4 Different States in 1 Day!

4 Different States in 1 Day!

...and only about 116 times did we hear "Are we there yet?" and 93 times of "How much longer?" You gotta love road trips with 5 year olds!

TEA PARTY - Grandma Becky Style!

TEA PARTY

(Grandma Becky Style)

While we were home in Utah for Kailey's wedding the whole month of May (and part of April and June) Carlee really wanted to have a Tea Party for her birthday in July (are you following this?). Well my Mom is not about to not give this spoiled little child something she wants. So she called her neighbor who has triplets Carlee's age (although Carlee gets along a little better with the older sisters, haha) and invited them over for a little tea (not real tea, Carlee reminded them about 20 times). She also made them some little treats and some fun pastry sandwiches. She helped them get all dressed up and put music on for them to dance. As they left the party she gave all the girls favors. It was one of Carlee's highlights of our trip home.

My Mom is the BEST Grandma in the World!

FIRST CHORE CHART

We spend LOTS of time doing fun stuff around here. However, we don't forget that there are also chores to be done. Carlee is ok with helping when we ask her too, but she needed a little structure.

Here is her first chore chart. If she does all of her jobs she gets a quarter which she wants to spend as fast as she makes.

Next lesson: Money Management!

A Sleepover!

When Carson goes out of town for work Carlee gets to sleep with me (instead of on our floor which she has been doing since we moved into our new house, WHICH is much better than our bed. Yes my 5 year old slept with us until just recently. We will NOT make that same mistake with this next child. TRUST ME!!!) Anyhow, Carlee can't just jump into bed with me and be happy, she has to bring ALL of her "friends/kids" with her. I use to try and fight this issue. Not anymore. I would rather her cuddle up to all of them and leave me my space. LOL! I think on this particular night there were 5 additional guests in bed with us. . .

FRONT YARD: Before and After

When we bought our house, well you couldn't even see it from the road. We had bushes that were bigger than our truck in the front yard. They were UGLY to say the least. We removed most of them and have had neighbors stop to tell us how much they appreciate it and love to be able to see our house and yard. One lady even went on to tell me how she has lived in the neighborhood since the house was built in 1970 and has NEVER seen anyone trim the bushes, etc until now. She was really excited. LOL!

If only that was the only thing that needed to be done to our yard, URGH!

Wizard of Oz in 4D

If you happened to see our Summer 2011 List we had "Go See Wizard of Oz in 4D" on it. Carlee got dressed up in her Dorothy costume (which was funny/cute to those who saw her when I was running errands before the movie and at the theatre. Even the employee taking tickets asked to take her photo with his phone, LOL!) It was only about 30 minutes long, but pretty cool. They had water that splashed on you and your chair vibrated and even the wind and bubbles blew during the tornado and the good witch coming to Oz. Carlee's only wish was that it was longer.

COOL FACT: We learned that the day Judy Garland died there was a real tornado in Kansas. Isn't it ironic, don't ya think???

MORE Busch Gardens

I am pretty sure every time I post there are a few pictures from Busch Gardens. Well, I didn't want to let anyone down. LOL!

Yorktown

I HATE this photo of me, but I LOVE Yorktown. It is part of the Historic Triangle here in Virginia that we are blessed to live close to. This is the first time we went and checked it out. We have been back a few times since. It has the cutest little beach and lots of history. Carson and Carlee and I are all standing in the same spot it is just from two different angles. (So you get an idea of what the area looks like.)

Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer

Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer...

Carlee had been watching a lot of "The Sound of Music" when we happened to spot this little tiny Doe in our backyard. We may have left Willard, UT but we didn't leave the opportunity to spot a deer here and there. (They are, however, at least 1/2 the size of Utah deer.)

Swim Lessons

Speaking of Water Country USA... Carlee just graduated from Red Cross Swim Lessons. She went every morning for a week. She LOVED it and did great. We might even have to put her in the next session for her age group before the summer is over.

Carlee and her swim teacher.

With her certificate of completion.

Meet Beckam

He's adorable and even named after my Mom, Becky, because he was due on my Mom's birthday. He is the son of our good friends Kenny and Jenny. He is also Carlee's DREAM BOY! It doesn't take them very long at all to warm up to each other when we have the chance to hang out with them. Most often they require supervision, LOL! Here they are hand-in-hand at Busch Gardens.

Water Country USA

This is the park we have been frequently visiting. It's a little too hot most days here to go to Busch Gardens. However, Water Country USA is a LARGE waterpark and is owned by Busch Gardens and our season passes get us in there for FREE! They have some AWESOME rides and every once in awhile Carlee gets to hold a bird or two. They also have a HUGE lazy river called the HUBBA HUBBA HIGHWAY aka:HEAVEN for a pregnant lady. There is not a ride in the park the Carlee has not gone on (that she is tall enough for). She is a little dare devil and her dad loves it because he has a ride partner.

Roman Rapids with the Fells

Carlee LOVES the rides at Busch Gardens that get you wet. The problem with that is her Dad and I DO NOT love those rides as much as she does. On this particular day she was in luck. We went with our friends the Fell's. Their kids were prepared to get wet with her. Here's a couple of action shots...

Found some photos...

A few photos I guess I thought I had blogged on and have since realized I haven't...

Carlee at Easter with the Easter Bunny at Busch Gardens. I think he may be the cutest little Easter Bunny I have ever seen.

While Carson was at Priesthood Session Carlee and I went and ate at Jungle Jim's. The food was just ok, but Carlee liked the menu (she is wearing it) and the atmosphere.

After Jungle Jims for dinner we headed over to Great Wolf Lodge to hear the bedtime story and say goodnight to the Wolf.

This spring Busch Gardens welcomed the cutest little Clysdale colt ever. The sad news...it died a few weeks later of an infection. This picture was taken when he was only 2 days old.

Another one of the Clysdales at Busch Gardens. This time an adult. Carlee LOVES the animals at the park. She does want to be a "bet-urinarian" someday you know...

S'mores on a stick!

S'mores on a stick!

Sounds like it should be a store in the food court at the mall. . .

Easy and delicious. It will fun to give some away this weekend. Happy 4th of July weekend.

(I can't wait for my Mom to fly in tomorrow, finally!)

Sorry the photo is not the right direction, but you get the idea...

P.S. Carlee did the assembly work of the smores and I dipped them. She then put the sprinkles on (which is why they are all in the center). She LOVES to help in the kitchen.