Friday Fun!

Last Friday I made the decision to take the kids into Lethbridge to buy Cadence a new bike. We promised her if she learned to ride on two wheels that we would buy her a bike. Her bike was tiny and not working too well. It got ran over a few years ago and was just falling apart! Her chain fell off every two minutes. Something that drove me bonkers! So I decided to do this Friday.

We were out of the house by 9:30am. I told ALL the kids that we would also buy them decent helmets. The ones they had were cheap $5 ones and not good for kids that ride everywhere now. I also told them that they needed to be extra good for me, that way it would make for a happier day. Because the day before I took them to Super Store and it was NOT a good outing. I was so frustrated and mad by the time we left the store. I really dislike that store and don't go to it very often. It drives me INSANE that we have to bag our own groceries. When I do go there I usually end up buying lots, so therefore, I have a LOT to bag. I also have 4 little people that want to help. I'm sure it's very amusing to watch 2 of those kids up on the conveyor belt (yes that has happened) with bags in their hands grabbing food and stuffing it into said bag! I was trying to go as fast as possible, but it's hard to when we run out of bags. The reason being that they are all putting 1 thing in the bag and throwing it into the cart. I was getting a little frustrated at this point, but trying not to show it. I then turn and Cadence proceeds to dump a huge thing of strawberries EVERYWHERE. I finally yelled, STOP to all my kids. They looked at me and I told them, "Everyone stand right here (while pointing to a spot), mommy doesn't need anymore help, so stand here and watch please."(something along that line)! They all stopped and stood there while I hurried and finished. I was so done with that store. All the fighting and screaming before we got to that point and then the bagging incident, did me in. I was so done and told them we were going home. So we loaded up, with kids crying and headed out. I quickly stopped at the dollar store and left my kids in the truck. I locked the doors (with it running so it'd keep cool) and RAN inside and grabbed some wedding wrapping paper and ran back out. In and out within a couple of minutes. When I got there I asked Cadence to unlock and open her door, not thinking of our car alarm. Well it went off. The problem was, my key fob hasn't been working in a LONG time. So I got in and was ready to drive home with my horn honking, but decided to push the alarm button anyways and TADA it stopped. I was shocked, because the key fob still doesn't work but luckily it worked that one time!! So we went home and I found out later that I actually grabbed cellophane wrap instead of wrapping paper. I used it as wrapping paper anyways, even though my kids kept pointing out to me that they could still see the present....oh well! Sorry that was kind of a long interruption so on with my Friday story!

We stopped at Walmart first to look at bikes. I was determined to find the best and cheapest bike. We found a good one for $120.00. Then on to Canadian tire where we found a good one, but it was a bit too big for her, for $80.00. Next we stopped at the mall to check out Sport Chex, but they didn't have any her size. I decided to go to Children's Place and got a few good deals there. On the way out we walked by Claire's. A girl was getting her ears pierced and Brianna told me she wanted to get hers pierced. I always told my girls that when they are ready to get them pierced that they could. I asked the lady if they could do both ears at once and she told me after 1pm they could. So we decided to come back later.

Cadence with the bike at Walmart. She wanted me to take pictures so she could decide in the end. She didn't get this bike though!

In the mean time I actually tried to talk Brianna out of it. I explained it would hurt a little and take lots of work to clean. I just wanted to make sure that it was something she really wanted. She told me that she would think about it!

So we got back in the burb and headed to Toys R Us. I noticed a company that fixes windshields in the parking lot so I stopped and wanted them to fix mine. We left the burb there and walked over to Toys R Us. Got there and checked out the bikes. I was trying to put a seat down and muttered to myself, "I should of brought my tiny wrench." Cadence was standing there with her new yellow shoulder bag (a whole other story), and proudly said, "Look mom, I have one right here." I looked and sure enough she dug into her bag and pulled out the tiny wrench I was talking about. Talk about funny! It totally cracked me up!

We found a bike there that was on sale for 1/2 price. So we got her bike for $60.00. She was a happy camper and so was I. I let them all get a helmet. I got the bucket helmet for the girls, stays on their so much better! Then we had to walk back over to the burb, Cadence rode her bike beside us! I paid for the windshield and by then it was almost 1pm.

