cow appreciation day

nothin' much has been happening around here lately, so i thought i'd catch up on some stuff from last week...it was more fun! friday we went to chickfila for cow appreciation day. it was fun! (hot and crowded, but fun nonetheless) they had games, a balloon lady, face painting, the fire truck, and a boucer out there for the kids. we won coupons for free breakfast foods and a couple of "eat more chicken" cows. and if you dressed up like a cow you got a free combo! we didn't do that..we weren't prepared, but of course we ate!! and i learned that you can get a wheat bun (don't know why i didn't know that before)..but i was happy about it! spinning the wheel..everyone's a winner!

bean bag toss

balloon lady!

face painting..jay didn't want to do it

he wanted a tattoo instead

showing off their decorations

cora's pink balloon elephant & jay's sword

car full of little cows

the girl cow! we've never seen her before, only the boy one..cora wasn't interested in taking a picture with her...but this little girl was!

last day of dance for the summer

well, cora's 6 weeks of dance are up. after their class was over we went in to the studio and took some pictures. cora doesn't cooperate with the camera very well, but i got some decent shots. she will start fall dance the week of labor day..not too far away. and jay will be in school by then..how crazy is that?! wow. cora with her teacher, ms linda lou

"grace" on the bar

in the mirror

sassy pose

silly goose

cora and renee

something fun and new!

yesterday i got the chance to make something new! i have fallen in love with this blog...bakerella. she is so creative! i had forgotten all about these cute cupcake pops until my friend breanna asked me to make some. they are pretty fun to make. i want to make more soon and use all of the lessons i learned! thanks, bakerella, for your great tutorial, and for sharing your creativity with us! oops #1--fell right off it's stick oops #2--damaged during packaging--taken care of by josh finished product

fireworks!

we had a belated 4th celebration at my mom's house on saturday. we ate the best grilled burgers..and deviled eggs (or "doubled eggs" as jay calls them)...and mushrooms..and fruit pizza..and lemon square..yummm. erin and thad brought some awesome fireworks, and thad put on quite the show for us! the kids loved it...however, gertie, my mom's dog was not loving it. she ran away. the whole neighborhood was out searching for her. man, we were worried, but finally my mom and ray found her..scared to death.(people were shooting fireworks all over the neighboorhood). so, all is well! my mom's boyfriend, ray, and his son, lewis, and his daughter, cheyanne came too..it was fun. here's some pictures to prove it!who knew "at home" fireworks could be so pretty!

cora likes sparklers

ruth & ray

ray & cheyanne

jay being silly

thad making a run for it

the crazy beras (cora didn't like the loud stuff)

did i mention....

cora is taking dance? tomorrow is her last class..sniff sniff...for the summer. it was only a 6week long class for the summer, but i thought it might be a good time to "test the waters". but she seems to love it. and those of you who know cora, also know how bullheaded she can be. she doesn't follow directions very well, but maybe this will help. it's been nice to have something that is just for her. jay had tee ball earlier this summer, and everything else we do is all together. we don't get to stay in the room and watch, but there is a tv in the waiting room (which is always packed) so we can watch our little prima ballerinas. renee is in her class, which helps. she is alittle older than cora, and has taken dance before, so she is the "helper" in charge of wild little cora. i am not the best "mom of a dancer" it seems i am always forgetting something..and i've even lost a tap shoe! i really hate being so scatterbrained all of the time..something needs to change! ha! well, i will leave you with some pictures of cora's first day of dance class.

here she comes out the studio door with her tounge hanging out!

renee, cora, & ginger (she and cora were immediate best friends)

the dynamic duo

brodie's baptism

today my best friend, crystal's older boy, brodie, was baptized. i cannot believe he is 8 already! i think he had a great day today. here are a few pictures from the day.

left to right: earl (pawpaw), brodie, gloria (mawmaw), tristan (brother), crystal(mom), donavan (crystal's boyfriend)

josh & brodie

brodie with his cake

congratulations, brodie! i am so proud of you and your decision to be baptized. i know our Heavenly Father is very pleased with you too.

happy fourth of july!

today was a great holiday! so relaxing, and low stress. well, i did buy a swimsuit @ old navy, and that always comes with a certain level of stress. we started early with a ward breakfast at the church. it was fun, but awfully early. then the shopping spree (lol...just old navy, and target, but with cora that can be an all day affair) then swimming at the golf course. then we had plans to go to a riverfront festival and to the fireworks tonight. but we got word the festival was lame-o. so, instead we ate at our local yummy bbq joint, rented a movie and came on home! the no-napping kids were asleep by 7:30, and now a storm is rolling in. so, good thing we didn't plan for the fireworks. here is a silly picture of us in our traditional 4th tee shirts. josh and i are about to bust out laughing because it took us about 7 tries..and this is the best we could do with our timer as the photographer! happy 4th!