Good for something...

Sisters...

They're good for something, like single handedly (or uterusly) filling up a couch with playmates...

To be fair two of those kids belong to my brother, but to be fair, two of her kids weren't represented on the couch either (one is on a mission and one was glued to the TV). Tomorrow we are headed back to our rock in the middle of the Pacific, Buddy wants to stay here ( I do too, but I probably should pretend I'm missing my husband instead of having such a great time). So all in all a super fantastic, love my family, day!

Second chances....

Since Buddy and I are headed back to our rock in a few days, my sister is trying to get back into the favorite sister slot by reattempting this....

Mission accomplished, she is now in first (and only) position for that favorite sister spot! Buddy has had the most FANTASTIC vacation ever thanks to her kids, and her goobery sense of humor that can get him into a knee slapping giggle anytime, anywhere... but then again I always thought her face was a little funny! So all in all  a super fantastic, not ready to leave, day.

It's all fun and games....

Buddy decided to throw a party today....

I'd say it was a squirting success. As for his romancing skills with his old girlfriend Hemi....

Not so much of a success story....although she did text him from the car telling him she loves him! Hopefully Buddy will remain goofy through his teenage years (and I mean awkward goofy, not cute goofy) so the girls will avoid him like the plague or I may have my hands full! Ack, who am I kidding, they're full right now! So all in all a super fantastic, party planner, day!

Travelling with monkeys.....

It's a tricky thing, travelling with monkeys, they kind of just want to hang all over things....

Then, you turn around and they disappear on you.....

That, or you find them doing something second nature to them....monkeying around....

Today I took the kids to the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake. We went because we heard they were having  an exhibit about 101 inventions that changed the world and Lego's made the list. Seriously how could you go wrong with that? No seriously, how could they go wrong with that....cause they did! The rest of the museum more than made up for it with all it's hands on projects, or should I say, hands, feet and head on projects....

The kids even got to make these really awesome gear boxes....

(Sorry it's sideways, but I wanted to show how cool it is, and this time a picture really wasn't worth 1,000 words)

I just happen to know a Cub Master that is totally digging the awesomeness/simplicity and cheapness of those boxes! I also know a Cub Scout that is jumping at the chance to show his off! I think we make a great pair, but then again I'm totally biased. Now for the most awesomest of all, the kids worked really hard doing this....

So you could enjoy this....

You are totally welcome for that. I'm pretty sure Hollywood will be knocking on our door any day! It was a fantastic day with my two monkeys. Well, other than the fact that the monkeys insisted we ride the rails to the end of the line just for fun ( I must be getting old, because it really wasn't as exciting as Buddy thought it was)! So all in all a super fantastic, monkeying around, day!

How long?

Buddy's taken to race car driving lately.....

Which leads me to wonder, just how long have we been on vacation? Tomorrow we are off to go see 101 inventions that changed the world (it happens to be that Lego's are on that list), the fact that we are arriving by train doesn't suck either! So all in all a super fantastic,  racing, day!

Girly....

My sister and I watched "Summer Magic" after church today. We loved that movie when we were kids, we still love it and somehow suckered in 4 of her girls to watch it with us! During all the girlishness going on, we misplaced two of our boys. The boys happen to go by the names of trouble and trouble maker. No worries, I just followed the sound of the very loud "WHEEEEE" (after the movie was over of course). The boys had been riding an EZ rider down the hill my sister lives off of and then dragging it back up again for hours of entertainment (well at least 90 minutes). I'm pretty sure those boys could have fun with only a paper bag, but this looked way cooler....

I'm glad the boys could take care of themselves, while I was attending to more important matters....like having one of my niece's barrel roll my hair....

Fuzzy picture, but you get the idea.  Maybe next time I can convince them to paint my nails so I can imagine what having a girl around the house would be like! Anyway, I'm really glad for cousins, the word boring is no where in Buddy's vocabulary this summer! So all in all a super fantastic, riding off into the sunset, day!

Bright ideas....

Today I had a bright idea to take the kids to a ropes course (think tightropes, rope bridges, etc....seriously just think awesome)....

I'll admit, it was fantastic fun! Somehow we lucked out and showed up on the day they were also having circus party. The kids got to throw balls at a dunking booth, do a sledge hammer/bell ringing game, and took a free bike carriage ride. After every game the kids completed, they got to reach into a prize bag and grab a prize. Ever heard the screeching tones of HUNDREDS of children humming on bazookas at the same time? Do you enjoy the sound of nails on a chalkboard? They really must have gotten a really, really good deal on bazookas! The kids had a great time, my ears, not so much. On a bright note, the kids really do have the Star Wars theme down pat!

So all in all a super fantastic, at least my ears are no longer bleeding, day!

Guess....

Betcha can't guess what movie we saw today....

