Ohhh so BUSY!!!

So I haven't had a chance to update the blog since we have been pretty busy the past 3 weeks. The last week of July we started having John's family arrive from NC. It was so fun to have all of them here. There was one day where all of his family was able to get together at our home for a total of 28 people. One of the first days they were here we visited "This is the Place" monument. This is something we wanted to share with his family becaPreslee and Payge were quite intrigued by the large ant pile. We were worried they wouldn't have the ponies and petting zoo since there was a large fire a fire weeks ago and most of the animals were killed. Somehow they had replaced the very tame animals. Payge is tired of waiting for her french fries!!!They loved being able to help feed the baby lambs.John insisted that he ride the train with the kids:)These were the pictures taken after we had a nice sunday dinner at house with the whole family. We took some quick family pictures. I have some of the whole family but I still need to get them from my brother-in-law, so this is what I have for now. John sister Beth, Paul, Kaylee, and Roice.John's sister Lisa, Galen, Cole, Andrew, and kadenJohn's parents and siblingsThe grandkidsJohn's brother Walt, Helena, Elissa, and EthanJohn's sister Ashley, Jason, Annecy, and LiviaJohn's ParentsJust the kids...We loved being able to spend time with our family that we don't get to see very often. It was a littlehard because Brilynn and Maycie were both in school. I did let them take a few days off though. While they were here we also visited the Sweet's candy factory, the roy aquatic center, the guys played a round of golf and then took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese while the girls went shopping. It's always hard to say goodbye when it's time for them to leave because we know we won't be seeing them for quite a while. Thanks for coming to visit and we look forward to the next get together.

After John's family left, we were able to spend a few days with my mom. We went to the aquarium and ate lunch at The Mayan. Later that night we took the kids to see Shrek 4. It was a busy day (so busy I didn't take any pictures) but we had such a good time. Thanks mom for the fun day.

As my mom was leaving to go home we were packing to go visit my sister in Kanab. We had been so busy this summer that we hadn't had a chance to go down there. So I took the kids out of school for a few days and went to one of my favorite places. My sister always feels really bad that there really isn't anything to do when we go there, but I am pretty sure that is why I love to go there. There is NOTHING to do. One of our favorite things to do is spend the day at their aquatic center which is actually called the Cowboy water-n hole, and then get a yummo shake at the Three Bears. Usually I don't even get ready when we go to Kanab. Nobody really seems to care rather your hair is done or not or rather your kids look like total orphans. It seems to be much slower paced then our crazy life. I Love KANAB. The morning before we left the twins came out in these little outfits. Aren't they the cutest litte hispanic firefighters you ever did see????? Well that's our last few weeks in a nutshell. I am still disappointed that I didn't take more pictures, but sometimes just trying to survive is hard enough let alone trying to remember to capture pictures of everything. It has taken the last week to recover from all of the family get togethers, but we wouldn't change it for anything.

I wish I was a little girl again!!!

Does this bring back memories for anyone else???? Brilynn and Maycie were over to the neighbors house while they were going through some boxes. They kept coming home with lots of little toys that to me were junk but to them the most fabulous "treasures." It wasn't until Brilynn came home with this necklace that it sent me back about 25 years or so. Oh how I loved my charm necklace. I haven't thought about these for many years. I distinctly remember having the toilet, tennis racket, toothbrush, bottle, and notebook and pencil. I know I had many more but can't quite remember. I wish I still had mine. This really made me think of how simple life was when the most stressful thing at that time was what charm should I trade with my BFF:) I almost became "giddy" while looking at these charms. What are your memories of these necklaces???

Vernal for the 4th

I just realized I never posted pictures from our Vernal visit. I didn't take very many pictures but here are a few.
Payge and Preslee love to color. They spend a lot of time coloring. Usually it is on paper like they are supposed to, but many times it is also on furniture, walls, clothes, and themselves. Payge is right handed and Preslee is our little lefty.So I love this picture. Yes they are 2 and they are still completely attached to their binki's and blankies. I just don't have the heart to take them away. Nothin like a good ol' free Vernal haircut.

The tire swings were a big hit with the twins. That is all they wanted to do when we were outside. The older girls (no pics) also got their turn on the swings. Uncle Ben took turns pushing them. I finally had to tell him to stop when I started to worry that they were going to flip backwards.

Nothin like going back to school after a 2 week summer!

I must admit I am a little bitter about our 2 week summer. Because of the tracks we have had in the past we have always had atleast 8-10 weeks off during the summer. This year is our first year of experiencing a short summer and it STINKS!!! I was completley bummed to have to send the girls back to school. We packed in as much fun as we could during the 2 weeks. A trip to Vernal, road trip to San Francisco, a day at the aquatic center, 2 birthday parties, and a little R&R. So here we are in the middle of the summer...GOING TO SCHOOL!!! Anyway...I am actually really excited for the girls teachers this year. After meeting with them and having a chance to visit with both of them and learning about their philosophies, I must admit, I totally agree with them. They believe that their job is to educate and prepare their students to live in the real world. Brilynn and Maycie have both loved their new teachers and are excited for a new school year. So for now, a big ADIOS to summer!!!

Baptism

I didn't realize how much work it would be to have a daughter turn eight. Not only do you have the regular birthday party stuff but on top of that you have the Baptism. We had to find a dress, take pictures, make invitations, reserve the church, plan a meal, make sure they are prepared to be baptised, mail the invitations, and probably lots of other things that I haven't done or have forgotten to do. I think it will all be worth it in the end...I hope:)

Birthday Partay

On Saturday Brilynn had her friend birthday party. This is something that Brilynn looks forward to every year. She counts down the days, then hours, and usually the minutes. I know my cupcakes are a big dissapointment to all my talented cake makers, but this is an area that I chose to keep sweet and simple. This is about as good as it gets at the West house:)She got lots of cute and fun gifts from her friends. They really do have a sweet group of girls and they all get along so well!!!

On Monday, her true birthday, we continued to celebrate. We woke up early, spent a few hours at Chuck E. Cheese, went birthday shopping with her birthday money, went to lunch, had dinner at Cracker Barrel where she enjoyed her free birthday dessert, spent the evening at boondocks where her and Maycie were very competitive while racing the go-carts, finished off the night with her presents. Brilynn is actually getting hard to buy for because she really doesn't want toys, but isn't into clothes, and has just about everything she needs. This year the only thing she wanted was a pair of "real" walkie talkies so that she could share them with her friends and they could pretend that they are cell phones. Since cell phones are years down the road I thought it was a great idea. It makes me laugh to listen to the conversations that they have had on the walkie talkies. It makes me SMILE! Happy birthday Brilynn.