Happy, Happy Birthday, Makenna Dear!

Happy 5th birthday to our sweet Makenna! Makenna, you are simply amazing - we don't know what we ever did without you! Your sweet, shy smile melts our hearts. You love the simple pleasures of life and your smile is so big, it turns your eyes into little half-moons! So CUTE!

We all had a fun birthday celebration with you today. You had a few friends and cousins over for a swimming party in our backyard - you all enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool, slip-n-slide and sprinklers and had fun making "Mini Oceans" with water bottles. Thank goodness the weather held out (pretty much), but it was cooler than a normal August day - lots of kids got cold quickly! So we opened presents and had cupcake-cones, then goofed around till the kids went home.

For dinner, we told you we would take you anywhere you want. Your eyes got big when you suggested the "spicy beans" from Cafe Rio. So that's where we went - with Granny too, which made it even more special!

We just love you so much, Makenna, and are all so blessed to have YOU in our lives! Happy birthday, Sweetie!

Here It Is!

Okay, so some people might think I'm weird, but here's a picture of our brand-spankin' new recycling can!! Yippee!! For years I was diligent in sorting our recyclables and taking them to the recycling center in Bountiful. But when that closed last year, it felt so strange to just toss everything in the garbage. It hurt! After several letters to the Centerville Mayor and closely following the news about the City's decision to offer curb-side recycling, I have to admit that I'm ecstatic that it's finally here! Well, almost. They won't start picking up till September, but I can start filling that can, teaching my girls, and making a difference!

Stuff

Well, Wednesday was the last of our Neighborhood Field Trip outings. We've gone to most of the weekly events this summer and we'll miss being able to look forward to them. Wednesday we went to Cherry Hill for some miniature golfing. The girls' closest friends were there - all girls - and they all enjoyed doing the course. Kasidee especially loved picking up the ball and dropping it in the cup! With the end of the summer field trips, I guess the countdown is on - only a little over 3 weeks until school starts. Can you believe it?! I'm already feeling a bit sad. I'll miss having all of my girls home with me all day! (P.S. Kiera and Makenna didn't pause long enough for me to get a good picture of them. Better luck next time!)






One evening this past week, Quentin got in the mood to do a project that has been on "The List" for just under a year. He put together our new porch swing! We had our eye on it all last summer and watched the price go lower and lower as the season went on. Finally we got it for half price toward the end of summer! But it's been sitting in its box in our garage, waiting patiently for its turn to come up on the Project List - and now we finally have it up and can enjoy it! Yahoo!









Finally, this has been sort of a "date weekend" for Quentin and me. My mom wanted to have Kiera and Makenna over for another sleepover before school starts, and Friday was the date they had been looking forward to. They went over in the early afternoon then shooed Kasidee and me out the door so they could have Granny all to themselves. When Quentin got home the 3 of us went to Cafe Rio then rented and watched a movie. Even though Kasidee was with us, it felt like a date - we could actually finish a sentence, and the house stayed clean!! The girls had a blast at Granny's and we "checked in" around noon the next day. Then we left all 3 girls with my mom so Quentin and I could go to Hale Center Theater's (in Orem - who knew HCT had a location in Orem?!) production of Singin' in the Rain. First of all, Singin' in the Rain is one of my all-time favorite movies, and second of all, Quentin and I are addicted to live theater. So it was worth the drive out to Orem. And you know what? I think this was the best play I have EVER seen. My eyes didn't stop watering - I was either laughing so hard or was entranced by the awesome dancing. SO GOOD! My only regret is that today was the last day. If they had more shows, I would go again and take everyone I know with me! Maybe I'll just have to settle for watching the video. Again!

Family Fun!

I'm going through withdrawal and I'm hoping this posting will help. We just had the best 7 days and I'm so sad it's over! My sister Brenda, her husband Gary and their teenage kids Jason and Brittney; my sister Kris and my brother Devin all came up to visit from Texas! We hadn't seen most of them since last summer and we hadn't seen Devin in 5 years, so we had fun catching up! We certainly stayed busy and it was fun having a house-full (my dad even stayed with us for a few nights!)

They arrived Wednesday evening (after driving about 22 hours!). We had dinner at Chuck-A-Rama (Gary's favorite) and stayed up till midnight chatting!

Thursday we had a reunion at IHOP in Sandy, then we browsed at Gardner Village. My dad picked Devin up at the airport in the afternoon and then we all went to Firehouse Pizza for dinner. We spent the evening in the yard, enjoying the summer evening and doing a few fireworks.

Friday we went to Park City and did the Alpine Slide, the Alpine Coaster, and Kris, Devin, Jason and Brittney did the Zip Line as well. What a rush! Then we spent the afternoon at Uncle Cardell and Aunt Rosanne's house in Provo Canyon. I think they live in a little piece of Heaven - cottages surrounding a little pond with the towering mountains as a backdrop. So nice! After we got home, we watched "The Duel," a crazy, cheesy, but oh-so-good movie.

GOING UP . . .

GETTING READY . . .

HERE WE GO!

YEE-HAW!

PLAYING IN THE MUD . . .

ENJOYING THE POND


DOING THE TARZAN SWING

MAKENNA HAS BEEN TERRIFIED OF DOGS LATELY BUT SHE TIMIDLY (BUT QUICKLY) MADE FRIENDS WITH CLANCY, ROSANNE'S DOG. CAN YOU SEE HOW PROUD SHE IS? SHE AND CLANCY WERE BASICALLY INSEPARABLE!



Saturday we took a tour of the Kennecott Copper Mine (where our grandpa worked for decades), ate at Artic Cirlce (the Texans got their Fry Sauce fix!), then Dad had to take Devin to the airport - it was a quick trip for Devin but we loved being with him! After that, we hung out at Dad's house in Murray for a bit before we went to the Jacobson reunion at Wheeler Farm.

IN FRONT OF THE FAMOUS "BIG TIRE" AT KENNECOTT COPPER MINE

A BUCKET-FULL OF SWEETNESS!

CHECKING IT ALL OUT

WHEELER FARM


FEEDING THE DUCKS

KASIDEE ENJOYING A DONUT (BUT THEN SHE REALIZED SHE DOESN'T LIKE GETTING HER FINGERS STICKY SO SHE FIGURED OUT A CREATIVE WAY TO EAT IT!)





Sunday we slept in and had a lazy morning then took a picnic lunch to City Creek Canyon. We spent several hours enjoying the ride, the picnic, and taking lots of pictures.






On Monday we had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory and browsed at Trolley Square and the Gateway. Then we came home and had pizza and birthday cake for Kris (her birthday is tomorrow).

PLAYING HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS

BUBBLES



Everyone left early this morning (around 7:30) and have their long drive ahead of them. We have just enjoyed every minute of their visit - the house seems awfully quiet and lonely without them here. The girls especially miss their entertainment (Jason and Brittney!), and I'm missing having lots of people to help with Kasidee! What fun memories we have created, and we can't wait till we can get together again!

GARY & KASIDEE

BRENDA & KASIDEE

KRIS & KASIDEE

KASIDEE & "BOPPA"

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON!

DEVIN HOLDING ALL 3 GIRLS

FAMILY PIC