and last but not least (finally) 30

Lake Powell. Andrews family has had a time share at there for years. Im not gonna lie, its hard with little ones. They don't sleep well, its hot hot hot, you have to watch them EVERY SECOND and reapplying sunscreen does get old after a while. We did have fun though and AnDee collected more shells than should be humanly possible.

 Cruisin on the boat. I don't know if you have ever experienced this but for some reason my babies CAN NOT stay awake on boats.

Swimming. It took the entire 4 days of us being there to finally convince AnDee that her life jacket would not allow her to sink and drown. Literally on the last day, just minutes before we left, she finally trusted us and let go to float on her own. It was a huge victory. Hopefully we can really get her swimming now.

Tubing. AnDee got to ride the tube for the very first time ever... even though I think our top speed was something like 5 mph, she seemed to enjoy it.

Sleep. It was a difficult venture but it was accomplished on rare occasions.

Bow fishing. Thats right Chantal got her very first kill with a bow. Shot that carp right in the spine. Is it dumb that I felt a little bad afterword? Im just not made to kill things for no reason. I feel guilty. (can you see it down the corner?)

Crocodiles. The kids rode one. 

Fire. On the way home we got to drive by 2 of the 6 fires that are burning in Utah right now. Im pretty sure the world is ending.

29

This morning AnDee was playing dress up and Pep was determined to play too.

You can have AnDee looking at the camera or Pep looking at the camera but not both. That is asking too much.

After a long 4 days at Lake Powell, we made it safely home. We are tired. Really tired. And air conditioning is like a gift from heaven.

28

This is going to be as short as possible. Its getting late. Im tired and we are leaving for Lake Powell in the A.M. but I wanted to get this post in so Im not quite so behind on things when I get home next week.
Today we went to Huck Finn day for Strawberry days. We met up with friends (Dyl and Brett) and cousins (Amber and her kids and Brittany and hers) and we had a blast. Of course the highlight is always the part when they open up the fishing pond for the kids to play in and catch the fish with their hands. Before they do that they have to make sure there are no more fishing lines out in the water so they make all these hundreds of kids wait on the shore line until some guy gives them the OK. Dyl made quite the entrance. He ran out there ahead of all the kids and bellyflopped, fully clothed in the middle of the pond. Entertaining. Pep is getting his molars in so he wasn't overly pleased with anything but Buggy sure enjoyed the water and all the fun.
So here are a few pics of the fun morning.

In other news, AnDee and I got to go on a date to the rodeo. It was a blast to be able to have some one on one time with her. And since Andrew is definitely not a fan of rodeo and Pep just doesn't care, it seemed like a great opportunity. To our pleasant surprise Dyl and Brett where there as well. AnDee loves Brett. He is going to school in Hawaii so she doesn't get to see him very often but she always has a blast with him when he is here. However, Dyl brought a date to the rodeo last night and AnDee was less than happy about it. I have never seen her glare at anyone like that before and she absolutely refused to speak to the poor girl (jealous?) In turn... Dyl was shunned a little as well. She enjoyed herself none the less though. We ate the ever famous strawberries and cream. We cheered and clapped and Brett and AnDee danced and then AnDee talked Brett in to buying her more strawberries and cream  (the girl has got a talent for that kind of stuff) She loved every minute of it. And when I say she loved every minute of it, what I mean is that she loved every minute of it EXCEPT for the calf roping... which made her cry, because it wasn't "berry nice". I love how sweet she is.

