Summertime

 The best $15 I've spent, 2nd year running.....

 + $3 for pool noodles = 3 days of solid fun!

 I'm such a genius.  Yesterday, we had a heat advisory all over Iowa.  Thanks to humidity, it felt like 110.  What did I have a hankering to do?  Bake of course! And what a perfect day, right?  Right???  Well, even though it wasn't the smartest way to spend my day, it turned out to be a super-yummy one.  Make sure you're really in the mood for chocolate if you try this one.  3 layers of heavy but beautifully delicious Sour Cream Chocolate cake.  I don't have 3 nine inch pans, but one 8 inch seemed to work okay.  I couldn't put my dome on my cake stand, though.  Oh well.  Less to wash when we've gorged ourselves on the yummy goodness.

Thanks yet again, Pinterest.  Recipe is [here] from Taste of Home.

Yearly Utah Trip

 Every year we head to Utah for two weeks.  Both of our families are there and if we're going to drive for 17 hours each way, I'm going to stay for a while!  It was a good drive, though.  Going out the kids did awesome and held it together the whole way.  They got a little loopy about the last 45 minutes or so, but really, who could blame them?  We were all very glad to pull into the driveway at my dad's that night!

 We made decent time and although there was road construction, it could've been worse.

 First stop, Corinne.  We played in the irrigation,

 went swimming,

 did sparklers,

 rode the tractor,

 and lost a tooth (with a little help from Uncle Greg).  The tooth fairy was even able to find us there.  She's so tricky!  Brooklyn was wiggling it around like crazy but wouldn't let anyone pull it.  Greg pretended he was cleaning off the blood and just a little tug brought it out.  She just giggled and giggled that he'd tricked her.  We had a great time playing and playing and just being in Corinne.  It was hard to leave but we were off to have some more fun.

Next up, a week in Logan.  While in Logan, we played every day with cousins (yet again).  First off, teeter tottering with Jeffrey,

 Jumping on the tramp with the sprinkler,

 playing with the toys,

 inside and out.

 With a little help from Dad, of course....

 And, finally, a little visit to the old Alma mater.  We had to go up and see all the new buildings at Utah State.  I can't hardly keep up with all the changed and honestly, I kinda miss being in school.  However, walking around that campus and remembering all the stuff I don't have to deal with anymore, I'm glad I'm done!  Utah State, Hey! Aggies all the way! Go Aggies! Go Aggies! Hey! Hey! Hey!

 Finally, after our week was done, we sat in the car for another 17 hours to get home.  This trip was a little harder.  Three little munchkins weren't ready to go and no one had quite forgotten the first trip.  We survived, however, and are here to tell the tale.

 We even lived through some excitement in York, NE.  We ended up eating dinner in the car, but it turned out okay (for us, anyway).  The staff at Burger King were having a rough night and we felt bad for them...

So, here we are again, Home sweet home.  Jon's working his last few days at the state and then Hibshman & Yates will officially begin on July the 2nd!  Woohoo!

Turning 8

 Turning 8 in our church means you're big enough to decide whether or not you'd like to be baptized.  Brooklyn decided she would, so since we were heading to good old Utah anyway, we decided to do it there.  That way, all her cousins and grandparents and aunts/uncles could be there....

 It was a success and very fun to have everyone there.  I can't believe she's so old.  Honestly, I teared up and I'm really proud of her.  Her choosing to be baptized means she's willing to take responsibility for her choices and that she's ready to grow up.  I may not be ready for her to grow up, but she sure is!

 We did this little photo shoot before the baptism at my Dad's house.  Julianne and Mason were a little upset with me for making them put on nice clothes.  They survived, however.

 She really is a mini-me.  My Dad says something about that every time I send him a new picture of her.  Looking at pictures, I can see it, but just looking at her, sometimes I don't.  She has Jon's eye and hair color and I guess that's distracting for me :).

 Here's the girl-of-the-day with her her Grandpa Ken.  We thoroughly enjoyed spending an entire week at his house.

