Ethan's Birthday

I just realized today that I had never downloaded the pictures from Ethan's birthday last week.
We had a nice quiet day per Ethan's request. I tried to get him to do a party, but after two weeks of vacation he just wanted a day at home with his brothers. So to make it special for him he was in charge for the day.
We began the day by making Mickey Mouse pancakes. I did this a while back when he was going through one of his not eating phases and he will occasionally request them.
Then he got to play what ever he wanted all morning long. He even got to play while the other boys did their chores and his.
For lunch he requested a Subway sandwich. He has a hard time remembering the name Subway, but when he asked for a Sandwich from the place in Wal-Mart I knew what he was talking about.
That evening when Bob got home we opened presents- video games, Lego's, and money- to buy more Lego's or video games.
We then went to dinner at Red Robin.Of course he ordered Mac-n- Cheese!(but did you know that they give kids a free refill of mac-n- cheese if they are still hungry?)
After that we rounded out the night with cake and ice cream. Ethan picked out the colors and the design for his cake.
He said he had a really fun day, and I know it was lots easier for me too!!
Happy Birthday Again Ethan!!!

2nd Tooth

Rachel finally got her second tooth!!! Well almost, it has broken through, but we can't feel it yet. This tooth has given her so much trouble. She ran a fever on and off for 3 days, has had a really sore bottom due to an over abundance of dirty diapers, and hasn't slept good in about a week.
Last night she slept all night again, and this morning the gums are finally broken open. YEAH! I just hope the rest come in more like the first one.

Happy Again

We have air conditioning again!!! Life is good. After a long hot weekend, we have cool air.

Yesterday it was about 90 degrees downstairs, and about 84 upstairs. So needless to say we didn't do much. Today was even hotter than yesterday so it would have been worse today.
We still have to get the coil replaced, but we should be good until summer is over.

I decided after this weekend that I am glad I live now with all of the wonderful conveniences we have. I don't think I would have made it before there was air conditioners - especially here in sunny Arizona.

Thank you Keith for coming out early this morning and getting things running.

No AC

So yesterday our AC went out (again) downstairs! So out came all the fans that we have (2) to try and keep it comfortable downstairs.

We have had tons of trouble with the AC in this house. We have already replaced the evaporative coil on this unit twice, and that is probably what it is again.

So we just have to suffer until Monday when we can have someone come out. (I refuse to pay time and a half to have them come over the weekend).

Hopefully the forecast is wrong and it won't be 108 and 111 today and tomorrow?

What is too early?

This is just a post for me to vent a little.
How early is too early to mow your lawn on a summer weekday morning?

Well apparently my neighbor thinks that about 5:15 am is just the perfect time. For the past 3 weeks he has been doing his lawn at that time.

AND WAKING US ALL UP!!!!!!

What do you do about a inconsiderate neighbor like that?
We don't really even know these people. They never come out of their house. I am so tired today that I want to go knock on the door and let them have it. I won't -but it's how I feel.

What do you all think. Am I the only one who thinks they are doing it too early? What would you do.

Happy Birthday Ethan

Happy Birthday Ethan! It is hard to believe that you are already 6. It seems like just yesterday you were born.

We are so lucky to have you in our family. You keep us laughing. Hope you have a great birthday.

Summer Monsoon's

Only in AZ can it be 100+ drgrees and then a storm comes through and it is 73 degrees in less than 15 minutes. We even had hail with this storm! Crazy!! Here are a few pictures of our rain, I bet we got about an inch in less than 10 minutes of rain.

Happy Early Birthday

Last night as I walked in the door, after our flight, I found this surprise in my laundry room. Bob surprised me with an early birthday gift.(the washer and dryer)
Thank you Thank You !!!!!!!!

For the past year our washer or dryer has been leaving little "rust" streaks on our clothes. It is really frustrating, but they still ran so it was hard to justify a new one.

I did all of our laundry the day before we came home so it will be a few days till I give it a spin.

We are Home

We had a great trip, but even with the heat we are glad to be home.
It was so nice to see all of our families. The kids loved playing with cousins, being outside in the GREAT weather, swimming, picking the garden, and trying new things. I have been slowing adding the photos from our trip . So make sure you scroll all the way down to see what we have been up to the past few weeks.
Here are a few random shots of our trip .