Errrrrm, if you're still trying to guess, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you may have a reading/comprehension problem! In other news, Buddy misplaced his "wolfie" (stuffed animal) for the second time since we've been here. The first time wolfie got lost, I believe he got taken out to greener pastures by all the dogs that hang around my sister's house. I didn't realize Buddy was so attached to his little stuffed dog, but he cried and cried, then he cried some more . Shane actually found an exact replacement online and had it overnight expressed to Buddy(what an awesome dad, huh? )! Then Buddy left wolfie at the theater today, which led to a very long car ride back to the theater after midnight to retrieve wolfie. Wolfie is now being grounded (and collared) and Buddy is contentedly sound asleep snuggled up to him. Wolfie doesn't even  seem to care about all the chaos he's caused around here lately! Sheesh!  So all in all a super fantastic, no more movies for the stuffed animals, day!

Lurking....

At my sister's farm house, you never know what creatures are lurking about! They've got horses and chickens, puppies and cats galore.....but I didn't know they had an infamous Buddy slider! 

So all in all a super fantastic, sliding down the, not really a banister, kind of more just like a wall, day!

Themes....

Is it just me, or does this boy know how to have a good time?

So all in all a super fantastically, not bored at all, day!

European...

I'd like to think Buddy is just really cultured and making a small scale protest to place bidet's in public restrooms....

Instead of just being a gross boy ....probably trying to get rid of a case of butt itch! So all in all a super fantastically classy day!

Thankful for Father's...

Since it's Father's Day, I thought I'd be really creative and write a post about my dad......I know, I can really think outside the box. So here is some horn tooting for my dad, who is the most awesome man you will ever meet! He's quite the trouble maker, which is always right up Buddy's alley....

So dad, thanks for so many things! I'd like to be sappy and mushy, but that's really not my thing. Instead I'll do my own version of sap. Dad, thank you for my awesome genetic hearing loss, it does come in quite handy  sometimes! Thank you for my halitosis, without you as my shining example I wouldn't know to keep breath mints on hand at all times. I'd really like to thank you for my crippling shyness, but the deafness comes in really handy in this part! I'd like to thank you for my sense of humor, without it, we'd be proper and dignified at our house and I'm not sure I'd like that! Thank you for teaching me the love of taking things apart....too bad I never stuck around to see how things went back together. Also I'd like to thank you for my unibrow, High School wouldn't have been so awesome without it! Lastly, I'd like to thank you for passing on your Cherokee heritage which I'm sure contributes to my lovely tannable ( I'm sure that's a word) skin, unlike my alabaster siblings that burn at the mention of the word sun....it definitely comes in handy living in Hawaii and all! So all in all, I have the greatest dad ever, day!

The case of the schizophrenic horse...

Buddy has waited 2 long weeks to get onto one of the horses at my sister's farm. She picked the most "docile" beast for him to ride.....did you notice how I put docile in quotation marks! Of course the fact that I was left alone with an unfamiliar 1000 lb beast and 2 little boys probably didn't help the matter. 

 This is my sister "calming" the beast.....

 Then she got off and left us to our own demise, our own demise wasn't such a great idea!

Buddy was excited [that he didn't die].....at least about his boots and hat that I bought him today. He loved them so much, that he requested that I return to the "cowboy store" to get him a plaid shirt and a belt with a really large buckle to finish off the look! Pretty sure he's going to be living in that outfit for a while. At least I hope he does because it wasn't cheap...

Trust me, the belt buckle is huge...you just can't tell from the exasperated picture he allowed me to take! No worries, since he's going to be wearing that outfit for the next month you'll be seeing it again. So all in all a super fantastic, at least he's mastered barrel rolls...

 day!

Nothing new....

Just the usual going on around here. A day at Lagoon,  followed by a Dance Party at my sister's house....no biggie. Tomorrow, we're headed out into the pasture to go bareback riding on one of the horse at my sister's house....only because bareback riding on your cousin is kind of weird and not nearly as fun! So all in all a super fantastic, boring around these parts, day!

The trouble with cousins....

The trouble with cousins? I see no trouble here...

Nope, no troubles at all! So all in all a super fantastic, playing our day away, day!

Wonderment....

Buddy finally got to go to Lagoon today. He is finally tall enough to do my favorite ride of all times...the giant swing! He was pretty awestruck to say the least....

Seeing first hand the amazement in your child's eyes is a wonderful thing, but maybe not quite as wonderful as this....

But maybe that's just my opinion! So all in all a super fantastic, amazing, day.

Buckets....

Buddy has been trying to mark everything off of his  summer vacation bucket list while we are on the mainland. Who knew that visiting a McDonald's with a play land would ever make it to anyone's bucket list? We're having a hard time finding anyone to help us complete our list.....

Just kidding, we are very much surrounded by like minded people....although I'm not sure that they actually put McDonald's on their summer bucket lists too! So all in all a super fantastic, checking off our list, day!

Sophisticated tastes....

We have quite the palate around here, first it's fine dining.....food truck style....

Then it's battery tasting....

Let me assure you, it was quite electrifying! I'm sure Buddy will be the next Gordon Ramsey with his sophisticated palate, or perhaps he could be a professional cheese taster (although I'm quite certain Buddy would much rather cut the cheese than taste it, but it's an option)!  So all in all a super fantastic, look it's a puppy....

day!