We were all hungry so I drove to McDonald's on Scenic. They just redid the play place so we decided to check it out. The kids ate and I ate while they played. It was a great way to get rid of some of their energy. We stayed there for a while. My motto on this day was to not rush, but relax. It worked out pretty good! I then asked Brianna if she had thought about getting her ears pierced. She said she still wanted too, so we headed back over to the mall.

Brianna was very excited! We got there and told them what we wanted but had to wait till the other worker came back from her break. So we looked around and watched a guy get his ears pierced. At this point Abbi and Cadence both decided they wanted to get their ears done too. I was highly doubtful that they would but I agreed. Then Brianna got to choose her earrings and she sat down and they put the dots on her ears. Then they had two people ready to pierce her ears. I held on to her hands and reminded her to sit still. Then BANG both her ears were pierced. She kind of jumped and started to cry. I gave her a hug and told her good job. She was crying till they showed her her earrings in a mirror then she stopped. She couldn't stop looking at her ears! So cute. It was about now that Abbi declared that she wasn't getting her ears done!

The lady making sure the dots were lined up on her ears. Brianna doesn't have very big ear lobes so the lady was worried, but it turned out fine!

Brianna just after she got her ears pierced! All these pictures were taken on my phone so not the best pictures, oh well!

In the two minutes that I was totally focused on Brianna I realized the DJ was no where to be seen. So I wandered the store and found him in the very back corner. He was laying on the floor with a thing of make up. For some strange reason it was open (all the make up cases were taped and packaged shut), and he didn't open it, just happened to find it. Great, just my luck. He was happily DIGGING out the make up and smearing it all over his face. Then he dug more out and ate it....yuck! I hurried and grabbed it from him and he started SCREAMING! The make up was ruined. I took up front and gave it to them. Luckily I didn't have to pay for it...sheesh! I wiped off his makeup, but unfortunately it was glitter stuff, so he had a sparkly face!

So now it was Cadence's turn. She jumped up on the chair and picked out her earrings. They put the dots in place and then 2 of them were ready. But every time they went to do it Cadence would jerk her head down. I tried holding her and singing to her, but she couldn't stay still. I then told her that we could come back when she was ready to hold still, and it was ok not to get them today. She started crying, so I tried to calm her down and we tried again, but it was a no go. I felt really bad for her, because she wanted it so bad but couldn't handle the anticipation. So we left the store and she was WAILING the whole time. I had DJ in my arms crying (because he was so tired), Cadence holding on to my handing crying REALLY LOUD, Abbi trailing behind crying a little (sympathy cries I think) and Brianna skipping along beside us, so happy! Yup we got a LOT of looks from everyone.

We got in the burb and headed to Wal-mart again. Cadence was still crying and wanted to talk to her dad, so I dialed him up and handed the phone to Cadence. She told him what happened and also that she got a new bike. When she hung up she was happy! DJ zonked on the way to the store. We got out and I picked him up and he stayed asleep. So we got in the store and my arm felt like it was going to fall off (he's a big boy to carry!). I grabbed a cart and zoomed over to the towel section and grabbed 5 big towels and put them in the cart and layed him down. He stayed asleep and slept the whole time we shopped. We got to the check outs and I realized I had to get him out because I wasn't buying the towels. So I woke him up and gave the towels to the lady and told her we weren't buying them. Oh, I got a look and she said, "Your not buying ANY of them?" I told her no. Richard told me he was so glad he wasn't there because he would of been so embarrassed. Meh, oh well! It's not like I do it all the time and he wasn't a dirty little boy, he just needed some padding, so I didn't really care! ha ha!

My cute little boy sound asleep in the cart. We were there for over 30mins and he slept like this the whole time. Too funny!

We finally headed home, but hurried and stopped at the farm to show Grandma Paxman Cadence's new bike and Brianna's ears! Then we did come home. We got home at 5pm, so we were in there ALL day. But it was a good day. I hurried and got us some supper. Then I told the girls that we had to go to a wedding reception. It was their primary teacher, Sister Perry's, son. So they really wanted to go. I told them to eat and then go get ready. They were so excited and I could hear them getting ready and asking each other, "Do I look so pretty in this dress?" or "Does my hair look beautiful?" It was so funny to listen to them. DJ  was excited and got his church clothes on too. He also ran and got his puppy ready and  wrapped his puppy up in a blanket and put him in Richard's little cooler. I tried to get him to leave it home, but no, puppy had to come!

