Hunter turns 7

We ended up coming home from our Vegas trip Sunday afternoon. Hunter's Birthday was on Monday so we had a nice quiet birthday for him at home. The picture above is Hunter with is first of 3 birthday cakes. I didn't have enough candles so we had to improvise and I got 3 normal candles so he could blow out 7.

Here the kids are getting ready to watch the fireworks that we bought to shoot off in front of our house. It was the first year that we actually lived somewhere that allows us to shoot fireworks from our own front yard. It was a lot of fun. Hunter has always hated fireworks. The loud noise freaks him out. This year for his birthday he asked for an MP3 player....we compromised by getting him a CD Walkman, which he loves. We told him he could listen to the music really loud and it was the first time that he enjoyed watching fireworks with us.

All of the kids got to help Kelly light some of the fireworks. It was fun watching them light them because as soon as the fuse was lit they would run to the safety of the blanket so they wouldn't get hurt. After our small pack of fireworks was lit we went into the backyard and watched as some of the neighbors shot off illegal fireworks. Later we went into Kelly and my bedroom and opened the windows and watched them from the higher view. The kids loved the fireworks. It was such a fun 4th of July that I know I'll remember for a very long time.

Above I had mentioned that the cake that Hunter was blowing out was only 1 of 3. We ended up having 2 birthday parties for him this year. 1 with our family (which I was too lame to remember to take pictures) and the second was a friends party.

When we had Mylie's Friends party for her birthday I had gotten a pinata. When I brought it home Hunter asked me why I had never gotten him a pinata for his birthday. Of course I felt guilty but I also made sure that I would get him one for his birthday.

Here the kids are waiting for their turn to whack the pinata. Surprisingly, it was a very sturdy pinata and all of the kids were able to take at least 1 turn.

After the pinata we had a slip'n slide. The kids had a great time. The one we got was a racing slide and the kids had fun racing each other to the end. Finally, Hunter's last cake. Yes, all 3 looked exactly the same. I was lacking in creativity this year. I can't believe my baby is 7 years old.

4th of July Weekend

Kelly had been waiting months for the third Transformers movie to come out. We normally stay home 4th of July weekend (which is when it came out) because of Hunter's birthday, but this year we went to Vegas with my parents. Thankfully, Vegas has movie theaters so Kelly got to see the movie the week it came out. We actually saw 2 movies this weekend. The first was Cars 2. The kids loved it. Unfortunately, Kora got really sick during the movie. She had an extremely high fever and ended up having one the entire weekend....and of course, later sharing the fever with her brother and sister later on. It happens. Hunter wanted to take a picture in front of the Optimus Prime poster they had at the theater. He loved the movie. It has been more than a month since he saw the movie but he still talks about Transformers all the time.





One of the days that we were up there we drove out to Lake Mead and rented a boat. It was a large Pontoon boat. We all loved it. The desire to own a boat is so strong while you're out on a boat, swimming and enjoying the day. Maybe someday...






Kelly and I were both excited to see Hover Dam. Both of us have seen the front side of the dam but never the back that is only accessible by boat. Of course we had to take plenty of pictures.



After the dam we found a nice boat free area and went swimming. The temperature was 108 and the water was a wonderfully cool 74. It felt amazing. The kids were afraid to get in the water. At the boat dock there were tons of extremely large carp. The kids knew there were fish in the water and were afraid the fish would bite them. Of course, 10 minutes before it was time to take the boat back all 3 kids jumped in the water and had a great time swimming. Too bad it took them so long to get in. Maybe next time they can enjoy more of the water.



This last picture is of Kelly trying to feed Mylie to the large carp. We had such a great time that we are thinking of making this an annual trip. We stayed in my parents time share which didn't have a casino attached to it. It was so nice not smelling like smoke.

Dilemma

What do you do when your daughter decides to play hair dresser on herself and cuts off a large chunk of hair?





You even it all out. Actually, Kora cut her hair about a month before we actually decided to even it out. Fortunately, I think we have found out that Kora looks great with short hair.

Fountain Fun

We went to Victoria Gardens with one of my friends and her kids and had lunch then played in the fountains. For all of you who don't know, Victoria Gardens has a kids program that allows them to get discounts at different restaurants and stores. Chipotle actually gives your kids an entire kids meal for free with absolutely no purchase necessary. The kids each got Quesadilla meals and I got a yummy Chipotle Burrito. It's definitely worth signing up for.

This is the only picture I got of my friend, Julie's kids. I was trying to get a picture of them but every time I snapped they would turn around and I would get their back. I should have just asked them to pose...yeah, didn't think of that at the time...

Kora in the water.

Miss. Mylie...when she saw this picture she wanted to make sure everyone knew that she is wearing a Tinkerbell swimsuit. She LOVES Tinkerbell.

The Lukester! This boy LOVES the water. Although, once he noticed the stairs and the field of dirt right next to the fountains I couldn't keep him away from them. Go figure.

There were so many kids at the fountains. It was a hot day so I guess that everyone had the same idea. I definitely need to make another trip up there before school starts. Such a fun day.

Preschool Grad!

Kora has endured 2 full years of Preschool. Let's just say that it hasn't been the easiest of times for her. Most of the time she didn't want to go and I would often leave her kicking and screaming....literally. I have really appreciated her teachers. I am sad that Mylie will not be able to go there this next year, but we are hoping that next year schedules will allow it. Once Kora got over the seperation issues (5 minutes after I left) she did fine in her class. She participated and had plenty of friends. Kora is excited for Kindergarten at her new school. So, here is our Preschool graduate!

These are two of Kora's teachers, Mrs. Crystal and Miss. Leainne giving her the diplomma.

We are so proud of our Kora and excited for her new adventure of Kindergarten!

T-Ball Pictures

Hunter's final year in T-Ball has been fun. I enjoy T-Ball because they don't keep score. The kids learn the game and just have fun. I think it's so important for the kids to have fun. Although, now that the season is over it's nice to have our Saturdays free again. Kelly has been such a wonderful coach. Overall, the team did pretty well throughout the season. I don't have many, but here are a few pictures from this season. The picture above is Hunter's favorite spot in the Dugout. He loves to sit on the end.
A picture of our little batter!

This last picture is of the boys getting their participation medals. Hunter was so proud of his medal he wanted to wear it everywhere and show it to everyone. He kept telling everyone it was for being really good in baseball. We're excited to start on the Farm team next year. It should be interesting.

66ers Baseball Game

I am a little backlogged with my blogging. I want to get all my posts in so you'll have to bear with me the next few posts as I go back a few months to capture them all.

First up was back in May. Hunter's T-Ball season hadn't quite ended but the team mom was able to get the kids free tickets to the 66ers Baseball game. It included free hot dog, drink and Ice Cream...along with the opportunity to walk onto the field. They got to each meet one player (the player in which position they themselves played) and get a signed ball. Because Kelly was the team manager, he too got to go onto the field with the players. Even though it was only a single A team, Kelly said the experience was amazing. The kids had a great time and were surprisingly very good on the field. The night that we went was Military night. They had free tickets for all the servicemen and even had a huge cannon that they shot off in center field. The cannon was louder than any firework we had ever heard.

Overall, we had a fun time. One fun thing that happened was the guy that Hunter got to meet and get his autograph was the person who ended up with the winning hit of the game. It was such a neat experience for all the boys. I know Hunter will remember it for a long time.