Whew!!

Another great summer is quickly drawing to a close. Here's our top ten list of:

Roberts Family Fun

10. Building the shed -- If you ask CJ he will probably say it's #1. He is so happy to have a place for all of his stuff. The kids have a great time playing in the top of it.

9. Swimming Lessons -- Olivia and I took Moms & Tots while the other kids had their lessons. We had a great time playing together in the pool.

8. Scout Camp/Activity Girls Camp -- This was Keaton's first overnight campout with the Scouts. He had a great time, but I think the 50 mile (not sure if it was 50 or maybe only 30) bike ride, from Malad Summit to Hansen Park, pretty much did him in. Kennedy had a blast at day camp! She came home teaching us all kinds of fun songs.

7. 4th of July -- The town celebration is always lots of fun, especially the candy drop. After ward we headed to Bear Lake for some fun on the water.

6. Box Elder County Fair -- It's always fun for the kids to go to the parade, see the livestock, and ride the rides. This year was a bit different. CJ, Keaton, Klayson, and Ryan (my nephew) were all in the parade because our ward's Deacons were the pooper scoopers. Not so much fun. Klayson and Ryan just went along for the ride. Kennedy helped pass popsicles for Kent's. It was just Olivia, Granny, Adri (my sister), Lizzie & Andrew (her kids), and I at the parade. My kids were bummed because we didn't ride any rides. We can go to Lagoon for less than the dirty, unsafe rides at the fair! They each got some $ for school clothes instead.

5. Keaton's 12th Birthday -- We had a great time taking some friends of his boating at Willard Bay. What a fun group of boys! CJ and I had even more fun that night when we scared them all with his coyote caller. I've never heard such a tough group of boys scream like such little girls!! Good Times!! Keaton was ordained a deacon by his Grandpa Firth (my dad).

4. Boating -- It doesn't matter where we go, we always have a great time! We had fun with the Roberts side at Bear Lake. It was great to have some of CJ's neices come up and stay and spend a couple of days with us. Even Grandpa Roberts put on a swimming suit! We met my cousin's family and aunt & uncle at the lake a few times and had tons of fun with them. We hope this will continue every summer from now on!

3. Staying at the Cabin -- We love every chance we get to go stay at Bear Lake, but it doesn't seem to happen often enough. Life's crazy sometimes. It is always so nice, cool, calm, and quiet at the cabin.

2. Oregon Coast -- We love it here!

1. Spending time with Family -- It was so great to have my sister and her family come out and spend some time. Ashley came up quite a bit to join in the fun. We met with cousins and Craig's sister for fun at Bear Lake. All in all it was a great way to end the summer!

Puppy Love

I've kind of been having thoughts of getting a puppy lately. My house will sure be quite all day once Keaton, Kennedy, and Klayson head back to school. I think Olivia will get bored when it's just the two of us. I'm sure a puppy would entertain her and be lots of fun for the whole family. But, my brother-in-law, Craig, pointed out that in a way Olivia is a lot like a puppy. Now, most people would be offended by this, but when I gave it some thought I had to agree.

If a door is left open, Livie is outside playing before I know it. When a drink or food is left on the bar, she climbs right up to help herself. She loves to play in the water, she'll steal anyone's shoes the minute you take them off, she DOESN'T drink out of the toilet but she will go in the bathroom and turn on the tub to get a drink, and she's even been known to bite a person or two. I hate to say it but when I start to potty train her next month I'm sure we'll even have our share of pee and poop on the carpet. But you don't have to worry, I won't hit her on the head with rolled up newspaper or rub her nose in it!

She's a very busy little girl, but we love her so much and wouldn't have it any other way! Now we just need to teach her to come running when we whistle!

Andrew (or maybe Andrea)

My little sister, Adri, is visiting from Virginia. Her husband, Craig, was here but had to go home Sunday night for work. Without Craig here to keep on eye on things, I thought I'd have a little bit of fun. I know when he sees this he'll be shaking his head and saying to himself, "Where was Adri when all this was going on?" I'll tell you. She was holding him up so he wouldn't tip over on the bed!