I wish I got a picture of DJ carrying his cooler into the reception. It was very funny. He was so happy to be there! We got in line to wait and I hear a bang and look at DJ and he had dropped his cooler and then he plopped on top of it. So he sat there until the line moved and then he'd jump up and move forward and then plop back down on the cooler! Once we got to the line up I was with the girls and we got to the bride and groom. I congratulated them and looked at my girls. They were all standing there just staring at the bride. I got down and said, "Doesn't she look beautiful girls?" They all said yes then Brianna ran forward and gave the bride the biggest hug ever. It was so cute. It surprised me and the bride, Brianna doesn't just go around hugging people she doesn't know, but the bride gave her a big hug back and told Brianna thank you. Then Cadence ran and gave her a hug too! Behind us DJ was with his dad and while Richard was talking to the parents DJ pulled out his puppy and had everyone meet his puppy! Oh boy! My girls saw their teacher and gave her a big hug. Sister Perry was so happy to see them and thanked us for coming. My girls love their teacher! Then we went a had some cupcakes and came home. The girls thought it was a great time!

So that was our Friday fun! It was a long post, but I really wanted to write down what happened that day!

Richard's Birthday!

This year for Richard's birthday he was actually away at camp. I think I mentioned before, oh well. It was a LONG camp for him to be away for. We missed him so much. We had a good distraction when we camped for 3 days. But when we got back time went by too slow!

On Friday the kids helped me make Richard a birthday sign. They were so excited and so determined to do a good job. So cute to watch. Friday, actually was a cold and windy day. So opposite compared to Thursday, which was boiling hot out! So it was a perfect time to stay inside and paint. I was having a hard time getting much done on Friday. I think I was pretty much spent! Between my allergies and lack of sleep, I wasn't feeling the hottest. I think this year has been the WORST for my allergies. With all the cotton floating around it about kills me! Anyways, I had no energy on Friday but still lots had to be done. The kids were a little grumpy and grouchy too. To make it even better we had to run to the church and clean it after supper. Our family has to clean it for the month of July, only the entry ways and coat rooms, so it's not too bad. But it takes awhile when Richard isn't there to help. DJ was SO TIRED and followed me around whining most of the time. He was ok, if I put him to work! Funny boy! Anyways I was glad when Friday was over!

All the kids busy painting their part of the banner.

Cadence trying so hard to stay in between the lines!

Abbi working hard on the banner. She wanted it to be "perfect" for her dad!

DJ painted some designs that we put on the banner too. He was excited to be a part of this!

Brianna took her time and did a great job. She concentrates so hard and makes sure everything looks perfect before she moves on!

Saturday we hurried and finished cleaning the house and the garage. We also wrapped Richard's presents and hung up the banner in the boot room. Then we had to wait, and wait and wait. I think we were a little bit excited to see our hubby and dad! He got home around 2pm and we were so excited to see him! He was happy to be home!

His parents came over for his birthday dinner. I made steak and potatoes and veggies for dinner. It was easy to make and yummy! Then we cleaned up and got the cake out (yup I went the easy way and bought a DQ cake!), and sang him happy birthday. DJ was more excited about the cake and got right in there and helped his dad blow the candles out!

Look at all those candles and it's not even the right amount! DJ thought it was so fun to help his dad blow them all out!

Richard opening his card from Cadence. She was excited to give it too him and explain what everything said!

DJ waiting for Papa (as he would say!) Spencer give him his piece of cake.

The girls watching their dad open his presents. He didn't get anything really exciting. He had bought himself a new drill, so I got him lots of clothes!

It was a very low key birthday, but that's how he likes it! My parents and Trayden and Chase came over later. It was a good day. Even though we missed his real birthday it was fun to celebrate it with him later. The kids always get so excited about birthdays.

To prove that my kids love parties. They put together this party for Richard and I on Sunday morning. It was so cute. They put a lot of thought into it.  Notice the annie dolls standing with flowers in their hands and the ones sitting with flowers in their hands. That was all them! Then they set the table so nice. They were so excited for us to come down and eat the food! DJ loved being a part of this too! So cute!

