Bridal shower and a little more.

     Kayli's soon-to-be-mother-in-law, Roiann, hosted a very nice bridal shower for Kayli on Saturday. Kayli got lots of great stuff and despite being a 'little' uncomfortable being the center of attention, she felt loved.

Charlie was being very helpful.

I'm glad my best friend and walking buddy, Cammy, could be there since none of my sisters or mom could be there from my side.

     Saturday night we enjoyed the fireworks that ended Steel Days. This year we watched from a little further away but they were still spectacular.

     Also this week Greg was able to pick several hot peppers from his garden and when he stuffs them with cream cheese and wraps them in bacon, there's nothing BETTER!!

If this was all we got from the garden I'd be satisfied.

     And Thursday our three boys, Mark, Isaac and Carter left on a two night, three day trek with the youth from the ward so its just been the three youngest at home and it's been pretty awesome. They rarely fight and they play great together.

This 'cards & gifts' sign has been sitting here all week and not one card or gift was left! What a rip off!

      So those are the weekly highlights. The three 'trekking' boys will be home this evening and I hope they've had a good experience. Carter was the only one who really wanted to go so we'll see how they all feel when they get home.
      Wedding plans are still going well. I've got all the invitations ready to mail or hand deliver, which will probably happen in a little over a week. The happy couple is still happy and mostly I'm just looking forward to having Kayli married off and out of the house so I can start rearranging bedrooms!

Steel Day fun and mo

     So we've managed to do a few fun things this week. Last Saturday was the car show in American Fork. I took photos of a few of my favorites.

This blue Corvette is at the top of my list for 'dream car'.

      Wednesday I treated the kids to a few hours at their favorite pool, the Provo Rec center, and I even managed to take a few photos to document the day.

Isaac and Carter were with us too but I didn't get a photo of them.

     Greg got a new work truck. He had them both home so he could transfer all his tools over.

    To end the week we had fun attending the A.F. parade this morning.

All our kids were there. It was fun! The best part is when he kids beg for money and get mad when they don't get a free t-shirt! (Insert sarcasm for this caption!)

There were a lot of USA themed floats.

This was a Model A parade within a parade.

    This afternoon Kayli, Charlie and I will be at Kayli's soon-to-be-mother-in-laws house for Kayli's bridal shower. Wedding plans are still moving forward. The invitations are here and I'm slowly addressing envelopes. I'm glad I'm not feeling rushed with the invites at least. Getting Tanner ordained to an Elder and ready to go to the temple for the first time is causing me a little stress but I think it should be fine. We still have lots of fun stuff to enjoy and worry about before the big day!

Family, independence and anniversary!

   We were so happy Tad and his cute family could spend a little time with us last weekend. The kids were especially thrilled to spend a little time with their cousins.  

They weren't here for too long but they made the most of their time with us.

Can't pass up a chance to go for a motorcycle ride.

    Unfortunately Charlie learned the hard way that the motorcycle exhaust pipes really are hot.

This burn might leave a scar!

    Tanner's learning the hard way that his soon-to-be-mother-in-law likes to snap photos when you least expect it.    

     Charlie let me doll her up for the 4th of July long enough to snap a few photos then she was in her swimsuit the rest of the day.

    These kids enjoyed some pre-fourth of July fun out front in the water. And Greg took the opportunity to show his patriotism with a flag and a few motorcycle rides around town.

The boy on the back is a neighbor, not one of our boys, just in case someone thought Carter looked a little different.

     I decided the Fourth was the perfect time to taste test this four layer white/white chocolate cake from Costco. It was yummy!

Happy birthday America!

     And what would we do if we didn't have the 'Sidewalk of Fire' festivities to enjoy!?

This is the beginning of the neighborhood fun.

Fun with neighbors, friends and soon-to-be husbands!

     This year we even had a LIVE band! It was pretty awesome. "Parkway Avenue" played five songs for us and were pretty good considering they've only been playing together for a few months. 

In case you didn't recognize him, Marcus is the lead singer!

     After our fun July 4th celebrating it was time to get back to reality, which meant a little shopping! Kayli and I found a great dress for Charlie to wear to the wedding reception.

She'll most likely look more like the girl on the left, with a mouthful of donuts, but we might get a cute smiling girl like the girl on the right for a few minutes if we're lucky.

     This is what I got when I asked Mark to take a photo of Greg and me to document our 22nd wedding anniversary. What a goofball!

    I finally have a helmet that fits me just right! I've been fighting a helmet that was a little too big and having one that fits is amazing. This was a perfect early anniversary gift.

Sweet husband, sweet new helmet and a sweet treat! 

     Time to put my new helmet to the test! We took a fun ride up Provo Canyon/Squaw peak, had dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant and dessert at Dairy Queen.

