Declaration of our Independance! (Day)

Happy 4th of July! This is my favorite holiday. 3rd, that is. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and then the 4th of July. I love it, because I love our country! I am grateful to live in a country with 13 major holidays. I get to look forward to doing something fun every month! Not to mention the six birthdays this family has (all of which constitutes a huge celebration)! This 4th of July, we did not party with friends or extended family, we set out to gallivant as just us. And what a fun day it was!! We have the next town over 4th of July freedom festival, but the weather forecast called for 96 degrees and no shade at all! No way. We headed for the mountains! Big Bear Lake, and "the best fireworks display in southern California!" (It really was, too.)

I start taking pictures in the car, that's where the adventure begins.
Look at my arm. Have you ever seen a more freckled arm?
I might not be a redhead (sniffle) but I freckle like one!

Daisy is so funny. She frequently sits like this as we are driving along, her legs never getting tired!

When she's not being hilarious, she's just a sweetheart, grinning at every one! (She also acts like a diva a LOT of the time, but I don't photograph those moments. I should, though!)

Traditionally, (addictively) we head for the Alpine Slide. It has so many fun activities.

The day always begins in the game room, of course. We could actually forgo all the other activities, just play video games all day, and the kiddos would be ecstatic!

Kurt can burn through quarters like our Excursion burns through gas!

Kyle loves the shooting games! He's getting pretty good, too!

And Cleve loves the driving games! I think it's pretty cool how all my boys have their personal preferences with EVERYTHING. I tried Mrs. Pacman. It took me three minutes to die.

While Dad took the boys in turn on the go-karts, I did miniature golf. I watched as my children bashed the cement, swung their clubs in the air, played in the river and pond, threw their golf balls, ran crazy all over, and did everything but play mini golf. : )

Dad and burning down the road!

Daisy did actually attempt to be like the big people and play some golf. She was so adorable trying to do it! I love this girl so much!

Dad and Kurt. Kurt is almost tall enough to drive by himself! I wonder how terrified I'm going to be when he gets a real license? Gray hair in a week scared, I think.

Dad spent a few minutes with each boy, teaching him how to (direct quote) "drive dirty."

Little did the other drivers know. Cleve and Dad smoked 'em! (At one point the ride was stopped and Dad was advised that 'driving dirty' was a little frowned upon. Come on, that's all part of the fun!

Kyle, dear heart, is potty training. The good thing about that? He no longer pees his pants. The bad thing? He is still learning to go find a restroom and in a mini golf park will pull his pants down to his ankles and pee into the pond.

Ah, the day finally came. Daisy met a dog named Daisy.

Cleve didn't want to hit the waterslides, he was content to lounge on the deck and chow on skittles!

Our little fish here had a blast on the slides!

He had to climb to the top of these stairs over and over, and he did it so fast! Heaven help me if he ever challenges me to a race to the top! It'd take me an hour. Kurt loves the waterslides so much, he'd happily do it all day!

Until Daisy gets a wee bit bigger, she spends a lot of time here. Note how happy she is about it.

The piece de resistance, the Alpine Slide!

Waiting for the fireworks! We walked and got mexican food for dinner and then we parked our buns until the show began!

This is a terrible picture. But the fireworks were BEAUTIFUL!!!! This really is the best show in So Cal. God Bless the USA!

Drive In!

On July 1, we went to the Skyline drive in in Barstow. We had never been there before, but heard it was worth the drive. Where else can you watch 2 movies for 6 bucks a pop (if you're an adult) and two bucks if you're a kid? (Well, the Rubideaux in Riverside, but they're a little ghetto. They have good burgers though.) We had so much fun! It was a lot of hard work, but that comes with the little kid territory. We will definitely do this more often!

Kyle NEVER. STOPPED. MOVING. Except once. For this picture : )

These pictures are in no particular order. Daisy is threatening to drop away from us here. Around 6 or 7, and she is ready to hit the hay!