HAPPY 35th (Yup, it was kind of a big one for him!) RICHARD! WE LOVE YOU!

Camping!

This last week Richard was gone ALL week! He left on Monday, July 4th, and came back yesterday, Sat the 9th. He went to the Helaman's Encampment at Camp Impessa. It was a HUGE camp with 2000 boys there. Richard said there was just over 3000 people at the camp, including all the leaders and volunteers. Richard went as a leader.

Anyways, I knew he was going to be gone for a week so I decided that the kids and I would go camping too! I talked to my friend, Tiffany and we decided to go on Tuesday and come back Thursday. We decided to go to Park Lake Provincial Park. It's not too far away and if things didn't work out, not a big deal to pack up and come home.

On Monday I cleaned the house, got laundry done and had to take Cadence in to the doctor's to get her cast off. I also had the doctor look at me, I felt horrible. My ears were killing me and my throat. But it was viral. So no help there. I also had to run Richard's van to Raymond to get fixed during the week, so mom had to bring me back home. She was watching Ali and Mary and dad was away on the camp too, so we all had supper together at my house. After I put the kids to bed, then I went to work and packed all the kids clothes and put them in the trailer. I packed up almost everything we needed while they slept. It made it much easier.

Then Tuesday morning I finished packing everything and did a few errands before I hooked up the suburban. Then we came back and I hooked up the trailer. Took me a little while because of a loose bolt that I had to unhook the trailer and fix on the hitch and then hook it back up. By the time we were ready to head out I was drenched with sweat because it was so HOT out! But we were on the road!

I met up with Tiffany on the west side of Lethbridge and we followed each other out to park lake. There we ended up calling the 1-800 number and reserving a spot. Because we got a way better spot by doing that, which we didn't realize till we got there. We were side by side. We set up our trailers and had lunch and got us all ready to go to the beach. The kids were so excited! We spent all afternoon on the beach. It was so hot out and DJ was not liking all the sun. He grabbed his towel and cuddled up on my lap with the towel over top of him and went to sleep! He slept for about 1hr. Once he woke up, he finally started playing a little bit. Then we headed back to the campground to start supper. By the time the kids went to bed it was almost 10pm. The girls crashed really fast. But DJ bounced around for a while then finally went to sleep!

I was afraid that they would wake up early but we all slept in till 8:30am. What a nice treat! As I was cleaning up breakfast, the kids ran over to the little park that was close to us. Then I walked over to watch them. They had fun playing. Abbi loved taking Macy with her everywhere. I can tell Macy is getting old, because she doesn't last very long when she goes on a walk. I had to protect poor Macy from some very excited little kids! It was starting to get hot so we decided to get our swim suits on and go to the beach.

Cadence, Brianna and Jayda playing at the playground.

DJ had fun climbing on everything. Oh, funny story about the hat. I brought it but he refused to wear it, he never has worn it. I sat him down and explained if he wore it the sun would stay out of his eyes and he wouldn't get as hot. He looked at me and said, "OOOHHHH.", then he grabbed it and stuck it on his head. He wouldn't go anywhere without it! So funny!

My girls and Jayda with some friends at the playground. They were all showing us their funny faces!

The kids had so much fun playing in the water and sand. They also found their little, "forest" that they explored in. It was a bunch of trees. DJ had fun playing too. It took him a little bit to warm up to the water. I have to say that the water was kind of gross too. There was so much seaweed in there and the water was green. Oh well, didn't stop the kids from having fun. We found a spot near the trees so we'd have shade in the afternoon. We left all our stuff there and went back to the trailer for lunch. Then we came back.

Tiffany made some yummy cookies and Abbi and Cadence loved them! This is how Cadence posed for me!

DJ playing in the sand, and staying close to me.

The girls worked hard on making their "bathtub"! It kept them busy for a long time!

Playing in the sand and enjoying snacks.

DJ loved that we were close to trees and shade.

