Get ready cause here comes a long one. When you have family in town, friends from out of town, a holiday and the most fun sister in the world you can’t expect anything less. Here is the whole shebang from the beginning of the week.

Standing in the dug out is a little different in this game. It consisted more of watching kids and trying to keep dogs out of the game. I’m not quite sure how many of us were paying close attention to the game, but it was fun being with all the kids.

If you look past Uncle David and his sweet pitching you can see how hard I am working out in the field. I would have been better off picking dandelions or doing cartwheels with all the help I was giving. I really did try, but I just know that there is not a single athletic bone in  my body. At least I was enjoying my time in the sun! I make for a good team mascot. We were the Incredibles. I forget what the other team was called, but what does that matter when you clearly are the best. ;)

I wish Shawn was on my team. He never failed to get a good hard hit and nearly make a home run every time. I’m just glad that the bases weren’t always loaded. If that were the case we would have lost by a long shot. By the way great picture Dad!

I have no idea why I am the one helping Payton, seeing as I have no knowledge of how to even begin playing softball, but it was fun to help him out the best I could and to just get to spend a little extra time with him. And it made for a super cute picture.

Mom is taking all her frustration out right here. This is before they pulled ahead in the game. You can see how much effort she is using to knock the strings off that ball. She has a pretty good arm.

I must say it was quite the game this year. I can’t really tell you who won for sure. Point wise Uncle Mark’s team won, but without all the free charitable pitches and lack of strike outs we should have won. Oh well, it is all fun and games and it really doesn’t matter who won. Now Mom can stop complaining about always being on the losing team. 

So here you have the so called winning team in all their glory. They look happy don’t they? It was so much fun just watching my mom get all worked up about what points count and who did what. All I kept hearing from her was “it’s my game and we play by my rules!” Silly Mother. All her fun quirks only make me love her more!

And here is the real winning team, at least at heart. Even with the small children we managed a pretty good outfield strategie, with no help from me of course. With all my athletic ability you think I would have contributed to the game, but sadly it was no where to be found that day.

After the game Audrey needed to cool off a little... so 5 of us dumped water on her. :) straight down her back and on top of her head. The best part about it was that she had no idea I was one of them until a good few hours later when revenge was far from her mind. 

No swimming this year. It was more than warm enough, but sadly the pool pump broke and we haven’t had a chance to clean it out well enough for sanitary swimming. But we did however keep on with the traditions of our BBQ. All the kids found themselves eating on the trampoline as to leave the chairs for the adults. 

Jacqui and Andy got here safely and I was so excited to see them! I feel like it has been forever since we last did something. a month is plenty long to be away from some of your best friends. We took the time out to visit Jacqui’s grandpa at his gravesite. He was buried in the Military Cemetary or Redwood Road. It was nice to take some time out on Memorial day to really remember those who had helped fight for this country and all we stand for. 

Shopping, shopping and more shopping. I feel like that is all I ever do with Andy and Jacqui. I guess they don’t have a whole lot of options in Rexburg, so they take advantage of what is around when they leave town. We went to Payless to initially get my schedule for next week and came out with three pairs of shoes for myself and 2 pairs for Jacqui. When you get great deals and an added discount it gets really hard to pass things up. 

That evening we decided to have more fun! Dad, Jacqui, Andy, and I headed out to The Boondocks to go mini golfing. You can choose from two different courses, and we chose the Volcano! Oooooo...scary!

I would like to announce that I finally got a hole in one! This is my victory dance. I got so excited. It had never happened before, and I am glad we had a camera there to catch the beautiful moment. 

Here was our score card, and the winner is... Dad with a score of 43; runner up me with 52; Andy with 57; and Jacqui did a great job with the high score of 77. 

Like father like daughter. We had way too much fun for our own good. Dad can be more like a little kid just as good as the next person. Whether on just a simple car trip or at a Mini golf course he can have a world of fun!

Jacqui and Andy Show their super excited faces as we prepare to go on the Go-Karts, or at least Jacqui is excited... It was my first time riding on Go-Karts, and I loved every minute of it. I had a face off with Jacqui as we both took the lead. Her kart was bigger and ended up smoking me by the end. I have never laughed so much out loud to myself as I did on those silly karts. 

