A fun week!

     We've enjoyed our first FULL week of school! We also had some fun activities outside of school. There was the orthodontist hosted swim party last Friday night and Charlie got to attend her friends fun Madhatter tea party last Saturday.

McClane & Charlie enjoying the free snow cones at the pool party.

Charlie at Grace B.'s Madhatter tea party with her best friend Sarah. 

   Greg and I took a Harley ride to the Harley store Saturday and Greg couldn't resist taking a seat in this weird/cool vehicle.

    Now for some sweet photos of baby Beau! Kayli, pretty much, sends me a photo of Beau at least once every day so I can see all her cute outfits. Can you imagine what life would have been like, Mom, if I'd had that as an option when I was having my kids, you would have been inundated with photos!

I think he likes her!

Close ups of that sweet face.

Fun outfits!

I bought her the dress on the left. 

   And for those of you outside of Utah, the BYU v. U of U football game was yesterday and it's kind of a big deal around these parts and wearing red can be a dangerous choice in Utah County but I took my chances and only got 'accosted' twice in a semi-negative way. No one's mean, just opinionated, ha ha. Good stuff! Good thing I love my son-in-law because I could honestly careless but I wanted to show support for his sake.

     So it's been a fun week! I'm super happy to have a three-day weekend to enjoy and especially happy that the weather is going to be nice. And of course there's always the traditional trip to Fiiz to look forward to. Life is pretty good!

Let the 2019/2020 school year commence!

     Greg and I FINALLY got out on a Harley ride!! We've definitely been neglecting the bike but any ride anytime is better then no ride ever!

We drove to Cascade Springs up American Fork Canyon.

     And no one ever says no to a trip to Fiiz! Got to love the flavored sodas!

     And if you need an excuse to avoid a service project with the Elders quorum a visit to see the new grand baby is about the best excuse you can find! You don't have to twist Joey's arm to see sweet baby Beau!

She's just the sweetest!

Beau loves her Mitch and Joey.

    Uncle Carter is pretty happy to pose with his sweet niece.

Finally another princess to add to the mix.

McClane is the BEST uncle!

Brock can't resist playing Van Halen's "Jump" whenever he sees a piano.

     Beau came to Mitch and Joey's house for the first time Sunday evening. It's hard to believe she's already a week old. (Actually nearly two weeks old now!)

    Then it was Tuesday and the first day of school for all five kids that live in this house! BEST DAY EVER!!!! I have all day to myself and it's amazing!!

Carter and the neighborhood gang chillin' on the porch before heading off to the middle school.

Isaac - 11th, Carter 9th, Brock 6th, McClane 3rd and Charlie 1st.

    And just like I've been predicting for years, my last child went off to her first full day of school and I've become a Joey, all within a week of each other, so I definitely have fun ways to spend my 'free' time.

The many faces of Beau.

   Kayli sends me regular photos and this is about the cutest thing ever! She's so tiny but she's finally fitting into a few of her little outfits.

    This is so cute! I'm pretty sure she's looking at the camera with disgust that her mom had the nerve to take her photo without a hair bow on her head.

    This was Beau's first snapchat to her Joey. I think the photos are sent to tempt me into coming over so I can snuggle her.

    Well we've survived the first week of school. I should say the kids have survived and I'm thriving! Making 5 lunches every morning isn't my favorite chore but at least there hasn't been any real homework yet. (But I know it's coming.) Here's hoping the kids can do a lot of their homework on their own.

A LOT of Baby Beau & Princess Charlie!

     Little Beau Rae Wendel decided to make her appearance 9 days before her due date and she came in a hurry! Kayli was in real labor less than 4 hours before little Beau was delivered. She's a tiny thing at 6 lbs. 2 oz. 18 1/2 inches long and is so sweet! Of course you're about to experience a photo over load! We also celebrated Charlie's 6th birthday amongst all the baby fun, which is adding to the photo explosion!

Cute little family!

   I was so thrilled I got to be there for this momentous occasion. Kayli and Tanner were absolute rockstars!!

Joey and baby Beau just an hour or so after she was born. (My grandma name is Joey!)

    We also had a surprise but quick visit from our favorite Baker boys!

