O what did we do in the summertime?

So I will try to fit an entire summer into one post, mostly because I don't want to make individual ones. We had a nice relaxing summer this year. and here is the review in pictures:
Jared turned 4

and got his long awaited spiderman bike

We went to Oatman (twice)and fed the donkeys


Jared found another "donkey" to feed

got root beer floats (and other goodies) at Sonic- a lot!

Zach got to ride an airplane all by himself for the first time all the way to Florida to catch up with his Grandparents. I was a wreck!!! But he was a pro and had such a good time.

Hannah and Jared got to go to Phoenix and spend time with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Hannah turned 6 (I know it says 5 but she's 6 I promise).

Jared and Zach went fishing with Dad and Granddad (which could be a post all by itself but since I am condensing let me just say they didn't actually get on the river until after dark and then the other fishermen really did not appreciate the noise level that accompanied them).

Kerry turned 30

he's still waiting for his party because the best thing that happened this summer happened 2 days before his b-day: Rebecca Claire Burgess joined our family

back to school

School started at the beginning of the month, but as usual I am behind in blogging. Zach is in 2nd grade this year and was excited to find that he got the teacher he wanted. Hannah is in 1st grade and we already knew that she got the world's most fabulous teacher- Mrs. Morrison and drumroll please....Jared started preschool! I can't decide who was more excited him or Mom. He still asks me if he can stay longer everytime I pick him up. Here are some pics of the first day.





So hopefully now that life is slowly getting back to normal I can get back to blogging regularly...maybe.

Boys will be boys!

Or at least that's what they tell me. SO the Burgess clan got together for Father's Day! After some convincing, all the Burgess brothers got in the pool with their kids. My nephews are getting older and apparently they felt they had something to prove, because what started as this:


Ended in this


Luckily the younger boys had enough sense to steer clear of the madness,

and I'm not tsure the girls had any idea what was going on, they were having too much fun with the best cousin ever, Ashley.



So while I don't understand WHY the "whose tougher" contest happened, it seemed to be some great bonding experience for them all, which just goes to show that I will never fully understand boys. The best part was that my nephews just kept right on coming, no matter how hopeless it seemed and there were a couple of times when it looked like they might be gaining the upper hand (of course that could be because they were up against a bunch of out of shape old guys). It was oddly heartwarming to see my hubby with all his brothers showing the younglings what's up.

Still I'm glad I'm a girl.

Going Private

So after watching a show the other night where a dad took a picture of his little kid in the tub and then put it on his webpage, and the picture ended up on a child porno site, well let's just say that I have been thinking about making my blog private for awhile and that just put me over the edge. There are some serious sickos out there and I don't want any of them looking at my kids. I want to be able to put pics of my kids on my blog without worrying about who is looking at them, so as of now this is a private blog.

Which you already know if you are reading this. I will try to email those that I know read my blog and invite them.

My little money makers

So a couple of Sunday's ago Hannah wanted to play with hair and decided to make a hair booth. Zach decided to help her, and I decided to take a nap and left them planning. Not too much longer, I woke up expecting to visit their salon downstairs, but as I walked down the stairs I heard voices from outside the front door! I quickly ran outside (after "discussing" with their father what happens when mom takes a nap) and found them with their booth set up talking to our friends from down the street. I'm still hoping that the Morrison's were already out walking their dog and my kids did not go soliciting but I'll never know, because I will never ask...but I digress. So they had set up this booth


and created these amazing hairdos



And the best part (for the kids) is that our sweet neighbors actually paid them for their work, and so did Granny.

Dad got his do for free- Dad discount I think they called it.


I am hoping that this booth phase wears off soon. But their dad really encourages it, he thinks that it shows ingenuity and business sense, so we'll see...but if you need a cool hair-do, or an autographed Ben 10 alien, or an omnitrix, come on over- and I am sure by the end of the summer there will be a couple of new booths to choose from.

O what do you do in the summertime?

So, we have been looking forward to summer vacation and it is finally here. The kids get 6 whole weeks off of school and we want to have tons of fun. We kicked off the summer by having the kids wear these cute shirts on the last day of school.



I found the idea from tipjunkie here and then changed it a little. The front says: Good-bye KINDERGARTEN (or 1st grade in Zach's place) and the back says: Look out 1st grade (or 2nd in Zach's case) Here I come!

This week I am trying to plan the rest of the summer while the kids are in soccer camp. We'll see how ambitious I get...

TFTSMT er F

So I am a little behind on my thankful for the small things posts. So I will try to squeeze a couple in. Last week I fully intended to post about a small thing that makes me very happy- but i forgot. Before I start let me preface this by saying Summer television programming leaves a lot to be desired: you either get re-runs or stupid reality shows. Now that should be a cue to just turn the TV off and do something productive, but well, that's just not how I roll. Last summer, while channel surfing, trying to find something to watch we came across a gem of a show and I am beyond excited that it is back this summer! So last weeks thankful for the small things is: I am thankful for WIPEOUT. If you have not seen this show, you are missing out. It is on ABC wednesdays at 7pm. I don't know why people falling is so stinkin funny, but I seriously laugh my butt off each week. Which surprises me, because I am not usually one for slapstick comedy. I get annoyed at things like Mr. Bean, the 3 stooges, and even Looney Toons, BUT something about watching people who actually think that they can do these obstacles, and then watching them take ginormous spills, is HILARIOUS!

My favorite obstacle is the sweeper shown below:

the arm goes around in circles and people have to jump over it- mostly it knocks them into the water...ahhh good times!
And the commentators are fabulous- so funny. They really make the show. (kinda makes me miss Mystery Science Theater 3000). My favorite is the wrecking ball character. Watch it- you will thank me, or else you will think that I am nuts.
Also, I think it should be mentioned that the best part about watching wipeout is watching it with Kerry. My husband's laugh has always made me smile- and he laughs a lot at this show which makes me laugh. (Just as a sidenote, Kerry is also the one laughing in the theater when no one else is, and he laughs at his own jokes, which makes me laugh, which is probably why he thinks he is so funny). And now Zach has started watching with us and he is worse than his dad, so there is a lot of laughing going on at our house- and that makes me happy. SO thank you wipeout people. You have made Wednesdays at 7pm something to look forward to at the Burgess house.

Oh and the other small thing that I am thankful for is DVR- because So You Think You Can Dance is on at the same time and I heart that show.