4th of July with friends!

This year for the 4th of July we decided to have a big shin dig at our house with the Jorgensens, Milnes, Snows and Morbys. Between us we have 19 kids so it's wild and crazy but LOTS of fun!

There was LOTS of yummy food, sparklers, pops and a firework show to remember. (We may or may not have almost set the neighborhood on fire. It was pretty scary.)

Thanks everyone for coming over and helping to make our 4th of July so fun! As always, we couldn't ask for better friends!

Summer Fun!

Anyone who has kids knows that summer can be alot of fun OR a whole lot of whining and complaining. I've heard plenty of, "What can we do? I'm bored. What can I eat? Are we doing anything fun today?" So occasionally I've tried to step up my game and do fun things with them besides saying, "Go outside or go downstairs!"

Of course, the only way to survive being outside in St. George is to play in the water. So there have been lots of days of slip n' slides, pools, and otter pops!


With an 11 year old in the house her list of fun summer activites has changed. She wants to do more "grown up" things like email, blog, and learn how to cook. She and Demri decided to make sugar cookies one day ...


... and then she and Kenna decided to cook their families dinner. The lasagna was DELISH girls! Way to go!


Then, in an attempt to keep the boys from bugging the girls and vice versa I stole this idea from my friend April. I sent the girls around our 2 houses with a camera taking pictures. Then we printed them out and sent the boys on a scavenger hunt to find them. It was super fun and the girls really got into it! They even made the boys treat sacks once they were done. Thanks for the idea April. I'm sure we'll be doing that one again!


So what do you do for fun in the summer? I'd LOVE any ideas of how to keep kids busy doing things other than fighting.

20 Years! Can you believe it?

It's true! I have been married to this good man for 20 years now! It seems just like yesterday in some ways, and yet, I can't remember what life was like without him. Do we have a perfect marriage? Absolutely not! There's no such thing. Do we sometimes drive each other crazy? INDEED! But at the end of the day ... he loves me and I love him! On the really important things in life we are united. He is my best friend and there's no one in the world that I'd rather spend eternity with than him! I love you hon! Thanks for being such a great husband/dad, friend, example and partner in life. I look forward to what the future holds for us! Happy Anniversary!

Eme's actual birthday!

Since we had Eme's big party in SLC a few days before, her actual birthday was kind of low key. We opened presents, met some friends at the park, took a nap and went out to dinner as a family. It was a perfect day!

Emersyn ... I just want you to know how much I love you! It took a long time and alot of heart breaks to get you here, but I wouldn't change any of it because we have YOU! You are without a doubt a miracle and I'm grateful each and every day that your birthmom had the courage to help bring you to our family! I love you sweetie! Happy birthday!


Trying to be happy about all the attention so early in the morning.


Treats at the park!


I LOVE this face!


Trying out her new scooter that her friends gave her! Thanks guys!

You Are My Sunshine!

My baby is 2! How did this happen? I can't even believe that it's been 2 years since we brought that tiny little 5 lb. 5 oz. baby home. And now here she is ... a spunky, curly haired, smiley (and yes, VERY sassy) 2 year old!

When I started thinking about her birthday party (and you KNOW how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE planning parties) I decided that a "You Are My Sunshine" theme would be just perfect for her! So, I quickly got on the phone with my sister and we began to devise a plan. Right off the bat we decided that we needed a lemonade stand and within 2 hours, Amy was at Home Depot purchasing the supplies. She's amazing!


Thankfully my mom has a fun backyard, perfect for summer evening parties. We hung tissue pom poms from the trees, set up the lemonade stand (which Studio 5 featured on their show!) and the food and called it a party! The kids LOVED drinking lemonade out of mason jars with striped straws. And the cake pops were a hit! I even made my first attempt (again with the help of my mom and Amy) at making a cake complete with fondant on top. Parties are tons of work, but I seriously get a thrill out of doing it! I should have 12 children, 1 for each month, so I could have parties all year long!

As for my little miss, I can't imagine life without her! She was WELL worth the wait! Happy birthday Emers! You really are a ray of sunshine at our house!

Nana's Minute To Win It Party

For Nana's birthday we decided to plan an "interactive" party. So Amy gathered up all the stuff for a ton of Minute To Win It Games, we ordered some pizza and the festivities began! The little kids couldn't have cared less what we were doing, but the grown ups had a BLAST! Nothin' like a little healthy competition to celebrate Mom's big day!

We love you Nana! Thanks being the best Mom/Nana EVER!

