Emily Ann Turns 3 ...

Miss Emily Ann (my niece) turned 3 on July 11^th.   We helped celebrated her special day with an ELMO party!    

~ Emily with her Elmo Cake ~

~ Making a Wish ~ 

~ The girls ... Makenna, Taylor's friend Jordan, Emily and Taylor ~ 

~ Presents!! ~ 

~ Playing in Emily's Room ~ 

What a blessing it has been to have all of us together to celebrate special occasions!

Football Camp ...

Justin has started his first season with Pop Warner Football.  His first game is not until September 3^rd but he sure has had a summer full of football.  For the month of June he attended a full contact conditioning camp 3 days a week.  Fully padded … playing outside in the heat … I was worried that he would get exhausted and that it would be too much for him.

~ Opening Huddle ~ 

~ Justin listening during Opening Huddle ~ 

~ Guest Speaker for the Opening Huddle ... one of my former Preston Junior High students that is now playing with the Minnesota Vikings ~

~ Justin is on the far left wearing Navy pants ~

~ Closing Huddle with Coach Switzer ~ 

~ Makenna trying to be part of the team ~

I was wrong!  He LOVED it!  … and so did Dwight.  Dwight’s work schedule in June was rather flexible so he helped out some with coaching.  Justin went right from his Conditioning Camp into a Quarterback/Passing Camp the first 2 weeks of July.   I'm thinking my future is going to include a LOT of Footbal!

Fireworks, Family and Fun …

This year we had another fun filled 4^th of July.  We spent the morning with our great friends The Van Cleave’s and Lance’s.   We had our annual breakfast and gathered all the kids together on Mainstreet in Wellington to watch the parade.  Each year the weather seems to get hotter and hotter and the parade seems to get longer and longer.  Not sure if the kids actually LIKE the parade or just the idea of collecting CANDY that the parade participates throw.  Each year we come home with a bag full of candy and 2 tired kids. 

~ Beautiful morning for a ride in the Convertible … headed to Wellington for our morning festivities ~

~ Our little Firecrackers  ~ Jusitn and Makenna ~ 

~ Grace Van Cleave in her adorable Patriotic TuTu ~  

~ The Little Kids Watching the Parade ~ 

~ The Big Kids Watching the Parade ~ 

The afternoon was spent napping.  Ahhhhhhh … I love afternoon naps and it’s not very often I get one so that was a special treat for mom. 

My sister Lori and her family + my dad and Bobbye joined us for an evening BBQ and backyard firework.   It amazing despite all the mature trees in our neighborhood we have a great view of the City of Fort Collins Fireworks show right from our back patio.  It sure makes for an enjoyable show when you don’t have to deal with traffic and crowds. 

~ Holidays are Funnier with Cousins ~

Emily (3), Justin (8), Makenna (4), Taylor (9), Caleb (5), Brandon (7)