This summer has gone to the dog!

We are loving our dog Cassius. He's the best dog ! He doesn't chew, he loves to play and he never keeps us up barking. We love going out back and spending time with him. He loves when Clay goes outside to play, I think he knows he can be a little more rough with Clay. He has a great time with all of us.We were just finishing up dinner when we heard a yelp come from Cassius. We went to see what happened and this is what we found. The yard was dug up.
He was playing with a baby gopher that he had dug up. Apparently this little guy bit Cassius while he was being played with.
We sat out there for at least 30 minutes filming and watching Cassius play gently with his new found friend. A few times Cassius flipped the little guy up in the air, but it was all in good fun. He was barking and playing. We were laughing so hard. Cassius was getting a big kick out of this gopher!

Like I said, this dog loves to play!

He played and played and played with his friend. Finally he got tired and let the poor thing go back in his hole. Yep, that's right, he didn't even kill it! Bad for our yard but good for Cassius, he'll get to see his friend again another day.

Sign tag!

I have a few signs in my home. A few I have bought, some are hand me downs from friends and family, and some have been gifts over the years. Here are a few of my favorites..... a few, not OCD like some people :) In the living room
In the guest bedroom

In the girls room

In the love shack of course!! (yeah Clay just loves this sign, it's foofy and girlie and sooooo does not match the decor of the room, if he had his way it would have been at the dump a long time ago!)

and in Dad's cave (the back room that is used for storage and exercise junk. The girls never go back there because there's nothing fun and interesting in there. Clay has to go back there every day so this was the perfect spot for this sign. We just don't want him to ever forget that we love him!) Here's my signs. So if you have signs, share with us!

Summer memories

Here are a few of my very favorite summer memories.

We went to EFY in Utah at the BYU campus at least twice. It was sooooo fun. I remember it costing a lot of money and my dad would always foot the bill. It was the most amazing week, full of spiritual talks, friends, and of course no parents. I loved driving up in our tan van. My dad turned the middle seat of the van around to face the rear seat. We had a few other kids riding up with us. We had a radio in the middle on the floor and the tunes cranked up. The trip up and back was fun not to mention a week long of non stop activities and fun. It was well worth the money for those memories!

Oh, the memories made at girls camp! I borrowed this picture from you Nora.....thanks! I'm the one in the very back row with sunglasses and a sun visor on my head. I know, I know, what a dork! Believe me this is a GOOD picture of that year. Many of the girls would hunt me down if I posted some of the pictures of that crazy year. Anyone remember the lightning hitting the tree and we all freaked out? That was the loudest scariest noise I have ever heard. I got to know more girls from a week at girls camp than I did a whole year at school. Non stop fun. I looked forward to going every year!

We always went on a family vacation. I loved our vacations. We have so many pictures of the scenery, I don't know where half the places are but we have pictures! My dad was good at taking tons of scenery pictures. Go Dad! We went to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Canada, Wyoming, and somewhere where there were tons of dead and alive Armadillos crossing the highway. That's just to name a few! I love my parents for these trips. I'm sure they were expensive not to mention exhausting but what fun memories I have of family vacations! When in Canada, we got into a car accident. The guy that hit is put us up in the nicest hotel. We had a great time waiting out the car repairs. We even went to a park and camped and there were big horn sheep walking through the campsites. FUN!

Almost every year we would stay a week at Uncle Hoke's and Aunt Diane's. We would live in their pool. We would always catch a baseball game. One year she took us to a museum and we got to make different crafts. I still have a mask I made. We always had a good time at their house. Cook outs, baseball games, movies and of course watermelon!

My parents ALWAYS took us to the Tucson Toros baseball games. I still have bats and balls and various things they would give away to kids. We were always there early, stayed late, ate concession stand food and had a blast. Sometimes it would just be our family, other times we had a car full of kids. We got to run around the ballpark, catch foul balls, and just hang out and enjoy the atmosphere! I wonder if my bats are worth something.........hmmm something to look into.

