Dad's birthday

So after C's and E's birthdays we have Dad's birthday. It is a little anticlimactic since I plan these fun filled friend parties for the kids and Dad just has a family party. We still had fun. The kids and I celebrated during the day by going to Lagoon while Dad was at work. It turned into a miserable Lagoon trip. The day before my friend invited us to swim with their family at the Layton Surf and Swim. We ended up going and staying there for 4 hours. I obviously didn't put enough sunblock on myself. I got a horrible sunburn on my back and shoulders so walking around Lagoon the next day felt especially hot. Then to top it all off - C was getting out of his bed the morning of Dad's birthday and got his pinky toe caught in his sheets. He came downstairs telling me that he thought he broke his toe. I was thinking he just didn't get enough sleep the night before (and I thought he was just super whiny) so I told him I'm sure he was fine and if his toe hurt to lay down and rest for a while. I thought I was such a smart mom to get him to lay down again and possibly go back to sleep - all the problems would be solved! Now you have to understand - my kids have been fascinated with the idea of breaking a bone. Every time they fight or wrestle they always say that so and so broke their arm or their leg. That is why I didn't react so much when C said he broke his toe. He rested and we got ready to go to Lagoon. He was limping around Lagoon and so I took a look at his toe again. I thought the skin underneath the toe had been torn and that was why he was in pain. We didn't stay too long at Lagoon since C was hurting and my sunburn was not cooperating in the heat. That night we had Dad's party and after the party C was still complaining about his toe. I looked at it again and it was totally swollen. He is scheduled to start playing football in a couple of weeks so I decided I had better take him in. Well the dr x-rayed it and sure enough - it was broken. What an awesome mom I am! I make my child walk all over Lagoon with a broken toe! The dr put it in a little boot that he is supposed to wear for a few weeks. Crazy crazy!

Dad's birthday was fun though. I took him the night before to the Desert Star Theater to watch an Indiana Jones parody with a few of his high school friends. It was a fun night out. Then on his birthday J had a lot of fun announcing some of the presents before Dad opened them. So much for surprises! J was trying to be sly about it saying, "I have no idea what this is" and then he would say "Dad, it's a helmet" or whatever it was. The joy of being 3. You can do things like that and it's still cute.

Now we are coming up on our family reunion that I can hardly wait for. I really wish everyone could come. I am really enjoying summer time. My friend told me that summer is 1/2 over. That really surprised me. We've done a lot, but I'm not ready for the kids to go back to school any time soon. Maybe I'll change my tune by the end of August.

4th of July

We had a fun holiday last week. Our holiday actually started on the 2nd of July since C was able to have his Grandma Day with Gma Madsen. C and his cousin his age were able to go to Cherry Hill, Fat Cats, the firework stand, and who knows where else! All I know is that he came home with a huge smile on his face that lasted for days! The Grandma took E to her cousins' house for a princess slumber party and her grandma day. She had a fun filled day of going to the beauty salon to get her fingernails and toenails painted, swimming, going to see Kit Kitridge movie, and fun crafts with her cousins and Grandma. She also had a ton of fun!

E came home early on the 4th to join us for the parade. We always go to the Kaysville parade - they throw a TON of candy and then the last half of the parade is a water fight. The floats spray water at the crowd and the crowd can bring squirt guns, etc. to fight back. You always see people on the floats targeting someone specific that they know - they will jump off the float to dump a bucket of water on someone's head. It's very entertaining, but also dangerous. I try to keep my kids back on the sidewalk so no one gets hurt. It gets a little wild.

After the parade we came back and went swimming at our neighbors house. The have a big pool in their backyard that the kids just LOVE. After dinner we went over to Layton High to watch the fireworks. We took popcorn and drinks and watched the fireworks on our blankets. The kids were so good and really seemed to enjoy the fireworks this year. In years past the fireworks show would end and we would have camp chairs, blankets, a stroller, and 3-4 sleeping children that we would have to walk back to the car somehow. It was a challenge, but I hate missing the fireworks. To me, it's not the 4th of July unless you go to the big fireworks show and you have to be close enough to feel the big boom in your heart. I have fond memories of going to the Rexburg rodeo and staying at the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks after. I totally loved that. Hopefully my kids are going to have fond memories too. :)

E's 8th birthday party

We just had E's birthday party yesterday. It was so much fun. After doing C's party and having a gentleman in our ward pass away and having to do the funeral, I decided it was time to hire out E's party. :) I was feeling a little overwhelmed and knew I wouldn't have time to get the whole thing planned how I wanted it to be (since it IS her 8th birthday and all and I really wanted it to be special) so we took the party to Flips Gymnastics. It turned out to be a really good choice. They have a coach that organizes the activities for the kids for the 1st hour and then you have 30 minutes in their party room for presents, cake, and ice cream. They started out the party stretching and then did an obstacle course. They played some fun games, jumped on their trampolines, played parachute games, broke the pinata (I can't do a party without the pinata!). They did something that I'd never thought of before - the coach gave all the kids a piece of sidewalk chalk and had them draw a birthday picture and write a birthday message to E on their trampoline. It was so cute! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it, but I totally spaced it.

I don't know what is wrong with my mind lately, but I forget everything! I had a bad dream the night before E's party that I totally forgot that the kids were still in school and no one could come to her party - it was time for her party to start and I hadn't made a cake or wrapped her presents or anything. Good thing it was just a dream! The day of her party I left the house and totally forgot the camera and the video camera. Good thing dad can pick up the pieces behind me. He came and got the camera and video camera so we at least have some evidence of actually having her party!

Here are some pictures from her party:














Yeah - we got her a Nintendo DS. She was pretty excited. C and A both have one and now they can all play together.











These are two of her good friends, Gracie and Jenna. They are all so cute together.

Overall, E said it was her best party EVER! She was in heaven the whole party. I'm glad we were able to do something fun that didn't require too much thought on my part. :)

Now onto Dad's birthday and family reunion planning and E's baptism! I really do love planning parties. :)