Summer Days!

We went and got wood the other morning as a family! It was hard work but we got to go play afterwards... so it was totally worth it. When I was a kid, we got wood together as a family all the time. My dad would take the truck and load all 8 of us in the back of it. We would drive off and find a good tree and cut it up and load it, then we would take turns riding and running back home. With the back of the truck full of wood there wasn't enough room for everyone to ride back all at once. I try to explain to my kids how easy they have it... but they think my childhood sounds fun (I really can't argue, those were great memories! ha ha!)

Lizzy is such a great worker with not one complaint!

Aaron working the splitter with Richard.

The kids at 1 mile in Chico

Aaron trying to make a raft for the kids... until he got yelled at by a lady downstream who told him she was going to call the forest ranger for disrupting wildlife. That same lady lit up a cigarette a few minutes later! We vented about her for about an hour!

The kids stacked up rocks and made a really cool water shoot.

After swimming, we went through Gridley and had a milkshake at the Burgie!

Arrow of Light and Birthday

Christian receiving his arrow

With his boy scout plaque that he will be able to hang on his wall and put all his badges on.

Christian had the best den leader (we are really going to miss Lena)

At his last pack meeting! He will miss some of his buddies until they join him


Meliah and Lizzy will miss their friends at Scouts too.


11 years old (legal to babysit his sisters now... yeah!)

Happy Birthday Bud!

I've always called Christian my bud, or my buddy. When he was born it really was a blessing in my life and Aaron's too because I was so lonely! Aaron was going to school and working full time and I just really missed him and I really missed having someone around. So, when Christian was born I had a little buddy! He has always been a great blessing to our home and I can't believe that 11 years have passed by so quickly.

Today Christian will be awarded his Arrow of Light for Cub Scouts and will join the Boy Scouts. He has earned all 20 badges and has worked really hard on completing them. He just finished his chess set this week and was able to play a game of chess on his new board with his Grandpa Warren on Father's Day. They said it was a tie! He has a lot the same personality as my dad which is a blessing.



I appreciate that he will still hug and kiss his mom and dad. He has always done extremely well in school and we have never had to even remind him to do his homework (chores are a different story). He is very good at Math (and loves it)! He will be moving to an 8th grade AP Algebra class next year in the 6th Grade. He loves Basketball, Baseball and really any sport with a ball! This year, girls have become a little more important to him too!

Happy Birthday Bud!

Alcatraz, Talent Show and silliness

We were able to go as a family to Alcatraz! The kids really enjoyed it and they all expressed that they never want to go to a place like that, ever!

On the boat before docking

Meliah has always been Lizzy's second mom. She just worries and cares for her so much, I love that!

Waiting to take off to the island

It ended up being a really nice day! The teacher suggested hats and coats, it was cute seeing some of the kids with their winter hats and coats on (their parents weren't there to say they didn't have to wear 'em)

We got to participate in the 2nd Annual Primary Talent Show on Saturday. It was really fun and amazing how many different kinds of talents that were displayed and performed. Some of the kids even deplayed some art projects that had completed. This was the coolest sign! The ends of the stars had blinkie lights and I just loved it!

Lizzy sang a Katie Perry song, "You change your mind"

Meliah sang while she played the piano, "Home on the Range"

Christian planned on playing a song on the piano and participating in a group thing but he had a TOC baseball game scheduled in Wheatland. There weren't enough players that showed up on Christian's team so they had to forfeit. I took pictures of him at home to include him. He plays the piano like he's running a race as fast as he can.


This is just a random picture of Aaron wearing his new camping backpack. He was able to fit Lizzy in there.

Meliah's last day of School

Field Day at Luther
Lizzy got to go around with Meliah's class while I helped with one of the events
They loved the paraschute!

Meliah going the sack races, I loved how her braids bounced

Meliah with her 3rd Grade Teacher- Mrs. Barrow (Meliah has thrived in her class)

Hockey! I was in charge of this event, fortunately Brother Weaver was helping with hockey too. He demonstrated it about 10 times that morning!

D-Backs are going to TOC

The team in the dugout

Aaron with the team after the last game

Christian pitching - I love that you can see the determination in his face and the ball

Aaron talking to Christian during the game. It was sooo HOT!

Kindergartener! Where'd the time go?

She is so grown up now

She doesn't even need me anymore to push her on the swing!

Lizzy getting her diploma from Mrs. Orme

They were such an amazing class! They are doing things that most kids learn in Kindergarten because they were all so smart and well-behaved. This is the quilt that a couple of the mothers did for the teachers. There was a self portrait of each of the preschool kids from the class.

Preschool class of 2010