24th of July ... A Utah Holiday

For those of you that do not live in Utah, we have our own special Holiday. Pioneer Day is an official holiday celebrated on July 24. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the Saints that entered the Salt Lake Valley, back in 1847.

We wanted to go to the "Days of 47 Parade", but we were up way to late the night before and I didn't want to wake up my kids. So they slept in and we relaxed all morning.

Later that afternoon, we met up with Candice and her in-laws. They have a traditional Slip-n-Slide that they do every 24th of July and it is always so much fun. They set it up at a school, and use the schools water to run down the slide. Unfortunatley this year, someone must have caught on to what they were doing because the water was turned off..... bummer!

Despite the disappointment of the slip-n-slide, I still decided to spend the rest of the 24th holiday with the Neff family. We had a delicious BBQ (their food is always the best), and then we went to the fireworks show at sugar house. The fireworks were unbelievable!
Jackson was sooooo anxious for the fireworks to start!Some of the Neff family.

The fireworks started off with a BANG! Literally! They were so loud! Clara and Jack were both terrified. Candice was covering Clara's ears for the first little bit. Soon Clara calmed down and was in awe at all the bright colors in the sky.
These fireworks went on FOREVER!!!!! I kept thinking they were going to end.... but they just kept going and going. I think it was total of about 20 minutes.
Uncle Abo (adam), Jack, Candice and AJ.

Adam and Candice,

Thanks for always letting us tag along! We love the Neff family and all their crazy fun activities!

Clara's Birthday!

Clara turned 1 yesterday!
I can't believe a whole year has already gone by with my little angel. I hate that time goes by so fast....

Jack and I were up before Clara woke up so we decided to make her a "BIRTHDAY GIRL" crown. Jackson had one that he had made at church a few weeks ago and he wanted Clara to feel special too.When Clara woke up we all went into her room singing hAPpY bIrThDaY!!!! I think she was a little confused and didn't really know what to do.

The we crowned her with her BIRTHDAY GIRL crown and went downstairs for soem yummy waffles and strawberries.

That day we went to the Expo Center in Sandy and saw all the floats that are in the Utah Pioneer Day Parade. Last year I was in the hospital with Clara but my mom and sister took Jack and he LOVED it! So I was so excited to beable to go this year and see what all the excitment is about. It's free to get into and the kids love it.

Later that evening we did a little party with family at our house. I wasn't as organized as I ALWAYS am.... meaning.... I didn't have the cake decorated and I didn't know what I was going to make for dinner until about 1 hour before people were coming over.... ??? Usually I am a major planner and I know exactly what I am doing about a week before.... but oh-well, it all came together.

I ran to the grocery store, grapped a few items. Came home... chopped, cut, and diced and threw a little something in the oven.

My mom got there just in time to be the cake decorater. I picked up some frosting, the whipped pilsbury brand.... note to self: never buy again. It was like marshmallow fluff. But whatever, it worked. We did a strawberry filling inbetween the two layers, surrounded the cake with strawberry malt balls, and then my mom got creative with icing the malt balls with little dots. Half way through she realized something a little interesting about the "design" of the cake..... the malt balls look like "nipples", ha ha! We all got a good laugh out of it. It will now always be referred to as the "Nipple Cake". Thanks mom!Lots of fun presents for the Birthday Girl... Baby Laundry Blankets, clothes, flower clips, bath toys, play toys, a doll, etc. Lots of perfect little gifts for Clara! Thank you everyone!
Abby, Lillie, and Jack eating cake. Clara loved the cake. She loves her sweets, and didn't mind getting messy.

Happy Birthday Angel. We Love You.

Summer Fun....

My much needed update:

Jenna (Scott's sister) came to visit!

Jack and Davis are the only two boys on the Randall side. They are finally at the age where they are starting to beable to play and have fun. Now we just have to figure out how to share toys... that will take a while ... ;)

Jenna is pregnant and decided to find out the sex of the babe while she was here in UT. So we made a girls day out of it. And just to add to the females ... she is having a baby girl! Hoo-ray! Congratulations Jenna!
We spent ALOT of time at the pool. Jack and Clara loved having cousins, aunts, and of course Nana Lisa there to play with in the water!
I finally let Clara face forward in her car seat. She is in heaven! Although even when she was rear facing she did great. She would giggle and talk to herself all the time... now she continues to do it - but we get to be entertained as we watch her giggle and talk. She is a funny girl.

And Jack moved up to a "Big Boy Car Seat" ... i.e. booster seat. He of course loves being in a buckle just like mommy and daddy. And I love only having to buckle one 5-point harness carseat!

MY BIRTHDAY!!!! My birthday was on Thursday. Thank you to all of you for the many phone calls, visits, and text messages! You all made me feel so special.

