Congratulations in Order...

My littlest sister, Brooke, has just announced that she is going to have a little baby! We are soooo excited for her and Nich. They will make wonderful parents. She is due in the middle of February. Wow! Congratulations Brooke and Nich! We love you!

First Day of School

I know that I'm a month late on this, but I'm just now getting through my pictures.

The boys had their first day of school on July 28! So early and so soon! The summer went by way to fast and I'm sad to see them go.

Calvin is now in 1st Grade! Carson and Caleb are both in 3rd Grade!

Such handsome boys!

Family Vacation

We stayed a week at Grandma and Grandpa Bear's cabin in Lakeside. We loved not having to do anything except relax! Here are a few of the highlights we enjoyed. We also went on a hike to a spring that is nearby. I couldn't get any pictures of the hike because it was raining and I didn't want to ruin my camera.

Here is a picture of Ben, Ashton, Calvin and Carson. I am standing on the dock and off to the right, you can see the beach that Grandpa Bear made. It is a favorite spot for the kids during the hot afternoons.

Caleb riding his kayak.

Carson and the kayak. He loved to see how fast he could go.

Here is Ben sporting his racing life jacket.

Ben took Ashton and Calvin on a canoe ride all around the lake. Caleb and Carson kept up in the kayak close behind.

The Demuths were up for a few days with us. Calvin and Riley are practically inseparable.
Every afternoon the thunderstorms would come in and we would just sit on the porch and enjoy. The boys had different ideas...they wanted to play Frisbee. They loved it and got completely soaked!

Performance and Pay Day

Every year the Reed Family takes a trip to Snowflake and we play on stage at the park on Thursaday and then play in the parade on Saturday. Here are a few highlights...

Caleb, Carson and Calvin played their fiddles with me for a song and Ashton made his debut on the drums. He did really good. Uncle John sat back there with him just in case he needed help, but Ashton was able to do the whole song without any help! Caleb, Carson and Calvin played "Boil the Cabbage" great!
Everyone got paid for playing in the show and the parade. Grandma Reed is handing out the money. Here is Carson and Devin.
Ashton is holding his hard-earned dollar.
Calvin smiling sweetly!
Everyone is listening to Grandma.
After they got paid. We took our boys to the dollar store and they all bought something with their money. They were so excited! It's fun to be rewarded for a lot of work and practicing!

Snowflake Pioneer Day Parade

It has been our tradition with the Reed Family to have a float each year in the Snowflake Pioneer Days Parade. So here are some pictures of this year's Parade. We won the Spirit of Family Award!

Dayton, Riley, Ashton and Calvin waiting for the parade to start.

Uncle Wes was our driver. What would we do without a drum beat to keep us on the right track? That was Uncle John's job.

Here is Uncle Sam, Bridger, Caleb and Aunt Brooke warming up their fingers.

Mom Tag

My sister-in-law, Kobie, did a cute little tag and tagged anyone who has kids that could talk. (And I do the same.) I decided to find out what Ashton and Devin really thinks of me so here it is!

1. What does mom always say to you?
Ashton: Clean my room when it's dirty.
Devin: Clean my room. (We just cleaned their room and it was DIRTY!)
2. What makes mom happy?
Ashton: When I clean my room.
Devin: When I clean my room under the bed.
3. What makes mom sad?
Ashton: When I beat up Devin.
Devin: When Ashton's in trouble.
4. How does mom make you laugh?
Ashton: When you tickle me.
Devin: Like this: Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
5. How old is mom?
Ashton: 16
Devin: 13
6. How tall is mom?
Ashton: Bigger than us.
Devin: Little like this. (Then he holds his fingers up showing how tiny!)
7. What does mom like to do?
Ashton: Play with me.
Devin: Eat hot dogs. (I think that's his favorite food!)
8. What is mom's job?
Ashton: To do the dishes.
Devin: Playing football, playing games, playing jeeps, eating M&M's.
9. What is mom's favorite food?
Ashton: The same food that we eat. Pizza!
Devin: Pizza!
10. How do you know your mom loves you?
Ashton: Because I got born.
Devin: I love your hair. And I like your eyes and ears and teeth and hair.

The Future President?

Ashton told me today that he hopes "Carson grows up to be the President because he won't make nobody go to school."

Dinner with the Girls

A bunch of us girls went out to dinner to say good-bye to Marcia Rojas towards the beginning of the summer. She moved away (not too far) but we will all miss her. As you can tell, green was the color of the night. :)

Bear Family Reunion

During Father's Day weekend, we went to the Bear Reunion. It is for my Mom's parents. Every year we have it during Father's Day weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Bear's cabin in Lakeside. They have about 5 acres right on Rainbow Lake and it is beautiful! The next few pictures are of the cabin and a view from the lake. We had so much fun playing games, canoeing, swimming, and my favorite: the volleyball tournament! Ben had to do alot of studying, so I took the boys and went. We missed having he with us, but there will always be next year because I know how much he loves to go and spend time with the Bear's!

Isn't it beautiful! The weather was gorgeous!

Every morning before we eat breakfast, we have a devotional with a flag ceremony where we say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing a song, have a spiritual thought and prayer. I love that the Bear family is so patriotic!

Here are some of my counsins right before the devotional.
Above: Uncle Russell Ashcroft gave a wonderful devotional.

Below: All my boys and my niece, Briley, wait for it to start.

This is the ramada that Grandpa built just for occasions such as these. It was really nice because this is where we all eat and play games.

Grandpa Bear made this contraption for the kids to play on. You wind it up and let it go! It was a lot of fun and even the adults got into it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pictures of the adults. The kids would go really high and hold on for dear life.

Here are some of the kids swinging...

Here are a few pictures of Devin and Ashton playing in the sandbox. I honestly think that that was their favorite place to be the whole weekend!

Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Bear and everyone who helped make it a great week! We enjoyed everyones company! And the savenger hunt was awesome! (Sorry, no pictures of that.)

Close Your Eyes

Here is a song that my brother, John wrote. Enjoy! He reports to the MTC on Wednesday, August 6. Make sure to pause the music on the side.

I also made a Mission Blog for John, so if anyone is interested, they could check it out. It is still a work in progress... http://elderjohnreed.blogspot.com/

Bunkbeds Anyone?

I know this is funny, but we bought bunkbeds for the twins several years ago. We also have another set of bunkbeds for the other boys in another room. Well lately, the twins have been "making their own beds" in the other boys room. They just take their pillows and lay out a blanket on the floor and the cover up with another blanket. I told Ben that I don't know why we bother with beds when they prefer the floor! Funny boys!

Homemade Waterpark

Back in June, my sister, Brittany brought over a waterslide to my parent's house. The kids absolutely loved it. I didn't get a picture of it, but my brother, Jared, was the funniest. Instead of climbing up the little ladder, he decided to make a run for it and jump. But he ended up getting high centered at the top. We all had a good laugh!

Here are a few pictures of Caleb and Devin...