God & Country 2007

We love going to the God & Country fireworks show each year. I think this is our 3rd year going and the kids love it. None of them were afraid this year...not even Ty...he just stared, memorized by the bright lights and loud booms. We met up with the Moffatts, Lisa Wolin and two of her boys, laid our blankets out and watched the fun! It only took us 45 minutes to get home (it only takes 12 to get there). to say the least it is the fireworks show of the year! None of the 4th of July shows that go on are even close to this, so we try not to miss it!

Hanging with the little boys!

Daddy with the big kids.

Our gang!

I love Huddy's face in this picture...this is what he looked like the entire time. He would also tell us what color the fireworks were...everyone of them. And then, if one of the fireworks looked like it was going to hit us (which it really wouldn't have) he would hold his arms out and yell "Stop! Stop fireworks!" Then he would turn to Jay and say "That was a close one".

Ty-ger checking out the show.

Golf it is!

Jaxon played in his first golf tournament of this year on Tuesday the 26th. He was teamed up with a 13 year old boy and the two of them together took 6th place, shooting a 67. All the kids get trophies and they each have to give a speech. This is what Jaxon said....too cute. "Id like to thank my mom for bringing me down to Banbury to play golf, my partner for doing good, I like my trophy and thanks to Banbury for putting on the tournament" I was so proud of him! He is playing in 3 more tournaments this summer and informed me that he was shooting for the bigger trophy next time. I'll let you know how he does.

Speech! Speech!

There's his name on the reader board!

Boise Hawks Game

Well, we thought it would be "fun" to take the gang to a Boise Hawks baseball game last Wednesday night. If you have a certain green wrist band you get in for a dollar and certain foods are only a dollar also. That's a good price for a family of six who might make it through half of the game. I run across town to pick up the green bracelets and we head to the game as soon as Jay got home. It was ONLY 95 degrees outside when we left...what were we thinking! Before we even made it from the parking lot to the stadium the kids faces were beet red! We got there an hour early so we could eat, play in the kids area and find our seats in time. Before we even got to our seats Ty was melting down. Great! We sit down and of course we got some lame seats in between two other families so to get up and down was an inconvenience for others. Jay went down with Hudson to get him a snack, came back with waters and a few snickers bars...oops...he forgot Huddy cant have peanuts. What a sad sad face that little boy had when he got all the way up the bleachers to find he couldn't have what everyone else was having (STRIKE ONE!). We thought then we would wait for the candy guy to come by but only the "peanut guy" came by (STRIKE TWO!). Then Jay hands Kenna a snickers bar and tells her she needs to split it with her brother so she literally takes the chocolate bar completely out of the wrapper, grabs it with both hands and "splits" it with her brother....her hands were COMPLETELY covered in chocolate with nothing to wipe them off...she licked it off. Ty proceeded to kick and pull the hair of the girls in front of us while Hudson is on the verge of crying cause he's not getting any licorice. Kenna then announces that she has to pee (STRIKE THREE!) We are out of there! We made it through the 1st inning. "Come on kids...we're going home to swim"! Cheers all around....What started as a disaster turned into a great evening of swimming with the kids...I did get some cute pictures though.....Ahhhh the memories!

Hudson could not wait to "go play" baseball...

Jax & Kenna...we decided it would be better to get a babysitter for the little ones, pay for the shaded seats and take these two if we are really going to enjoy a game.

Ty...the trouble maker

Don't ask where Ty is...running away from me I'm sure.

Jaxon throwing a fast ball!

Pool Party @ The Hughes!

On Sunday the 24th we hosted an all church pool party. We had a great turn out...about 65 people give or take a few. We had pizza, fruit, chips and goodies to eat and an afternoon full of swimming. Some guys did get up and play basketball too, but I didn't get a picture of that. It was a great time of fellowship with some of the people from our church body. You get to know people in a different way when you "play" together. It was a blast!

Happy Father's Day!

I often think about what an amazing dad Jay is to our kids and I thank the Lord for him and for his influence in our children's lives. Jaxon aspires to be like him, Kenna worships the ground he walks on, Huddy is so proud of him and Tyson cant wait for him to walk through the door each day. What a blessed man he is to be so loved by so many people. Happy Father Day Big Daddy!

Hudson, Kenna, Jay, Ty & Jaxon

Its just a little bright out.
She's been saving this shirt for Father's day...we've had it for 3 weeks!

