Goodbye BBQ

Before Antonio left we had a little goodbye BBQ for him.  It was just us, some family, and a couple of his friends.

These are all exchange students (there were probably even more) that went to Gooding.  What a great group of kids!  

 Addison and her new-found, new-favorite, cousin Lizzie.

 Antonio opening his going away gifts.  My mom made him an awesome picture book of his time spent here.

 After the BBQ, the kids were SO dirty.  I told Stewart to start the bathtub so we could strip them down and throw them in.  A little later I was showing off the house and came into the bathroom to find this!

Two fully clothed, fully diapered kids had jumped in the tub!  Stewart had started the tub, but forgot about the "stripping them down" part! What goof balls!

{out of order. eh.}

The Popes.  (Clive was Antonio's Sunday School teacher and did a great job of making him feel welcome)

 My cousin Tomi and her daughter Lizzy.

 All the exchange students and Kelsey.

 The Odells

I didn't take pictures of everyone (people came in shifts, and I only got the camera out once).  It was a great party.  Thanks to all that came.  I know Antonio was glad to see you one last time!

McSexy!!! I mean...

.... Michael Buble' :)

One of the highlights of my summer was going to see Michael Buble' in Boise with my Mom and Sheryl Odell. What a great entertainer! I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time! Not only is he hysterically funny, quick on his feet, and a total hottie, he also has an amazing voice! Next year we are definitely going again {but this time I think we'll have to budget a ticket for Stew too- I think he'd have enjoyed it!}

What a great girls night out!

The Park

We don't go to the park often. I think it may have something to do with the fact that we don't live IN town- so we can't really just walk over there whenever we feel. {It always has to be a big ordeal of packing the {huge} diaper bag, making sure we have enough water, snacks, burp rags, formula.... etc... So the only time we really go is when we plan it with my friends and their kids, or when the ward/deaf branch has some type of gathering there. The first time we went this summer was for a deaf branch party, and we had tons of fun!

My cousin Bryce started swinging, so naturally Addison had to swing too! First he put her on his lap to swing, but eventually she wanted to do it herself! {Quite common from this girl these days!} She even started pumping her legs! {Even though she pumped them opposite- what a smartie for copying Bryce!}
Next Addison found the slide, and Oh-MY what a tall slide that is! I remember going down the slide for fun a couple of years ago- and I was surprisingly scared! All I have to say is that Addison is one BRAVE little girl!
Aunt JoAnna helped her {even though she wanted to do it herself!}. Look at how much fun she's having going down! She went on the slide over and over and over and over!

Everyone loves Grandpa!

Ya know the nice thing about a park? There's something for everyone, big or small :)

Do these guys look like they're having too much fun or what?! And I can't believe Sheryl Odell is able to hold Brogan AND bounce!

In the picture below, Stewart is trying his very hardest to bounce me off the other side. I didn't think he was funny, and it brought me back to third grade where the boys would try to bounce the girls off, then make them cry. The only difference is that I MARRIED the bully. :)

Brogan got passed around and around. {He's just so cute- people can't resist him!}. Like the good mother I am- I forgot a bottle. So this little boy was not happy, and fussed himself to sleep with Grandma. {I will never know how she gets my kids to go to sleep while holding them!} {and no worries- we did leave early so we could go home and feed Brogan :) }.

It was a nice evening at the park!

This last week we went to a different park for a relief society lunch. Again- Addison only wanted to go play- NOT eat. The swings were really muddy, so she wanted to play on the slide. There were several older kids who were playing {a little rough} but Addison fought her way onto the slide. This one was a bit smaller, so I {sorta} let her do it by herself. She loved the freedom! Olivia Rogers, who is 3 months younger than Addison also wanted to go down the slide by herself! It seems that at that moment I got a sneak peak into life down the road. All I could see was Olivia and Addison, doing WHAT they wanted BY THEMSELVES! Oh boy. I think I'm in for it! :)

Robert's one year older.... {and wiser too}

A few weeks ago was Robert Odell's birthday. {Robert and Sheryl are our adopted set of parent's. Seriously, we love them like our own parents, and our kids love them like their own Grandparents!} They had us over for a tasty BBQ and a great little party. Jason and Cheryll were here too, so our kids had a lot of fun playing together. They liked going up to pet Scooby {Robert's MASSIVE doggie}, looking at the turkeys, and holding hands walking around in the cool summer evening.

{These pictures aren't in the order I'd like them to be, but I'm too lazy right now to copy/paste/delete so they're going to stay out of order}.

Jon attempted to attempt to climb this tree. He got to this point and decided that between the wobbly fence he was standing on, and the rotted pieces of wood that he was going to pull himself up onto- he wasn't going to risk life and limb :) But it did seem like a good idea!

These two chocolate faces LOVE dessert time!

What cutie pies!

Brogan is such a good little boy! He didn't sleep the whole time, but he knows when it's time to take a break from the party!
Dad giving Stewart a hard time. Seriously- some days it amazes me how well Stewart fits into our family. There hasn't ever been a time when my family is hesitant to give him crap, just like one of their blood siblings! And he's so good about taking it graciously and dishing it out again when the time comes :)
These two are such good friends! We sure will miss seeing them every few weekends now that they've moved to Texas :(
Holding Hands has become on of Addison's favorite things to do lately. We held hands in nursery one time and she hasn't stopped holding hands with kids her age since.

Grandpa and Gradma Jensen. What awesome Grandparents!

Addison is such a sweet little mother to all the babies!

The Gang {well- most of them}

Grandpa Jensen talking to Sheryl's parent's.

Sheryl and her Father {if you couldn't see the resemblance} :)

Robert putting on a mean BBQ! That chicken was SOOO good!

Thanks Odells! You guys are the Best!

We sure Love you and are glad you live in the best place in the world {well-maybe not exactly the best TOWN in the best place in the world... but you get it :) }