After our fun night at the boondocks we had dessert at sconecutters, and while we were waiting for our food I decided to take a picture of my new favorite shoes. Pink! I know not my typical choice, but after starting my job at Payless I couldn't pass up the discount. Plus, the picture has a priceless face in it. So pretty Jacqui! 

I was pooped after such a fun day on Monday that I wanted to relax. So while I waited for Jacqui and Andy to wake up and get ready I watched Marley and Me. It was a really cute but also very sad and deep for a kid movie. As soon as my guests got up and got ready we went shopping, took time to nap and then they headed back to Rexburg and I went to work. Nothing exciting happened there so I was excited to have Audrey call to let me know that they were all going to Tom’s house to play games. We enjoyed a very funny game of Apples To Apples where my personality was described as “chewy.” I’m not quite sure I understand what that means, but I will accept it nonetheless. After that fun game we made our way downstairs to play a game of what Tom calls Crap. It is lind of like Lightning, but with pool balls. It is far too confusing to describe, but I am proud to announce that I won the first game and got 3rd in the second. Not too shabby for a first time player!

Sad news... Remember that flu that everyone had at the beginning of the week? Well, it caught up to Audrey and I. We both called into work sick. We almost think we psyched our bodies into it. Almost worrying so much about getting sick, that we actually did. I woke up early to take Mom and Dad to the airport so they could go help Jenni move into her new house in Seattle, and when I got back I started to feel a little odd. I thought maybe I could sleep it off. I layed down until it was time to get ready for work, and then it all hit. There was no way I was going to go to work. 

I don’t think I have ever watched as much TV as I did that day with Audrey. We watched everything from Disney movies to reality shows. I must say I am very glad we have more options of channels now. Can you imagine being sick at home all day not feeling well enough to move with out entertaining reality TV? How on earth did people survive? ;)

We felt better that night, or at least I thought I did, so we headed over to Conner’s to get in his Hot Tub. It felt very nice and was very relaxing, but as soon as I got out I realized I wasn’t any better then I was this morning. Looks like I really did have a bug... and it lasted longer than any stomach flu I have ever had. 

My symptoms continued for a good 4 days full on, and then began to calm down after that. But 4 days was far too much work and fun to miss, so I stuck it out and tried to convince myself that I wasn’t sick at all. I even made it through a session at the temple with Audrey’s friends. I pretty much just had to convince my body that I was going to play an have fun no matter how bad I felt. I faked it pretty good until we went to Jake’s house to watch a movie. I couldn’t fake it any more and I had to ask Audrey to take me home. I felt bad for making her leave, but it was the only thing I could do to keep from embarrassing myself completely. 

All I let my self do the next day was go to work for a few hours and then pick up Mom and Dad from the airport. So much for all those wicked parties I would have had while they were gone. ;)

I don’t know how Jenni did it, but somehow while she was here she convinced Mom and Dad to get a new couch. Mom isn’t quite sure how she likes it, but Audrey, Dad and I really like it and are excited to continue redecorating that room. 

I spent most of my Saturday watching Lily and Kylie. We did everything from taking naps to jumping on the trampoline. As you can see we also played detective. Lily makes a great detective with magnifying glass and all. I think this is one of my favorite summer pictures thus far!

Take a look at that nasty stuff! No swimming for now. While Kylie and Lily were over we took the time to help dad hook up the new pump to the pool. After many attempts and hard work we finally hooked it up correctly. Now all we have to do is correct the chemical level and clean it out. It will take a long time, but I am determined to get it done so I can finally go swimming. 

This was quite the Sunday! I had quite a bit of time in the morning before church so I straightened my hair and really made an effort to look extra nice. Not for any particular reason, just cause I had the time. Church was great. I got to know Bro Olsen (one of the counselors in my singles ward) by having an interview with him. We talked about a lot of really cool view points of returned missionaries. He brought a lot of things to my attention that I had never thought of before. I think it was the longest interview I had ever had, but it was all very enjoyable. 