I had this weird fear that the parking brake would fail and the truck would kill us. But then, I'm a worrywart. I worry about getting struck by lightning every second of the day, in all seasons. I REALLY worry about that in a snowstorm. Haha, just kidding. Being outside and watching a movie together is such a fantastic childhood memory! I remember sitting on the hood of my mom and dad's station wagon (in beloved Utah) eating homemade chocolate chip cookies and watching The Man From Snowy River when I was just three or four. I love that my kids will remember trips like this when they are old like me!

We ALWAYS bring the Pack 'n' Play! When Kyle was this age, he could already get out of it in less than three seconds. Thank heavens Daisy is not that flexible!

She may LOOK like she is laughing here, but trust me, this was a full on "get me OUT of here!!!" tantrum! Sorry babe. You're stuck.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Daddy!!!!"
"Tough luck, baby girl. Tough luck."

Babies always get happy again if you wait long enough : )

Me, Dad, Kurt. The three people Daisy will always go to or sit with happily. She adores her big brother!

Thanks for the movie Barstow!
Next time that'll be a plural thank you.
Next time we'll drug the Kraken and make it through two!

Grandpoolpa!

After my parents got divorced my dad moved into a trailer park. For whatever reason, my sisters and I thought this was so cool. Then my dad moved to Anaheim Hills and got a whole lot cooler than that because he suddenly. had. a. pool. Wow. The ultimate in cool dad-ness. My entire childhood involved swimming in this pool. Now I get to see my kids swim in the same pool. Its trippy watching my childhood repeat itself, but also incredibly awesome. And as cool as Pool Dad was to me and my sisters, Pool Dad doesn't hold a candle to Pool Grandpa. Pool Grandpa is the coolest (poolest? : ) man alive. this entry will be repeated many times, I am sure. I don't have a lot of pictures because my lens has bit the dust, it still works (barely) but the cool thing about that is next month my pictures (taken by the fantastic lens coming my way in August) are about to get hella better.

Kurt is, for lack of any better word, a fish. Maybe we could call him a merman. He loves to be in the water. A few moments after this photo was snapped, he barfed pizza into the pool and we still couldn't keep him out of the pool! Gross. We waited half an hour for the pool filter to do its thing and then we let Kurt get back in. The adults huddled on the non barfy shallow end steps. Kids are so much less worried about the gross factor, and therefore, have way more fun.

Here he is! Grandpoolpa! The coolest grandpa ever.
My kids love to play in the spa. Another reason Grandpoolpa is a hero? It was 90+ degrees and my dad braved the hot tub for his grandkids. I generously handed the pleasure of that heroic act to him, and stayed on deck.

I forgot Daisy's bathing suit but again, Grandpoolpa came to the rescue and went to Target for me. He picked out the cutest two piece I have ever seen. Who knew Daisy's belly was so adorable?

Her little back ain't bad either. I spend a good part of my day drooling over the luscious adorableness of my baby girl. I cant get enough of looking at her. I sicken all around me. "Isn't she cute? How cute is Daisy? Have you ever seen a cuter baby girl? Come here and look at these 1000 pictures of Daisy..." Well, she's adored. There are worse fates.

Not 1000, just three. Daisy has learned to say "cheese!" It's the ugliest face I've ever seen.

"Give me some Blue Steel, baby girl!"

Grandpoolpa and Grandpoolpa's hubby Grandseattamike (Michael, sorry there are no pictures of your hot self, I promise when I get my new lens my camera will be in your face like Mitt's in Obama's! Hahahaha....sorry. I crack myself up.) Anyway, as I was saying. The two men of the house bought Cleve a birthday cake! Cleve hates chocolate (where did this child come from?) so he got strawberry, and it was delicious! Happy Birthday again, sweet six year old!
Cleve also got an RC car (which my horrible lens failed to document) and we had a barbecue. Thank you so, so, so much Dad. We love you very much.