A Look Back at Memorial Day...

As the Fall is approaching, we have pumpkins, festivals, halloween, and especially cooler weather on the brain. But as my usual timing is, I am behind on seasons. Still scrapping our summer adventures. Here is a look back at a BBQ our neighbors/friends hosted for Memorial Day. They do such a phenomenal job of organizing many activities for all our little ones...I think we have at least 20 kids with about 6 families. We have a big pot luck, eat, swim, (drink a little), and have lots of fun. This year there was a water balloon toss tournament, tye-dye shirts, swimming, crafts, and even sparklers! Thanks again Drewrys for all the laughs and memories!!!

VBS

Back in June, we had a very fun week of Vacation Bible School at our church, The Grove. We all had a really great time, especially Ethan. This year was the first time he got to attend so I think he felt very special and "Big" that he got to go and participate in something Logan did. I even volunteered to be a Crew Leader this year, which was truly a neat experience. Lauryn melted the hearts of several people in the nursery, and truly without their help and love, I could not have participated. Logan's Crew leader was a friend of mine from bible study and her son, which was super fun for him. We are STILL singing the songs from that week everytime we are in the car. What many long-lasting memories we made!

My Grandmother

Over Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Palm Springs to celebrate and pay tribute to my Grandmother, Lois Winchester. She passed away earlier that month and had been battling with Alzheimers for many years now. She was such a bright spirit and I have so many fond memories of her and the many times spent with her. It has been very difficult for many members of our family to watch her "slip" away slowly, into a different person. I had the opportunity to see her a few years ago, and even then I am not sure she knew who I was anymore. But she still had a smile on her face, and that brightness still showed through. She was an extraodinary women in her time, and I am so lucky to be her granddaughter. I hope I can shine as bright as she once did to so many.
Many family and friends all gathered for a BBQ and service. We had lots of fun seeing everyone, seeing how big our cousins were, and visiting with old friends. It's amazing how big families become, and they start off with just two people! I know she would have loved to be right there in the middle of it all, laughing like old times. We will miss you grandma!

More Lauryn Pages

Here are some fun pages I made of our little cutie. I take ALOT of pictures and sometimes its hard to decide just what to scrappbook. It has been alot of fun making pages in girly colors and Lauryn is a good sport most of the time when I am snapping madly away. Its amazing to look at these pages and see what she looked like just two months ago and how much she has changed. She is now 8 months and these pics were around the 6 month range. She is lots of fun, but oh so different than her brothers. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing...only time will tell!

Summer Activities

Finally I can scrapp some of our summer activities. "The Littles" and I, (Lauryn and Ethan as I call them), joined our friends Max and Susie at the Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa for some very fun art time, playtime, and exploration. It's not just an art museum for kids, its full of lots of fun things and exposes kids to a great deal of creative and pretend play. As you can see, the boys had lots of fun 'being boys'. We can't wait till our next outing with our pals again!

Mother's Day Fun

We have lots of Moms in our family now, so we tend to have large group festivities to celebrate them all! We had an evening out at yummy Floridino's to celebrate with Sandy (Nanny), Eddie was very ill that day so he stayed home. But the kids and I had fun with the fam. Later that same weekend, we spent a very fun afternoon painting pottery with my mom, sisters, some of the kiddos, and even Leslie's mother-in-law, Jan. I had to go back another day and finish my creation because I decided to use the kids footprints to make chili peppers on a platter for my kitchen. It turned out really cute, sorry there is no picture of the finished project after it was baked and glazed. Guess you'll just have to stop over for a visit to see it displayed! What a fun day we all had!

Ethan Turns the Big 4!

Ethan celebrated turning 4 this year with a dinosaur theme at Tumbleweed park. He is all about dinosaurs right now, so what a perfect idea we had to play and hunt/dig for dino bones at a local park. Eddie again outdid himself with his dino design for a cake and Ethan had so much fun despite beginning to get sick (I think some of the pictures show he was not his usual smiley self). Not sure what he came down with, but he was sick for several days after the party. Thank you again to all our pals and family that helped us celebrate our very special Ethan. Happy Birthday to you Ethan, Happy 4 years and a big ROAR to you!!!