27

I have been a slacker with the camera lately. I got zero pictures yesterday. My kids are STILL sick (seriously... like 3 weeks of this crud) and we haven't really been doing much that is picture worthy.
Andrew and I however did sneak away to a Real Salt Lake game last night. We used to be season ticket holders (which was a blast) but with the kids and what not, it didn't seem realistic to drop that kind of money in to something like that so we rarely get to go anymore.
What did I notice while I was at this game? A few things. 1) That either I am getting old or people are getting a lot more crude in their language. Seriously.... so many cuss words I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. Not to mention all the alcohol and the trashy dress that was part of the crowd. I was TOTALLY disgusted with the fans at this game. The worst part about it was that they didn't even seem to be there for the game, it was more like they had seen soccer hooligans in europe on tv and wanted to be just like them. As I listened to the comments around me, I found that a very small number of the people there actually had any clue as to how the game should be played. They mostly wanted to yell/throw things at the ref/other team. Ignorance. I do not want people traveling to utah to see that. 2) Im probably going to catch some grief for this but I am not really a RSL fan, or a Liverpool fan Im not really a fan of any team in specific. I am a fan of good soccer. I hate ugly goals and feel like when a team wins off of an ugly goal... they should just willingly forfeit the win cause that is not soccer. There is a reason it is called The Beautiful Game and it is not because Sabario (RSL player) tripped on the ball giving it a wicked spin that made it bounce WAY weird in to the goal. Thats ugly and embarrassing and NO ONE should be cheering about it. Hence the fact that I can however actually call myself a Barca fan. THAT is what soccer should look like. Makes me happy just thinking about it. 3) I literally get embarrassed by poor sportsmanship, even when its someone I don't know that is acting poorly. It takes so much away from sports when people get that petty. Do people really want future generations learning that kind of stuff? I am so glad my kids weren't at that game. I don't ever want them to see that kind of behavior and think its ok.

day 26

Today we ate a lot of chocolate... and nuttella. We played with cousins and friends and Aunt Brittany did Peps hair. It was a good one.

25

We have had a bit of a boring day. I had to get a new swimsuit so Buggy went shopping with me while Pep played with Gayle. I didn't have much to take pics of. So while I was getting lunch ready I busted out the camera (the REAL camera. Like... this is the first time you will be seeing pics that aren't from my phone in ages. You're welcome)
This is AnDee practicing winking.
These pics crack me up. She's such a goober.

This is Peps newest thing. He does this goofy little smile where he pulls his bottom jaw just off the the side.

He's a pretty cute kid I guess ;)

days 22-24

Andrew took friday off and we headed to Seven Peaks for a couple hours where the kids got to try out their new life jackets which we LOVE seriously... they look dorky but they work SO well and the kids actually enjoyed wearing them. In fact, at one point I took Pep's off of him and set it aside, he went and got it and asked me to put it back on him. This makes me really happy because we are headed to Lake Powell this week and I don't know about your kids but my kids generally HATE life jackets. Best part is that these ones are approved for the boat! Yay! No more screaming, uncomfortable kids while on the boat!

On Saturday I spent most of the day cleaning up throw up. Totally awesome. The kiddos got food poisoning. Pep got most of it out of his system by morning (Made for a bit of a long night) but AnDee spent most of the day puking up every ounce of anything that we tried to put in to her. Poor kid. Made me feel SO bad. They were both feeling a little better by evening so we ventured in to the back yard to get some sun and fresh air.

(sorry its so dark)

Oh and Buggy tried to get a black eye by running in to the kitchen counter..

Fathers Day was a good one. Im super lucky cause I have THE BEST Dad ever. But really... he is. I adore him. And to top it off... I also have THE BEST Husband too. I love him dearly.
I got Andrew a bow fishing rig for his gift. And when I say I got it for him... I actually mean we went to Cabela's and he picked it out himself of course. We got to have dinner with both families and then in the evening, when everything settled down Andrew and I got to shoot our bows for a few minutes. It was a very relaxing, fun day.

21

Buggy has had one of those days. We have been fighting... She is sassy and rude and defiant and just... hard. Im hoping that her nap will change things. Im said to report though, that as a result of our rough day, I have no pics of her from this morning. Although she did have a few cute/sweet moments, like her Irish dancing on Grandma's picnic table.

Pep has actually been pretty pleasant today. Yesterday was his rough day. He is teething, has a rash and cut his foot open. Oh and he has thrush....again. But today he is doing his best to be happy despite all this and I love him for it.