We had Ribs for dinner! I don’t know what is going on around here, but all of a sudden we are having real meat! First full steaks on Mother’s Day and now ribs. I guess Sunday cooking has been turned over to dad. 

After dinner I was able to take a lot of relaxing time on the new couch. Pretty much Audrey and I didn’t budge off the couch from the time dinner ended till we went to bed. 

Mom made it very clear that we were to keep our feet off the couch, at least for a week. So this is how we treated it. 

Dad even took it seriously!

We even had FHE in there. Normally when the whole family is home we stick to the family room, but this week Audrey and I refused to come in. This was the outcome!

More of the usual this week with a slight touch of extra family time. I babysat for both brothers here in Utah and loved every minute of it. I would give up almost anything to spend time with those sweet girls. Aside form babysitting I also played taxi service. I’m glad the van is still around to help out with the usual car breakdown. Katie and David needed to get their car fixed before peaving for the weekend so I ran them around town for a while.

In the process I was able to take Lily to get her first haircut. She was such a perfect little angel the whole time... as long as she had chocolate in her mouth... Obviously a true girl from the beginning.

The end result was a super cute little bob cut. I am surprised at how much older it makes her look. All the baby curls got cut off. No one knows if they will be coming back. hopefully she will take after me and have cute curly hair later on. ;)

Again I worked my little rear off. I am getting more and more hours at Payless and still doing the occasional landscaping work for Karla. Most of the yard is done for early summer. Here are a few attempts at catching my green thumb in a few pictures.

This is the front entry way and trail to the back yard. Just imagine hand planing each and every one of those flowers, bushes, and shrubs. It was quite the long project.
This is the far half of the backyard. I have had so many fun times in this back yard and am glad to have added to it's beauty now. 

I had a little fun this week testing out my baking abilities. I knew we had some garden fresh rhubarb that needed to be used up, and had fresh strawberries in the fridge so I ventured out and made my first strawberry rhubarb pie. It turned out very pretty and tasty! Very rarely do I get both in the first try.

Jenni and Mark came to visit this week! We all had so much fun together. Mark’s younger brother was getting married so they all flew down. Again my car made for a great taxi with built in car seats and all. I picked them up from the airport late wednesday night and the rest of the week was a blast.

When Payton comes to visit the laughing never ends. Usually it is funny things he says, or silly thing he does, but when he gets quite you know something is up. We quickly came to the realization that he really does belong in this family. We found him behind the counter...

Eating all our Peanut butter!!!!! 

Covered from head to toe, just digging it straight out and licking it off his hands. That silly boy!

The whole weekend was filled with cousins and fun. We played outside on the grass, on the slide

and most favorite, the Trampoline.

We all enjoyed popsicles in the nice weather...

Including sadie! She loved it! 

Friday night I got to help Katie out at her Tiny Toes Dance recital. The little girls did great, and Katie was a great teacher. I liked it more then I thought because as I got there I realized that the music they were dancing to was the soundtrack from the Tinkerbell movie. The perfect ballerina music!

Since Jenni was in town we couldnt’ pass up the opportunity to sing together. Dee Dee, Mom’s friend from the Orchestra at Temple Square, had invited us to sing in her ward and promised it would be worth the visit. We re-worked up Jesus the Very Thought of Thee and sang beautifully. We got our pay... in chocolates. What more could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon? I love singing with my sisters. I don’t know what it is, but our blend is incomparable. There is a unity of sound that I feel with them that I can’t duplicate anywhere else. Too bad so much time has to split up our chances to sing together.

I finally got to start my job at Payless Shoe Source this week after a long wait. I started training to be a sales floor captain and key carrier. for not knowing me at all they sure do trust me a lot... I’m not saying they have a reason not to, it is just odd that they trust me so quickly. I’m trying to keep up and learn fast so I can get on my own schedule as soon as possible. 

On the side I am still working for Taylor’s mom. This week it was a little slow seeing as their whole family is away at Disney World. I am just taking care of the plants and dog and then will continue taking all the busy work jobs as soon as they get back. I am very impressed with how the yard has turned out so far. I didn’t know I had such a green thumb... !