Grandma Holyoak's trailer. Not only did we most of the time go to the Lofgreen Family Reunion, we also got to stay out in Grandma's trailer in the yard. When all the cousins would go visit, this was one of our favorite things to do. We thought we were soooo COOL staying in the trailer. It was a blast and something I will never forget.

And last but not least.............. otter pops! What is summer without these inexpensive, super yummy treats! My favorite! I can eat these things all day long. By the pool, in the house or on the road!! My favorite flavor is little orphan orange, Alex's favorite flavor is Alexander the grape, and Sydney's favorite flavor is Poncho punch. Daddy would just rather have an Oreo shake.

I'm curious to see what fond memories my kids will remember most when they get older. Hopefully they remember having as much fun with their parents and their cousins as I do mine. This now completes our trip down summer memories lane, please exit to the right in a calm orderly fashion and tip your tour guide!

King George!

ACM Artist of the Decade! ............ enough said. I remember going to his concerts when I was younger. Heck, I even wore cowboy boots and Rockies. I love his songs. I'm not a huge country music fan today, but a song of George's comes on the radio and it is instantly turned up. He's about the only country singer I follow. I even know most if not all his songs by heart. I for one think he is VERY handsome, especially for being an older man! The ACM definitely got it right this time.

LONG LIVE KING GEORGE!

Kittens and chickens......oh my!

Here are some kitten pictures that I had mentioned a few posts ago. These kittens were very cute. They were the life of the party at Grandma's house. Unwanted by Grandma and Grandpa but loved to death by the kids. Clay and I both scooted Grandma's fountain out away from the wall just to get the kittens out for the kids. It was no easy task. Once the kittens ran out from under the fountain we still had to try to catch them.
Grandma said there were at least five kittens. We could only find two. I think they found another spot to live. On our last night at Grandma's we were sitting on the porch visiting and we saw the mama cat meowing on the back wall. Then after a little while a tiny kitten went climbing up to be with it's mom. I think she moved everyone to a better location. One without a dog or grand kids!

Then there's chickens. A friend of ours has chickens (and kids). These chickens have been held since the day they were brought home. We no longer go over to play with our friends, we go to hold their chickens!

This is all the kids want to do when we go there, hold chickens. They have to catch them first. That's the only tough part, not tough enough apparently.

Our friends daughter holds them like a baby half the time. The chickens don't seem to mind at all. I always had chickens at my house growing up, I never held them. I think it's funny that the kids want to hold them like a baby. I'm even a little scared of chickens. I think we must have had mean chickens when I was growing up.

Our chicken coop isn't done yet, but we're getting there. I know we'll have a couple of great chick sitters when we finally do get some chickens (never a kitten, thank goodness!).

Lovin it!

I got these great bags from my Aunt's Boutique awhile back. I love them! I've never been happier with a purse. They're supposed to be diaper bags but I use them as a purse. The many pockets inside and out help for organizing all the junk I carry around. Works perfect as a church bag to carry all our books and things. Then we only have to take one bag to get all our stuff to church.

I love to use this purse for when I work at the school because I have to take so much with me. These bags hold a ton, not to mention they're washable!

I got these bags from a friend of my Aunt's. Her name is Dani. You can see her designs by clicking here. Well worth it's weight in gold this bag is!!

A now.....presenting my new purse.......in all it's prettiness.......in all it's glory......the magnificent......wonderful...........NEW PURSE!!

A huge THANK YOU to my wonderful and talented sister in-law and her just as wonderful and talented mother for making me my dream purse I LOVE IT!! The colors are so me, just what I wanted. Perfect size for shopping and not carrying a huge bag. I'm lovin it! I got the perfect Birthday gift. Thank you Amy and Denise!! I LOVE IT.....did I mention that? Amy has an awesome website featuring her many talents. Take a peek. If these purses aren't on there....oops to bad for you. I know you'll find something you can love. Check out her awesome blog by clicking here

Thanks again Amy......you ROCK!

Visit with Grandma.

