Happy Birthday to You.....

It was nearly 12 years ago that Rusty and I began REALLY hankering for another little Speidel.

It was 9 3/4 years ago a pregnancy test explained why I had fainted a couple weeks prior, why I was feeling nauseas, and confirm what we had been hungering for 2 years...another baby was on the way.

It was about 9 1/2 years ago I was told to "buy pink."

It was 9 years and 1 day ago that Shea Adaline Speidel came into this World.

...Happy Birthday Dear Sheaaaaaaa......Happy Birthday to You!

BAK 2 SKOOL

Thank Goodness...My spelling was starting to suffer, I began to struggle with my grocery store math, and our life needed structure.

Rett started middle school, playing the Alto Saxophone, back into LaX, and Scouting.

Shea is in 4th grade, wearing cool skater shoes, and making new friends.

Asa is rip roaring into 1st grade and trying to plan his birthday... which is about 2 months away.

Ivy and Mom are back to their one on one time. Ivy just got her 1st haircut. She held totally still. Mom couldn't cut too much off. Babysteps. No one could tell that her hair is less 3 inches.

INPO's Family Fun at the Georgia Aquarium

We spent an evening at the Georgia Aquarium for INPO'S annual Family Fun Day. IT WAS WAY FUN because...

Ivy could pretty much run from one thing to the next with mom/dad trailing behind. We were exhausted by the end of the day

Asa could 'pet' the string rays/sharks/shrimp incessantly.

Shea could really take in the gift shop, yet still opted to save her money. What will power.

Rett could return to the pirahnas after Deepo and eat treats freely because they had numerous treat stations throughout.

Not your average classical violin...

Shea started the violin about 10 months ago and we are enjoying her new found talent. We hope she continues for a long time. It has brought out my violin from 25 years ago and spurred my interest, as well as broadened my love of the violin. For instance, there is the fantastically talented, "hip hop violinst", Miri Ben-Ari. But my favorite is crazy fun violinist, Alex Depue (click on "FAVORITE WEBSITES" to the right) to name some of the more renowned....I never would of imagined the possibilities on a classical instrument.

Six Flags

Each year, the elementary school offers a reading incentive. Read for 6 hours and recieve a pass to 6 Flags amusement park. All three children accomplished this so we knew we would be going to 6 Flags sometime this summer. We were thankful to only have 3 tickets to buy and then we found some coupons to further help finance our day of fun. We took the money we saved and put it toward fast passes. Then the fun began. I hadn't rode a rollercoaster since before Rett was born. (gasp) I was either pregnant, nursing, or watching wee ones. So this was a big day for me as well as Asa and Ivy who had never gone. It was EXTREMELY hot and quite busy. We were thankful for the fast pass especially when the rain sent many home. I finally got to ride the beloved Superman and It's my favorite. It locks you in then turns 90degrees, and the entire ride you're belly down. I got into it trying to put my hands out like Supergirl only to have the full effect diminished because of restraints. What made the ride for me was seeing the bottom of the shoes of the people in front of us because they were "flying" also. In addition, at the beginning of the ride, you 'fly' up stairs just as if you were truly flying. It was so COOL! It made feel like I was still young at heart. Oh and we got to get pictures with Wonderwoman, Batman, and Green Lightning. It was Great! I look forward to returning, but hope to go when it's cooler next time.

Riding Thomas the Train

Asa intimidated by superheroes

Ode to Bea & Sue

Today we had a fun family day. With summer winding down (next week is our last week before school starts), we decided to play hard. My day started with a 5k, followed by a day on the lake, then off to a pioneer celebration at the stake center. It was all fun and games until I arrived home. I had recieved a voicemail from sister-in-law asking me to call her. When I did, she had bad news. In our hustle and bustle, we hadn't checked Bea (BarBQ)& Sue (General Tsu) our two Rhode Island Red Chickens, but my niece, Laura, had when they stopped by. My sister-in-law told me that Laura ran up to see the chickens. When she returned, she told her mom they were dead and there was a hole in the fence. After getting the children to bed, Rusty and I took a flashlight and went up to the coop. We immediately saw the hole (approximately 6 inches) in the gate. We didn't notice anything because this time of night, the chickens are in their house. When we looked in the house, I saw quite a few feathers, then chicken legs. I walked around the house to get a better view and saw the carcass of one of my beautiful, sweet hens. We looked around the coop and noticed some rocks were moved and then I noticed, just inside the gate between the hole and where the moved rocks were, the second carcass. My heart sank. I'm trying to think to the Spring, when I'll start over. Rusty said, to lighten my mood, that "we were supposed to get to eat them" (hence their names). Then we started planning for our next chicken herd. I like raising them from chicks because they are so darn cute and they get used to us handling them. Kinda' like a pet. On the way back to the house, Rusty did comment how he was bummed they were gone because he liked them. "They were beautiful" he said. I replied "Looks like we found something we can agree on." Rusty is a hard sell when it comes to animals...

July 4th

This month is going way too fast. I feel as though this is our true last week of summer because next we will be 'gearing' up to go back to school. This month began with our annual 4th of July celebration at the Lake. Nearly every year, we spend it on the lake and finish the evening with fireworks. This year was no exception. We had more family on the lake this year because of the Hamilton reunion and we had a great time! I'm always impressed with how much fun we can cram into a small space of time. We boated, lounged, ate, slung water balloons, ate, watched fireworkes, ate, auctioned, rode the restored go cart, 4 wheelin'.... All within' a 48 hour period.

Hamilton Reunion 2008 at Lake Arrowhead
Uncle Randy recreating memories on the restored go cart
Slinging Waterballoons per Big Al, Rusty, & Danny
King of the Mountain ~ Tubing Style ~ Steven, Jared on top of Grant, & Rett