Belly Laughs

Nothing makes me smile like happy kids! I took these pics while Daddy was behind the scenes cracking them all up. I love these pictures.

Here they are anticipating what kind of crazy antics Daddy will come up with...

Let the belly laughs begin!

Bee careful out there!

Ok, so the weirdest thing happened last week. I took the kids to meet Mr. Wonderful for a picnic lunch in an open field behind his work. We were all eating lunch and minding our own beeswax... when a breeze blew some of our garbage off the picnic table and Benny got up to get it. I'm think he must have stepped on a hive on the ground or something because before we knew it there were bees swarming all around us. Then it was like a scene straight out of a horror movie. The kids were all getting stung and they were running around and screaming and trying to get away. It happened so fast. It was just awful. Then as I was tending to Celeste and Benny and Jon was taking care of Charity, I looked over and saw a HUGE swarm around Jakey's head. I swept him up and we all ran to the car. We thought everything was fine until Jakey started freaking out and screaming again. Apparently there were two bees in his shirt, under his overalls, that stung him twice. :( Those ruthless bees. The kids were so traumatized by the whole thing... it took them over 20 minutes to stop crying. Benny kept asking, "Why did they do that to us Mommy?" And Celeste kept wailing, "Why are there bees in the world?" And Jakey- "They hurt me and didn't even say sowy!"


The worst part was that Celeste got stung on her lower lip. We were really worried about it because it swelled up a ton and it seemed she was developing an allergic reaction to it. So we decided to take her into urgent care for treatment. The doctor informed us that around the months of Aug-Sept. bees become more aggressive and they'll sting even unprovoked. Anyway, so he checked out all their owies and gave us a prescription for some heavy duty allergy medication for Celeste. Thankfully, her lip returned to it's normal size that afternoon. So we breathed a sigh of relief... until she woke up the next morning and looked like this...



The swelling had spread to her cheek during the night and she looked so miserable!! Poor thing. :( But we kept her on the medication. She's fine now. Everybody is fine now... except when they see a bee.

After watching my kids go through that I think Celeste brings up a good point... why are there bees in the world anyway? I could do without honey.

Binkie Baby

Here's my little man rockin' a binkie. This kid cracks me up!

Pigging out

Chocolate covered bacon at the Wisconsin State Fair was definitely a ONCE in a lifetime experience...

for most of us anyway...

Family Luuuuv

Celeste, Jakey, and I were able to take a trip to Utah this month for a family reunion and we had a blast! Here are a few pictures of the fun:

These are some of Celeste's second cousins. She doesn't have any first cousins yet... so it was fun for her to develop a relationship with these sweet girls.

Museum near BYU

These are my cousins Madison Nicole and Mackenzie Kathleen. I LOVE these girls. They are both so beautiful... inside and out!

We had so much fun making bows together! I am totally hooked on this new hobby. Thanks again Julie for being so generous with all your supplies.

The results of my labors

While we were busy making bows, the boys were doing what they do best. ;)

Here we are playing games together

My mom, my aunt Terri, and my Irish cousin Janice.

This is everyone minus us, my Dad, and the Moore family. We'll definitely have to do this again.

I love all my family and I miss them already. I sure wish we were closer, but the distance between us makes these visits really special.


The sweetest thing was when we got to the airport, Daddy, Benny and Charity were waiting for us... and the kids ran to each other. They could not contain their excitement and they just kept hugging each other. Then much to everyone's amusement and delight, Jakey ran around the airport hugging everyone's legs. I love how they love each other. Unfortunately, they started bickering a little before we made it to the car. But I know they love each other and it makes me happy. The pure love of a child is a beautiful thing.

“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18: 1-4

FHE idea

Here is a fun family home evening idea on service. We've found that unless we make the lessons interactive, the kids lose interest in what we're trying to teach.

Sing "Love One Another"

Have the kids build a tent in the living room (this was their favorite part) and in your own words share verses 5-7 from the Book of Mosiah.

Explain that you're going to pretend they're the people from the Book of Mormon and have them build a tent so they can listen to the words of their King.

Have King Benjamin read verses 9-19 of this inspiring address to his people:

Give everyone a chance to pretend to be King Benjamin and share their testimony about the importance of serving one another.

Even the little ones...
Lastly, take turns serving a special treat to each other and enjoy the rest of the evening together.