! They really wanted a Splash Mountain warning sign but it got too expensive to buy. I did end up getting a Fantasyland/It's a Small World directional sign. As I was bidding on it Trey was with me and would jump up and down and squeal a little when we were the highest bidder. When we won it he jumped high, let out an excited, "YES!!" and gave me a high five. We also had a fun time playing in the sand box for most of the day.

June 26th

June 27th

June 28th

We woke up early to get an early start on our drive to California. Shelby, Trey, and Lizi sat in the far back and slept and played on the tablets for most of the way. We stopped at the Van Eaton Auction house in Sherman Oaks to pick up the Disney sign that I won in the auction. It was fun to see the Disney memorabilia there. Then we went to the Tropicana Hotel across the street from Disneyland and checked in. We handed out tickets which were mailed to us this year and did our "pin draft" which was a lot of fun. We walked to Down Town Disney and over to the Disneyland Hotel to recreate some pictures that my mom took of me there when I was a kid. We got back to our hotel and went to bed early.

June 29th-July 1st

July 2nd

After a long few days at Disneyland, we slept in for a while. We checked out of our hotel at 11:00am and headed for Huntington Beach. It was a crowded day at the beach but the kids had a lot of fun. Shelby and Trey boogie boarded for a while and then we all tried to build walls to block the water. Lizi and Shelby started one by them selves. Soon Trey wanted to do one so he built one in front and to the side of the girls. A large wave came and completely destroyed Trey's wall and damaged the girls' so Trey decided to go help them with theirs. We left the beach at about 3:00 and started the drive home. We stopped to eat at the IHOP in Corona and made it home just before midnight.

July 3rd

When I looked out the window I noticed Liz running as fast as she could across the lawn. That definitely peaked my interest so I went out to see what was going on! There was Shelby and Judi also running. Shelby was practicing for the 4th of July race! So then Trey and I jumped in and we all had races, getting ready for tomorrow. Lizi even ran a couple of practice races.

July 4th

We woke up and went to the 4th of July parade which the kids love since the participants throw out candy and other things to them. After the parade we walked over to the games and races. The kids were all both nervous and excited to do the races! It was cute to see Shelby and Trey stretching and warming up before their race! Lizi was the first to go and she won her race! It was the second time she won her race! Next up was Trey who finished 3rd, and finally Shelby who also finished third. We then went to play some games - a fishing game, putting game, football throw, and water squirting game seemed to be their favorites. Each game would give them tickets for participating which we redeemed for prizes at the end. We came home and played outside for a short while before we realized that we needed to get snow cones! After snow cones, we came home and Trey and I played catch while Shelby picked grapes and Lizi played in the sand box with Judi. Trey and I worked on his curve ball which he picked up really well! I absolutely love playing catch with Trey! I also threw some balls to Trey which he hit really good! I haven't ever seen him hit the ball so well before! Shelby wanted to play catch after Trey and I were finished. So she and I had fun playing catch until one of my knuckleballs dropped and hit her right on the foot! The kids then had a web chat with their mom and they made cup cakes with Jenna as well. Once it cooled off, we went back outside and played in the sand box until it was dark enough to light our sparklers. We then watched the Hurricane fireworks from our back yard and went to bed.

July 5th

We got up and ate breakfast. After breakfast we played outside for a bit - Shelby collecting and eating grapes that probably weren't quite ready yet, but she was so excited to try them; Lizi and Judi played in the sand box, and Trey rode his bike down into the pit. We also set up a slip and slide on the grass and the kids enjoyed playing on it, especially after I turned on the sprinklers too. We came in to watch Mulan II since it was 106 degrees outside and then we went to pick up Jenna from work. When we got back home we had lunch and went back outside to play - Jenna with Lizi in the sand box, Trey played volleyball with Judi and I and Shelby rode her bike down into the pit and around through the grape arbor where she would stop to pick and eat more grapes. We then all played the most fun games of Ultimate Frisbee. We probably played about 4 games and had so much fun we forgot about how hot it was. I then gave all the kids shoulder rides which had us all laughing! Trey asked me again to play catch with him again which made my day! We played a game where we pretended that he was really pitching to batters and had to think about what pitch to throw so they wouldn't be expecting it. Lizi then asked me to help her build Disneyland so we built the Matterhorn, Tea Cups, Alice in Wonderland, and Small World (Jenna and her had already made the Castle earlier). We came in and watched Brave, which was a little scary in parts for Shelby and Trey even though they picked it out (scary movies don't bother Lizi at all). We then got their things packed up and got ready for bed.

July 6th

We got up a little earlier than normal so we could head to the airport. After eating breakfast, Shelby said an extra goodbye to Daisy, whom she's really grown close to, and we loaded up the van. On the way to the airport, Shelby and Trey got car sick pretty bad so we stopped to get them a 7-up which seems to help them. On the flight, Lizi wanted to sit by Liz and Shelby and Trey wanted to sit by me. Lizi had a little girl that was flying by herself sitting next to her who was nice initially but who became a little "crazy" as the flight went on. Trey and I played Color Switch on my ipad and Shelby slept. When we got to Dallas, we met their Mom and Steve and it was fun to watch Trey so excitedly show his Mom the video he took on his tablet of Splash Mountain. Due to lightning, we had to wait an extra 30 minutes for the bags to be unloaded from the plane. When it was time to say goodbye, Trey's was a little bit tearful, Lizi said that she wanted to stay in Utah, and Shelby gave Liz and I HUGE hugs! I had such  fun time with the kids this year!!

*Note: Although I updated this post every night, for some reason it never saved properly and every day after June 17th was erased.