Flippin' Crazy!

Actually, it's Gage that is crazy for flippin'. Hunter taught him how to do flips "IN THE AIR" on the trampline and now he just can't stop.

What Do You Do in the Summer Time...

...do you float on the water...

...or just your big brother...

...and give a big hug when you're done...

...do you find that the slide,

is a really fun ride...

...or cannon ball off the board...

...do you jump rope the noodle...

...and fly in the pool...

...and make a big splash in the end...

...or put rocks in your ear,

so that you cannot hear...

...and then find some shade,

out of the heat...

...is that what you do?

So do we.

Splish, splash!

My aunt was so kind to rent the Ashton City Pool for the whole family Saturday evening and it was so worth every minute! Great weather and great fun!

It didn't take Hunter long to start diving right into the action

Followed closely by Steve. Just look at that form! Toes pointed and everything. I give him a perfect 10!

Quite the form for Hunter as well... Hayden had so much fun with my cousin and his wife throwing her up and into the pool

Gage and Jace having fun

And the great-grandkids were so very cooperative when they were asked to get out of the nice warm water and line up against the fence for a picture. Seriously, they all just stood there patiently waiting. What more could you ask for from 22 young kids?

Summer + Family = Reunion

The annual Marsden Family Reunion was held this past weekend and it was great to see [almost] all of my aunts, uncles, cousins and those I'm not sure how I'm related to once again. Just kidding. It really was a fun time though!

We started with a smaller, more immediate family gathering involving around 60 people, young and old. We had supper and the chance to celebrate Miss Allie's 3rd birthday! Now that is what you call a birhtday party!

It was a Dora the Explorer party, complete with Dora cake, matching cupcakes and a pinata

Gage was such the helper

We then had the b-i-g Marsden reunion the next day and it was full of entertainment for all ages!

Hunter (up to bat) played baseball with the other kids the entire time (this term "kids" used quite loosely because of the wide range of ages of those involved)

Hayden took her turn on the slip-n-slide

Gage was a little hesitant at first. Wierd, I know

But figured what the heck

Little Lila and Allie body painted themselves...and anyone else that came within reach

Steve stayed busy with the horse shoes

And the 3 Musketeers (Gage, Jace and Allie) all loved exploring

Here Fishy, Fishy

We took the kids up to Tear Drop Lake and had a mosquito fest. Ahhh, good times, good times. Despite the blood suckers, we still had tons of fun and the kids were able to catch 2-3 fish each. They were cute little ones that made it nice and easy for the kids to reel in.

Gage reeling...

...and Gage posing

Hayden reeling...

...and Hayden posing

Hunter reeling...

...and Hunter posing...

...and Hunter "taking the bait," which was actually what was left of the fish after being pulled off the hook...eeewww!

Steve and Hayden waiting patiently

Gage keeping himself busy with his shovel and the biggest rocks he could find

Cooper and Gage, just hangin' out

Cousins, Rides and Bears...Oh My!

We took a trip to Bear World with cousins Cooper and Cannon (chaperoned by their parents of course) a few days ago and had a great time with very cooperative weather!

We hadn't been there for more than 5 minutes when Gage, Cooper and Cannon caught sight of some stray ducks....poor things never stood a chance

A picture in front of the big grizzly is a must!

And Hunter had his own "must" picture

We moved on to the rides

Gage took such good care of Cannon in the bouncing cars...or maybe practiced his one-armed driving for the girls...hard to tell really

Even Hunter squashed himself in for a ride

One of these things is not like the others...

One of these things is different...

Uncle Casey supervised the free-fall tree ride

And then came the petting zoo What a fitting picutre for three little boys :)Gage did a whole lot more chasing than he did petting and this little rooster was the one that finally put him in his place. It jumped up and smacked into the side of his waist and put Gage right in his place! There was no more chasing anything after that. I wonder if they would let me take that little fella home for a while, just to get a few points across...

And these little cubs kept wrestling around, entertaining the kids quite nicely. It was all fun and games until one of them got hurt. The top one eventually fell off and lost his "king of the log" status.