Hardy Family Reunion

Just got back from our family reunion and it was great as always. Lots of rain this year but it didn't put a damper on any of our festivities or fun! Here is cute little Tatum riding her oh so cool bike.

She can't quite reach the peddles so Jaron was helping her out a bit.

She loved my umbrella, even in the trailer without the rain. Such a cutie!

Warming for a volleyball game.

The kids games sure were fun. Here is Camdon trying to get the frisbee through these hoops. He did it!

Jaron & Torrin

Shooting Nerf darts at the target.

Shooting down army men with a water gun.

After the games were over, I headed down river with my chair and just totally relaxed. Read my book, snoozed, watched the kids play & loved every minute of it.

Camdon even came down for a little visit. He was trying to sneak up on me, but I saw him.

Even had some cows come by for a visit.

Camdon playing in the river with his cousins.

They climbed trees

and tubed.

Love this boy and his sense of adventure!

The big volleyball game - Jaron in action!

More creek time.

Isn't it just beautiful there

and of course, lots of card playing as well.

It was a great week!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

There are many places that I like to go but this is one of my favorites!

Yes, the time has come to go and spend some time right next to this little creek. I plan to set my lounge chair right here in this cozy little spot. I will read a book, visit with family, and maybe even take a nap or two. Yes there will be lots of card playing, roasting of marshmallows, and cooler temps as well. Indeed, it is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

CaMdoN the RocKeR

This is the real deal. I assure you it is not a photo that has been photoshopped. Camdon really does have a mohawk. Yes, this all came about on Monday when his Aunt Carrie was fulfilling her end of the deal to give Camdon his long awaited mohawk. He wanted it to be red, white & blue but it was decided that bleach may not be the best thing so he got 2 colors. He went to the mall with me Monday evening and I had gotten used to it so didn't think a thing when we headed in. After a few minutes I felt like everyone was staring at me and giving me really funny looks. I thought to myself... Is my shirt on backwards? Do I have 2 different shoes on? Oh please tell me I don't have t.p. hanging out my pants. Then I looked at Camdon and realized it was his mohawk. Yep, I was actually getting dirty looks from people (mostly older women) who were shaking their heads and probably saying 'What was she thinking letting her little boy get that haircut?' It was an interesting lesson to me about pre-judging people based on their appearance. On one hand, I couldnt help but agree with them. Appearance can be important, especially when applying for a job & such. However, it also clinched the old saying "You can't judge a book by it's cover".

Well, despite the looks he got (which he didn't even seem to notice & I said nothing) he is loving it!!! We went in the pet store which is his favorite place to go and when exiting he said, "Mom, did you see that girl in there that was my age?" I replied that no I hadn't noticed her. He said, "Well, she was checking me out and I'm pretty sure it was the mohawk". Funny kid!!! He makes me laugh. The mohawk will be short lived for all of you concerned folk, about 10 days. He does get to go to church one week with it (should be interesting) and he gets to wear it to our Family Reunion. Upon our return and school starting he will be shaving it off and can enjoy the rest of our hot summer with a buzz.

CouSiNs!!!

My sister LoraLeigh and I have been swapping kids this past week and it sure has been fun. We had Kamrielle first for a week and loved every minute of it. She loves to be in the pool as much as I do so we did lots of swimming. On Sunday we were getting ready for church and I was just planning to braid her hair but she announced that she wanted her hair to look just like Aunt Marcy's. Well..... you know I loved that! So..... we had to curl it to look just like Aunt Marcy's. Love that girl!!!

and now it is Carder's turn but just for 2 days (he's still a little guy). I took him to Wal-Mart with me today. He was just plain tuckered out after all the swimming we did this morning. Fell asleep right in the cart. His little head was just bobbing everywhere so I laid it down on his new truck. I think just about every other person we passed stopped to say how cute he was and I had to agree. Not only is he dang cute but he is just as sweet as they come.
LoraLeigh has my two big boys. Yep, I got the better end of the deal. Sorry boys, love ya!!! We are meeting in Payson tomorrow to trade back kids before they head off for the big ol' state of Texas. Thanks for sharing your kids with me, love them to pieces!!!

SuMMeR DaYs

Summer is in full swing here at our house and going by far to quickly. Seriously, didn't the kids just get out of school? I don't even want to think about them going back yet. We have LL's daughter Kamrielle here staying with us and she is so much fun! Girls are just so different and so fun dress up. We had to make a hair flower to match her outfit for the day. All of the young women came over for mutual this week and we made hair flowers. They each got to make 4 and Kamrielle got to join right in. She loved it!

She can certainly strike a pose. Too cute!
We have been spending lots of time in the pool trying to keep cool. Even Pack Meeting this week was water themed. They did a water relay and had so much fun.
They had to walk with a cup full of water down to fill up another cup. Pretty fun.

