Just Jumpin

What summer would be complete without sprinklers on the tramp!

4th of July

The 4th of July was great as usual. Good food, nice weather and great company! It is great spending time with family...nothing like a lazy day at Oma's! Carter, Dallin and Konnor

Miss Saylor and Miss Myah getting as dirty as the boys!

This year my family all went to Sun Valley for the 4th of July and since we had just gone on our big trip to California we had to pass. We were able to spend the weekend with the Chase clan though which was great. We went to the fireworks at the the stadium which I hadn't done in years! The boys loved it! And Myah...well she loved sleeping, thanks Oma for staying back with her! It was fun just playing and having fun. I heart the 4th of July!

Random

I never did a post on the passing of Ashley's cute dog Bentley. We were all sad when he was hit by a car....but although you can't replace a dog....(or can you?) here is the newest cousin. Meet George, he is quite cute don't you think! I just didn't want to forget this. One night Carter would not go to bed. He came in by me while I was on the computer and just laid on the couch. Next thing I knew......

......he finally crashed!

T-ball

Another year of T-ball came and went. Camden wasn't as thrilled with it this year....Apparently t-ball is for babies, but he had fun anyway and I really tried to enjoy the fact that this is the last year the boys will play together and that the chaos of being in more than one place at the same time is now over! Here are just a few of my favorite photo's.

Our california adventure!

Well it is about time I finish my post on our trip to California. Life has been busy and crazy, but I am hoping to get back into a routine and get caught up on our summertime fun! California was so much fun but so long ago it sort of feels like a dream. We left the week after school got out and now school has already been going for a week! Where does the time go! We stayed in a beach house in Newport Beach. My sister Ashley and her husband came along. It was a lot of fun! The first day there, we went to California Adventure. Here are just a couple of pictures to prove it.



Watching the pixar parade.....my boys were keeping their eyes out for Lightning McQueen!


Camden was pretty serious..."Where is he??"
My boys after a long day of Disney magic!

Myah was pretty grumpy on this trip. Those lovely molars starting popping through. She didn't have much fun being toted around all day with no place to sleep. Hence no pictures of her, and really not many pictures period. I was too busy trying to carry her, push a stroller and make sure my kids didn't disappear. We only lost a child once, and after I panicked and knew Carter would never return to our family again, we found him down around the pier not even knowing he was missing. Despite everything though, we really did have a fun day. And the new ride favorite....The Buzz Lightyear ride. My boys were in heaven! It was fun...even better than the Disneyland counterpart. Camden is our adrenaline junky and was a little bummed to be to little to go on the California Screamer, but he did like Tower of Terror.....much better than his little brother who was so excited that he was tall enough. Darin assured me he would be fine. I think the pale face afterward was a good indicator that 4 years old isn't quite old enough to get a kick out of a spooky broken elevator that plummets down a high rise. He didn't cry though, just made me promise to not take him on it again and was a little weary about every ride from there on out that was dark....which is almost EVERY ride at Disneyland...even the cute kid rides are dark!

The house we rented had a community pool down the street and the ocean only a couple of blocks away. This is how we got around! The kids loved it! Wed. and Fri. of our trip, were spent swimming until we were fish and playing in the sand! It was just fun to be together!

One night we went to dinner at a little diner at the end of the pier. It was beautiful! Camden was a little nervous though. As much as he is our crazy adrenaline junky, he is very fearful of anything that has to do with water. Especially the ocean. When he saw we were going to eat dinner in the ocean, he couldn't wait to be done. We couldn't even get him to pose for a picture.

Day 4: Disneyland

Really there is nothing quite as magical as Disneyland. I love it. My kids loved it to! Well except for Myah who was still a little on the grumpy side, but we did manage to catch a few smiles. It was quite busy...at least it seemed as though there were a million people there, but the lines for the rides really weren't too bad. Darin and I were glad that we had just been there back in Dec. and got to go on all of the adult rides together so we didn't feel bad that the day was catered around what the kids wanted. Camden however wanted to go on a lot of rides that Carter and Myah couldn't go on so we split up for parts of the day taking turns with the kids on different rides. There are quite a few that we all could go on. It's a small world is always one of my favorites and the kids loved it. At the end when all of the little people are dressed in white, I told the kids that is what heaven is like. Their faces just lit up and still Carter says that was his favorite part! Another fun one was pirates of the Caribbean and although I was a little worried that Myah would be scared, she actually crashed for her nap on that ride! It was great! Camden's favorite ride of the day was splash mtn. and luckily it was my turn to take him....that is one of my favorite rides as well!

