Memphis 2009

I have this really cool husband who, every year, says, "So, when do you want to go to Memphis this year?" And every year we take a trip back east and I don't have to bug him or pout or anything annoying like that. That's so not my style!

I also, have these really cool women in my family. My sister, Audra, is a picture taking enthusiast that seems to always have her camera handy.
Meggan, my sister (in-law), who is quickly becoming a picture taking expert. She has this really cool camera that takes awesome pics AND she always has it handy. So, because Audra and Megg are such cool pictures people I don't feel the need to be the third person taking pictures.
Now I just have to sweet talk them for copies of the pics.

We always have a blast on our trips. We have things we always, always do and somethings that are new each year. Man, I love trips home!
* This year we added Nauvoo to our fun. Mom and dad were brave enough, I mean, sweet enough to take all seven grand kids (ages six months to 11 years) while all four siblings and spouses did a session at the Nauvoo Temple, a first for the four siblings (at any temple). That weekend we visited Old Nauvoo, made rope, got prairie diamonds, took a wagon ride, visited Carthage Jail and enjoyed having all 16 of us together.
* We got to hang out a little extra with Ben and Megg in St. Louis before Ben had to get back to school. They hosted a cousins' sleepover that was a huge success.
*Memphis tradition, we had dinner (of Krystals, of course) one evening down at the River Park. We sat on a blanket and talked while the kids played then walked along the river until the more kids had scraped knees than not.
*Adam, Sam and I ventured out for a new barbecue experience. We ended up at Neely's and it was goood! (no pics, be thankful for that)
* Adam and I got in a few runs where we sweat like little piggies and they felt good (no pics, be thankful for that too)
*We experienced a really good storm last Friday. Really good! I love good storms. I miss them!
*Mud Island where they have the football field long replica of the Mississippi River that you can splash and play in, that dumps into a big fountain (the Gulf) at New Orleans. Love that place except it is hotter than blue blazes for the adults.
*Swimming at Aunt Meggan's mom and dad's place. Thank you Kennedys.
*Getting to visit with Grandma Agnes and Walter.

I'm sure I forgot something or many things. Hopefully the wonderful pictures from Audra and Meggan will jog my memory. I promise pics soon!

Sure Sign of Summer

SNOW SHACKS!

Snow shacks (my generic term for all sno-cones little hut/booth places) are one of my sure signs of summer.

A snow shack near us opened today and we were all over it. As soon as Ella got off the bus we headed straight there. Good thing too. When we got there, there was five people in front of us and when we left there were 15 people behind us.

Grace got rainbow.

Joseph wanted "red" so I got him Tiger's Blood (one of my favs).

Ella wanted rainbow.

Within five minutes of getting our cones, true to form, someone had to pee. We carefully headed home to finish them in the front yard.

Adam will surely be disappointed that we didn't wait for him to make our first of the summer sno-cone run. Don't worry, Adam, we do love you and promise to force ourselves to eat another sno-cone this weekend when you're with us.

Oh the sacrifices we make for the ones we love.



p.s. Weird spacing is annoying in the post but I'm not OCD enough to redo it. You'll live, right? I'm already over it.

Why Do Kids Do These Things?

The weather was so beautiful today I finally took the kids to the "sand park". Now as a general rule, I truly abhor playgrounds that are covered in sand but this one is the closest by far and we were short on time.
This year Joseph is big enough to play by himself on the toys. He loves to dig and dig and dig. Why do boys love to dig? And why do kids, at about two and a half, enter the "cheese" phase? You know, mama says, "Joe, look at mama." and Joseph squenches his face and says "cheese" usually without looking at the camera. I got lucky with this pic.

And then why do little girls love, love, love to dump sand on the slide?

Then why do big sisters love, love, love to order little sisters not to dump sand on the slide then stomp over to sweep it off when little sisters don't listen?
I haven't a clue why my kids love, love, love these things but I do know that they are stinkin' funny to watch.

(P.S. When Grace was dumping the sand on the slide she was pretending to "feed the poor". She fed the poor on the swings, on the slide and up on the platform. Grace is such a funny girl.)