4 and fabulous!

Tex turned 4 on the 14th! We had a Toy Story/ Iron Man water party for him in the afternoon with his friends and then pizza and more partying after Travis got home from work. He is the sweetest kid! He let his friends open his presents (becasue they asked) he let them help him blow out his candles and he shared his toys. So, here are some of my favorites in this the 4th year of his life.
*He is always smiling
*He wants to be like his older siblings
*loves to play with his friends
*If he's tired he goes to bed on his own
*Hates with a passion to have any water on his face (even in the bath)
*Loves Dinosaurs
*Super excited to go to preschool in the fall
*His grin and sprinkles of frekles across his nose/cheeks can melt your heart
*He loves life
*He always says - "mom (or whoever he's talking to) do you know I love you?"
*I catch him singing "Follow The Prophet" on numerous occasions
*He has a mild temperment
*He's very analytical about choices - how it will affect him and if it will make Jesus happy or sad.

Dallin got his own fork.

Little boy - your energy for life is so fun! I love having you so close to my heart and hope that every mom gets someone like you in their family. What a blessing you are to have! I love you!

The Star Celebration Parade!

Every year our little town does a parade and town celebration thing! We usually watch the parade from the side and gather gobs of candy....b/c really that's what a parade is all about! This year we put a sign on our Rhino and let the kids throw candy instead...it was blistering hot but sooo much fun! Tricia and I drove the kids through the parade and mom and dad parked their truck and watched with Travis and Matthew and the babies....good times...

H2O, HOH, and Water. (It's all water!)

We have these great parks here that aren't necessarily pools but water features where kids can play without the fear of drowning. We have been to a few lately and the kids have had a blast! Here are some photos to document. Mom and I took my kids and Tricia's girls while Trish was in California looking for a place to reside. :( But we had fun in the water and need to go do it again!
(The first picture at the park is just of a boy who I thought was A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E!

We also set up our inflatable pool at mom and dad's. The kids always have a blast when we are filling it up. Dallin especially....and even now that it's filled, he is fearless in and out of it like a pro. It scares me to death. I love Tyler with his "gobbles" too - he thinks he's a great swimmer except that he hates for his face to get wet in any way!

Today...

My children's lives hung in the balance. They were up at 6:30. I was up last night until midnight and wanted to sleep until 7:30. I told them to be quiet and watch TV and they could eat when I got up. I "tried" to sleep - but got several knocks, heard screams, shrieks, etc. I finally got up to find that Gwendalin had thrown a night light bulb (blue) across the wood and it shattered....they left it there. They must've tried to do an art project becuase there were permanent markers out paper pieces everywhere, straws strewn about my entire counter top, and water misted all over the floor. I was so mad. To top it off, Today is the little Texas' birthday and I lost it - I flew off the handle yelling and screaming. I exiled them all to their rooms (which you could not see the floors of) and tried to get a handle on the kitchen/family room situation. I called mom and asked her if she ever cancelled birthday parties, because Tyler was supposed to be having one today. She must've felt like my children needed saving (that's what Grandma's are for) because she came over and helped them clean their rooms and I got my bathroom done, some laundry and the floor swept. Tyler got to keep his party. Whew!

Oh wait, then I showered and in comes Gwennie crying and sobbing that Hunter bit her arm. So I take a look, sure enough there was a bite mark. Not too long after comes Hunter swearing he didn't bit her. I wasn't sure what to do and then Hunter says "Mom, if I bit her, where are my crooked teeth marks?" the light bulb went off in my head - Gwendalin had bitten herself to get Hunter in trouble. I was so mad - it added to what had already started off as a horrible morning. So, Gwendalin and Hunter got the consequence of not being able to attend Tyler's party. I don't know if they really cared or not, but I stuck to it as best I could.

What a day! I hate days like this. I am tired, stressed, and pressed to the limit and everything just blew up in my face.