Mickey's toon town......

Lesli, this is for Clara!

Mickey's house....we took our new point and shoot that I was so excited to fit into my pocket.....unfortunately the quality is not as good as I had hoped....oh well!

Myah just wanted to touch Mickey's face....at least she was happy for a minute!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Myah.....just look at that face. It really captures her personality on this trip!There is nothing quite like all of the treats there are to eat at Disneyland!

A train ride after a long day at the park. We were all pooped. Especially Darin and I!

I love this picture of Camden....not because it really is a great picture, but the story behind it is. Camden loves music. He is our little music lover in the house. And his favorite music is what he hears on the Disney channel. Well on our way out of the park, we saw that there was a private concert going on. If you climbed on the brick wall, you could get a glimpse of what was going on. Well it was Mitchell Musso from the Disney channel. He was giving a concert, and Camden was so excited to watch that he wanted to stay and listen all night. The only way we could convince him to leave, was that Darin would download his songs on to i-tunes when we got home. I swear, were did my little boy go?

And the famous picture in front of Mickey....you really can't leave for home without one! What a fun day!

And last but not least. The trip home! We stopped in Vegas thinking it would be a great place to unwind and get the kids out of the car. Well lets just say that the fountains at the Bellagio are about the only wholesome thing to see on the strip. I hadn't been to Vegas in a while and apparently I have never been there with mom-vision. I was so embarrassed by what was all around for my boys to see....really it has got a lot worse in the past 10 years! Lets just say I'm glad my boys aren't ANY older than they are. I tried to keep them focused on anything but the big screens! I guess from now on stops in Vegas will have to be limited to In-N-Out burger and things other than a stop on the strip....too bad, I really loved going there!

It was so much fun spending time together as a family! I look forward to more trips in the future and watching all of the fun things my kids get to experience through their eyes!!

In Loving Memory

I just got off of the phone with my mom who informed me that my sweet grandmother passed away this evening after a good long life of 93 years. I just wanted to write a little post to let her know what a great grandma she has been! The memories I have been able to make with her are priceless. From our trips to California each summer, to combing her hair, to the radishes she would keep in her purse when she knew she would see me because she knew how much I loved them, the banquets I was able to serve for when her and my mom would cook, visiting her in the grocery store when I was just a little girl, and I will never forget when she made me look like Shirley Temple when my mom was in the hospital having a baby. I thought I was adorable with those old fashioned ringlets. My grandma was probably the hardest working woman I have ever met. Until just a couple of months ago when she fell and broke her hip, she still wanted to be in on the action. Never missing a chance to help out in the kitchen....which by the way she was an amazing cook. Luckily it is a trait she has passed along to all 7 daughters AND 2 sons. You can never have enough yummy food at a Chatterton reunion. I am so thankful for the sweet prompting to go and visit her only 4 short hours ago. I was able to give her one last kiss and tell her once last time how much I loved her. All of my children were able to squeeze her hand and give her a tender kiss. It truly was a tender mercy to me. She will be missed by 9 children, 43 grandchildren, 123 great- grandchildren, and 20 great-great-grandchildren...what a legacy! We love you Grandma Chatterton! (This was the last picture I could find of her. This is at Myah's birth. She was there within minutes of delivery. I will treasure this forever!)

Family trip part 2: Road trip

So after a fun few days in St. George, we were off to sunny California. We had never done a road trip before, and I was a little weary of spending so much time in the car. It actually turned out ok....

First stop....Las Vegas/In-N-Out burger. It was good and the kids loved their new accessories!

After Vegas, there was a lot of nothing. Anyone ever wondered what you can find in Barstow.....I'm still wondering why anyone would choose to live there.

After countless bathroom breaks, three movies, lots of treats and using all means to entertain the little squirts in the back, we arrived in Newport Beach, California and I even still had a smile on my face!
To be continued......