He's a "Bad Boy"

Have I ever mentioned how cute and fun our little McClane is?!  Well he is and he's a bit of trouble to boot.

He's a tough guy with a cookie face and a handgun, look out!

I took this picture before I realized he was covered in dirt and had walked all over my new carpet!

He was wearing the laundry basket as a hat.

This is his new favorite place to play.

He'll push anything he can find that will move.  Watching him push this roller blade was too funny!

He had to stop and squat because that's what mom was doing.

   So there's a little glimpse of the fun McClane can bring to the family.  He's growing up way too fast and I don't want to miss a bit of it, trouble and all!!

Hiking to Devil's Eye

Greg and Mark went on quite a hike last week and I forgot to include that with my weekly post so I'll give it it's own special posting.  Here's several photos of their 8 hour hike.  They went with several of the Young Men in our ward and a few of their leaders.  Greg is gearing up for the five day hike he'll be going on next month with his teacher's quorum.  Let the photos commence.

On their way and still smiling.

The whole group at their first rest stop.

It was steep and there was no trail at this point.

They did it and they're still smiling.

The group at the top, 9,226 ft.

The Devil's Eye.

The burned out trees.  This tree is still this black after 12 years.

Father and Son making memories.

So that's just a few of the many photos they took.  This was definitely a hike not worth repeating in Greg's mind.  It was steep, desolate and tough but at least they can say they've been to the Devil's Eye once in their life time and SURVIVED!

And They're Spinning!

Well our new Super Nova toy is all installed and is a hit amongst our own kids as well as all the neighborhood kids.  Here are a few photos of what our backyard looks like nearly every day.

McClane the ladies Man!

Mark and his brothers earned these swords and had to get a pose in with them.

Carter and his sword.

Several neighbor friends enjoying some sprinkler fun on the tramp.

Mark, Carter, Isaac and their friend Mason Wimmer.

These girls love this Super Nova. 

This was the last day of concrete pouring to make the Super Nova completely permanent.

McClane really loves it.

    So that was earlier this week.  We've also had fun away from home but I didn't take any pictures.  I will say that last night was the first night I was really missing Kayli and how helpful she can be.  Mark went on a scout overnighter so I had no babysitter and even just wanting to visit with the neighbors outside and a few yards away from the house was next to impossible.  I'll be happy when she's back home but she still has over two weeks so I guess I'll just have to get use to being home and "playing" mother all by myself.
     I have just a couple more photos to share just because.

Carter lost another tooth.  His dad helped a bit with a pair of pliers.

Seriously, I could eat every inch of this cute chocolate and ice cream face!

And this is what happens when I try putting the monster down for a nap when he's not as tired as I think.

    So that's our week for the most part.  I hope you enjoyed the show.

We're still here!

    So another week of summer vacation has come and gone and we actually do have something to show for it.  First we had fun with cousins, Etta and Lydia Kmetzsch who were visiting from Texas and soon will be moving here to Utah so we'll hopefully get to see a lot more of them.  They are two very sweet girls and it was so fun to have them come stay with us for a few hours.
Here's a couple photos I took of Lydia and McClane.

Lydia was being very sweet sharing her crackers with McClane.  They're just a few months a part and really had fun together.

   So then Greg started the prep work to installing this cool play ground toy he got from work.  It's a lot more difficult then I thought it would be which is probably why he hasn't been too excited to get going on it but I talked him into doing it sooner than later and I don't think he's cussing me but who knows.  Here's a few photos of the work he's done so far.

Here's the first of five holes that had to be dug, two feet deep each.  McClane and all the boys thought this was pretty fun.

They played in these holes for hours that night and had the dirt and grime on them to prove it.

Here's all five holes dug and five boys to fill them.  They had so much fun in these holes I hope the toy won't be a disappointment.  You can see the toy in the background, it's the big round thing with orange stripes.  You can kind of see the track it has so once it's installed, at an angle, it will rotate.  It's actually a pretty cool toy and quite spendy, thank goodness it was slightly defective so the city couldn't use it and we could get it for free!!

    Then Kayli left us for three weeks.  She's in Texas with Justin, Cassity, Etta and Lydia playing nanny to the girls while Justin and Cassity get everything in order so they can make the big move to Utah.  So far it seems as though Kayli is having fun.  She's more then happy to send several texts a day to let us know what's going on and I've been happy to send her texts and photos of what we're doing.  She especially 'loved' the photo of her brother Mark playing her board game.  Of course when I told her she'd do the same thing if the situation were reversed she had to concede I was right and stopped her tirade about people using her stuff without asking.
    Here's what we finished the week doing. 

Mark and Brock on the boat ride at Trafalga.

This is all four boys, Isaac and Carter are in each of the red and white and then Mark and Brock in the blue and white.