After the US Open was over we went down to wish Charley a Happy Father's Day too. He was in really good spirits and the kids were so happy to see him with a sparkle in his eye again. Its been such a tough 7 months for him and we continue to pray for the Lord to help him have the strength to endure whatever it is that the Lord has for him. He had surgery last Thursday and feels as though it went really well and that it is helping his pain. Praise the Lord!

He was so happy we came by. When I was taking pictures of him with the kids and Jay he started to cry and kept telling us how much he loved us. You can see the tears in his eyes in this picture if you look closely. He is such a sweet man.

You gotta love Huddy in this picture! Charley is a proud grandpa and these kids adore him! Kenna cried again when it was time to go...just because she's going to miss him so much until next time. She is so compassionate it makes my heart hurt.

I was'nt able to be with my own dad this Father's day but I did call and talk to him and I did spend some time thinking about what a great dad he is. I am so blessed to have grown up with such a loving dad who loved the Lord with all his heart. He is a humble man who serves the weak and poor and who loves his family more than anything. I love you dad. You will always hold a special place in my heart.

Happy 6th Birthday Hula Girl!

ALOHA! For Kenna's 6th Birthday we had a Luau with some of her little girlfriends. It was one of the most fun parties we have thrown for a little person! I got hula skirts & Lei's for all the girls so when they arrived they got all dressed up and ready to hula! We had Hawaiian music playing and the girls hula'd their hearts out! It was so cute! We did the limbo (hilarious!), swam, BBQ'd, did a gift exchange and hit the pinata! Kenna had a great day and loved having her friends to celebrate with her! Happy Birthday Hula Girl!

Our little Hula Girl!

I taught her all the moves!

Limbo!

Daddies Girl

What's a Luau without a dip in the pool?

Look at how cute this bikini cake is! I loved it!

The sandal pinata!

A swing and a miss!

Shake it sista!

Sarah, Chloe, Kenna, Grace, Gracie, Savannah

Fruit

Jay's boss sent us an edible flower arrangement for our anniversary. That was a new one to me! It was so thoughtful of him to think of us and very fun. The kids had a blast eating it with dinner that night!

"HELP ME LORD!"

Don't let this cute little bugger trick you...he might be wearing "undies" but that doesn't mean he's potty trained. Its times like these when I know I'm being aged right before my own eyes! I have 2 that are fully potty trained and have been for a while...didn't like training them either and 3 years later...I STILL don't like potty training. Ive tried LOTS of things so don't take this as an opportunity for you to give me some suggestions (I will punch you) =). My blood is rushing through my veins as I recall yesterdays events. It wasn't funny yesterday and its still not that funny today but I know it will be one day.

Yesterdays Events:

Huddy is attempting to wear undies. The two little boys and I did stroller strides from 9-10am...he went pee pee before and after "good boy!" and then we ran some errands. Being that I only have one brain, that really worked magnificently for one person but for 6 it tends to forget a few things, I didn't have him go for almost 2 hours. Yesterday was Jay & I's 10 year anniversary so we thought it would be fun to take the kids to Red Robin for lunch to celebrate..."milk shakes for everyone!". As we were sitting there I had this flash through my very full mind that maybe I should take Hudson to the bathroom. As I look up to ask him if he needs to go I realize by the look of shear panic on his face that he beat me to it! YIKES! I rush him to the potty but he is already soaked! I rinse out the pants as best I can and of course I don't have any extras so he walked back to the table with wet pants on. Poor guy! But then 10 minutes later we look up and he's red in the face...He's POOPING his pants! This time Jay rushed him to the bathroom but we were already too late! "Help Me LORD!". Jay ended up throwing away the under ware..."they were'nt worth saving" he said. So as quickly as we could pay our bill, we were out the door. "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY". I get home with all the kids and immediately put Huddy back on the potty after I hose him off in the shower. He pees again and poop's again! Good boy! After he does his business and flushes I take him into the bedroom to put on a pull up (its nap time and I'm done with accidents for the day). 5 minutes later I hear Jaxon yelling "sick...that's disgusting!" I enter into the bathroom that Hudson just used and the floor is covered in toilet water thanks to the littlest Hughes, Tyson, who so happily was sticking a cup into the toilet and dumping it on the floor along with shoving Jaxon's stuffed dog into the toilet. Jaxon is standing there with his dripping wet dog and I'm ready to FLIP OUT! "Kenna get Jaxon a garbage bag, that dog is going right in the trash!" Jaxon highly agreed with that! Tyson is wet from head to toe and not yet sure of what is going on. I pick Ty up to go changed his clothes after cleaning up the mess in the boys bathroom and wouldn't you know it...He's stinky too! Could this day get any better...yes, the air conditioning guy has been knocking on our door while all of this is going on... its 85 degrees in the house because our air doest work and I'm sweating like a nasty pig and you better believe that I wanted to run away!

