WorldWide PhotoWalk Pictures

I thought you guys might want to check out some of the other photos that I took while on the photowalk. I posted some on Flicker. Just go to

http://www.flickr.com/groups/panguitchphotowalk2010//

to view the pictures I posted as well as some others from the people that came in our group. Kinda fun. I'm supposed to pick one picture of all of them to enter into a contest to be judged, so you'll have to give me some feedback on which ones you like the best. Thanks guys!

First Official Hairdo

Yes, today marks the first official hairdo for Layne, other than attempts made in the past to put headbands around her head. That lasts about two minutes until the band either slips off or slips down around her eyes, blocking any shot this kid has at vision. Koria is quite excited that another female in the Black house gets to have ponytails. We think Layne looks pretty "stylin'."

Trust Me, I Know Fashion

When Koria and I saw this shirt at the D.I., we had to get it. As soon as we got out to the car, she asked me if she could change into it. I debated letting her, considering the fact that we bought it at the D.I., but when I saw her all-out excitement over it, I let her. She told me yesterday that she wanted to wear her best shirt to come and help me weed the flower beds, and this is what she came out wearing. What a diva.

Bronco Bobby's ... or another store that's right by it ...

Monday, July 26th marked our last day in Panguitch. Our trip home was delayed and detoured a bit from the usual due to flash floods closing down the roadways home. We were excited to make it back home that night and find lots of produce in the garden and eat a good healthy dinner of cereal. That's always our standby meal after coming home from a longer trip. This shot I took on Main Street in Panguitch, at a store named Bronco Bobby's, at least I think. There was a marathon going on as I took this shot and if you look closely, I tried to capture the reflection of the runners and the road in the window.

Cousins

Sunday, July 25th was not eventful in Panguitch, although Dad had a great birthday in Sugar City! We spent the day down south with family. The kids have a great time with their cousins (for the most part) and it's always good to build up a love for them. This is Jace, Jana's youngest. He's a typical two-year-old -- food on his face most of the time, always finding something new and creative to explore, and he loves to nod his head with his eyes squinted like he's the man. Koria and he enjoyed checking out the flower beds on our lazy day.

24th of July in Panguitch

Every year on the 24th of July, Pioneer Day here in Utah, we find ourselves in Panguitch. There's always a big celebration around the small town -- a parade complete with tractors, the local fire engine spraying water on all who will welcome it, and local wards putting out their best efforts at crepe paper floats. This year, my sister-in-law Steph put together a World Wide Photo Walk online, through which she and I were able to participate in. Starting at 6:00 a.m., we walked through town taking pictures with people from Scotland, England, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Phoenix, the locals, and of course, the far-off and exotic Huntington. That night we all went on a mountain hike to a waterfall too, but for more of the details and about 30 other pics from the day, check out out other blog. Here's just a few of my favorites.

Panguitch at Sunrise

And at Sunset

With Some Sun In The Middle

The Influence of Aunt Kendra

Madie, Abby, and Taeya were complaining of boredom and begging me to do something with them, so the creative and evil aunt that I am, I came up with an all-over great plan. I told them that they needed to plan a secret tent party that night, a tribute to all-night parties with Becky from the past. They were instructed to sneak out all the junk food, flashlights, and games that they could during the day hours and stash it in their tent, which I helped them to conceal under their cots and blankets. Then, around eight that night, they were to start making comments to the effect of, "I'm really tired tonight." "Yeah, me too. Maybe we should go to bed early." Around 8:30, they whipped out the, "Hey Mom, Aunt Kendra challenged us to get ourselves to bed tonight WITHOUT YOUR HELP" comments, in hopes that their mothers would not wander out and find all the hidden supplies and break up the party.

Now, keep in mind that Jana, Jared, Steph and I had already made plans to get all the kids to bed right on time that night so that we could go out near Bryce Canyon to get some famous local pie before the Pine's Cafe closed. He, he, he.... Easy as pie (pun intended). The girls thought that they were clever, and they even paid off Uncle Jared with a quarter to not spill the beans to their moms (who got a kick out of the whole plan when we divulged info to them on the drive that night).

What can I say? Both parties won. The girls told me that they had one exciting night of playing board games by flashlight, porking out on all the junk food they could sneak out to the tent. They were a bit on the tired side though .... I think it just might become a 24th of July tradition from now on. Aaahhhh, I love my nieces. This one goes out to you, babes! What would I do without you.

My Mom Rocks

The shirt says it all, Dude. This was taken Thursday, July 22nd, after the kids found Grandma and Grandpa's sprinklers in their backyard.

