Oliphant Family Reunion

We spent the weekend on Cedar Mountain at a Family Reunion with my siblings and parents. We had a great time laughing, and enjoyed making lots of memories. Ellie and Jake loved that they could play with cousins from the moment they woke up, and play with cousins until long after the sun went to bed. The temps were great, and we enjoyed the showers that the storm clouds brought us. Here are lots of shots of the fun we had with our family. Aunt Stephanie made all the kids bug jars, and Ellie made sure she caught plenty of critters.Naomi loved playing with Aunt Steph's dog Roxie. Isn't Kelci just cute. She makes me smile every time I look at her.The twins, always stylin' (even while camping).Can you say CHEESE!Pretty butterfly we seen while on our hike.What a handsome boy I have. His cousins taught him some cool and dangerous moves on his new scooter. Now I get to worry about the broken scratches, and possible broken bones. :)McKenzi, she couldn't look nerdy even when trying. She is such a beautiful girl, I just love her!The older boys had as much fun on the scooters as the younger boys, they raced around the loop over and over again. I think they probably slept pretty good at night because of this.Stetson, what a brave kid. While on our hike I convinced him to sit on this old tree stump for a picture. I don't think he realized just how high up he was. We had lots of fun exploring the Ice Caves up by Duck Creek. It was a nice way to cool off after such a warm day.We had lots of fun exploring the Ice Caves up by Duck Creek. It was a nice way to cool off after such a warm day. And I was so proud of myself for being brave enough to drive on the dangerous road that got us up to the cave.This is Tracey's baby Anni, isn't she just the cutest? I did her hair and was surprised when she left the little flower bow alone. (don't ya just love her little cheeks?)I think Ellie had as much fun playing with the little boys as she did playing with her girl cousins. This little hummingbird was trapped in the girls bathroom, and Chylie was so brave and saved it's life. I don't think I have ever seen such bright colors on a bird before. It was so small and cute!Clairissa is such a sweet heart. She enjoyed just spending her time at our camp visiting with Ray and I. I sure think she is a keeper. I would say go play with the kids, and she would say Nah, I just want to stay here and be with you. I just love her so much! Makenna had lots of fun taking grandma and grandpa's dog Button for a walk. I think she may have wore the poor dog out with as much as she walked him.

The Temple,

Ellie and Jake are going there someday!

Baptism Pictures

I took Ellie out to do some Baptism Pictures for her Baptism, and these are some of my favorites. We had lots of fun, and Ellie just loves her dress. Ray and I are so proud of her and the choice she has made to be baptized. She is such a bright light in our lives, and we love her so much, she is such a good example to all she meets. And, Jake just idolizes the heck out of her.

Caught in the Act.... (sleeping instead of reading)

The other day I sent the kids to different rooms to do some reading, and, after about 10 minutes I went and checked on them and this is what I found.

Funny thing is that they both slept for almost 2 hours, and when Ellie came out and I told her I caught her sleeping and she asked how I knew, and I told her I had magic powers that showed me she was sleeping. She didn't think I was too funny when I showed her the pictures of her asleep, and told her she had at least another 10 minutes of reading to do.

And the BAD MOM award goes to ***

- - - - Me!

I am such a bad mom. I started off the summer trying to be a good mom by getting Jake a swim shirt because he burns so terribly bad, but the other day he went out to swim, and I made sure he had his swim shirt on, but at some point he took it off and I did not know about it until he came in later and was whining that his back was hot. He fried so bad. He had big huge blisters on both shoulders, and smaller ones all over his back. Well, while we were in Idaho and he had an allergic outburst to the farm and during this his blisters popped and some even bled. He was quite a sick little boy. Broke my heart, and made me realize that I need to keep a closer eye on him when I send him out to swim or play in the sprinklers. Several days after he burnt, and had his allergic reaction he broke out in hives all over his face and on his torso, poor kid.

Baker Reunion and an Allergic Reaction

Ellie fell in love with these roses, and even though they were pretty much done blooming and falling apart, they still smelt amazingly sweet. We loved visiting with all of Ray's aunts, uncles, and cousins who attended the reunion. I love his family so much, and am grateful for the relationship I have with each of them. They are all so enjoyable to be around and visit. We went to Idaho for a Baker Family Reunion. We had a great time except for the part where we found out that Jake was allergic to the farm, and blew up like a puffer fish. His poor little eyes were swollen shut, and he could hardly breath. But, instead of taking him to the emergency room like we had done a few years ago when he had to get 4 staples in his head, we rushed him to Wal-Mart where we bought him some claritin and benadryl. (I know were such good parents)Anyway, it didn't take long after the medicine to kick in that he was begging to go back out and ride the pony. Unfortunately between his sunburn, and allergies we had to cut the trip short and head home.

Ray and I were both amazed at how the further we got from the farm the better Jake's breathing got.