6 of 6:tagged by Sunny and Jennifer

Rules:

1. go to the document/ my pictures site on your computer
2. go to your sixth file
3. go to your sixth picture
4. blog about it
5. tag 6 people

This picture was taken at Boise Falls near Enumclaw, WA July 2005. We were geocaching that day and found some treasures. This was one of the best family times we've ever had. It was so much fun and so beautiful! We need to go back.

I tag:
1-Kristy
2-Shannon
3-Julie H.
4-Cherilyn
5-Nikki
6-Tami

Better Late than Never!

Because we didn't spend Christmas with family this year, we documented everything with lots of pictures. We meant to post on (or even around) Christmas, but the weeks have slipped by, so for our families' benefit. . .Merry Belated Christmas!

One of our annual traditions is decorating gingerbread houses. The kids had fun decorating their very own houses all by themselves.

Steven's masterpiece

Sophie's Tree

Rachel's detail-oriented house

Ben just wanted to eat his!

Christmas morning began around 7:00 a.m. Rachel had woken up at 2:30 a.m. and I heard her downstairs rustling through the presents. "Santa came and brought me my bike!" she exclaimed.

"Rachel, do you know what time it is?"

"No," she replied.

"It's only 2:30."

"Oh," she replied, "That probably means I have to go back to bed. . ."

"Uh, yeah," I replied.

Ben was excited to know that he was a really good boy this year, so Santa brought him the Kirby video game he really wanted, even though Mom and Dad didn't think he needed more video games! That darned Santa. . .

Here's Steven opening up his Star Wars 3 book encyclopedia. He also got an air-rifle pellet gun--reminded us of our favorite movie, "A Christmas Story" (You'll shoot your eye out!) What the mom should have been saying was, "Make sure you shoot it outside and not in the house or you'll shoot HOLES in the wall!" (They used the gun to shoot targets INSIDE the house upstairs in the playroom under dad's supervision. Mom wasn't too thrilled with the plastic pellets and the mini-pellet holes in the wall--underneath the targets!)

Steven's favorite part of the day was playing outside in all the snow. He made a snow cave.

Sophie was in little-girl heaven with all the new toys and things to do. Here she is playing with a new baby Grandma Lacey gave her. She thought our family tradition of staying in our PJ's all day was "silly." When I gave her the choice of getting her clothes on after her nap, she hopefully said, "No, me want to stay in my pajamas." I said, "OK!" and she giggled incredulously!

Steve saved the best present (in his opinion, anyway) til last. . .Guitar Hero World Tour for the Wii. Here's Steven's reaction. . .

We spent the rest of the day rocking out. It was a very Merry Christmas in the Summers house (and a little too loud to take the annual Christmas nap--but lots of fun!!!)

After the aftermath of the presents, we had our annual Christmas breakfast of puff pancakes and sausage. (Steve calls them Popeye pancakes while the kids have named them Sponge Bob pancakes because they look like Sponge Bob.)

Thanks, Summers/Packer and Lacey family members for all of the fun and thoughtful gifts!

Have you ever. . .

I (Tammy) found this post on my friend, Tami's, blog and thought it was fun. This is to tide you over until we have time to update you on the happenings in the Summers family.

Directions - Bold the ones you've done & post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity --See #67! TS :(
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (We got there in the middle of the night--if that counts! TS)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Except that I (Tammy) still don't have bedroom furniture--but I'm happy enough!)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain--(I'm usually too mad because the only time I'm outside in the rain is when we're camping! TS)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie or on a TV show
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Had an encounter with a wild animal
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check--(It was a tithing check in college! TS)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Taken a martial arts class

Now it's your turn! I'd love to see it on your blog!

Cancun

When Steve and I got married 14 years ago, we went the "budget" route when it came to our honeymoon. We didn't have a penny to our name! We used free airline tickets I'd won on the radio to fly to LA where my Grandma Andrew and Uncle Joel and Aunt Mary Lou lived. Grandma paid for us to go to Disneyland, and we stayed in Joel and Mary Lou's "honeymoon suite" in their house. (Thanks for helping us out, Joel and Mary Lou!) We promised ourselves that one day, we'd go on a second honeymoon to a romantic location.

So, when our friend, Kirk, proposed that we surprise his wife by going with them to Cancun to celebrate her 40th birthday, we didn't hesitate! It was Steve's birthday that week, too. We surprised Nannette at the airport with birthday hats and buttons that said, "It's My Birthday!" Our friend, Brian, was celebrating his 40th birthday, too.

On the airplane, we realized that other than flying to LA on our honeymoon, we'd never flown without the kids anywhere. I actually enjoyed the flight!Steve's mom and sister, Shari, came out for the week and watched our kids. (Thanks again!) The kids had a wonderful time with Grandma! (In fact when we came back, Sophie came and gave me a quick hug, then ran back to Grandma!)

We met our friends, Eric and Minnette, at the airport in Cancun. We spent our first day with them, after which they had to leave to go home. Eric served his mission in Cancun, so it was great to have him there as our personal tour guide and chauffeur. Plus it was wonderful to spend some time with them. They drove us to some Mayan ruins at Ek-Balam where we got our exercise in climbing up and down all of the ruins. There were some amazing views from the highest points.

