The LAKE

So now I am getting to the vacation of the summer! Ryan's family came from far and wide across the US so we could all be together and we went up to the lake.

It was really fun. Before we get to the great part, no trip is complete without the traveling story. Can we go on a car trip without one of our children chucking in the car? I have never been car sick before and this concept is really weird to me, but anyway, this time it was Bella. We were almost to the lake and driving through a windy canyon to get there, Bella was asleep, and she woke herself up by throwing-up all the Nilla Wafers she had eaten during the drive. What a mess. Of course there is no place to pull off on this nice windy road, so we have to go a few miles before there is a small spot to get off and I can kinda clean her off. We were really close to the lake, so we opted to not take an hour and just do a quick wipe so we could get there and then throw everything in the washer! Clark spent the rest of the drive with his head hanging out the window! But HURRAY we made it!

We had a really great time. The first day we were there Bella liked the sand and had fun filling buckets and playing in it.

The next day we went, she wouldn't put her feet on the sand AT ALL. She spent the whole day going from the mat to the beach towel, unless we were holding her. Crazy girl!

Bella and Clark both liked the rides on the Sea-Doos as well. Clark wasn't sure on the first trip that he loved them, but decided they were alright after all and had a great time riding them. I didn't get a picture of him riding (opps) but here is one of Bella.

We called her our little sumo with all that flotation! There was also a boat that was lots of fun. Clark especailly loved getting pulled on the tube behind the boat. Ryan and I took a turn as well but between the two of us there was a lot of mass (mostly his :) that got jurked around as we bounced over the wake of the boat. I was SO sore the next day but would do it again!

The place where we stayed was great and the kids had a good time playing tennis and swiming in the pool with their cousins.

Well, we really loved being together and had a great time. Too bad we all don't live closer together!

Bella the helper

Many of my posts have been about Bella and the trouble she manages to find. Although this is very true, she also can sort of be helpful - putting things away, and throwing things in the garbage - sometimes. The other day she was rather upset that she wasn't allowed to sweep, so here is her attempt.














Good thing there wasn't too much stuff left on the floor!

Time to Catch Up

We have had a busy and fun July and I need to post some stuff about it! It was great to see the Brubakers who came for a visit. I should have gotten more pictures, but here is one of Clark, Kalani and Kawika playing the Wii. They had a great time and we loved seeing our friends! Clark had a great time with the boys and Bella loved the 'little girl' time. Thanks for coming to see us!!

Dancin' Queen

Bella is a great little dancer and today we finally got a great movie of her dancing to her uncle's rock-n-roll guitar music.  She loves when he plays!  Pause the blog music at the bottom of the page so you can hear the great guitar.

Happy Birthday America

So it is a little belated but we did celebrate America's holiday and here are some pictures to prove it.

America's cutest patriotic girl. This was before the evening festivities began.

Is is just me, or does it seem like it takes forever to get dark on the 4th? Clark kept asking, 'Is it time yet?" and Bella was really tired. I tried to take this picture of the kids waiting at least four times and this was the best we got.

YEAH! The fireworks finally started and Bella actually sat and watched them! I think Ryan is smiling more because his little girl was just laying in his arms than anything else.

Here are the fireworks we did in our neighborhood. Clark looks a bit worried about these sparklers that he is doing with his friend down the street. I guess I will just be glad that he isn't a pyromaniac.

Bella liked the fireworks but not as much as the ones in in the sky. I love living here in America and it is fun to celebrate with family and friends!

It happened again...

This time it was lipstick. Really I count myself fortunate that the make-up has only been on her face and clothes (and headband that is around her neck) and not on any walls or floors. The problem is that the bathroom drawers here are at a regular bathroom height and our old house they were at a kitchen counter height. It of course doesn't help that the bathroom door is always left open...

Baseball

I am trying to catch up on a few items of note over the past few weeks. Clark has finished another successful season of baseball. This year was machine pitch. By the end of the season, Clark was starting to really get it. I told him this and he said that he knew about it the whole time and didn't think that was much of a compliment but rather an insult. Really, he is understanding the game better and did a great job. The first game it was snowing and by the last game it was in the 90's. What crazy spring weather!

Z-Pah

As we were getting ready to eat dinner tonight, Bella kept saying something and we couldn't figure out what it was - it kinda sounded like zebra but why she would keep saying over and over again, I didn't know. Finally we figured out that she was trying to say pizza but for some reason the syllables just weren't in the right order. So tonight we didn't have pizza we had z-pah!