Decorating for the 4th of July

I just love the 4th of July! I got the house all decorated a few days ago and took some pictures last night. It's crazy when I look at last years pictures from the 4th of July. We had a large juniper bush up in the front corner and an old worn out roof and no picket fence! We have accomplished a lot of things over the last year!

This year I added a mix of red and red, white and blue bows on the fence. I also wanted to be able to keep the flags up in the front over night so we bought some amazing up-lights to highlight the flags at night. They turned out better than I could have even hoped.

The first pictures are taken at dusk, about 9pm which is why they are a little fuzzy. The up-lights on the flags are already on, but you can't really tell. I stuck with only red petunias and geraniums this year on the porch and in the flower beds to add to the 4th of July fun.

This is the picture that I took at night with my Night light filter on my camera. The lights aren't actually this bright when you see them in person, but the camera really lets the light in on the night setting. In reality it gives each flag a nice glow, but doesn't look like we spotlighted the entire house like it kind of does in this picture. The effect in person is amazing and I really am happy with how it all looks - day and night!! Bring on the parade!!!! Happy 4th of July!

Swimming Lessons

This has been the craziest June weather that I can remember since living in Breckenridge Colorado where we were up above 10,000 feet and had a few snow showers in June. I love the rain, but I can't believe all the rain storms that we have been getting this June! So, for the past week all that the news has been showing is:
Every day is just more and more of this:
So what do I do when it is raining and nasty outside? We do this:
Notice the storm clouds in the background?

Swimming lessons started last Monday and will go through this Thursday. So far in the 7 days that we have had lessons it has been sunny on 2 of those and it wasn't sunny for long! The kids haven't minded too much. By the time we get home their lips are blue and they do a lot of shivering along the way, but still want to go back the next day.

I just have Gabby and Corban in lessons and Quincy gets to go play with a nursery friend in the ward for an hour each day. Everyone is happy.

My Mother's Revenge

I took Quincy to the doctor today and it was one of the worst doctor appointments of my life yet! She has quite the pipes on her and the entire 2 floor office building heard her freaking out! Seriously, the nurse even told me later about comments made from other nurses on the other side of the building! And that was just trying to get her to stand on the scale to see how much she weighed!

As the nurse finally asked me to hold my screaming daughter and stand on the scale together to get our total weight combined and then set her down to get my (very imperfect or FAT) weight to subtract, I had the feeling of complete revenge being had on me in behalf of my mother.

My sweet mother who was brave enough to take all 6 of her kids (at that time) to the photographer to have pictures taken of us for us and our posterity to cherish for generations to come. And me, her shy, supremely stubborn 5th child absolutely refusing to sit for the nice photographer so that my posterity could forever gaze upon my 3 year old self! Most mother's would have just thrown up their hands and said forget it, but not my mom. She sat and held me in her arms long enough to get the following picture, even though she had not planned on being photographed that day!What a picture to show my posterity!! I am sure at the time she was hoping that I would have a child just like me someday to experience the feelings that she was having then. Well, today was one of those days, Mom! I have finally given birth to a child that could, in many ways, be my clone! You have had your revenge and I am sure this is not the last experience that will prove that.

By the way, Quincy weighs 25.6 lbs (35%) and is 32.5 inches tall (22%) - I would personally say that the height is approximate because she wasn't holding very still when measurements were taken. Also, Dr. Allred said that I could have a free coupon to the ear, nose and throat specialist to check my ears out after all the screaming that she was doing during the appointment! LOL!! She better be an opera singer some day!!!

Quincy turns 2

I failed to mention that when I left Quincy behind to go to Washington last week it was also her 2nd birthday! It made me feel better knowing that Jared and Casi gave her a cupcake and sang Happy Birthday and spoiled her rotten while I wasn't there!

Isn't it funny how in just 2 years a child can be such a big part of your family that you forget what life was like without they were born? I decided that to celebrate Quincy turning 2 I would post some pictures from the last 2 years.

Gabby and Corban holding their new baby sister the day we brought her home from the hospital.

Corban absolutely loves babies and wanted to hold Quincy as much as I would let him. He couldn't stop kissing her and touching her soft face.
These pictures were taken when she was 4 months old and they are my favorites! She was such a pretty baby!
This is Quincy just a year ago! Wow she has changed so much in just a year!

These are pictures taken at Jared and Casi's house on her actual birthday! Thank you for taking these, because I totally spaced bringing my camera when we celebrated her birthday this past Sunday and Bump's parents house! Duh! Who forgets their camera for their baby's birthday party? ME!! Thanks again, guys!

Besides totally spoiling Quincy and loving her for me in my absence, Casi had her friend (a photographer) take these darling pictures for me! I love them and just have to share them! My baby girl is growing up!

I really appreciate all of these cute, cute pictures because most of the time this is what I look at all day long! Here is the real Quincy Ann Williams!! And I love every grubby inch of her!

Washington Trip Day 1

My sister, Tera, decided to take her kids and go visit my parents who are living in Washington State with my grandparents before she and her husband are sent to Germany in August. She called me and asked if I wanted to go with her. What a perfect way to start the summer! I ended up taking my two oldest kids and leaving my youngest behind with my little brother's family since Bump would be working and busy with church duties. I knew that she wouldn't do as well on the drive and Jared and Casi were happy to have her! Thanks guys!

We had a wonderful drive to Washington, leaving on Saturday morning and just driving until we were tired and the kids had been patient long enough. We ended up spending the night in Kennewick, WA and finishing our drive on Sunday.

My mom called us just as we were heading up Snoqualmie pass and told us that we needed to stop and see the falls as we went by. It was lunch time and the kids needed a break so we stopped for lunch and then took the kids to see Snoqualmie Falls. I am so glad that we did! The kids loved it and it was a perfect break!

Gabby, TJ, Corban, Bailey and Joey

When we got to my grandparents house the kids didn't waste any time finding the cows and chickens! They explored the yard and barn, the pastures and garden. By the end of the day the kids were absolutely filthy and we had to scrub them to get all the dirt off before we could put them to bed. Gabby was so excited about the chickens! Joey (Tera's oldest) could catch them pretty good and helped Gabby to feel comfortable about holding them. I was amazed at how fearless those 2 girls were and the chickens slept really well at night after being chased around all day! I am sure they were glad to see us go!

That night after we bathed the kids and put them down my cousin, "Dode", came over with his family to visit. I haven't seen him and his family for about 11 years and now they have 6 kids and it was fun to catch up a bit!

When they left my cousin, Janice, came over and was so nice to pamper me and Tera by rubbing our feet and painting our toe nails. She really does a great job and it was such a nice way to wrap up a very long and fun day! She even put a little umbrella between my toes when she was finished to show that I am officially on vacation! What a treat!

By the way, if you want to see any more pictures from this trip, go check out Tera's blog to see more here.