Summer 2009

Ummm......yeah, so really behind. I decided that instead of doing all of these separate posts to show what we did this summer, I decided to just post one picture per event and sum it all up in one post. Ok, ready?


So (this is so sad to admit) but here is a picture from Easter. This was actually the only one with the two of them in it together and it was from our Easter party held two days before with a lot of other kids, but it was fun. We also had a lot of fun decorating eggs and the kids (even Kenton) had fun searching for them all over the kitchen and family room.


Kenton's First Birthday (and he is now 16 months old). We ended up having two parties for him: one with the Connells up in Salt Lake when we were all together in March, and then the other with the Binghams here at our house on the 11th. He got chocolate cake at both and really was not hesitant to dig in. He was lunging for it before we could even put it in front of him! He was walking right after this as well and has received the nickname "Monster" for his many deeds of mischief.


Kinsley's Preschool Graduation (even though she is attending the same preschool for another year). She loved this! What child wouldn't though? After it officially ended Kinsley kept asking when she was going to go back to school. It was really hard to explain to her that she had several months to go. Her graduation was fun! THe kids sang songs for us and showed us some of the stuff they had done. We got to meet all of the High School students who had been their teachers for the year and had a nice treat at the end.


Memorial Day Weekend we were barbequeing out in our newly landscaped backyard complete with beautiful artificial grass. I guess Geoff and I take notice of this holiday because it was that one when he came down to visit me in Mesa and we started dating from then. The lighting was just perfect so I took some cute pictures of the kids, but for some reason the cute ones tend to be of them individually, not together. whatever...


Brittany's Wedding to Kyle Pierce (ironically a guy in our ward in Mesa). They met obviously from the ward but after his mission starting talking to her through facebook. I guess Geoff and I dated for a while through emails. So, June 20, 2009 they were married in the Mesa temple for time and all eternity. Luckily it wasn't as hot as Amy's wedding day had been just one year prior.


Broderick family reunion 2009. Yeah, they are always the same. They are fun, but too much drama and emotions running through them. We did a square dance and family follies and water games and a scrapbooking part (that I was put in charge of - yipee) but it was fun nonetheless and got to meet new people I had never met before.


We live in Las Vegas. It tends to get hot here. Actually we have had an unnaturally cooler summer. The highest it ever got that I am aware of was 114 and those days only lasted no longer than a week. This was one of those days and I had hosed off the kids in the back yard to help them to cool off and then we all ate otter pops on a towel in the cool house. This is what summer is all about :)


Campout. This was the vacation that was planned for us to enjoy the summer. Everything else was planned for us and we were expected to be there (ie wedding, family reunion, etc.) and we needed something for us to plan and look forward to for us. We went with our neighbors the Heatons and my sister Amy and her husband David. We went fishing, shooting, played games, walks, lounged, ate good food, and just had fun getting dirty. At one point all of us girls felt so dirty that we took some of our chairs and towels and washed our feet at the spiket that was near our campsite. It was so fun!! OH yeah, Kristie and I as we were looking for the campsite before everyone got there ended up on a 22mile road to Veyo (near the ranch where the kids were waiting for us) that Geoff told me later was called the Old Spanish Trail - not meant for anything less than a large 4-wheel drive car with plenty of clearance under the car for rocks, and I did it in my low rear-wheel drive Pontiac Grand Am. Yeah, the road was bad and I thought for sure that I had punctured something by the time we got back to the ranch. It took us almost 2 hours to go the full 22 miles (there was no turning around and going the longer way because of the sheer cliffs down on one side of a very narrow rock path) and I was a little shooken up by the end. Oh well, it was an adventure!


So while we went camping we went shooting with the Heaton's guns and Geoff's parents guns right across from the ranch. This was Amy's first time (my second) and Geoff helped Kinsley to shoot the BB gun. While they were gathering the guns at the ranch, one of the 22s went off in the kitchen. His brother had just bought the gun and assumed it was unloaded, but alas it was not. Luckily it was pointed at the ground and just went through the floor.



Kinsley and Kenton did swimming lessons. It was great because 3 days a week we all got to go swimming (Kenton and I did the Parent-Child class together). Despite the fact that I always sunblocked my kids with 50spf, they have come out of this summer looking like little indians. Kinsley did really well. She ended in level 3 and can swim very well by herself. She can even do the back stroke (although watching her is just looks like she is drowning) and was even learning how to dive. I am so proud of all she was able to accomplish in lessons and hopefully she will retain most of it for next summers lessons. Kenton just enjoyed swimming around with me and getting wet, but when we floated him between Kristie and I he would just go spread eagle and lay there. It was hilarious! (hence the two pictures)


So, Kinsley got a porcelean tea set for her 4th birthday last November. Geoff and I hid it because it is not age appropriate for her - it even says 8 and up. She found it recently when Geoff and I added shelves in our closet and cleaned it all out. She has been bugging us ever since to play with it and says she is going to turn 8 in 3 days. Finally I decided to do a little tea party with her in a controlled environment so that she gets to use her precious tea set, but we don't have to worry about it getting damaged. She got all dressed up and had her little friends there to join us.