Fireworks, Projects and fun!

Lately we've been planning.  Lots of planning,  We have a road trip coming up in a few months, and 4 or 5 yard projects to tackle, and lots of playing and summer fun in between.  Who knew yard projects were so expensive!?  So we're spreading them out and tackling them one at a time in hopes to get them all done before fall comes around.
Our first project:  Small retaining wall by pine tree.  We have one area along the sidewalk with a few aspen trees and a pine tree, and the landscaping goes along this bed on the yard side of it, but along the sidewalk, nothing.  And it is sloped quite a bit, so any time it rains, all the dirt gets washed onto the sidewalk...and kids like to play in it, and kick dirt around, and it's just messy.  So Jason decided he wanted to tackle that first.  We went and found some really nice stone pavers and got started. 
I forgot to take a before pic...but here's the first row almost done.

 The man...a.k.a. Jason, doing his manly thing...haha.  I just sat back and watched pretty much...I was useless.  And those stones are heavy.  Not saying I couldn't lift them, but I AM saying, I didn't enjoy it.

 We were going to stop at 2 rows, but I thought 3 would look better, so Jason went back to the store for more stones.... :)

 And the finished product...ahhhh....so much better.  Now I just need to get my hands in that dirt and plant a bunch of stuff to make it look pretty.  :)

 Ta da!  That was fun.

Next project...probably planting a tree or two in the back yard.  Three cheers for SHADE! 
Now onto the fireworks!  They were fun.  That's about all I have to say about them.  Since all pics are now taken with my phone camera (which is NOT great), I haven't been taking alot of pictures lately.  I need to give in and just get a new camera someday.  Maybe after all the yard projects.  But for now, here are some kind of ok pics of the fireworks from my phone.  The only reason why I took pics of fireworks at all was because the moon was just coming over the mountains behind them and it was huge and full and looked super cool.  So really I guess I was trying to take pics of the cool moon, and the fireworks were an added bonus. 
I wish you could see the mountains a bit more, but it looked so cool. 

 Woohoo!!

And I'm throwing these pics of the girls in just for fun, cause I took these pics today, and they are cute! 
Slip n' slide!   Cause really who doesn't love a good water slide on a 96 F day?

 We got Kayla a hair cut the other day, and apparently the shorter it is, the curlier her hair gets.  I knew it had some natural curl to it, but it just keeps getting more and more.  So funny, because it used to be straight as a stick!  So cute.  She is in love with her new hair cut. 

And that's all folks.  Next up, Cache Valley Cruise In.

Cousin night

So last week, G&K had a FANTASTIC idea, which I'm surprised no one had come up with sooner.  We decided to do a babysitting trade, where once a month, each of us takes ALL the cousins.  And the other 2 couples get to have a date night.  Babysitting starts to get pretty pricey when you have more than one kid, and you are gone for 2 or more hours, AND you pay for dinner and or a movie or whatever.  Yikes.  But we are pretty excited that we get the next two weekends for a date night!  We've been struggling to find sitters so we can go out.  Thus, we haven't had a real date night in a long time.  I have high hopes that we can get some good Christmas shopping done, and maybe a night out for dinner!  It's going to be awesome.  If nothing else, we can have some real adult time, even if it's just going shopping for groceries without kids!!  That will be major for me, since I usually go by myself WITH both girls, and it's usually a disaster.
We started it off with all the kids coming to our house so G&K and G&J could go on a date.  We made oreo turkeys.  Good times.  The kids loved them.  Kayla and Haylee made theirs and then promptly ate them, while Dillon tried to make his last as long as possible.  I think he ended up eating it though before he left.

 She informed me that she was "angster".  I think she was going for "gangsta."  Still cute though!

 They were all quite pleased with their final result.

TWO date nights coming up!!  I am so excited!

Bear Lake Adventures

We spent the last weekend with Jason's family up at the family cabin, and over boating at Bear Lake. And I finally found our camera cord, and got all of my pics uploaded! *Disclaimer* Loads and loads of pictures coming up. You have been warned.

We start off with Makayla trying to get the hang of her new big girl bike...

Makayla took a picture of me studying while waiting for everyone to get here!

Playing at the park...

After Jason's dad arrived, they got straight to work building Jason's workbench in the garage...Kayla was once again the photographer.

Me taking her picture for once!

almost done! (I still have to go take a pic of the finished product. )
On the way up to the cabin the next day, I discovered something was not quite right with my eye...It felt bruised...how does one bruise an eyeball? Seriously. It was dumb. And got much redder than this. That is my sad/what is wrong with me face...haha.
Roasting some mallows.


Playing Skittles at the cabin. Great entertainment.
Goofball!

I love this pic.

Time to go boating!!
Wade and Debbie rented a boat for a few hours, and we made the most of it!!
Tubing, woohoo!!
Makayla being brave, deciding to give the tube a go!
laughing with Daddy, another one of my favorite pics!
Look at me go! haha...
Yes, we are nerds...
Look at him...dang!
Wade got up on the wakeboard!
Boat Master Jay
My most favorite pic of all...Good work Jackie for capturing this fine moment!

Buddies!
Like a pro!
Out for another round with aunt Ashley!
And we ended our Bear Lake trip with a few hours on the beach. We were all pretty worn out and didn't last too long though. Then we headed back to the cabin for one more night, played a round of Settlers, Austin is the King...for now.
Then we headed home the next morning.
Such a fun time. We love it when Jason's fam visits, because we only get to see them a few times a year. And we had our first house guests at our new house! That was pretty sweet! Next time hopefully the won't be on an air mattress, and will have a real bed. :)
Till next time!