20

So AnDee has had a pretty bad cough and last night she couldn't sleep so I went in her room with her sometime in the early morning hours. Andrew was in with Pep but had to leave for work at like 6:30. I heard the alarm go off but not much else so I just figured Pep was still asleep so I went back to sleep. I woke up about an hour later to Pep sneaking in to AnDee's room to get some toys. Im pretty sure he had been wondering around the house for quite some time. Poor kid. When he saw me sit up he came running to me and just cuddled in my lap for a good long time, like he had been so lonely. If he would just make a little noise or cry like a normal kid these things wouldn't happen!
AnDee's new favorite word is "mystery"
"mom, where did this come from?"
"I don't know Bug."
"Its a mystery!"
This morning we had a water fight with the neighbor kids. Ok.. So I mostly just watched and played ref when things got tense. Its funny cause I LOVE watching all the neighbor kids have such a good time doing the exact same things that I did when I was their age. I love watching them climb the trees and chase the chickens and catch the water snakes. It just reminds me of the awesome childhood I had I guess?
AnDee enjoyed it too and she has made a new friend. Madi is here from Vegas, visiting Gayle. Its fun for AnDee to have some one right next door to play with.

Pep played in the water too.... the proof is in the diaper..

19

This morning we played outside... like we do pretty much every morning. AnDee's cousin and best friend Jayne came over and they played and played (and yelled at each other a little)

We colored the tramp with side walk chalk

Pep ate dirt clods. (Ok... this was actually last night but he was full on biting chunks out of that thing. what is it with my kids and eating dirt?)

He learned how to climb the ladder to the slide so now he can officially do the slide all by himself. He only fell off the ladder once! .... I am such a bad mom. dirt eating and falling off ladders.  

And then he fell asleep in the swing

And once I finally drug Buggy (kicking and screaming) into the house, she snuck in to the bathroom and put on some "make up"

Awesome.

intermission??

We all knew that the "post a day for a month" things was never really going to happen. Im not controlled enough for that. I did pretty good though right? All the way through 17 before I stopped? I do however plan on continuing and so this is my number 18 post.... which doesn't include a day but closer to a week...and a half. Ill make it as short and sweet as I can.
We started things off with a weekend at my brothers cabin up by Bear Lake with Dave and Dyl
We caught pot guts (and then spray painted them)....

(Dave sat like this for literally 45 minutes. He got one though. Impressive, right??)

and fished (unsuccessfully) and went four wheeling...

And pep really loved the wind....

While we were on our ride, Pep peed out of his diaper and we didn't have any with us. So naturally, Dyl took off his shirt and made a diaper out of that.

Then mom got a special treat and got to go to Lagoon with two of her best friends.

This was the longest amount of time I have spent away from my children... ever. I guess except through the night when I was in the hospital having Pep, but daytime hours... this is the longest and Im still paying for it. My kids become panicked if they even think I might leave them for long enough to go to the bathroom.

AnDee likes to get in her dress up clothes, turn on a little AWOLNATION on pandora and dance. The shoes have become a key element in her ability to dance lately. I guess Pep wanted to dance too cause he busted out Buggy's sparkly pink shoes.

He was pretty proud of himself for getting one on but lucky for him he has a big sister who would never let him go to a dance party with only one shoe...

Pep found Poppy's stash of M&M's and tried to bring them out to us. He ended up walking out with a completely empty bag, although his cheeks were fairly full... He is no dummy. He stocked up.

We got to go to Grandma Pugh's carnival today. (explanation: best friend growing up, Kira (Sounds an awful lot like "Kara" doesn't it?) has an amazing Grandmother who has put on a "carnival" for the kids every year since.... I don't know?? forever?. Its fun. There are games and prizes and lots and lots of sugar. Good times)

The kids had a blast and its always fun to see everyone...

And finally, this last weekend we spent up at Current Creek camping with our awesome friends Will and Ashley and their two girls. We fished... and we were a little more successful this time

and after all that...

We were a little tuckered out.