Family Talent Show

Tonight my family decided to have a little impromptu concert.


First it was Grant...



Then it was Emma...........

And finally it was Jamie...........

And she with no musical talent (Mommy) was behind the camera. I decided that MY talent was blogging about THEIR talent!

The Strauss Festival

This is where I have been spending my evenings and nights since last Wednesday. This a is local event held in the community every July. For the past 5 years I have volunteered. The last 3 have been as a dresser backstage. Its not the most glamorous job (the pin pricks in my fingers go to show), but it is fun. And last year I roped my mom into doing it with me. It is a crazy whirlwind for 5 days, but pretty fun too. Now I just need to hire a house cleaner to get my house back in order, and convince my kids to let me sleep for about----12 hours!! See you all next July.




Check out more about the Strauss Festival at:http://www.straussfestival.com/

Wiggles Concert

Tonight we went to an impromptu Wiggles Concert. Jamie called from work about 4pm to say that someone had won 4 tickets to a Wiggles Concert, and did we want them. Well, Emma was staying the night with a friend, so it was the perfect opportunity. When we asked Grant if he wanted to pick a friend to go some where special--he picked Sterling! And we were off....

Hand in hand in the parking lot:

Hand in hand up the walkway:

Red Ropes in hand-ready for the show to start:

Trying to get the "new" Wiggle, Sam's, attention:

Getting some Wiggle groove on (kind of hard to see, but worth it):

Ride Em' Cowboy/girl!

If any of you have been around Grant for--um, 2 minutes, you can probably guess that he is obsessed with cowboys, horses, or anything that is western. So when he got to go on this little adventure yesterday with Grandma Redfearn, he was so excited!!

Grandma has a friend named Karen, who has horses at her house. Grant has known about this for awhile and kept reminding us that he hasn't got to go over to ride the horse. So everyone's schedules finally worked out and Grandma called to see if Grant could go to Karen's house with her. The first thing he asked was, "Do you think she'll show me her whap (whip) and her gun?!" We had to convince him that she probably didn't have those things--even though she had a horse. And then he ran to the fridge to get an apple, "Cause' Mom, horses like to eat apple you know!" (I guess Grants' eat apples too, because it was half gone by the time they got out the door)

Well, I think from the look on his face his dreams came true:

And for those of you who have been around Emma for---um, 2 minutes, you might know that she is deathly afraid of most animals--big or small. But she is getting better lately. So she went along too. She hadn't committed to going on the horse at all--and we all expected her to huddle close to Grandma. But she surprised us and took her turn on the horse--"But I only went one time around!" she was quick to say. But that's okay, it was a big step for her.

Thanks Grandma and Karen!!

Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody do their share.....

Yesterday after all of our company left, we had toys EVERYWHERE!! I guess I never realized how much stuff we had accumulated when it was all tucked away. But once it was out in the open I decided it was time for a MAJOR clean out. Emma and Grant were amazing!! I expected them to put up much more of a fight in getting rid of "their" toys, but they did pretty good. We had to haggle over a few stuffed animals, make some compromises to keep some toys they just "found" while cleaning, and so forth.

Here is the give away/trash piles.

Here is the finished product.

RELIEF!!!! GOOD JOB GUYS!

HELP!!!

THIS IS WHAT I WOKE UP TO THIS MORNING:

ANTS IN THE MICROWAVE!!!

We have had a little ant problem for about 2 weeks now. They show up in the most random places (they love my dishwasher, and the shelves with my shoes on it in my closet), I clean them up, kill them, put out bait stuff, they go away, then they show up in another spot. YUCK!!! Any home remedies for getting rid of ants??? Throw them my way!

PS--Grant asked if we had ants in our house because they were trying to find food for the grasshoppers. (Bug's Life reference for all you non-moms) =-)

Dance Machine

It is common practice in our house, when we clean, to put some music on for motivation, distraction, whatever you want to call it. That works for awhile, but then THIS usually ends up happening (at least with one member of our family.)



Thanks Grant for the comic relief!

Family Pictures

We were finally able to get everyone together for some family pictures. We took them on the grounds surrounding the Sacramento LDS Temple. They have these great oak trees that look amazing! Thanks Sarah for being so patient with our little brood of kids! If you want to check out this amazing photographer you can find her at: www.sarahblairphotography.com

Here are a few of our favorites!

Skating

More Summer Fun! I think my kids should have grown up in the 70's with disco skating!


And yes, those are pink princess skates on Grant. I'm such a mean mom, but he is so secure in his manhood, he didn't even question them, just embraced the princesses and went out there to strut his stuff!!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July close to home. I got up early in the morning and went down to the park with my sister Debbie, to participate in a 5K fun run. It was kind of cool to run through the tree shaded park and then along neighborhood street of where we grew up.

Then, we spent the day relaxing, and swimming in the pool. Came home for quick naps and then headed back out to the park. We played a little soccer, tag, and of course had some ice cream treats. Then it was time for the fireworks to begin. It was about a 45 minute show. Emma and Grant both loved watching!

4th of July Camping

It all started with a plan:

Daddy set the tent up in the heat:

Grant went out to help, but ended up taking cover in the shade:






The weekend of the 4th Jamie had a little campout in the backyard with the kids. It has cooled down considerably here, and we have had some great evenings. So it seemed like the perfect time. I have to admit, I kept the back door open and the kitchen light on waiting for someone (or all of them) to sneak back in during the night. I my amazement all three thoughed it out the whole night, and even claimed to have slept very well. Thanks Daddy!!

Cousin Fun

My sister and her family have been here visiting since the 1st. Emma and Grant have thoroughly enjoyed having their cousins here. They wake up asking when they get to see them, and go to bed asking when they get to see them. Here are a few pics. We've enjoyed each other just "hanging out", swimming at Grandma and Papa Redfearns, picked apricots, played at the park, and got family pictures taken. I'm sure there will be a second installment of Cousin Fun before the end of the trip!