Cole's ready to hunt

Cole has been saving his money so he can be ready to go on the Elk hunt. I think he was a little shocked at how quickly it goes! He bought 2 camo outfits and his money was gone. He is really excited about this!

He has to be careful with the bow in our house we HAVE had a arrow go right through our wall thanks to his dad. . .of course that was many years ago and I am over it :)

If you could see him (since he is camouflaged up) you could see how cute he looks in his new gear!

4th of July

"Get Smart"

We went to see a funny movie today. All of us enjoyed the show. It is PG-13 which means now my kids understand everything they are saying or doing. Not sure I'm ready for all of that.

The Wii

We have entered into a new world. I mentioned to Brett the other night how I would like to get a Wii for the kids for maybe Christmas. Since we have absolutely no knowledge about this system Brett made a call for some advice. We were told how hard a Wii is to find so I didn't think another thing of it until the day of the car wash with the Young Women and he showed up late and then handed me a receipt. I was slightly shocked to say the least. He had gone to Best Buy, they had none in the store but. . .there were some on the truck. They went out and got it off the truck for him to make a purchase.
kids playing Wii doubles tennis

Don't hurt yourself

Brett felt like his golf game was just like that on the course. . .he was not too happy with his score

Swinging out of his shoes

Brett playing with his new purchase. He quickly became the home run derby champion I think he may end up liking this game:)

So a funny thing about this, On Sundays we do not use our main T.V. we have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir playing all day. So we had to bend the rules a tad so they could play the Wii. So here they are playing their hearts out and singing right along with the Tabernacle choir. I thought it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday. At least we were spending time as a family!

Cole's first dirt bike experience

Brett has never been real big on any type of motorcycle/ATV he fears for the life of the one riding it. We have a neighbor who happens to be a professional motorcycle rider. He has asked us in the past if our kids can learn how to ride and we have told them no thanks however, Brett's heart has been somewhat buttered up by Cole and so last night he got his first lesson in riding. Notice how little the bike is I thought it was the perfect size for him. (it happens to belong to a 4 year old). Cole did a fine job riding next time there will be a helmet involved!Instructions on how. . .



Starting to pick up some speed . . . He looks like he has been doing this all his life:)

At the CAR WASH

We had the Young Women "Car Wash" fundraiser this weekend. It was a hot day and everyone was wore out when we were done. Brett told me he wasn't going to wash another car for a very long time:) With the cost of everything as it is camp is more expensive so hopefully they made enough for all that we need at camp. I was hoping for steak and lobster but I'm afraid I am going to have to settle for hobo dinners:) We had a shaved ice machine at the car wash. . .YUMMY! It was a huge hit!

it looks like Madison got a little bored for a minuteMadison getting ready to wash the cars


Look at the stream of cars. There were very few lulls!

Cole was not very interested in coming and helping at the car wash. I had to beg him to at least help with the shaved ice. He told me it is a "young women fundraiser why should he help?" Needless to say he was a huge help he even got out there and washed some cars. I'm not sure who soaked him but he loved every minute of it. When we got home he told me he had a great time. Duh- I knew he would, if only he would listen to me I am all knowing:)

Moving on UP- Graduation from 6th grade

Finally! We have made it through our kids' elementary years. At least now the kids will be on the same schedule! Madison received numerous awards yesterday. I am so pleased with the school for giving us such advance notice so we could attend. I say that with a lot of sarcasm!! They left a message Thursday afternoon so we could make it on Friday. I'm glad they were so prepared. Anyhow, enough of my complaining. We are grateful Madison was supported by her brother, Grandma Stalder, Grandpa and Grandma Ratcliffe, Aunt Angela, Kaitlyn and McKinley. Maddy's awards are as follows: Spelling Bee Participant, Honor Attendance (3 or less absences), Outstanding Academics, Outstanding Citizenship, Safety Patrol, America's Future Award and the best of all, President's Education Award. Maddy is a great student, we are so proud of her and knows she will do well in the years to come!

Madison receiving the America's Future Award. . .

They also gave her a nice Everyday Language Reference set (dictionary/thesaurus/vocabulary builder) I wonder if they will every come out of the nice box they came in?

Receiving the President's Award: in recognition of Outstanding Academic Excellence

With her beautiful safety patrol metal. . . I didn't even know she was on the safety patrol until she was able to attend the Lagoon day with them. Then she let me know- Man where was I?