Like a Bug in a Rug

I'm always up for a challenge, but I think I'm losing this one to an almost-two-year-old! I was in a bit of a cleaning mood (I know--RARE) and thought I'd do some organizing in Olivia's room . . . so I took down the crib. Initially she was really excited to have a big girl bed like Kennedy, but she has since changed her mind. Crazy thing is - naptime is great. She goes in, lays down, and falls asleep. Bedtime is a whole different story. There's a whole lot of crying and "NO W-A-Y", followed by me putting her back in bed 10 to 20 times. I thought it would be good because now when she wakes up she will come to me and I won't have to get out of bed during the night. Now I find that CJ and I are sharing our bed every night with an octopus. Whose bright idea was it to take down the stinkin' crib?!

Let the Good Times Roll

When we come to Cannon Beach we always stay at the same place. It's a quaint little 13 room inn. It's only about a block from the beach, right down from Haystack Rock. The kids have been dying to spend some time at the beach, even though it's really too cold to even get in the water. Yesterday morning, while I was getting myself and Livie ready, CJ and Kennedy head down to check out beach activities. What a great day they planned for us! We all rented beach bikes that look like adult sized Big Wheels. They look easy, but it takes a minute or two to really get the hang of balancing on them. We rode all up and down the beach on them and had a BLAST!

Later we bought the three older kids skim-boards. It took a bit of help from some other kids on the beach, but they had so much fun. We decided they'd also be great to use at Bear Lake.

Today we went to church in Seaside. I was amazed at how many vacationers were in attendance. There were at least three other families, plus an Elder all from Utah. One lady, who is a member of the Seaside ward, heard that we were from Tremonton and asked if we knew any "Ballards". When I asked specifically which Ballard family she said it was Denzel and Beth. She was sure surprised when I told her that we had lived right next door to Beth for seven years and that now we live next door to her daughter, Tina. Beth's son served a mission and taught this lady the discussions. Wow, Small World!

Oregon or Bust!

It's time for our annual vacation to the Oregon coast. A couple of years ago CJ came home from work and said that we were going on a road trip. We packed our bags and loaded up in the Suburban. We really had no destination in mind, but we ended up on the Oregon coast. We loved it, and have come back for the past three years. One year we take the kids and the next it's just CJ and I. This is the kids year.
We headed out Wednesday around 2:00. We stopped for dinner in Baker City, then went a bit further and spent the night in Pendleton. I think the best invention in the world was to put DVD players in vehicles. The second best, McDonalds Red Box.
Usually CJ and I tend to get lost and circle the streets of Portland, but this trip we're quite proud of ourselves because we made it right through. We didn't even have a map! Wow! Those green road signs really do work!!
After lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a bit of shopping at the Lego store we reached Cannon Beach.
On Friday it was a rainy day so we decided to drive to Astoria. As we headed there we drove along the beach to find the shipwreck. The kids thought is was great that we could drive right on the sand. They couldn't believe there was a real shipwreck!
When we got to Astoria we drove up to the Astoria Column, but to our disappointment the column was closed so we couldn't climb to the top. Last year I climbed to the top where there was a breathtaking view of the whole area. The kids still thought it was pretty cool, anyway.
We crossed the Astoria bridge and headed over to Washington. It was kind of funny that all the kids were so scared to cross over the bridge. It definitely is a massive bridge. It is almost four miles across. There were huge ships and barges all along the Columbia River. It was great fun for the kids to see just how big they really were.
Once we got into Washington we had fun driving around and looking at all the cool beach houses. We decided that the brighter the color, the better the house. You name the color--we saw it. It reminded me of the story "The Big Orange Splot".
We had a small taste of the beach when we saw the shipwreck, but the kids can't wait to go and have some fun. Too bad it's not warm. The temperature has been about 68. Oh well, I don't think it will bother the kids at all.