We stayed at the Cancun Palace, an all-inclusive resort. The package we bought included tours, snorkeling, food, and drinks. There was so much to do! The first day after Eric and Minnette left, we went snorkeling. Steve liked the water so much that he also went scuba diving. (I stayed behind to get a massage.)The food there was too good--we ate way too much! They even had Nutella at the breakfast bar every morning. (Nutella was one of the main causes of my 30 pound weight gain on my mission! And I'm sure it contributed to my 5 pound weight gain on this trip!)
One of my favorite places we went was Tulum. Tulum is a group of Mayan ruins that's built right against the beach. It was absolutely beautiful!

Here's Steve on a wall leading into Tulum. I told him to pretend he was Samuel the Lamanite. He's not as dramatic as my boys would have been!
One night, we got together with the other couples who also went to Cancun to celebrate Brian and Nannette's 40th birthdays. Steve helped design the shirts we wore with Brian and Nannette's faces on them. As you can see, we didn't need the alcohol everybody kept trying to serve us to have a crazy time.
Another night, we had another birthday dinner--this time for Steve. Happy Birthday, Steve!

On our last full day, we went to Isla Mujeros. It is a little island near Cancun where we went shopping and Steve went scuba diving again while I sat in the sun by the pool, listening to Christmas music. It just didn't feel like Christmas!

The last day before we got on the plane, I went down to the beach to lie in the sun. I don't know when the next time will be that I'll see it again!

Now it feels like Christmas. When we got home, there was snow on the ground. The kids had half-days Monday and Tuesday while we were gone and again on Wednesday. They cancelled school, altogether, on Thursay and Friday. Now there's almost a foot of snow! Now I feel bad for complaining about the 70 degree weather we had in Cancun the first couple of days we were there! I'd take that over 20 degree weather any day. But at least it feels like Christmas!One day we're lying at the beach, the next, we're sledding with the kids! Merry Christmas everyone!

Bowling for Turkeys

Ben's school had a "turkey bowl" in conjunction with their book fair last night. The principal brought his Wii and the kids got to try to win a Thanksgiving turkey by bowling 3 strikes in a row. They had 5 frames in which they could try to get 3 strikes.

For the last few days, my kids have all begged me to let them practice on our Wii. Normally, I wouldn't allow video games during the school week, but since they only have to go to school 1/2 days because of teachers conferences (and since I hoped that by practicing they would WIN a turkey,) I gave in and let them practice after school.

The kids really had their hopes up that they could win one for the family. We've been trying to find ways of saving money so we can afford to go to Disneyland in February, and have been recording our efforts at saving money on the refrigerator. Each of the kids wanted to be the one to write down $15 on our Disneyland chart on the fridge!

Ben was the first from our kids to bowl. We were so excited when he bowled a STRIKE and then another STRIKE, and then were bummed when knocked 8 pins down. But then he bowled another STRIKE, and then he knocked 9 pins down. And then, he bowled another STRIKE, and then knocked down 8 pins. So, he bowled a great game, but didn't win the turkey. He was pretty sad. But the principal wrote down Ben's score and the rest of us tried our luck.

None of the rest of us won the turkey either. . . But that's not the end of the story. As I came out of the grocery store (where there's no cell reception) today, I called Steve. He said, "I hope you didn't buy a turkey!" I said, "That's the whole reason I went to the store--it has to start thawing!" He said, "Ben won a turkey!"

So, Ben ended up with one of the high scores of the night, and because they had extra turkeys left over, he won one. I only wish I could have been there to see Ben trudging up the hill from the bus with his 15 pound turkey and huge grin on his face! When I got home from the store, I took a picture of our provider, Ben! Way to go, Ben! (His favorite part, I'm sure, was being able to say, "See, Mom, playing video games pays off!")

Congratulations, Shannon and Brent and Allison!

Last weekend, we had a wonderful trip to Portland to attend my younger brother, Brent's, wedding, and to be in Portland for my "baby" sister, Shannon, as she went through the temple for the first time. We are so happy for all of them! It was amazing to be together with all of my brothers and sisters and Mom, Dad, Grandma, and aunts and uncle. I just wish it could have lasted longer!Thanks to my brother-in-law, David, we now have some family pictures. We hadn't taken any "official" family pictures since Kristy's wedding 7 1/2 years ago! We need to do a little Photoshop/cropping work before we actually print off a picture to put hang on the walls, but here are a couple of our favorites: The kids had fun over the weekend. Ben's favorite part of the day was the wedding luncheon all-you-can-eat buffet after the wedding! Here's the before shot:

And here's after:He was so full that at the reception that night, he was too full to eat the wedding cake!
The kids had fun swimming in the hotel pool, and Rachel had fun playing with her little cousin, Aimee. (This picture's taken at the wedding luncheon--notice Ben in the background stretching to fit more in!)

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween, again! Here are the pictures of the kids. . .

Rachel was a cheerleader.
Ben was Luigi from the Mario games.
Steven was the Emperor, Darth Sidius, from Star Wars.And Sophie was a princess. Grandma Packer had made this cute outfit for Rachel, and Sophie's fallen in love with it! She was a little hesitant about trick or treating at first . . . until we got to the first door and they gave her candy! We had practiced saying "Trick or Treat," but of course when it came time to say it, she just ducked her head into my leg. But after each house, she said, "More house? That house!" and we'd go on. (We went to 6 houses!)I took this video with the camera after we got back and she was eating her candy. If you listen carefully to the video clip, you can hear her say "Trick or Treat." It's a little dark because we were in a room with low light, but she's still so cute. Her mouth was stuffed so full of M&M's at the beginning of the clip that she couldn't talk!

Happy Halloween!