Didn't get pictures of all the stations but here is another where they had to toss a frisbee through the ring while having water balloons thrown at them. They loved it.

Camdon receiving his "cool" awards. They were frozen in the middle of these blocks of ice. So creative. (Did you notice the nose picker in the bottom of this pic...kids are so funny)

Oh, and I just recently took down my 4th of July display and put up summer even though it is halfway over. I love these colors. They make me HaPPy!

Hope you are enjoying every minute of your SuMMer!!!

Fun times with people we Love!

Jaron & C.R. with LL's beautiful Hollyhocks behind them.

Playing some football.
Carder & his new big boy haircut.

We got to go & visit a friend of Kamrielle's house today who had lots of fun animals. They had a great time.

Even got to ride a horse.

Look at those smiles!

These were such interesting little creatures, Alpaca's.

More Football.

Feeding the pony.

Fun times with people we love = a great day!

I'm happy because I choose to be

Part 1 - I headed out on my bike tonight just before dusk. This is my favorite time to be outdoors (not sure why). It was a beautiful ride because just to the east which is the direction I was heading there was a storm a brewin' and I do love summer storms. You could see rain in the distance and a rainbow. It was so beautiful. There was a breeze blowing and I just felt so grateful to be alive & healthy, enjoying the beauty all around me. Sometimes you can just feel overwhelmed with life but I decided on this ride, "I'm happy because I choose to be". Simple as that.

Part 2 - I was pretty hot & sweaty when I got home so I jumped in the shower, put my suit on & headed out to the pool. It felt soooo good.... just cool & relaxing. After a few minutes Camdon came out and here is how our conversation went.

C- Hi Mom. Can I join you in the pool? (I love that he is so polite to ask)

M- Sure, come on out.

C - You aren't planning to get out soon, are you?

M - No, I will be in here for awhile. Why?

C - Ok good because I just want to be with you.

This is the part when my heart melted. I love this boy and I especially love that he still likes to be with me. Hope you are lucky enough to have someone like this in your life.

Jaron is 16

It is hard to believe that this boy who was just born a few years ago it seems has turned 16. Yikes! We were in Vegas on his birthday selling fireworks so we took a cake over to celebrate with all of the cousins who were in town. The poor kid got sick the next day and was down in bed for the next 3 days. It ended up being strep throat (who gets strep in July???) and he is finally on the mend. HaPPy BirThDaY JaRon, We LovE YoU!!!

One of the BeSt DaDs EveR!!!

He knows how to fix things, he gives sound advice, he yells the loudest at all the games, he can save the day, he listens when you talk, he has taught us how to shrug off the small stuff, he shows us how to be brave, he sometimes lets us win, and he is there when you need him.

Happy Fathers Day to one of the best dads ever!

Greens Peak

So last week after returning from girls camp I decided to make a very quick trip up to the White Mtns. My brother Todd was up that way for a few days because 'the guys' had planned a camping trip. Well.... he doesnt come to Arizona all that often so.... even though I am not a 'guy' I had to go and crash the party even if just for a few hours. Oh and the bonus was that I got to see my sister and her kids too! Check out C.R. below, he is filling out quite nicely wouldnt you say? I could seriously eat those cheeks. YuMMy!!!

So here are 'the guys' below. Todd brought a similar picture from like 15 years ago in this same spot so of course we had to get an updated one.
Kiff, LoraLeigh, Todd & Me

I love this pic of Kamrielle & Kiff.

LL, Kam, & myself

LL & my Dad whipped up this delicous peach cobbler. Yep, I had some.

Here is my dad dishing up everyones bowls.

Sitting around the fire just shootin' the breeze.

Trevon had sprained his ankle the day before so Dr. Todd took a look at it.

This is one of the cutest faces ever! I love this boy!!!!

We played a game that was really fun. Don't know what it was called. See Jaron's face in this pic. This is the moment when he realized that there was no way he was going to win against his mother. Hee hee!

But.... I do love to see this smile. It is a catchy one.

Todd's son Luke came along for the guy trip. He is such a fun boy!

Not sure who this goofy boy belongs to. Just kidding, I will gladly claim him.

Our cousin Mike came out for the trip. He and Todd are the same age and hadn't seen eachother in ages.

Yep, he is a regular goof ball.

Kamrielle wanted to take a pic with her silly face too.

Kiff in action here.

Cousin Mike's son, Tyler had to take me on as well and he won.

Even though it was a super fast trip. Less than 24 hours. I was glad I made the trip because I got to see Todd, Luke & many others. Love you all!!!

P.S. Aren't you all so impressed that I actually updated my blog with real pictures and all? Sorry about my slacking here, Don't give up on me.