{UtAh}

We were able to attend a Hill family baptism and missionary farewell a couple weeks ago and of course, had a great time playing in between!

We went to a very fun activity place called Toads where we got in a little mini golf,

 fashion know-how,

 batting cages,

 go carts,

 and super cool arcade games!

 (The kids couldn't reach the gas and the steering wheel at the same time. They pulled themselves up and just held on.)

They also played a couple rounds of black light laser tag. Tate and I sat out of that one, but when they all came out, I could tell they had had a blast!

 

And Aunt Rindi worked her magic on [not so] little Tate. Crazy how nap times can get so messed up!

"Surprise!"

Steve's Dad turned the big 7-0 a couple weeks ago and we were able to go down to Utah for the uh-hem, "surprise" party.

Not too surprising that the house was decked out with the perfect party decor...

Not too surprising that the welcome committee did their job perfectly...Not too surprising that Hayden was ecstatic to see her Utah cousins again...

And not too surprising that she spent as much time with Meme and Nana as she could...

Okay, a little surprising that Gage napped during the middle of the party, but not surprising that it was on my lap and involved him sweating like crazy, leaving my pants, well, wet.

Also a little surprising that Hunter came down with bronchitis while we were there and coughed the entire weekend, day and night, making it very memorable since we all "slept" in the same room.

But not too surprising that Steve and his brothers found time to play while we were there. Also not surprising that Steve and Brett made it known when they scored over their little bros.

A Few More Pictures...

Shoot 'em up!

Everyone, even wives, decided to shoot clay pigeons on Friday night. It was the first time I have ever shot at them, and I dare say, it's not easy. The guys were all pros, including Hunter! All the women were able to shoot at least one. Yeah us!

Hunter, what a stud!

A romantic date in Idaho country...

Stacie

Debbie

The Guys

Catch of the Day!

What would a Hill family Idaho vacation be without a day of fishing? And on top of it all....I went with them! In the years Steve and I have been married, I think I've only been fishing with him about 3 times. The weather was perfect and between all the fishermen there, each child got to reel in a fish. The kids had so much fun playing together.

I love this picture of Gage & Cooper.

Steve & Gage, picking out what bait to use.

Look what I learned to do...all by myself. I "borrowed" this picture below from Stacie's blog. (Hope you don't mind!) Now I have more proof that I actually went fishing!

Parents' Night Out

Family vacations are great. Parents have all sorts of plans to entertain the children, keep them busy throughout the day, introduce them to new things and so on. But when the sun goes down...It's OuR tImE! (Provided the kids all get worn out enough to go to bed at a decent hour.) We had so much fun getting together and playing DomMinoEs! Seeing Steve with his brothers is great! I'm not sure how his sisters survived them! (I think it probably turned into, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.") Steve & Casey are awesome dominoes players, the rest of us enjoy making fun of them about how they take it too seriously. They teach us rules that they ToTalLy make up (in MY opinion) and have terminology that no one has ever heard of. (Around these parts anyway...) They claim it's either Spanish or Portuguese. WhaTeVer!
Okay, they really are good players and I do believe what they are telling us, most of the time. But it still doesn't mean it's not weird! And of course, things are so much more fun when it's past MiDnIgHt and things include a whole lot of Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi and CaNdY of every kind!

We ended the night (or started the morning) on a high when Stacie got her very first CapPy Cua. (How that one is actually spelled brought on a good discussion in iteslf!) Here is MY definition (and spelling):


cappy cua /'ka-pee-koo-u/ n: a move in the game of dominoes when the player can lay down his or her last ficha on either end of the big long thing where all the other fichas have been laid down, resulting in a win. The correct way to end with this kind of win is to yell out "cappy cua" and have everyone else hollar, "Ohhhh....No way!" and sometimes curse.

ficha /'fee-shu/ n: a fancy Spanish name for a domino.


fitcha /'fee-chu/ n: a fancy Portuguese word for domino.


CoNgRatUlaTioNs Stacie! You deserve a BiG GuLp with the GrAvY this time!

What's For Breakfast?

On Sunday morning, I went into the kitchen to find Gage, Gracie & Mason quietly at the table having breakfast. When I looked to see what they had found to feast on, Gage had a chocolate pudding cup sitting in front of him. As I started lecturing him on how we don't have pudding for breakfast, I looked up to see the other kids had it, too. Gage simply said, "But Mom, we're having a party. Gracie did it for us!" So of course that changed things entirely. I stopped my lecture and got the camera instead. Who am I to interupt a "PaRty?"