Little Kid's Camp

Recently Obi and Han went on an almost 2 week mission trip to Southern California. While they were gone we had "Little Kids' Camp" at our house. Every weekday we did fun things that the little kids like to do but we don't necessarily do a lot because the older two boys wouldn't enjoy.

Here are a few pictures of some of the highlights of our time.

Swimming at our friend's pool.

We love the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. When you first go in you are met by these wonderful giraffes. Earlier in the summer Yoda was terrified of them, but this time he thought they were the best. I didn't get a good picture of him with the giraffes, but this one is of my friend's kids with Padme in the front.

The giraffe's tongues are amazing!

These two got snakes painted on their forearms.

These two played in the dirt.

These two are zebras.

And these two have dragonflies on their cheeks.

The zoo was lots of fun. Our friends made it even more fun!


Leia got her first horse riding lesson. She loved it! And is praying for a horse.

We went to Focus on the Family. We love the Chronicles of Narnia, so of course we had to take pictures with the kids and Aslan.

Yoda by the Narnia wall.

Watching a Last Chance Detectives in their little theater.

We had lots of fun and were sad when it was over. One of the things the kids liked the most is going to yard sales one day. How simple is that? I spent a few dollars on books and everyone was happy! I need to do more little kid things even when the oldest two are home and don't want to join in. My little kids are growing up fast and I need to enjoy them more.

Padme's Birthday Party

For Padme's first ever birthday party with friends, she wanted a chocolate cake, not a decorated cake, and a dress up/water party. So, this is what she got! She loves this chocolate sheet cake (recipe from the Pioneer Woman). Very plain looking, but delicious!

Her little friends all dressed up in dress up clothes. The boy is Indiana Jones!

And the water party was after the presents and cake and homemade ice cream. Here Padme is arming herself with water balloons.

The water slide was a hit as well.

And no party is complete without a pinata and a bunch of candy.

She had a great time and was looking forward to her brothers coming home after being gone on a mission trip and the family party that night.

Obi's Birthday

Obi is the captain of his Ultimate Frisbee team. And since the team color is orange, Obi has become a fan of all things orange. For his birthday, all he wanted was an orange cake. So, his cake was orange with little Frisbees on top. I even colored the white cake orange, so his cake was orange inside and out. He had a friend spend the day and they had lots of fun.

He had a great 15th Birthday!

Han's Birthday

Han loves guns. And he wanted a rifle more than anything so he could go hunting this fall. So, for his birthday, we surprised him with a rifle. And he was very surprised!!! The kids usually get their presents the night of their birthday, but since we were getting him a gun, we gave it to him first thing in the morning and Hubby took him and Obi out shooting for the day.

They had lots of fun. Han was so pleased.

Apparently part of the fun of having guns is cleaning them. When they got home, they spent quite a bit of time cleaning their guns in the garage. And Obi is always a lunatic when I am taking pictures!

Okay, not always.

Han had a great day and was thrilled with his new gun. Now let's see if he can make his first kill this fall....

Ultimate Frisbee Showdown

The Ultimate Frisbee league ended this past week with the Final Game. Our boys' team, Ultimatum was in the final and they were undefeated. We were all very excited, and the boys were very nervous. Here are a few pictures from the final game.

My camera had dead batteries for the game, so none of these are my pictures. Remember as you look through these pictures that Ultimate Frisbee is a NO CONTACT sport. Whatever...

Here is the team praying together before the game.

I love this picture. Obi being attacked by a girl in midair.

I love this picture, too. He loves orange!

I had to include a picture of this girl on the boys team. She is a real go getter and this is what we have come to expect of her.

Han making a catch with his shadow not touching him.

Han showing off his muscles.
Making another catch with his shadow in place.

It was a good and close game and Ultimatum ended up winning. We were so excited. But no team pictures were taken at the end. They didn't want to rub it in with the other team too much I guess. What a great season they had. The parents on our team were great and I think Hubby and I had as much fun cheering and visiting with people at the games as the boys did. And the younger kids had a blast playing with other kids at the park. Overall, a successful season. Can't wait for next year!

Padme's 6th Birthday and Yoda's 2nd Birthday

Five of our six children have summer birthdays. And four of them are in a 16 day time span. This year, the two oldest boys were gone on a mission trip for Yoda's birthday, so we waited to celebrate when they came home on Padme's birthday. We had a joint family party for both Padme and Yoda in the evening, and earlier that afternoon, we had a friend party for Padme. Lots of fun around here! Here are a few pictures of our little celebration.

All the kids with Yoda's basketball cake. That little boy is crazy about balls.

He liked his cake!

Padme's gift from Nana and Papa. She loves the CD with the book and dances around to it.

Yoda's present from Nana and Papa was a set of board books with a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal. He loves them all.

Yoda loves his new trike, although he cannot pedal it without help.

Yoda saw giraffes at the zoo and won't stop talking about them. We got him a stuffed giraffe and he loved it.

Padme got a stuffed elephant that she loved, also.

This picture isn't too clear, but Yoda got a stuffed monkey, and he did not like it at all! He even put it back in the bag it came in. He kept saying, "No, no montey, no, no!" We couldn't believe it and we were all laughing about it. After a few days, he would hold the monkey, but he still doesn't like it!