   So that's our week in a nutshell.  Greg and Mark are hiking right now and hopefully before the day is done the new toy will be completely installed and ready to be used by tomorrow or Monday.  Hopefully it's as big a hit as the holes were.

Our first full week of summer.

     It's been a full week and I have a few photos of our activities but not for everything.  While at Seven Peaks water park yesterday I was too worried about just keeping track of the kids that I had to forgo taking photos but maybe next time.  Just know that Brock is a fish and spent 70% of his time under water and the other kids loved it too.
     I did however get a photo or two of our other activities, starting with our little friend get together earlier this week.  Several of Greg's buddies that he grew up with came over for dinner and to visit and it was a blast.  It was especially great that Greg's buddy Jake supplied the food which was fantastic.  The weather was a little uncooperative but we just set the tables and chairs up in the garage and it worked out just fine.  The kids could still play outside at least so we had plenty of time to sit and visit with everyone.  I regret not taking photos of all the buddies but we did take a photo of all the kids which I will share.  I know photos were taken of the buddies so hopefully someone will be kind and email those to me in the future.  Of course not everyone came that was invited but that's to be expected.  We had a total of 12 adults, counting Greg and myself and then 20 kids including ours.  If everyone had come who was invited we would have had 5 more adults and 12 more kids.  So here's all the kids that were here.

Now this is a lot of kids.  I definitely don't think I'll have this many kids.

      Isaac and Mark had tournament games this week and Isaac's team did really well.  They played a total of four games in the tournament winning three of those four and came in 3rd place out of 24 teams which isn't bad at all.  Mark's team however did not fair as well.  They played their first game and lost therefore finishing their season at I believe 8th place and I'm not sure out of how many teams, I think only 12.  Mark was a little bummed but those are the breaks.
Here's a photo of Isaac's team gathered after their final game.  It's not the best but it's documentation if nothing else.

Isaac's way in the back just over #8's left shoulder.

     While at Isaac's games this is what McClane was doing for part of the time.

He couldn't resist this little puppy and before I realized it, he'd grabbed the dogs leash and was going for a little walk.  Just about the cutest thing ever and almost had me convinced he needed his own little puppy, but don't worry, Greg didn't agree so that's not happening.

   And then to top off the end of baseball season we went to the park near our house that just got new play ground equipment and let the kids check it all out.  Kayli refused to try anything though, she's not at all happy with the change in her childhood park.

   So that's our week in a nutshell.  Lets hope next week isn't quite so busy, for my sake anyway.

Is it True?!

Is it True?  Can my daughter really be 15 and soon be legal to drive (with a permit and adult in the car.)?  This is all happening so fast.  I feel like I've been a parent forever but I also feel like I'm 19 and not old enough to have a 15 year old child.  C-R-A-Z-Y!!
So we've had a busy week with the winding up of school, celebrating Kayli's birthday and having Tent City in the back yard.  Tent city wasn't quite the big event we'd initially anticipated but my vow is it won't be our last attempt so look for a future Tent City post with a lot more people and tents in our back yard.
Mark graduated from 6th grade, but just barely.  Here are a few shots of him being announced at the graduation ceremony Wednesday morning.

They may have said his last name wrong (Kanitchey) but he looked cute!
Then it was the last day of school and this is how our boys and the neighbor boys decided to celebrate.

80 degrees outside and they think this is a fun idea, and it was!
And then it was Kayli's birthday.

Snacking on her dad's DELICIOUS home made guacamole.

Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake, rich, rich, rich!

Lighting the torch!

 And then it was the singing of "Happy Birthday" and for those who were there you'll know why she's making all these faces and laughing hysterical and for those who weren't there but have experienced the traditional singing of "Happy birthday" by the Kmetzsch clan you can just imagine the chaos and for those of you who have never experienced the singing of "Happy birthday" by the Kmetzsch clan there are no words to describe it, it has to be experienced and sorry my video is non-transferrable but maybe some day I'll treat you to the "fun".

Then there's the traditional birthday balloons awaiting her first thing this morning.  (Who's idea was it to buy a balloon for every year they are old because that can get spendy?!)

And a little tent city fun first thing in the morning.

And then she got to open her official gift.

That's right, she got used tupperware, just what every 15 year old girl wants.

And then more tupperware, and oh yeah, a brand new ipod nano!!



She loved the nano and was really sweet and let her mom have the used tupperware.  (Greg had planned to wrap the tiny gift in 15 stacked containers but I refused to waste that much wrapping paper.)

  So that's our week!  I apologize for some of the blurry pictures but I like using my phone because it's the easiest way to transfer them to my computer and blurry or not they're better than nothing.
Next week should prove to be fun and busy with Isaac and Mark's baseball tournament and a planned get together with a lot of Greg's buddies so stay tuned for more fun photos and adventure from the Alpine Kmetzsch family.