Our first road trip of the summer. We went to Phoenix this weekend to visit with Grandma. She was in town from Missouri for 10 days. As soon as school let out, we were on the road! I'm so glad the girls had a chance to visit with their Great Grandma. We missed Colin and Amy and baby Harrison. Clay's sisters and their children also came to visit with Grandma. We had a very full house with lots of kids. My kids had a good time playing with their cousins and can't wait to do it again!
We're all spread out so we don't get to see each other very often. When we do get together it is definitely a party. We have plenty of food, drinks, snacks and of course staying up gaming!

My girls love each other very much. They always get along and very rarely do I ever have to tell them to be nice to each other or to stop fighting. I do know that they do get a little bored of only playing with one another. I have never seen Alex play for so long with other kids as she did with her cousins. She didn't even notice when Sydney wasn't playing too.

They played from sun up to sun down with each other. They played dress up, read books, played piano, played with baby kittens (that's a whole nother post in itself. A stray cat had kittens in Grandma's backyard under her fountain, not what she wanted at all!), and ate plenty of brownies to name a few things. The kittens were definitely the highlight of the weekend for the kids. They were always wanting to play outside and try to find the kittens. Those poor little things, I think they'll be traumatized for life after dealing with all those kids! I even saw the mommy cat on the back fence trying to convince her babies to climb the wall and go some where safer not to mention more quiet.

Clay spent most of the day with Grandpa truck shopping. They did find one (I'm so jealous!). It's a brand new Toyota Tacoma quad cab. Just what I want. We may be looking in the next few months.....Yay! Clay had a great visit with Grandpa while escaping all the noise and drama a house full of women and kids can bring with them.

The piano was also a HUGE hit. The girls (and boys) had such an awesome time plinking away on the keys. Victoria even brought one of her lesson books and since Grandma's piano has stickers for the notes on the keys, the girls got pretty good at playing a few songs.

All in all it was a whirl wind of a weekend but we all had a great time. We can't wait to see our cousins and family again soon. One summer road trip down.......many more to go!

School's Out......woooo whoooo!

Today was the last day of school for us! Whew! What a long and trying year it has been. There were so many changes made this year I can't even count them all. I'm just glad it's over. We're looking forward to summer school and summer vacation. We especially can't wait to start swimming! Bring on the heat! Here is a picture of the girls and our new principal Mr. Buffmire. Sydney and one of her good friends. Sydney already has cried twice because she's going to miss her friends. I don't remember ever doing that. Poor little Punkin!
Alex is our little social butterfly. She hated missing school, she always felt like she was going to miss out on something! Alex wanted to invite a friend over today. Heck No!! I want to rest and put my feet up!
Sydney and her friends. What a pack of girls. They had a great time together this year. Sydney loved wearing her hair down and she had to wear a skirt almost every day. It must be a girl club thing or something! She's really going to miss her friends.

Alex loved playing with everyone. Whether it be boys, girls, teachers, or even me. She was always goofing around when ever I popped in her class. The minute she saw me she would calm down and act all innocent. You don't fool me Alex!

Alex and her teacher Mrs. Smith. What a great teacher. Their class put on a great performance and I can't believe how much Alex has learned and grown this year. It's amazing!!

Sydney and Mrs. Nelson. I've never seen Sydney so excited to go to school as she was this year. Her reading improved leaps and bounds and she's getting better at math. What a great teacher!!

Sydney being goofy with her friends at lunch. I have to say, this is one thing I LOVE about my girls, They are so friendly and nice to everyone. They don't care if you're smart or funny or dress nice. If you're nice to them (and even if you aren't nice) they'll be your friend. I'm so proud of my girls!

I think the girls got pretty sick of me hanging around with my camera but there were just so many Kodak moments.

I've learned that when you take a camera to a Kindergarten class, you get most of the class in one picture. They all wanted their picture taken. They mobbed me!!

Alex was awesome this year. At first she had a very hard time letting go of me and Sydney but in the end she made so many friends. She reminds me so much of when I was little. I still am close to many of the friends I made in school. I hope she will be the same.

Sydney's face says it all. She is going to MISS school. This is the whole reason I agreed to do summer school. The kids wanted too!