Cousins

We had so much fun doing things with our cousins while we were visiting Sacramento. The kids only get to see each other once a year, but they always get along really well and have so much fun. Rachel took a day or two to warm up to them, but she had lots of kids (and aunts) to play with too!

Splash Park Fun

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Today was our last full day. The warm weather finally caught up with us. After enjoying the 80's and 90's almost the whole time we have been here, today was going to be 103. For those of you in AZ, that is hot here!!

So today we hit a local splash pad.

It was really fun, but a little crowded. We even ran into a girl my sister and I went to high school with. She now lives in Utah but was also here visiting.

They kids ran and played so hard. Even Rachel and I got in on the action.

Saturday at Grandma and Grandpa's

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This morning we all got to get out and help out around Grandma and Grandpa's house a bit. The boys helped Grandpa move some tree branches he was trimming, and Rachel and I helped pick green beans, carrots, yellow squash and tomatoes from the garden. Brandon and Rachel enjoyed eating the carrots and green beans.

Stroller Races

While playing out in the front yard, Brandon decided to take Rachel for a "stroll". The pictures says it all. She loved it. I think we may have a dare devil on our hands!

Jump Sky High

Today we took the kids to a really cool place here in Sacramento called 'Sky High Sports'. It is a huge place with trampoline floors and walls. We met up with all of Bob's sisters and sister-in- laws and all the cousins. We had a blasts. It was so fun to jump with all the kids. The boys want to go again next week before we leave, they had that much fun. Here is our group shot right after we finished our jump.

Here are a couple of videos of my sister and I trying to do stuff the kids did effortlessly. I guess we aren't as young as we think we are!!!!

Memory Lane

Tonight I took the kids with me on a trip down memory lane.

First to my Elementary School:

Then my Jr. High School:


And then the high school:

After that we also drove around the neighborhood where I lived until I was 15.

Then we headed to the park to watch the dress rehearsal for Strauss Festival. I use to go watch it every year. It seems we always time our vacations just a week or two before it so I haven't seen it in years. My sister has been a backstage "dresser" for the last few years, and now my mom is too. So we decided to tag along and watch a little of the dress rehearsal. If you are ever in Sacramento the end of July, it is amazing to watch.

While at the park they also got to explore "pirate island". That is what it was called when I was a kid. It use to have these huge wooden climbing structures and slides. One of them looked like a ship, hence the name. We spent many hours here as kids. But of course they have been taken out since they were really "dangerous". Now it just looks like kids ride there bikes out there. That seems a lot safer!

Swimming

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The kids have been swimming almost every day. It is so nice to have such good little swimmers. They have gotten so good this summer. Ethan spends the whole time going off the diving board or trying to touch the bottom of the pool.

Fun at the Park

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Today we went to a really fun park. The kids call it the castle park since the climbing structure looks like a castle. There was even a chair for the king and queen. The weather was gorgeous(upper 80's). We had lunch under the big trees(I wish our parks had trees like this)and then the kids played,chased squirrels, and pushed each other on the swings.
It was a perfect afternoon.

Picking Apricots

Grandma and Grandpa Redfearn have an apricot tree which is ripe for the picking.
So tonight we went out and picked a few bucketfuls.
I think the kids ate as many as they picked.

Zachary discovered he does like apricots!!

So does Ethan....

And Rachel too.....

4th of July

Today started out early for my sister and I. The town of Elk Grove has an annual 5K and 10K fun run. Sherrie and I did the 5K. I have to say I am pretty proud of myself. I am not a runner at all and am embarrassed to say I haven't done much of anything since Rachel was born. The weather was beautiful, and we made decent time.
We then headed over to Bob's parents for the family BBQ and fireworks. Every year anyone who is here gathers at the Wallace's for BBQ, Great-Grandpa's snow cones, the splash contest in the pool, and fireworks.
For some reason I didn't take many pictures today. Here are the few I took.

Rachel loved the fireworks!! All my other kids have not been too sure of the fireworks the first time. She loved it!!!

Family Pictures

Today we had the chance to do family photos with Debbie's family. It had been a few years.Ethan was a baby last time!! Sherrie found a really great photographer that worked great with the kids(and adults).
We were really limited on the time we had to do it as Bob was only here for 4 days and my brother Randy and Leslie are up in Reno. Thanks Sarah for working with us, you did a great job.
We had a nice time, the weather was great, the kids cooperated, and we were done without any melt downs.
I couldn't decide what to post so below is a slide show a few of my favorites.