The Belle of the Ball

We adopted our niece Ella Badger for a couple of weeks this summer and had more than a few fun adventures with her. We affectionately called her "Ella the Bella the Ball" Here are some pictures for the proof.
Ella was very adaptable to her new environment, thankfully and she embraced having a "big sister" who dressed her up in costumes... and "did" her hair.
Here's Ella's famous monkey friend. P.S. The next few photos were shot by Brooklyn.
While attending a BBQ at one of our friends' house, Brooklyn and Ella were each given a cute flower to take home.
Here are a few bathroom essentials just in case we forget to document things like these...
Brooklyn models her sparkly shoes with Ian's bike in the background.
This is the morning when I had a few extra co-op kids. We took a wagon ride to the mall and played in some water by a statue. Livia thought it was time to bathe, apparently.
Here we are at SeaWorld. The walrus mascot was just about the only stranger that Ella did NOT warm up to.
We watched a pet show there at SeaWorld. At the end, the kids got to go up to the stage and pet all the pets. Brooklyn as always, was the most brave about touching these furry friends.



This is just a funny random pic. of Ian after he polished off a fudgesicle.

These are the Moments...

I can't stand waiting to publish this picture from this morning's drive to church. Who can't smile when they see this? Love those cuties.Our ride home from church however, was a much quieter jaunt without Ella. Her real mom and dad picked her up during church. I guess we couldn't claim her as our own forever even though we tried/pretended she was part of our family for a couple of weeks. ;)

Courtney's Wedding Reception

The happy couple

Alyssa's first "slow dance"
She was all smiles.
beautiful pastel flowers
the cake
the backyard
the candy shoppe
the vintage photo, inspired by the vintage-themed reception
Ryan and his wife Chantal
The first dance of the evening was sung by Tracy. This was our vantage point. You'll find Tracy way in the background.
During the lovely musical number, Drew was experiencing a major sugar high. He was all jittery. Literally. He could not stand still. Stephen and I were cracking up. Stephen also heard Drew say, about the song that Tracy was singing, "She's been practicing that one in the car." Hilarious.
the happy Badger family
the entrance

Colorful Dinner

I had to take a picture of the pretty colors and different textures of this dinner before it disappeared. I believe it was peach-glazed pork tenderloin with beans, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes.

July 4th

In my mind, Badger reunions come in 2 or 3 varieties. First there is the every-other-Christmas get together which usually takes place in DeRidder, Louisiana. Next there is the "some-one's-getting-married" reunion. Finally there's the more informal reunion, which lacks no amout of pressure to attend by the blood Badger spouse which reunion is called "Mom and Dad and Kimberly's family...(then quickly everyone else is added to the list) are ALL going to be in Utah, we GOTTA go!" We do appreciate Bethany and her tireless smile and willingness to sacrifice her house for these 3rd type of occasions. We had a great time bonding with all Badgers in attendance. As always, we missed those who could not attend.
This is a park near Bethany's house where we all played after our afternoon BBQ.
Taber has got a knack for frisbee-throwing!
The moms and babies camped out on the grass and supervised the kids on the playground.
The Fowler kids dominated the jungle gym, especially Bridger who crawled in and out, up and down and around those monkey bars as if there was nothin' to it!

I loved this sight. Bridger and Brooklyn attending to baby Gwenevere.

This was the second of 3 stops for us on our 4th of July. This is the back yard of my aunt Barbara and Uncle Morris's house in Provo. The 4th is a standard celebration here because it is also Uncle Morris' birthday. Sadly, Morris and Barbara are not pictured here.
Cameron McKendrick (my brother's 3rd and youngest boy) charmed me with his brown eyes, thin, stick-straight hair, and bright blue Bruins T-shirt.
The amazingly delicious and festive cake. Not pictured: the equally amazing and yummy home-made by Aunt Ruth corn dogs.
Visiting Temple Square in S.L.C. was a fun outing. I just wish I had thought to recharge my camera battery the night before! By the time we got to our first real destination, my camera was useless.
I really appreciated the opportunity to see the new Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg. while Rebecca and others (Jana? Kimberly? Am I missing someone else?) stayed behind and tended a BIG batch of little kids. Thank you, ladies!

This and That

Here are Ian, Lilly, and Brooklyn on the steps enjoying a snack while my mom, my sister and I did some sewing/dress-making for Tracy's crew.
I made BBQ pork ribs for the first time because I happened to find them on super sale. I don't know why I'm such a foody gal, but it was so exciting for me try something new that I felt like my husband would appreciate. It would definitely be a considered "manly" dinner that I normally don't cook, because it's centered on red meat. I usually try to be healthy with leaner, different meat, not so much of it, and lots of different fresh veggies and grains. Luckily, he doesn't usually complain. Yummy garlic mashed potatoes, black beans, and cole slaw served as sides. Thanks for the pointers on the ribs, Alice, a.k.a. Sister Rodney. They were delish! Ian loved them too. He kept calling them bones. And thank you Stephen for taking the kids swimming while I finished cooking! :)

Our Staycation

Stephen fills up at Phil's BBQ.
I chatted on the phone about some exciting news with a friend. I am embarassed to admit that this was terrible, horrible, no good, VERY bad date etiquette! I am so glad that my husband is so forgiving and the food was so delicious... I owe you a better dinner date, Sweetie! ;)
Turtles at the new Turtle Reef Exhibit @ SeaWorld.
It was fun to go at night, without the kids! :)
The dolphin show, with acrobatics.




Besides doing SeaWorld, we visited the beach, exercised together in the mornings (after sleeping in 'till 9ish - what a treat!), cleaned the house without kids (also an exciting adventure for me because it STAYED clean!), went to the temple, ate out every night at places that were recommended by friends, and listened to 80's music in the car ride back to Vista to pick our kids. I had a super long list of other fun things I wanted to do, but we weren't so great about scheduling ahead, and we did sleep in and work out every morning, so that sort of put us on the late start track.... Needless to say, we had an enjoyable, relaxing 3 days to reconnect and pretend we had not a care in the world.