Hammer and Nails

By last Wednesday night, I could tell that Koria and Kimball were a bit starved for some of my individual time. They begged me to stay in their room that night and just play with them, so I did. We ended up building a tool box with their tool bench set, and Kimball played Batman in the Batcave while Koria took on the role of Robin and I was assigned to be Scooby-Doo. We ended up saving multiple made-up bad guys, throwing them in the Batcave jail, and Scooby even managed to make batman and robin laugh until their sides hurt. It was a good way to end the day before we all headed out to Panguitch the next afternoon.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

In answer to the question posed in the title, I'm just surprised that it does at all. I thought that I'd show you the progress in our garden, so here's a few shots of the produce.

Pumpkins

Beans (this is about the only producing plant, however)

Corn that's just coming to head

Roma Tomatoes (we have three different variety of tomatoes, all doing great. I'd be happy if just the tomatoes grew!)

And peppers. We have four few different varieties of peppers too. I feel salsa season coming on..... and you've already seen the peas. The carrots are still small, so no pics yet.

Bedtime Stories and Other Stuff

Something loopy happens to a ten year old when you give her a smelly marker at nine o'clock at night. Taeya and Madie were having fun drawing on paper and doing a little bit of artwork on themselves at the same time.

Jared volunteered to read Kimball and Koria a story at bedtime. I think both Jared and I were hoping that the kids would read us a bedtime story instead and send us to bed.

Games and Whatever Else Entertains You

Taeya and Maddie have been staying with us and will be for the remainder of the week until we go down to Panguitch to meet up with the Black side of the family, and let me tell ya, trying to find constant entertainment to make six kids ten and under happy is a busy job. This is a shot of the kids playing Candyland 3D, one of the many board games we've played in the last few days.

Elise in Photoshop

Yeah, so this is not a new pic, but I've just been messing around tonight for the first time with Photoshop and I decided to try to edit some photos of the nieces and nephews. Here's a first attempt with a great shot of Elise. What a babe.

Just Me

Since I rarely get shots of myself and our camera battery died on us yesterday a few minutes into our outing, my sister-in-law, Steph, shared the photos that she took with us. We had a good time playing in the river in Buckhorn Draw with the kids. It was so hot that the water felt great.

It All Adds Up To Happiness

Four adults and ten kids equal crazy. Koria equals crazy. Six bucks for a kiddie pool equals fun. Cousins equal a lifetime of memories. And it all adds up to happiness

Lazyday Lunch

Kor and Kimb are really into eating picnics outside in the backyard right now. I took this picture a few minutes ago. I told them to smile nicely. This is what I got.

Trampolines, Tonkas, Good Neighbors, and Dirt

Our neighbors just dug a hole for us to put our trampoline into, due to the fact that a tornado came through town a few weeks ago and blew it two fences away from our house, leaving it VERY mangled. Thankfully, the same neighbors who dug the hole also do some welding work on pipelines and were able to mend the pieces back together too. We're hoping that since it's down in the ground now that that won't happen again. While digging with their backhoe, our neighbor also decided to use the dirt he dug up and put it into a massive pile by the side of the trampoline spot. Koria and Kimball are having as much fun with the dirt pile as they are with the trampoline itself. My laundry machine on the other hand? Not so much. I took out a dumptruck for them to zoom down the side and believe me, Tonka's really are built tough. It's current home is .... in the hole that the trampoline rests in. Whatever. Here's to great neighbors and lots of dirt!

My Favorite Color is "Rainbow"

We have a lot of baby toys -- far more than we use. I guess that's what happens when you have twins to begin with. I've noticed that all of them seem to be brightly colored and include just about every color you can imagine. Maybe that's why when Koria is asked what color is her favorite, she'll answer, "Rainbow." Good answer. She's already working on her diplomacy skills.

"To Afflict and Torment Man"

Before the Fall

... And After

I know the fall was necessary, but had Adam and Eve been familiar with weeds, they may have put off their decision a lot longer. I sure did -- the decision to weed, that is. I went on a walk around 5:30 this morning and when I returned, I hit the flower beds.. After a few hours taking care of the kids, I went back to work and here's the result. Good thing I didn't take a picture of the rest I still have yet to tackle. And by the way, I had this idea even before you did the before/after shots of the fridge, Mom. Brilliant minds think alike.

Fresh Peas

Nothing says summertime like fresh peas from the garden. We'll be picking a bunch here in a few days. This is our first attempt at gardening too, so for us, the fact the anything is even growing is exciting.

I'm Cheating

What can I say? It's my birthday, so I have an out. This is literally the first time that I've been able to sit down at the computer since we've been home from Idaho, and since I only arrived home around six tonight from being gone for three days, followed by dinner and getting four kids four and under bathed and to bed, I'm going to use a photo that was not taken today, but I do promise to take new shots from here on ... at least I'll do my best. How 'bout that? At least I'm honest .... By the way, it's my 28th