The Fair

Slowly but surely I will catch up on our summer...at the beginning of August my friend Andrea and I took our kids to the County Fair. We went on kids free day. We looked at animals, saw a magic show, went on a few rides, looked at the different booths and grabbed a treat. It was a fun, hot day.

The kids stopped to see some animals in the reptile area.

Dinosaur ride.

Luke and Darin on the kiddie roller coaster. I'm bummed you can't see their huge grins, but by chance only you can see Avery and Rees in the background watching.

Rees and Avery on the air balloon ride.

Tagg was a good boy in his stroller and we all shared an elephant ear for a treat. Ok, mom got a deep fried Snickers bar, just to say I tried it. Got to love carni food!

Posing at the reptile area. They were pretty tired and hot by the end.

Bald Hill

We decided to hike up to Bald Hill on Sat. a few weeks ago. The boys are pretty good little hikers. It was fun to get out and be in nature.

Heading out.

The view from the top.

We packed lunch and ate it at the top.

Another view.

The boys climbed in this tree and ate their lunches.

Family tree...get it...that was lame.

The boys each decided to take a pic. Me and Jared taken by Rees.

This pic was an accident and looks like Jared is lost and wondering which way to go.

Heading back.

It was a good workout, especially Jared with Tagg on his back. It's so fun to get out and be together as a family.

Neighborhood BBQ

We had a neighborhood BBQ a couple weeks ago. It was a really fun and entertaining. The boys loved hanging out and eating with their friends, as did I.

This is the, "look over there while we steal food from the potluck table."

There was a live band from some local guys from our ward. Darin is front and center loving it and said, "my friend's Dad is a rockstar."

The band was pretty cool until the fire dept. showed up.

The boys listening to the firemen talk about safety.

Tagg was banned from the fun because he had a fever and was getting over thrush - gross. Jared came out with him to show him the firetruck.

The boys got sprayed by the fire hose and loved it.

Sparky came to visit. That poor guy inside.

The kids took turns spraying the fire hose and thought it was sooo cool.

Luke's turn. I wanted to kick that girl for running in front of me while I took the picture. Don't worry I didn't.

This is what the kids were spraying. Luke jumped back there to get soaked.

Rees and Luke thought it would be cool to do a chest bump while wet. Boys.

Darin's turn, I love his permasmile.

He thought this was so cool.

Darin tried on some fire gear and if I do say so, was a pretty cute fireman.

Tagg ventured out into the puddle made by all the spraying. It was a fun event.

Impromptu Car Wash

Rees was a little bored when he was playing outside and asked if he could turn the hose on and fill up Darin's truck with water. Sure, whatever...then he said, hey Darin lets go wash the car (mind you they were using the truck as the bucket and a broom as a scrubber). I told them to wash Dad's car and borrowed a bucket and real scrub brush my neighbor had. I gave them some soap and they went to town.

Working hard.

Soon the whole neighborhood was wondering what they were doing and all wanted to help...er spray the hose wherever.

Rees was the supervisor and told the kids what to do.

I just let them go for it. They did an awesome job. (love the snow boots Rees and Darin are sporting)

The finishing crew. They were proud of their work. I told Rees he should start up a car wash business for the neighborhood.

Rees-a-roni

Rees turned 9! He was excited to have another birthday! Whoa-hoo! My oldest brother Scott and his family actually spent the day with us on their way up the coast. It was really fun to have family here and have a party for him. Rees loved being with more cousins (especially since we missed these cousins at the reunion).

Rees is such a good big brother. He is caring, funny, creative and smart. Of course he has his teasing moments, but he makes up for it being Tagg's second mom. He loves to build legos, draw, play football and read. He is such an obedient kid and we love him very much. He makes life fun.

We gave him an early present - pocket knife, before cub camp.

Rees with his loot. He also got lots of money to buy a lego set.

I made him a homemade icecream cake. I can't believe he is 9!

Blowing out the candles.

The cousins. I can't believe I didn't get a pic with my brother. I need to be better at pic taking.

It's Time to Leave

So finally we made it to the end of our trip and it was time to leave and say goodbyes. We had so much fun with everyone. We stopped by some houses on our way out to say goodbye to some cousins. The boys met Chelsea's dog, Reggie, and had fun watching him go crazy with excitement.

Tagg pointing at Reggie saying, "dog".

We love cousins! (my favorite is Chelsea's reflection in the window.)

We made it back through Oregon.

I put in a ABBA CD and Jared started dancing in his seat like a freak so I had to take a pic. :)

On our way to home sweet home.