 And, what would a special day be without a picture of the whole family?  Man, it seems like there are a lot of us! 

 Almost ready for the big event, we had to grab a quick picture with Grandma and Grandpa Hibshman and Grandma James.  Jon declined being included in the picture in his jumpsuit for the baptism.  (Imagine that!)

Afterward we had slush and rootbeer floats.  They were tasty (if I do say so myself) and she got some really fun presents.  This is a hat rack her cousin Bradly made all by himself.  She loves it and he was so excited to give it to her!  We had an excellent week a the Hibshman's as well.  Two solid weeks of cousin playing and my kids were in heaven!!

Congratulations to Brooklyn for making a special choice and I know our Heavenly Father will help her to Choose the Right for her whole life!

Before our vacation

 We have done a few things in the last couple weeks since school got out and since I'm having issues, they're all out of order.  Sorry!  Back at Christmas, Santa brought us a volcano making kit.  Dad finally braved the thing and everyone had a good time.... Above (and below), they're painting the volcano.  It's very...colorful.

 After the paint had dried, we were ready for some lava.... woohoo!  Last Sunday, June 3rd, Mason lost his first tooth.  Honestly, he couldn't decide whether to cry or not.  I think he was worried he'd be in trouble.  When he realized that it was exciting, he was happy.  The tooth fairy brought him a dollar coin and he was content.  Wow.  His first tooth at 5.  It seems like Brooklyn was older than that.  I'll have to look.  Crazy how fast they are getting so big!

 This was Mason's last day of school.  He's standing under the windows to his classroom.  He had an excellent year and now, after it's all done, I feel a little foolish for being so worried about him.  He took right to it and is already reading early readers to Julianne.  It blows my mind. 

 And, we're back to the volcano.  This is when they made the plaster and filled the mold.  They were so excited!

 Right before school was out, we had a fun little visit from Grandma.  She brought Brooklyn's birthday gifts with her.  Brooklyn's never one to turn down gifts :).  Especially books. Brooklyn really enjoys Nancy Drew right now.  I used to have a huge collection that I gave away during my babysitting days.  I'm really kicking myself for that now...

 Grandma can't say "no" when Julianne requests a game.  R2D2 Trouble, it is....

 Jon's parents were here a couple days after his birthday so we had his "party" while they were here.  Machine Shed for dinner and carrot cake for desert.  Yum!

And, finally, Brooklyn's last day of school.  Next up, 3rd grade.  Holy Crap.  How did that happen???  On to the Summer!  I finally bought a zoo/sci center pass, so come July, we'll be looking for adventure buddies.  Happy Sunny days, everyone!!

Summer Begins

 We have made it to summertime and the kids are sooooo ready.  I'm hoping we can all enjoy our time together and do lots of fun things!  My problem is always I want to do these fun things and then the kids are whiny or unappreciative and I get frustrated.  I'm working on that!  Julianne always comes up with these funny things.  She has a Christmas stocking on her foot, her belt around her body like a sash and elmo in the stroller.  Whatever rocks your world, girl!  She is a crack-up.

 Mason "graduated" from preschool.  I barely made it to the program (I was bummed about that).  Poor timing on my part and it was kinda hard to hear, but Jon was there and Mason was happy.  He said he wants to be an artist when he grows up (no surprise there) and he was able to give his teachers some gifts after the program.  It was a lot of fun.

 This is Mason and Mrs. Sieren.  She was incredible.  Perfect for him.  She let him make his choices but sometimes pushed him to try new things.  If anyone is heading to preschool in Norwalk, we LOVE Mrs. Sieren! 

 And, you know, since we live in Iowa, we have 90 degree weeks and then the next is 60 degrees.  Its just how awesome it is around here....  The sprinkler has been our friend as of late.  The kids have been begging for the pool, but as we're leaving town soon, I've been putting it off.  (Hooray for the summer trip to Utah!!)  It has been toasty, though.  I can't say I blame them!

Happy Summer!