DJ played hard and was getting braver and braver about going deeper in the water. It was cute watching him have so much fun. I had to be right there with him, which was fine by me, helped me cool off a little too! I had snacks for the kids through out the day and lots to drink. By about 3:30pm DJ was ready for a snack and drink. I sat down and he sat on my lap and I could tell he was going to go to sleep. I told him to stay awake and he looked at me and said, "uh uh". Then he was gone. That was fast. I layed him down in the shade and he slept for 1 1/2hrs.  Even when he did wake up it took him a while to really be awake. We headed back to the trailer and he was still kind of out of it. I put him in the wagon with all our stuff.

Abbi, Cadence, Brianna and Jayda all floating in their tubes.

Cute girls laying out in the sun getting warm. We had quite a few comments from strangers on how cute these 4 girls were. I have to agree!

DJ and I right before he zonked on me!

DJ sound asleep. What a cutie pie!

Brianna, Cadence, Abbi and Jayda. These 4 girls had so much fun playing together. I have to say that they got along very well. So fun to watch!

ICE CREAM.....yummy!

Cadence was quite proud that she figured out how to float on the tube like this! She told me to take a picture of her!

Where's DJ??? I thought this picture was hilarious! He still wasn't quite awake and his ducky tube kept falling out so I stuck it around his head and snuggled right in! CA UTE!

This night, we made tinfoil dinners. I brought the meat and Tiffany came over to my trailer where we put it all together. We had A/C and it felt so good to cool down! The kids had fun coloring while we were getting supper ready. It was so good. All my kids ate very good. It took a lot of talking to get Brianna to take the 1st bite but once she did she gobbled it down!

Everyone busy coloring.

Our yummy tinfoil dinners cooking.

Here's Macy, just proof that she actually was with us!

Cadence eating her yummy supper!

After supper all the kids rode their bikes around. Cadence learned how to ride her two wheeler. She did it all by herself too. I didn't even help her. She was so excited. DJ learned to peddle his trike better. He was a maniac on his trike. He thought it was so funny that he could go so fast. He then started to crash into everyone and everything on purpose and then he'd laugh so hard. Crazy boy!

Go Cadence Go! She did it! YEAH!

DJ riding his trike. What a crazy, funny boy!

Brianna goes everywhere on her bike now!

Abbi just flies on her bike and loves it!

DJ and Kolby playing together.

We then made another fire and everyone came to roast their marshmellows. We made smores, which were so yummy. Tiffany brought the best cookies ever to use. They already had chocolate on them. It was so good, very messy, but delicious. All my kids thought so too!

Cooking marshmellows, which my girls call white hotdogs for some reason. They'll ask me for another white hotdog and I look at them and say "excuse me' and they smile and say marshmellow please!

Brianna eating her smore. I don't know how she stays so clean, I get messier then her when I eat!

DJ biting into his smore!

Abbi thought it was so good, she was a mess by the end!

Tiffany and I eating our smores!

That night I got my girls down by 9:30pm and it took them all of 2 minutes to fall asleep. They all slept so good in the trailer. I got DJ ready for bed and had him sit on my bed and watch a movie. He thought he was so big! Just before 10:30pm he told me he wanted to go to bed. So I tucked him into his bed and fell asleep 10 minutes later. So it was a good night!

This is how DJ watched Curious George! So cute!

The next morning I packed things up and hooked up the trailer. Then we all changed into our swimsuits and headed to the beach one more time. My sister, Megan, met us there. We just stayed till lunch time. But the kids had fun playing there one last time! Thursday ended up being so hot out. We headed back to the trailer and I fed my crew lunch and got them dressed and then we headed home! It was a very fun camping trip. I'm excited to go again and so are the kids. Hopefully Richard can come with us next time!

The kids playing so good together at the beach.

Abbi running in the water.

Kolby and DJ playing with the truck and tractor. It amazes me at how well DJ is with sharing. If I talk to him calmly and explain it's nice to share he'll nod his head and go ahead and share. But if someone just tries to take something of his that's a different story!

DJ had a blast going out in the water and trying to make BIG splashes!

Tiffany and I just as we were packing up to leave. Don't look at my hair, I was so ready for a shower by this point!

Wow, what a crazy long post! I really wanted to share a lot of pictures, I took over 100 pictures so this is just a few! It was a FUN 3 days! Now I know that I can take the kids camping by myself, it is possible! I'm so glad it was a good experience!