Guitar Hero

Just before Brian's family came we decided to make the leap into the gaming world. We've had a bunch of skymiles that we haven't had time to use, and so we decided to cash them in for Best Buy certificates. So in one failing swoop we purchased an 80 gig PS3, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Sing Star and Metal Gear Solid 4 (whatever that is). Thank you Visa skymiles! Anyway it has been a blast. I think my favorite is Guitar Hero. Check out Brett and Brian... they are in position and they are intense. So much for rocking out, you have to pay attention when playing this game!! In this pic Jade is our pink rocker! At the rate the kids are going they will be kicking our rears in no time at all!

Arrr Matey! It's Pirate Jade's birthday party

This year Jade wanted to have a pirate birthday party. (we do friend parties every other year). This party was actually a lot of fun to do, and thanks to oriental trading it wasn't to hard either! It all started with a message in a bottle! Jade was almost as excited about doing the invitations as she was for the party. She burned each invitation by hand over a candle, going for that authenic aged paper look.

Pirate Jade and her crew mates were all adorned with fun pirate attire. They had necklaces, bandanas, and lots of other fun pirate loot. We even had a plank for the naughty pirates to walk. Of course everyone wanted to walk the plank, but what can you say they're pirates, they unpredictable! Thanks to Daddy, Uncle Brett and Aunt Sherri for manning the plank so no one got hurt.

Then we had a pirate duck race, where you could only use a straw to get your duck to the other side of pool. That was interesting... thank goodness for chlorine right?

I know Jade had a lot of fun with her friends and the presents of course are just a bonus! Then to keep with our theme, I made a treasure map cake. Jade was full of suggestions, on how it should look, and in the end she said she was happy with the results. I think she was just being nice. But I'll take it. It was her birthday so her opinion is the only one that counted right!?! Jade went after her cake in true pirate form, with no manners and no cares. Nice Jade. Colby was anxious to try that style out as well, although that is how he goes after most things! All in all it was a fun party and it was great that Grandma and Grandpa Stacey and Uncle Brett, Aunt Sherri, Jacob and Gavin were able to be there too.

End of the school year party at Pace's

This was my girls first end of the year party... Thanks a lot Becca for setting the bar nice and high. (j/k) The kids had so much fun and Becca was nice enough to let Colby and I hang as well. They had all kinds of fun going on! Trampoline and swimming for starters, which Cambrie was leery about at first, because of her cast. She eventually warmed up though... literally. It was a nice hot day. Perfect for water fun!

Colby seemed to make himself at home in Caulder's water play cart, and I literally mean IN it. Of course I wasn't planning on letting him sit in it, especially not with a diaper on... results to follow:

A soaked saggy diaper didn't stop Colby from exploring the yard during the girl's party. He found the rings and being the all boy that he is, he had to hang on them to show how strong he is. (He likes when you count how long he can hang.) I got a kick out of how far the diaper was hanging. I think it might have had more staying power than Colby did.

The kids seemed to make their way all over the Pace's yard, and their was water everywhere they went. They even turned the playground slide into a slip and slide, and boy was it slick! I was happy to see Cambrie finally put on the plastic and go for a dip, she has been so cautious, for which I am grateful, but I do want her to have fun too!

One of the obvious highlights was the ice cream bar. The kids all got to build their own ice cream sundaes with an amazing array of toppings to choose from. What a treat! Of course Colby was not about to miss out on this! Check out Colby's slow but steady progression to the table. He knows what he wants and he goes for it!

It was really a fun day! Thank you Savannah and Claire and Becca for throwing such a great party. Next year... same time... same place... right?

My girls go Short!

This day was a blessing in disguise. When my girls hair gets long, I love it and hate it. It looks really pretty when it is all done and curled or straightened, but on a day to day basis it looks pretty scraggly. Jade has been asking to cut her hair for a few months. I have been asking Cambrie to cut her hair and Hailey wants to do what everyone else is doing! So today we did it! We went in with the intention to do "Locks of Love", but Jade's hair was the only one long enough. They cut 13" off her hair, 9 1/2 " off Cambrie's hair and 9" off Hailey's hair. I could hardly believe it! They almost didn't even look like the same kids! They all went from long to short, but with three totally different styles. Jade's is a blunt cut, Cambrie's is more a bob, and Hailey's is an A-line stacked in the back (it actually works really well with her dozen callics on her crown!). So far the girls are really happy with their cuts and especially with the idea that it wont take as long to comb out after baths! I like the idea of them being able to do their hair themselves and it actually looking nice, verses doing it and seconds later it looking like they never touched it. Well see what happens!

I love the simple things!

Some of the simplest things give me the most joy... like looking out in the backyard and finding Colby swinging on Brian's lap. One of his favorite things to do by the way! I just love it! He is so relaxed just hanging there. The video clip is sweet and simple. Just my boys swinging!!

Classic sleeping in the chair

I just love these shots- I know everyone has them, but it is just so stinking cute. We got back from camping and a long day of playing on the beach and Colby was just tuckered out. He made it to almost 6:15pm, and he was down for the count!

Ward Campout on Scout Island

This year our whole family made it to the ward camp out. (Last year Colby and I were in Utah) I was actually surprised how much fun it was. It seems like it has been so long since we've been camping as a family I wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but it was great. Scout Island is a beautiful little camp ground, and it was fun to be there with so many great people!-

One of my favorites was the camping classic s'mores! They had such a huge fire pit, so of course their had to be a huge fire!- Just more coals to roast on I guess.

The next morning the high priest made us all a pancake breakfast. They really did a nice job too! There were pancakes, sausage and fruit. Of course everything tastes better cooked out doors, especially by someone other than yourself!!!! After a few bites of pancake Colby took straight away to the watermelon, of course. (He is my child after all!) For about the next 20 min. he was just wandering around with watermelon in his mouth, happy as can be.- Yep he's mine!! Then about 5 minutes after they were done eating, the kids headed for the water. - at 8:30 in the morning? Oh well, were camping!

Later after cleaning up camp we headed over to the beach next to Scout Island. The kids had such a blast here. Todd Pace (the smart one) brought a shovel and started the kids on some great sand pits. We pretty well spent all day just hanging out letting the kids play!

Here is the typical Mom scene and then there is the Dads... who knows what was going on out there!

Liz had lots of leftover chocolate bars so she was kind enough to share them with everyone... especially the kids, who needed it like a whole in the head. Brian was thrilled when she gave one to Colby, especially since he was sitting on Brian's lap. Nice warm chocolate... doesn't it look yummy? (yuck)

Caught Ya!

This picture IS Colby- it represents what he does on a daily basis. The kid is notorious for finding food and a way to get to it. When this picture was taken there were about 7 other kids playing outside, but Colby seemed to make his way inside and up to where the snacks were. Is that a boy thing?