Catching up via Picture Overload

So much to catch up on in the month of August! I guess I've been slacking a bit on posting what we've actually been up to. So, here we go!

Towards the beginning of August, we went with cousins from both sides of the family to This is the Place Heritage Park. You've got to love $2 admission! It was a rainy day, but we still had a lot of fun.

This was a new ship this year and the kids had fun climbing and exploring on it.

They got to pan for gold and turn it in at the bank for a piece of candy.
Love riding the horses!
They even got to dip their own candles.

The girls had a summer dance concert. Much more low-key, but still so much fun for them. They love to perform! Kendra even helped choreograph a number with her two good friends (plus a LOT of help from "Aunt" Dawn--thanks Dawn!) and it turned out so cute. Once I get the video downloaded, I will post that.

Whassup?

Alli in her "Tea Party" number. I love the little pinky action here!

Alli's good friend, Hannah, recently moved closer and has started dancing with TDC as well. She is beyond excited about that!

Last weekend, we went camping with Todd's family. It was beautiful, cool, and a great break from the norm. Aside from the two kids vomiting in the middle of the night and the many mosquitoes, it was a great time! Tell me, isn't camping supposed to be simplifying our lives? Why does it take ALL DAY to just pack the car? There is just nothing simple about getting stuff ready for 7 people to go camping--nuff said.

I think my cute hubby had more fun fishing than the kids! He loves it, but doesn't get to go enough. Anyone out there fish that would want to go with him sometime?

The grandkids, minus 2.
My cute little boy.
Grandma was the trooper who climbed this rock wall with the kiddos.

Last Wednesday was the first day of school. The girls were so excited! Little brother can't wait to start this Wednesday for his first day of kindergarten. It was a successful first three days. Without going into the whole story, there has been some major disappointments with Keni's teacher situation, but I have faith it will all work out for the best in the end.

With this "Imagine a Happier You" contest that I did, I attended the Smart Women, Smart Money conference last week, where the committee presented the three winners to the audience, with a little video made about each of us. It was a really neat day, filled with so many great ideas about how do manage your money better. I was happy to have Dawn and my Mom there with me! Did I mention it included a free lunch to anyone who attended? The committee presented each of us winners with a kit to get us started with our year of making over our finances. I got all the stuff below to help me budget better! Not sure how gift cards and concert tickets work in there, but I'm not complaining!
In the loot above were some tickets to a blues concert-- BB King, Al Green and Buddy Guy to be exact. At $75 each, we could have sold them and made some $$ but we decided to indulge ourselves in something we normally wouldn't do for ourselves. I'm glad we did! Great music under the stars and we actually got to talk to each other! Thanks KSL!

And last, but certainly not least, is that my little T-man is 3 months today! Can you believe it? How time does fly. He is such a joy and such an easy baby who tolerates being kicked, poked, kissed and dropped by all his older siblings on a daily basis.

Thanks, Uncle D, for the onesie. It finally fits me!