fine, I'll update the blog: part three, july

He certainly doesn't look happy enough to be a cowboy. It's probably just because I made him stay still for a moment so I could take a picture.

Huzzah for guns and blankets and shows!

Gray has gotten a haircut since this was taken. He loves to play in the water with the big kids. But he also loves to drink the dirty water, so he has to be closely watched. The kids love to play in the water, but I haven't gotten the pool out much since I can't leave them unattended in the pool. They seem to be just as happy with a big bucket of water, some smaller buckets, and some squirters. (And I'm happy because I can run inside for a few minutes and not worry about anyone drowning.)

Me: Colin! Smile!
Colin: (stares blankly)
Me: Colin! Come on! Smile for Mom, please?!
Colin: (stares blankly)

And then this is the smile I get.

Aww, wet handsomeness.

Kate and her watering cans.

It's the 4th of July! This picture is out of order because I took it on my phone and apparently phone pictures come before camera pictures on the computer. On the 4th Nate and I went to a Real Salt Lake game in the evening. We left our kids at home because no one would have enjoyed themselves if we had brought them. Nate's parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews also went. A good time was had by all. Fireworks were after the game, but since Nate had to work the next day (and since we don't really care about fireworks) we left as soon as the game was over.

And now to the morning of the 4th. I took the kids to meet up with Nate's family at the Provo parade. We left Nate at home because no one would have enjoyed themselves if we had brought him. We had to park about a mile from where we sat, but since I'm awesome at pushing kids in a stroller it wasn't a problem.

Adorable weirdo Kate and her daddy. Kate is sitting on my lap as I type this and now she wants her daddy. Thanks picture.

On the 6th we had a Cousin Birthday Bash to celebrate all the upcoming birthdays since Lenna and her family were still in town. It was a Princess Tea Party theme. JK. It was pirates.

Piñata! (And no, I'm not hitting any children in this picture.)

Gray looks pretty proud of himself. Just like his older siblings, he loves to climb/sit in car seats when they are brought in the house.

We spent the 13th and 14th in Logan at the Hanks Family Reunion. The only time I took my camera out was when Nate and I took our kids to see the Logan Temple. Thanks for posing so nicely for this picture guys!

That's a keeper.

Oh, I love them. Yes I do.

The reunion was a lot of fun. The Silveys were adopted into the Hanks family many, many years ago, so Nate knew all of the people there, but I didn't really know any whose last name wasn't Silvey (or Hiatt). Still, the kids had a blast playing with all the new "cousins." And the highlight of the trip (at least for Colin) was staying in a hotel. That boy loves sleeping in hotels.

Before my sister Heather moved to SLC, she gave my kids some of her old fake glasses. Doesn't Kate make an adorable nerd? They had some good times playing dress up with those glasses, until they broke all 3 pairs about a week later.

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! My sis-in-law Kelli gave Gray this onesie for Christmas. It finally fits him, and he looks adorable in it.

Kate insisted on getting her picture taken too.

And since Gray was dressed like Buzz, Colin also needed to be dressed like Buzz. So here are my two Buzzes together. Awww.

It's the 24th of July! I coerced Nate into joining the family for the parade, and I paid for it for the rest of the day.

Classic Nate.

Yay Mapleton 15th Ward! (Our ward.)

Yay Mary Nelson! (Colin's best friend Mary who lives across the street.)

The Mapleton Drill Team. (Notice how they are all carrying drills?) They had a sweet song and dance number this year.

After the parade we went to the city park for the funtivities. The kids played in the bouncy houses and won prizes at the duck pond and fishing booth. It was fun!

Kate's crazy hair and super large dress made me smile. She was pretty pleased with herself.

Gray's smile cracks me up. It feels like I've seen this face before...

Another crazy hair picture. It was just so adorable.

Colin borrowed my phone and took some pictures. Here is his newest best friend Alexis and her dog Sadie.

Our weedy garden.

Me and the other kids.

A funny cloud.

Our new chairs! That's right, now when you come to our house we have a place for you to sit!

My brother Ethan went to San Diego with his girlfriend. He brought back these awesome sodas for me and Nate. Mine was the Leninade and Nate's was the bacon, obviously. Everything written on the Leninade bottle made me laugh. I'm a sucker for funny Communist stuff.

fine, I'll update the blog: part two, june

And now June.

The big kids were playing under the blanket and Gray would squeal with delight when he lifted the blanket and found them. He really does love him a game of peek-a-boo. He also loves flopping down and giving the blankets some love.

There was a free admission day to This is the Place Park in SLC one day at the beginning of the month. My mom and I braved the throngs of people and took the kids up. It was hot, crowded, and super fun. This is the Place had really changed from when I went there as a kid.

We started the day off by watching the Native American dancers and eating snacks.

The costumes were amazing.

I can't remember for sure what her dance was called, but it was something along the lines of the Fancy Fringe Shawl Dance.

There was a section of the park that had miniature houses/cabins. The kids liked looking around, but not so much going inside.

The favorite part of the day—free ice cream cone!

Gray went to town on mine/his.

Riding the mini-train.

Best group picture I could get on the train.

We had a lot of fun at the park. We listened to some stories from the descendants of early pioneers, played, and rode all the different trains/cars/strollers/etc.

My kids love to play Mowgli. Some days it's difficult to keep them clothed.

All the kids love Seth. They are in heaven having him unemployed and living in the basement. And while Seth loves playing with them, I know he wants a job. Let us all pray for Seth.

Aww, Sweet Kate.

Going on a walk one day. We do that a lot. And all 3 kids think they need to ride on the stroller. I shouldn't complain, because it's pretty much the only exercise I get pushing them around. Gray has to be tied down tight to keep him from escaping and trying to leap from the stroller. Yes, Kate is wearing pajamas.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It's just Gray sporting a (clean) nursing pad as a yarmulke. It's cute, right? Anyway, it made me laugh.

Colin and Kate get in to the strangest outfits. They both love to dress up so much.

Kate isn't wearing anything under that apron. Silly.

This is their favorite way to watch shows.

And now to Colin's birthday. His birthday is the 29th, and we celebrated on the 30th so a few Iowa cousins could be there with us. Also in attendance, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and his best friend Tracy (and her husband Jeff). Colin loves superheroes, and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday he said, "Superhero." He wouldn't (couldn't) be more specific than that, so we had a generic superhero birthday. I made felt masks and rounded up some capes for everyone to wear. Tracy and Jeff were awesome and dressed up, but I couldn't find my camera for the first half of the party. We also had Tootsie Pops with capes and masks, a Superman cake, and ice cream cones. (Ice cream cones are a big deal in this house.)

Here's Cousin Mason all decked out in his superhero finest. I threw together a game for the kids to play that consisted of using squirt guns to fight their way through a group of ninja balloons where they then had to squirt water on Batman and Wonder Woman to free them from blocks of ice.

Also, if any family members have pictures of this party, I would love to get a copy of those.

Gray chillin' with Granny and Papa.

Yay food!

"A Clayton gun!" That was his dream present. He's been waiting like 4 months to get a cool big gun (like the kind the bad guy, Clayton, uses in Tarzan).

Giving hugs after opening presents.

And that does it for June. Thanks for playing.