Memorial Weekend

For Memorial Weekend we got to have 1/2 the Hardman clan in town for a few days! Adam and Jenn, Jenn's brother and fiance and Chris and DeDee and their kids came down. It was a housefull, but we had tons of fun!

On Saturday everyone but Eme and I went hiking to Snow Canyon. It was hot and dirty, but I think they all had a good time. Then on Monday we went on another "hike" (some might argue it was a "walk," but with a busy 2 year old it felt like a hike.)

Thanks everyone for a fun, fun weekend! Let's do it again next year! Love you all!

Our 1st Pinewood Derby

Another momentous occasion in Josh's young life took place at the end of May ... his 1st Pinewood Derby. To say that he was excited would be a severe understatement! He and his dad worked very hard to get the car just right, complete with lightning bolts on the side. Their efforts paid off because they won the "Best Paint Job" award. The best part was watching the dads during the races. Comical! Greg was pretty calm but there were a few dads that somehow forgot that this was NOT the Indy 500. Great job Josh man (and Dad!)

End of another school year

The month of May was CrAzY busy! With the end of the school year comes talent shows, programs, parties and a whole slew of other activities. Each of the kids played their recital pieces for their talent shows and the 5th grade put on a Patriotic program. I can't believe that I now have a 3rd grader and one moving into intermediate school. It makes me kind of sad that they're growing up so fast, and yet each age has it's fun and exciting stages as well. Great job this year you two! Dad and I are super proud of you!


And of course, we had to have a party to celebrate the last day of school. It was toasty hot, but we had loads of fun! Here's to lazy summer days and a much needed break from wild schedules.

Good morning sunshine!

Who can possibly resist this face? I mean seriously! I love this kid and I love that she wakes up like this almost every day! Thanks Miss Em for making me smile! I love you forever and ever!

Kate's Dance Recital

One of my favorite things to attend during the year is Kate's dance recital. I LOVE watching her dance! This year she has been taking Jazz and Ballet, as well as a pointe prep class. She's getting better and better every year and I'm very proud of how hard she works. Way to go sis!

This year she ended up dancing during both recitals and as a special treat her Nana, Papa Jim, Aunt Amy and Liv got to come down for both! We also had enough tickets that some of her friends could come! So she had lots of cheerleaders in the audience!

Piano Recital

This year it was fun to go to the piano recital and have 2 kids performing. They have both been working super hard on their pieces and did a great job! I'm surprised at how much Josh loves piano. And I think that having a little sibling rivalry over who can be most consistent with their practicing has been a good thing. Great job Kate and Josh! We're super proud of you! And thank you Sister Judd for being such a fantastic teacher! We love you!

This digital collage made with Smilebox

Easter 2011

This year we ended up celebrating Easter over 3 days, which was great since I LOVE Easter! Ry and Deb and the boys stopped for a night on their way to California, so we kicked off the weekend's festivities with coloring Easter eggs. Thanks for a fun time guys! It was fun to have you here, even if it was just for one night!

Make your own scrapbooking design

The fun continued on Saturday night with dinner and an Easter egg hunt with the Jorgensens and Milnes. We ended up doing the Easter egg hunt inside in the basement because we wanted to do it in the dark with flashlights. As usual the kids had a great time together! We're so grateful for good friends and can't imagine life without them!



Finally Easter morning arrived! With 9:00 church we had to get up and get going with the baskets mighty early! And on top of that ... try getting all 3 kids dressed, smiling and happy for pictures. Not an easy task! But we did it! Thanks Aunt Amy for making the girls' super cute skirts! You're the best!

Spring at the Hardmans

I am absolutely determined to get caught up on my blogging before school starts. So here's a look back at our spring.

First of all, spring in Southern Utah doesn't get any better than it was this year. It was GORGEOUS! So when Spring Break came around in early March we headed to the park with friends. What can be better than kids playing with their friends for hours while mom gets to spend time with her friends chatting? Nothing!


Miss Eme, as always, provides a ton of entertainment during the day while the kids are at school. One day I found her quietly, yes quietly, looking at books in her room! And she has a serious love for shoes! Every day she heads to my closet to find a pair (usually the high heeled ones) and then stomps around the house feeling all fancy! What a hoot!



Spring also means ... BASEBALL! Josh wasn't sure if he wanted to play again after he got hit a couple times last year. But by the end of the season he decided that he LOVES baseball. What made it even more fun was that his dad got to be the assistant coach. They didn't have many wins, but they had alot of fun!



With the end of school approaching there were LOTS of programs, talent shows and assemblies. The 2nd grade put on a super cute play called "How does your garden grow?" and he was VERY excited about getting the part of a weed!