August Rush II

sooo- where did I leave off- OH YEA! the 2nd wedding- Ryan and Meagan- They had a beautiful ceremony in the Logan Temple- I'd never been to a sealing in that temple and it was quite unique-loved it! The night before we had about 5 roaster ovens cooking lots of yummy stuff-needless to say it was hard to sleep when you had such yummy odors floating in the air. I was glad I checked the ovens before I went to bed though because there was so many amps being pulled on some of the same circuits that almost every oven had turned off- that would have been a DISASTER when we woke up the next morning and found that nothing was cooked! Needless to say we had a great wedding dinner-Roast Beef, Chicken Cor Don Bleu, Roasted Red Potatoes, Seasoned Rice Pilaf, Summer Veggies, grapes(3 kinds), rolls, salad w/feta cheese and real bacon bits and then you could pick toppings and dressings (raspberry vinegrette-fresh raspberries, apple pecan vinegrette-fresh slice granny apples, orange vinegrette-mandarin oranges, ranch-sliced cucumbers) We had refreshing lime punch and a table with a huge variety of different desserts (yum yum) I think we fed over 90 people and everyone left with a full happy stomach. We said goodbyes because Mel had to be at the airport by 5 the next morning. The kids started school that Monday. They all love their teacher and brand new school. Congratulations to my three other cousins that got married inbetween all the other chaos in the month of August-Caleb, Jared, and Kyle. All the celebrations that we were able to attend was great!

August Rush

Literally, August was a whirlwind. We kicked off the month of August with Cameron's 9th birthday. (I made him a soccer ball birthday cake)That morning we spent in Park City for one of his tournament games-the championship game was later that afternoon so I left him with his coach and packed up the rest of the crew to get down to Alpine for Alisa's and Meagan's combined bridal shower. It was fun- I had Ryan and Scott come and made them play my version of the "Newly-wed game". We fed everyone homemade potato chowder, rolls, a plethura of sweet fruits and yummy cookies. Overall, a success and Alisa and Meagan got some great gifts to start off their new lives with. I then got the kids and drove back to Park City-Cameron's team won. We then got in the suburban again and met Wes back home and then took off again to pick up some Chinese food and eat at the drive in theater while we waited for dusk to fall so the kids could watch their movie. We laid them in the back of the burb when their movie was over and then Wes and I watched my chick flick(The proposal) Needless to say, it was a long day. Wes went with Zac to Webelos camp that next week and had fun with the boys. Saturday I picked up Ryan and met mom, dad, Crystal, Alisa, Scott, and his mom at the Salt Lake Temple for Alisa's endowments. It was a great session as usual(I love being in the Salt Lake temple) We met two of Scott's other brothers at the Olive Garden afterwards and enjoyed good food and great company. The next week Hailey celebrated her 5th Birthday. She got to have a party this year so we had a fun party with friends over. She wanted a butterfly pinata and a Tinkerbell birthday cake- we played games and the kids had fun playing with water balloons and running in the sprinklers. We left the next day to Idaho to help get ready Alisa's big wedding day. Mom and I roasted red peppers, cooked and cut 15 pounds of chicken that night. The next day we cooked and frosted 150 cupcakes and I started on the wedding cake. I did a four layer cake with fondant(first time making and covering cake with fondant-not too bad of an experience) Alisa wanted a lemon cake, and so I baked that with a lemon curd layered inbetween.MMMMMMmmmmmmm!

The next morning we all pitched in and cooked 18 loaves of foccacia bread, thinly sliced cucumbers, decorated outside at the Reeders home.(GOURGEOUS! didn't even need decorations) I was a little nervous though, as we were decorating the wind kept blowing down the floral centerpieces, but that evening everything was perfect. Alisa looked beautiful and happy, Scott was handsome, and all the family enjoyed the beautiful Idaho outdoors with all the green grass a plethura of kids could hope to run around on and enough water features and trees to explore. I unfortunately did not take any pictures but when my sister posts her pictures I'll steal a few and post them on a later blog. The next morning we all caravaned down to the Salt Lake Temple. The sealing was wonderful- I love going to sealings, I learn something new every time and the spirit is always so overwhelming. After family pictures we walked over the the Joseph Smith Memorial building for a dinner reception. There was about 140 people that came. Not only friends and family were there but there were neighbors there from when I was a small child in West Jordan of whom I have some of my earliest memories of. We had delicious food, great entertainment, dancing, kids entertained by blowing bubbles and just fun fun fun being and talking with everyone. Well, just half of the month is over. I'll be back to talk about the 2nd half a little later.

June jarred into one paragraph

So, yes May was busy, including our 11th Wedding anniversary. June started off with mom having her hip surgery, and little Lucy having her G-tube surgery-both success I know because of priesthood blessings, prayer, and fasting. We took the kids to Stake Lagoon Day and survived- actually it was beautiful weather and the kids were patient in hanging out with mom until dad could come and take them on the big scary rides later on that evening. I celebrated my 31st birthday without feeling too depressed. Part of my birthday present was a ticket to fly out and spend a week with my sister Cherisse and her family by San Fransisco. I was excited to explore new territory, spend late nights talking with Angela and Cherisse, and bond with the kids, especially little Lucy. It was great other than my allergies decided to explode in full force. We went to all the typical tourist sights- I was overwhelmed by the power of the ocean and relieved I didn't have my kids with me- I would have been a paranoid mess. One of the highlights was going to the Musical - Wicked! It was totally, wickedly, awesome but I can never watch The Wizard of Oz again I think- my view now is too warped. I got back safely and it didn't take long to get immersed, and back in the groove of motherhood and homemaker. Cameron had his first comp. tournament the end of June. The Roy Rampage. They did well taking home 1st place honors- being undefeated. Cameron really enjoys soccer. We did the Park City Extreme Soccer Tournament the beginning of August in which they also won- 1st place.

Pinewood Derby 2009

Would you believe that brother would be pitted against brother in the ultimate scout showdown. In the end Cameron had the fastest derby car, Zach's was close second. They drew the outline of the cars when we were in Idaho and then Grandpa Smith helped them cut in out on his scroll saw. Obviously, they were proud of their cars-I don't know if you notice but the coins that were added to give more weight to the cars were held on by hot pink duct tape. All the other scouts wanted a piece of the "lucky" hot pink duct tape on their car hoping to give them a little edge.

Memorial Day Memories

The Rumsey's from our old ward (FYI- our ward split the end of May- Wes was released as Middleton Ward Bishop after 2 years- and then 1 minute later he was sustained as the new South Fork Ward Bishop- Oh Yea- any of you who are slightly interested- the 5 year clock just started over again- Fun HUH!) Anyways- the Rumsey's invited us to their cabin(better terms, fancy, big, furnished log home) It was great, the kids had fun playing, hiking, eating, fishing, 4-wheeling, and exploring. It's beautiful where their cabin is and only about 35 minute drive from our house. The last picture is at the beaver dam. Thanks Rumsey family!

Ballare 2009 Review

So the dilemna is always this- where do I start- and how much patience do I have to wait for my computer to download pictues- obviously not much since I've neglected my blog and disappointed my faithful followers(HA!) for the last three months. So my goal for this week is to try and do a post a day- short and sweet of the goings on at the McKinney household. I warn you-this summer has been very busy- but not necessarily all exciting. So we'll start were I left off in May- Dance Recital May 20, 2009! Success!(see if you can find Zac-sorry not best pictures)