Father's Day '08

We were blessed to have Todd's mom and stepdad, Kay and Bob, in town this past weekend. So, for the first time, we got to actually spend some time with them on Father's Day. Even though Bob came late into Todd's life (about age 14?), he is a very important part of all our lives. He is a great man....fun to just hang out with and shoot the breeze with. The kids love it when they get to see Grandma Cake and Papa Niles. It's not often enough since they live in San Clemente, CA. Lance especially enjoys hanging out with Bob. He usually gets to go "run errands" with Bob. I think that makes him feel like the big man on campus. He was a little disgruntled this trip when Sierra got to come along once. We had a great time visiting and swimming with them all weekend.

We were able to go see Catherine's Dad, Steven, for dinner later that evening. All of her siblings and their families were there except Danielle since they live in Utah. (Yes, they were sorely missed as always....we are counting down the days till they move here). That clan fills the house with noise, chaos, kids running amuck, debating, laughter, and love. Dad did a wonderful job raising seven children. I still remember him coming out to the curb to comfort me when my cat was run over. It was so nice to just have him come out and put his arms around me. It's kind of funny that the son-in-laws like to tease about how intimidating Dad was when they first met him, but he really is just one big teddy bear. He is so generous and caring towards his family. He would do ANYTHING for any of us ANYTIME. I know that without a doubt. I love my Dad!

For dessert, homemade grape ice cream, we headed over to Todd's Dad and stepmom's house. Wayne, Todd's dad, likes to give the grandkids rides in his "VW Thing". But, this time, he took Lance out for his first driving lesson in a Dunebuggy. Wayne was impressed at how well Lance did. I'd like to say it was from my side of the family, but I know deep down in my heart, that's from his Dad's side:). Those men are naturals at cycles, quads, buggies, or whatever they choose to drive and go crazy on. It's always fun and adventurous with them.

Hats off to our three dads/grandpas - Bob, Steven, and Wayne. We love them all! We are so grateful for our extended family and for the love and support that they give to us. We couldn't do it without them! We hope that they all had a Happy Father's Day!

And, I couldn't end this post without thanking my own hubby for the kind of father he is! His family has always been a priority to him. He loves to spend time with the kids - one on one and all together. He likes to go out as a family and to have fun together. The kids love and adore him. One can see it on their faces when Todd comes home from work!

You know you have a teenager when....

... he can sleep in till 11:40 in the morning! In his defense, he had a week long boy scout camp and then Lake Powell back to back. I am sure he was short on sleep, but I thought it was pretty funny that he slept soooo late. I had to keep checking on him to make sure he was still alive. In fact, he might have even slept longer. At my 11:40 check, I thought I saw him stirring so I started talking to him, but he ended up being still kind-of asleep. So, I might have been the one to have woken him up. When I told him how late it was, he seriously would not even believe me that it was 11:40am. "Nu- uh" (said in that teenage tone of voice:)...."No, it's not".... I had to SHOW him his clock!

Lake Powell with Sam and Lani's family

We had a great time at Lake Powell this week. We went up for three days on a houseboat with our friends - Sam, Lani, Hannah, Kelly, and Beau. We spent three days cliff jumping, wakeboarding or water skiing, sliding off the houseboat, seashell hunting, riding the jetski, fishing, playing games, watching movies, burning anthills, sitting around a campfire, and pigging out on ice cream at the Marina. What a fun memory!

One of the saddest parts was Zane's dissappointment in not catching a fish. Todd said he had never seen his boy sit still for soooo long. Zane really tried. Once, when Zane thought he'd caught a fish, he reeled his line in only to find his bait had been snatched! What a mean fish! Poor Zane was in tears when Sam showed up and quickly caught a fish. Life can be so unfair. Zane's highlight of the day was to "captain" the boat. He got to steer!!!

Wes was fearful of the water, as seems to be the thing this summer. (We really tried to get over it in swim lessons though. He has improved but is still very reluctant). Todd had to make him ride the jetski with him. But, the next day, Weston asked Todd to take him. Yea!

Sierra had a great trip playing with Hannah and Kelly. They liked to ride the hotdog inflatable in the lake and climb up and down the sandstone hill behind our beach. Lani introduced Sierra to cucumbers on the eyes for a nice, soothing treatment on tired eyes. Her favorite part was going off the slide on the back of the houseboat.

Lance brought along his friend, Aspen. They had a great time catching lizards, riding the jetski, and much, much more. Lance gave Wes a piggyback all around that sandstone hill. Lance always takes good care of his little buddy. The boys were also a terrific help to Todd and Sam whenever some muscles were needed:). What a couple of great young men.

Lovin' the Water

The kids are lovin' Cash and he is lovin' the water! He can't get enough water play....whether it's swimming, playing with (and breaking) the sprinklers, or chasing after water that is coming out of the hose. He even goes after the water in the waterfall. It's pretty cute. We have already taught him to jump off the diving board to fetch his ball. He loves to swim!!! Kota was too scared to ever get up on the diving board. Cash definitely still has a lot of puppy energy. He calms down nicely in the home. We are working on less barking and no licking. Sierra spends a lot of time "training" him and walking him up and down our road. He's laying on the floor right next to me now. Gotta love him!

Meet Cash

We adopted Astro...now Cash.... from the Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue. He is two years old. He was found as a stray and was about to be euthanized at the pound for fear because he huddled in the corner. We can't blame him there. We wouldn't like that place either. Luckily, the rescue foundation saved him so that he could become part of our family. Our family is already sooooo attached to him. He's a great dog. He is showing off his "binky" here, as we like to call it. He is rather attached to it. He's got a few things to learn, but he's a smart dog and as loving as one can get. But, of course, we expect that cause he's a lab! :) He's even brought a little bit more life into Kota (our twelve year old lab). Unfortunately, he's also brought a little bit of something different to our cat, Cali. I'm sure that they'll get used to each other soon though.

Mr. Roboto

We just had to share Zane's famous and favorite dance moves....for future blackmail?? :)

(excuse the younger brother who was trying to weasle into the action).

Watch out "Dancing with the Stars"!

Our Zaner's Front Tooth

FINALLY.....Zane lost a front top tooth. It's about time! He lost his bottom teeth a long time ago....although still later than everyone else in his kindergarten class:) He has been waiting for the top ones to come out, now that he has finished first grade. Well, finally, one came loose. He wiggled it for a few days. Then, it was hanging on by a thread. While playing with it yesterday, he accidently twisted the tooth. So, I hear him screaming, "Help, Somebody help me!" crying at the same time. He was in pain! I go up there to help, to save my son from the pain from the twisted tooth. So, what do I do? I yank it out. Not even one drop of blood, but you should have heard him scream bloody murder. He was so mad at me for like five minutes for pulling it out. ...crying on and on about it. I reminded him that he was the one that asked for help:).