Such a great way to celebrate 22 years together!

There's nothing better then a banana split from Dairy Queen!

     A fun week with lots of fun stuff and a small dent was made in wedding prep! I love summer, I love my life right now! I'm a lucky girl and life is good, for now!

Simple week

     Family Home Evening was dismantling the neighbors fence and then stacking it in our garage so we can use it for future projects. Reclaimed wood is our new favorite!

      And I scored another awesome wreath for my door. Kayli's mother-in-law-to-be, Roiann, is my new favorite person! She's going to keep me in fashion with the rest of the neighbors who always have cute wreaths on their doors.

Happy Independence Day!

   Not our most exciting week in photos but we've had fun. 

A few fun things.

    This is what happens after tent city, crash nap!

    Father's Day was a success. Charlie insisted on wrapping this traffic cone for Greg and between the two of them you just might think it was exactly what he wanted. What he really requested was the bluetooth headphones. We all think Greg is pretty awesome and about the best Dad these kids could ask for.

Seriously, I love how happy they are in this photo!

    Having Aunt Missa here with her family has been an added bonus to our summer festivities. This was how the cousins spent Sunday evening. I think they found about 3 or 4 different ways to wear these sarongs and they all had to follow trend so a few aunts and uncles became experts in wrapping and tying them on all the kids. (And if you're wondering where all these colorful sarongs came from, it's a bit of a long story, but Melissa and Garrett are selling them so they had more than a few for the kids to play with.)

These photos are going to be so fun to recreate in about 10 years.

    There's nothing better then a summer rainstorm with lightening and thunder. These kids were all too happy to run through the rain and play in the gutters for the short time that it lasted.

Brock, Carter, Charlie and McClane stopping long enough for a quick photo.

      This girl keeps insisting on painting her face every time she goes to the neighbors house. Thankfully it washes off easily.

     Thursday was another fun activity with aunts, uncles and cousins. We spent the better part of Thursday afternoon and evening at the Payson pool and had a blast.

Food, swimming and silliness makes for the best time!

Ending the evening with a group drenching.

Charlie found out she's just tall enough to touch and bounce through the lazy river this summer with a little help from her life vest and mom, of course.

     And of course Greg was unable to join us for our swimming fun so he spent some quality time with 'Big Baby' after work. She seems more interested in the cellphone, which is pretty typical of all kids, right?

     Tonight we're ending the week with a neighborhood movie in the backyard. We're planning on watching "Moana". We'll see how many people show up since the announcement was made in the ward relief society email. We'll either get no one or more than ever before. No problem either way, I'm just glad we had a fun week over all and survived another week of summer. Oh, and if you didn't see Kayli's recent Facebook/Instagram posts she and Tanner had their engagement photos taken so we're still moving forward with all the wedding plans. I occasionally feel a little anxiety when I think of all that still has to happen in just a few short weeks but I'm trying not too panic!

Tent City 2017!

      We had the privilege of attending cousin Jacob's wedding this week. These two are the cutest and it was fun celebrating with family all day.

The overcast/drizzling rain was perfect for photos.

     Tent City 2017 was a success but not as crazy as years past. We had a blast though. We watched "Beauty and the Beast" out back and had s'mores and cobbler.

Tanner got a glimpse into what 'Kmetzsch crazy' really is.

Charlie couldn't have been happier to have her cousins here.

And this is the after math of breakfast. I think I finally made enough waffles to feed everyone. I actually wouldn't have had so many left over but not everyone stayed for breakfast.

     So that's the weeks festivities. I did take the three youngest to Seven Peaks this week but failed to take photos for the second time. It's just too risky carrying my phone around near the water. Maybe next time. I'm just so happy it's summer!

It's official!

     We had a fun visitor over the weekend. Skye is the prettiest husky but unfortunately she's not a big fan of our dog so it's a little tricky keeping them separated but we enjoy her visit. (She belongs to a friend of Heidi's to be specific.)

Greg likes her so much he was sharing his steak with her. He actually let her eat right off his fork, I would be jealous but I think I'd do the same. She's got a face that's impossible to say no to.

And she makes a great pillow for McClane.

     The most exciting event of the week was the official engagement of Kayli and Tanner! The delay was due to this pretty ring. It's a long story but thankfully they got it and now we can move on in a more official capacity towards the big day, August 15!

Who knew rose gold and a morganite stone would be so hard to come by.

      We did some other fun things this week but I failed to take photos. We made our first trip to the local waterpark. It was a bit of a joke trying to use our passes for the first time but we finally got everything squared away so now we can enjoy a few more trips without all the waiting around in long lines. Another week of summer in the books!