It was a fabulous day. Scott decided to take a full length practice test for the DAT (about 5 hours of time), this means he is confined to his study corner (in our bedroom), I can't go in or out and have to keep the kids downstairs so that he can focus. Soooo... I stayed in my sweaty workout clothes all day, played with the kids downstairs, got out of the house for a little bit and got the kids McDonalds for lunch, ran some errands (still in my sweaty workout clothes), and then went home and about an hour later.... my hard working husband decided to award me with his presence! Ha Ha. Although this may sound like hard feelings, I promise you it is not. I still had a fabulous day... oh and he did suprise me with my usuall morning breakfast, beautiful flowers, and a few little suprises... and after the test he left the rest of the day for me!!!!

I love you babe! I am so proud of all your hard work!

We left Clara with the baby siter and took Jackson to see the new Ice Age. I was so excited because he has never been much of a movie kid but is ALMOST to the point where he can somewhat sit through a movie. So, for me as his mother... it was a big deal. The result.... he loved it, and with lots of treats and soda we were able to stay for the whole movie.

It's funny how on my birthday I wanted to take Jackson to a movie for him. I guess I am starting to get to that point where my happiness comes through my childrens happiness. Yes, I am a sappy mommy.

This past weekend was filled with nothing but the RANDALL FAMILY! The Randall Reunion was supposed to take place in Durango Colorado, but at the last minute was changed to Lehi Ut. We were thrilled because originally we were not going to beable to make it, but because they all chose to come to us... we were able to participate in all the fun!
The kids all had so much fun playing together. I took this picture at night, and for some reason I could not get my flash to work, so this is the best I could edit the picture to see all their faces... ugh. They played in these weeds not stop and called it "the woods".
Clara and Jack with Great Grandpa Randall. Scotts grandparents are amazing! Clara and Jackson didn't need any warming up to these two softies. They fell right in love and couldn't get enough.

Happy 4th...

I am so behind on my blogging. Summers always seem to get ahead of me. But better late than never... here is one of my FAVORITE holidays!

AJ... loving the pin-wheel. And his little scratch on his head is only half of what he usually has. This kid is out of control.

Cousins!
Family. Cousins. Uncle.

Jackson giving Clara kisses.

Me and my girl.

Henry loves Clara. He is going to be such a great big brother to his "coming soon" little brother! Hoo-ray!

Judd and the kids.

Daddy's girl. She was giggling like crazy on his shoulders as he would bounce her up and down. She loves a good thrill.

4th of July Family.

LOVING the firworks. I love this face... he was in awe by the firworks.

The 4th is a big one for my moms side of the family. Every year we go to the lake and do some water-skiing and wake boarding. Sadly the weather was not co-operating, so I left early with Clara. But after that we did the traditional BBQ with the most delicious of foods. And then off to the Oakley Rodeo... of course cowboy boots, belt buckles, and cowboy hats are a must! Ye-ha!

The Party!!!!

Wedding pictures before the reception:
The Men. The Richards Family. Bride and Groom with the babies. The Men with the boys. The Women with the kids. Bridesmaides. Cami and Judd didn't have a reception, they had a PARTY! It was a little bit of a western style mixed with a little bit of BBQ. It was in my parents backyard, and it looked amazing!!! She had a variety of stands: cotton candy, snow cone, popcorn, lemonade, and then the food, BBQ beef, watermelon and chips. It was all so yummy.

The kids all really enjoyed the food. I had been telling Jackson all week that Cami was going to have a party with lots of food and that he could eat whatever he wanted, I would say..."At cami's party, mommy will not say no." And I stuck to it. Needless to say, at the end of the night, he was pretty sick to his stomach.

Jackson is all Scott except when it comes to treats. He loves his sugar. That he got from his mother. And we love to love it together. My cousin is a pastry chef. He is amazing! He did this cake. And not only does it look amazing, it tasted divine! It was completly gone, really, not one crumb was left. Yummy. I am still craving it. To check out more of his yummies: www.cccakes.blogspot.comThey had a table with candy canes as give aways. I think Jackson ate about 15 of these through out the day. Not joking. Cami and Judd,

I am so excited for you! You both compliment the other perfectly. Judd, take care of Cami and continue to give her a hard time... she needs it. Ha ha.

We love you guys!

Cami Richards... is now a Sweat!

I am so excited for my little sister! She is officially married to the love of her life, Mr. Judd Sweat. They got married in the Draper Temple.... GORGEOUS!!!

It was an amazing sealing. I love going to sealings. I always pretend as if the sealer is speaking to me and Scott. I love to be reminded of what it was like when Scott and I were sealed to eachother.

The Bride and Groom.
*don't you love the kilt!The new and last male added to our family. All we are waiting for is the one and only sister-in-law. Make us proud Miles! Sisters. Although we are missing the most important girl of the day.... the bride.

Completly exhausted. And the day is just beginning.