10 Years of Marriage and the best years of my life!

Happily Married for 10 whole years!

He thinks of everything!

We shopped downtown at my favorite places!

We layed by the pool!

Again! He thought of everything!

Taking a break on the way to Idaho City.

On the road!

We made it! Not much to see but the Kettle Corn was yummy!

For $5 you get a bag of Kettle Corn the size of my torso!

Shopping for Jay! The new Harley shop opened this weekend.

Tomorrow is the actual day...10 years married! What an amazing 10 years it has been. I am still married to the most amazing man alive. He is the best husband and daddy and he has made the last 10 years the best of my life. I love him more today than the day I married him! We celebrated early since our anniversary is always closely followed by Kenna's birthday and Fathers day. We decided that instead of waisting our days traveling we would stay home instead! We sent the kids off to Auntie B's and Mrs. Crockers while we stayed home all by our selves! Just sleeping in our own bed and not having to get up to feed anyone but our selves was fantastic. We ate out at all our favorite restaurants, took a motorcycle ride to Idaho City, shopped at our favorite stores, laid by the pool with no one screaming "watch me, watch me", went to a movie, went on a peaceful morning walk, went grocery shopping alone & had long talks without being interrupted! We had a great time reminiscing about the last 10 years. Boy have we been through a lot and oh how God has changed us both. Since for 8 of the 10 years I was pregnant or nursing or just taking care of babies, we look to the next 10 years as very desirable. And yet, in 10 more years Jaxon will be graduating and going to college, Kenna will be getting her license to drive, Huddy will officially be a teenager (start praying now) and Ty will be 11. When you look at it that way we are not in a huge hurry to reach our 20th...it will come soon enough...lets just enjoy the time we have now! By the time our weekend was over we thanked God for our memorable time and looked forward to seeing the 4 little people who have been so much of those last 10 years! May we continue to seek God through the next 10 years...we couldn't have done it without HIM!

Wallowa Lake Camping Trip

Our beautiful camp spot

I love Ty's face in this picture...he didnt know what was going on!

This was great! Josh & Heather woke up to the rear of a deer in their face! TOO FUNNY!

This place is always good for entertainment! Its camping plus all the extras! This was a Boise meets Yakima half way trip. Us, my brother Chad, and my friend Stephanie and her two kids Mitchell and Avery came from Boise while my parents, brother Josh and his family, and my uncle Rick all came from Yakima. We had a great time roasting...I'd like to say it was just marshmallows but Chad decided to try a roasted Twinkie. For all of you who were wondering..."they don't taste as good roasted" so Chad says. We had a deer who came to love our camp spot because the first time he hoofed it in he snagged a half full bag of marshmallows! Ate the whole darn thing! And then returned each morning and afternoon to see what else was available! The kids loved it! Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries and I didn't get all the other fun activities that we did like: bumper boats, mini golf, the tram ride, the hike, the boat ride and the kids jumping into the freeing cold water and then crying because it was too cold! All good times! We look forward to the next adventure at Wallowa!

Remember the Brave

For Memorial Day the city of Eagle (where we live) set up a memorial in one of the local parks. There were 800 American Flags displayed in perfectly straight rows to represent those we've lost. It was a sight to see. The pictures don't even do the set up justice...I couldn't even get all the flags in the picture! The kids were mesmerized by it and it gave me a good chance to talk to them about those who risk their lives for our freedom. As we looked at the flags together we prayed for our friend Chad Crocker and all the others who are over in Iraq right now. I am proud to be an American and I am grateful for those who fight for us.

Wii are family

Was it my first choice? Not at all (video games never are, in fact they don't even show up on my list of choices) but I do have to say the kids LOVE this Wii thing and they all can play. Huddy is still a little to small to do it on his own but with help he has fun. Jaxon and Kenna giggle more when they are playing Wii bowling together than anything! Costco always gets my husband in trouble!

Fun times!
She's beating her brother...this calls for a celebration!
Getting a little help from big daddy!

Huddy getting in on the Wii action!