Such cute boys! Charlie loves cousin visits the most!

So glad they stopped to say hi!

Charlie loves the cousins cool horny toad and tiny dog!

Here's a comparison of baby Beau and her parents as babies. Tanner's bottom left and Kayli's bottom right.

Beau meeting all her Kmetzsch uncles and aunt!

Mitch (Greg's grandpa name) meeting Beau for the first time.

These two were pretty enamored with this cute baby girl!

Uncle Mark and Beau. 

All 11 of us and if you zoom in it's like a perfect photo. Everyone is looking and no goofy faces!

Happy 6th birthday Charlie Rose!

Her very own shopping spree!

Princess cake for the princess!

   Now back to baby Beau!

Beau shortly before she left the hospital.

   I can't pass up a photo of Isaac sleeping! This is such a testament of how hard he's working this summer.

   Back to the birthday festivities!

Charlie with several friends, Andrew, Lillie, Charlie, JT, Sarah and Eden.

Snuggles with the neighbors dog! Chloe loves me!

A quick visit with baby Beau the night she got home from the hospital.

Joey visiting baby Beau at home.

She's just so sweet and tiny!

Charlie enjoying a swim with her new friend, June.

And just today, more baby Beau snuggles!

     Obviously the new baby is my new favorite! I can't wait to watch her grow but hopefully she won't grow too quickly!
      We only have four more sleeps until school starts, CRAZY! The kids are happy with their upcoming teachers and lets hope we have a successful school year! Five kids in school, all day, five days a week, sounds great to me! Five sack lunches, five days a week, sounds like my personal hell but I will survive!

Farewell and arrivals plus Alpine Days fun!

     It was such a great time having Jackie and Ben come for a surprise visit all the way from Australie and although it was far too short we loved every minute we got to spend with them!

Costa Vida was the first food stop!

These two can really get 'giggling'!

    We got to see the last few puppies left from Belle's litter of puppies. They're just the cutest!

      Jackie had time to stop and buy me the best jelly beans ever made before she left Australia and unfortunately I couldn't even stretch them out for a whole week! (It didn't help that Greg kept eating them too.)

My last handful! Can't wait to buy my own stockpile in just a few more months.

    McClane was pretty excited about his scripture bag his Grandma B. made him and has enjoyed finding cool patches to decorate it with.

First patch but not the last.

    Wednesday we made our way over to the car show. These are some of the cooler cars that were on display.

   The nicest guy there let these two sit in one of his cool antique kids toys.

   Here's the finished product for patches.

    Thursday Charlie went to the pet show with her buddy JT and a crazy storm blew through so they took cover in the park bathroom until it finally stopped raining.

     Friday was the beginning of the bouncy activity fun. Brock, McClane and Charlie definitely made the most of their free wristbands for both Friday and Saturday.

      We also had the privilege of welcoming a new nephew to the family. Sweet baby Luke Todd Dickerson was born Thursday afternoon and couldn't be cuter or more content and sweet. I'm definitely getting excited to welcome the next baby to our family! Only 6 more sleeps or less before baby Beau's arrival!

      We also got free tickets to the rodeo and it's always a fun night, in my opinion. McClane was not so impressed with the night and was especially disappointed when he didn't manage to grab any cash off the 'cash calf'. There were far too many other kids chasing the poor calf around and McClane got the shaft.

You sure can't beat the view from the Alpine rodeo grounds.

These three weren't as thrilled to be there, McClane's face says it all.

     This morning was the parade and it was ok. There were a lot of gaps and only a couple floats but we still got a decent candy haul.

    For lunch we made our way to Taco Bell with Isaac and Charlie and Charlie insisted I take a photo of her with Greg but Greg couldn't stop talking long enough for the photo so you get a cute photo of Charlie and a goofy shot of Greg.

     Charlie also insisted I watch her attempt the rock climbing activity. She did pretty good.

     We still have fireworks to enjoy tonight and maybe a little more time at the park for the bouncy activities. It's been a fun Alpine days despite all the hiccups that, thankfully, have nothing to do with us but have been a bit of an issue for the city. I can't believe how close we are to our summer break ending! Only one more full week before school starts!