Silver Dollar City!

We do love Silver Dollar City! 

You are never too old for the carousel. 

Rylee is doing her "heroic pose".

I love these goobers! 

Alex, Grandpa and Delaney are ready for the Galleon ride.  

They enjoyed it a lot! 

Waiting in line isn't so bad when you hang out with the cool people. 

 They think they will be the fastest teacup spinners.

But they won't!

 Teacups is one of my favorite rides.

These two ditched the younger crowd to go ride all the fun stuff.  We met back up so I could ride the best roller coiner with them. 

And in a random turn of events, we got on the ride just as these kids were getting off.  Yep, we ran into their cousins at the park that day.  So fun!

A day at the Pool

 A lovely lady named Vela happens to be a friend of the family and she invited us to come play at her pool.  The kids were thrilled.  And much fun was had, despite the frigid pool temperature.  I was happy to sit on the side and chat, and I felt delighted that my children were all old enough to swim without any more assistance tan, "Mom, the my picture!".

I confess that this is by far, my very most favorite picture taken. 

Marian found a cat that needed some love. 

Delaney enjoyed herself. 

Isn't Rylee just the cutest?! 

I loved the water rickshaw they had going on here. 

She thinks she is so clever.

Fine.  She is. 

This float got a lot of use, and Delaney had much fun on it. 

Rylee wanted pictures of her jumping through this tube. 

It is tough to get the perfect shot whilst one's child is in motion like this!

Callie and Cousins

I love this girl.  She is a good kid and she likes her cousins. 

Her cousins also like her. 

Probably because she plays with them and makes them giggle hysterically. 

 She also is happy to pose for photos with them.

And silliness is always welcome.

Making Smores!

 It is true that the summer is really just too hot for a bonfire.  However, it is never too hot for a bonfire for s'mores!  Grandpa had some brush that needed burning, and there were s'more-makings that needed to be used, and there were cousins to eat them with.  So we took advantage and there was much delicious fun.

Food, Family, and a Birthday

The best part of the summer was getting to see my family.  I loved that each of my siblings made the effort to come out and visit.  Sure, they were there to see my mom, but I still got to benefit from it!

And food.  We had lots of good food.

Jonathan made his famous pizza for us and it did not disappoint!

My silly nephew Simon had the best faces.

My silly girl and her sweet cousin.

Many selfies appeared on my phone.

And I loved that these cousins had so much fun together.

The three musketeers.... till they had to leave.

My dad had a birthday. We happened to be in Branson, so we stopped by his very favorite place.

Look at that happy birthday boy's face! Andy's Frozen Custard is pretty amazing!

 Of course there was cake. His darling granddaughters made it.

And his grandson was delighted to give some birthday love.

The remains from the cake after most of the kids demolished it. Yum!

Callie's Patriarchal Blessing

 Callie chose to get her patriarchal blessing while we were there, since it is super hard to get it while in Okinawa.  The added bonus is that the Patriarch in my paren't stake is one of the most amazing people ever.  So we were able to get that approved and scheduled. And it was indescribabley awesome.

My parents are so cute!  I love them. 

I love my girl.  She's pretty wonderful. It was a great blessing.

Me and my darling girl.  I kind of love her a lot.

The Third Annual Pie Party!

Dad held his third annual pie party in celebration of his birthday.  It was a fantastic event!

This was our lineup. We made 22 pies and a few more were brought in.  It was quite successful.

The sister missionaries came early to help set up and cut pies.

 The spread, before the guests arrived.  There were many more pies in the kitchen and fridge!

 Dad was quite pleased.  It did go well and there were so many delicious pies to enjoy!

The kids were a hoot.  To keep them busy, they were tasked with making signs for the event.  The results were spectacular. Zoom in on this so you can enjoy all the delightful details!