Day At The Zoo With Grandma Rae Rae

This spring, for the grandkids' birthdays, mom sent them coupons for a day at the zoo with her and the cousins. It ended up being one of the most fun get-togethers for the kids! They stayed close to us, never fought and squealed with delight over the different animals they saw. We spent about 3 1/2 hours and then went for pizza together.

Grandma and the grandkids! Austin, Jaxson and Taylor
Just standing around!
Justin's family

Madison, Jana, Kaden and Jessica
Parking lot fun
The kids loved the feel of the water on the world.
Here is where Jaxson rode for most of the day....
Austin and the elephants

I had to get a shot of this elephant with the piece of wood stuck

Jenny and Patrick
Jenny, Patrick, Jaxson and Taylor
Madison, Jessica, Jaxson and Kaden

Grandma and cute Kaden

The kids LOVED the zebras!



Austin and the copper cats

Grandma and McKay
Patrick, trying to get inside the fence....!
Ahhhh, love!

BBQ in honor of Jenny's Family!

Jenny, Dan and baby Patrick were up for the July 4th weekend so we decided to have a bbq in their honor. It was fun to visit, play with their "toddler" and eat yummy food. Here are some of the pictures of our evening together.

Dan, Jasmine, Taylor, Jenny and Jessica

Cutie Pie Patrick

I just adore his blue eyes!
Kids playing with the "jeep car"
Jana and Justin (the convict)
Justin thinks he's all "BAD" with his new hairstyle
Dinner on our deck
Say "cheese!"
The neighborhood biggest losers: Melissa and Doug
(They really did win a neighborhood competition. In 3 months, Mel lost 28 pounds and Doug lost 62. They celebrated with a cruise down the Mexican Riviera).
Just a little picture to embarrass Jenny by....

Carson's Baptism!

We went to Carson's baptism yesterday. It was a wonderful experience for our children to watch this special occasion. Taylor talks a lot about her baptism which is coming next year.
After the baptism, we spent the entire day at Cindy's new home. It is just beautiful! The deck off the back is enormous and has such pretty views of the valley. We ate, slept and played with the kids. It was the perfect day!

Cindy and CarsonCousins: Austin, Carson, Taylor and Jaxson Taylor and Carson
Dave, Cheri, Cindy and Carson
Cindy, Poppie, Carson and Grandma Barbie

Fun Aunt Cheri! This new couch at Cindy's was Dave's 2nd home for the day! He slept for about 4 hours here.

A Trip to Las Vegas!

On Sunday, June 28th, Mom and I left for Vegas with the kids to go and visit Brandon's family. We had a great time, inspite of the way the kids acted for part of the trip. I told mom I wouldn't be offended if she chose not to have any contact with my family for 6 months after the way the kids chose to behave!

Sydney and Sadie were just as darling as they come! They will be turning 1 next month! They warmed up quickly to the kids and later to mom and myself. Now that we're home, we miss them so much!

Sydney at the park!

Little Sadie in the swing
Mom and the grandkids!Ahhh, the memories of us sweating in the Vegas heat at 10:30amWe were in the pool everyday! The kids loved to swim. We brought out Sydney and Sadie one day and enjoyed some pool time with everybody!

Grandma Rae Rae and Austin
Cute little Sydney!

Jaxson always finds something different to do at the pool....
Austin showing us how he kicks
Grandma and the kids!
Brandon with Sadie and Taylor nearby

Grandma and Sydney
Taylor LOVED the babies! And they loved her! She was Aunt Charlotte's biggest helper!
Grandma and Brandon's family

Brandon and Sadie

Austin Hit By A Car after swimming lessons

So, I chose not to take any pictures of this memory since the sooner I can close my eyes and not see it, the better I will start sleeping.

This was the worst day of my life thus far. When we arrived at swimming lessons, I chose to park the new van where it would get hit by a sprinkler with hard water just so I wouldn't have to park where there are so many kids running around after swimming lessons. The place I chose kept my kids on the sidewalk instead of having to cross into the parking lot as well.

We had just finished swimming lessons and were walking (west) on the sidewalk. Austin suddenly darted to the right into the parking lot! I quickly scanned the lot to see if there were any cars coming and couldn't see any since I was trying to catch him without making a race out of the chase. I almost had him, and then he made a dart to the left again. A van was zipping around the corner and wasn't slowing down. I screamed as it crunched into Austin's left side (head mainly). The blow threw him about 4 feet onto his back. The driver was able to stop before she ran over him. Several mothers and I ran to Austin, who was screaming. One gal said that she had EMT experience and was checking him for neck, spine and head injuries. The asphalt was hot so we moved in over to the grass. Somebody called 911 and another mom called Dave and told him to go to AF hospital asap. Carl Nielsen, a police officer who had worked at my junior high for several years, was the first policeman to arrive. Within another minute, the ambulance, firetruck and about 8 other policemen were there to help. THey loaded a screaming boy into the ambulance and told me to get in. Some people at the pool told me they would watch Taylor and Jaxson.

At the hospital, they checked for head injuries etc. The miracle is that Austin didn't break a bone nor did he have any stitches. His head had tons of bumps and bruises on the front (from the car) and the back (from landing on his head and back) but he is okay. We were released after a time and told to watch him like a hawk for 24 hours. Dave's mom took Taylor and Jaxson for the next 24 hours so we could consentrate on Austin.

This entire experience has certainly added perspective and humility in our lives. It is truly a miracle that this entire ordeal wasn't more serious. We have been blessed again.....