This week has been full of bike rides and picnics. I am having way too much fun being home with Mom and Audrey. If I am not having a picnic with Audrey I am riding my bike with Mom. Good thing I am finally getting some use out of the bike I got for my birthday back when I was 17. As soon as Dad got home from his business trip this week he too joined in the bike riding festivities. 

Seeing as Dad was gone, and Mom wanted the backyard projects finished up we decided to surprise him and build the retaining wall ourselves. It turned out pretty good after 2 longs days of digging and lifting. Honestly, who needs men when you have Mom and I around?We can pull off anything and everything!

I’m still spending quite a bit of time with Audrey and her friends, and will probably continue to do so until they kick me out! This week we played Night Games at a nearby elementary school. Soccer, Down by the Banks, Frisbee, Four Square, and a whole bunch of made up non-sense games. Life doesn’t get any better then this. I did however have a friend of my own there as well. Jordan was here to visit from Rexburg, and so he joined in on the fun and festivities, followed by none other than the traditional Slurpee run. Summer is the best!

Oh and a side note for the week.... Mom has a friend who is a complete disney fanatic. She just happened to be going to the 80th birthday party for the original Tinkerbell Face model, so of course mom had her take a picture... isn’t that Awesome? I wish I could meet her, but a picture will have to do for now!

And here she is with the voice for Wendy and Jiminy Cricket. I would like you to take special note to her birthday dress. How cute is that? she still has the pixie in her! Someday I would love to be a Disney something...ANYTHING!

This week has been filled with updating friends in Rexburg about my job opportunities. I am now officially hired at Payless and was supposed to start work at the end of this week, but family issues came up with my boss so he can’t start training me until the beginning of next week... this just means I have more time to play. However in most of my extra time this week I found myself working for Karla on her yard once more. It is so nice outside recently that I have no complaints working in the yard. 

I forgot to mention the outcome of our walk last week. Audrey and I decided since we couldn’t make the peach pie that Alex wanted so badly we would make him brownies with a peach pie paper cut out. 

Getting ready to go...

Placing it on the door... and running away!

Dad tried to catch a picture of Alex as he opened the door, but that didn’t seem to work out so well. This was the best we got, which really isn’t much, but I trust you can use your imagination. 

My singles ward should be fun. We had a “Quatro de Mayo” party for FHE. We beat up a few pinatas, and enjoyed some chips and dip. Audrey, Shawn, and Alex were with me which helped raise the level of fun we had.

After FHE we went out to Applebee’s for half price appetizers. We had way too much fun for our own good. 

As you can see Audrey and I ordered far too much food, and should have shared. 

I am so happy I have Audrey home this summer. I don’t know what I would do with out her and her friends. I would be bored out of my mind! This week we watched, or attempted to watch Benjamin Button. From what I saw it was a good movie. There were too many people there to try to watch it quietly. 

Friday David graduated! Congrats David! I am so proud of you. I know how hard it can be to finally get there. Luckily you have a plan, which is always a plus. Good luck with the job hunt and always keep in mind why you picked that career you did. You love it! Don’t ever lose sight of that!

That night I had far too much fun with Audrey, Shawn, and Alex, but this time it was an organized date. We were informed to wear our plaid shorts.

It began with a picnic... Followed by a very intense game of Croquette...

Losing team...

Winning team!

Followed by a fruit pizza creative contest.

The beginnings of a great competition

Finished with the initial design, and into the oven.

Option 1

Option 2

Dad was the judge, and he claimed it to be a tie. I personally think Audrey’s was far more cute then mine, but I think my fruit design was far more impressive. 

Mother’s Day was fun. We had David and his family over to celebrate. Lily wanted all of us to wear “princess shoes” like her, so she got each of us a pair of Mom’s Sunday sandals. Just a small family get together for dinner and a lesson. Audrey make Strawberry shortcake for dessert, and then we went on our weekly Sunday walk. A great week with lots of fun!

As soon as I got word that my good friend Nik Day had his CD on I Tunes I bought it right away. He is so talented and I hope everyone who reads this will at least listen to a sample of it. He is absolutely incredible and the best part about it, is that I know him really well! I know someone famous!