Family Fun...Claire is here to play!

Debra and Tyler came for a visit from Florida...but more importantly, Claire was here. Claire, you are ever so much more important than your parents! She is so adorable, such a thoughtful darling little child. We had so much fun getting to know our little niece...and what's more, she's Amy's cousin and soon to be, best friend. Whether Claire or Amy like it, they WILL be best friends! That's mine and Deb's plan anyway. I was lucky enough to have Heidi when my sister Kristine had Gracie. Now I'm so lucky again. I have Amy and Deb has Claire. What did I do to get so lucky?

The kids begged all of the men in our family to do cannon balls into the pool. We generally love doing this with all of the people swimming, because we like to see how big of waves we can make! Never, have I seen such big waves as I did when these 5 beefcakes jumped in! hah hah. Check out my dad jumping off of the diving board. What a sport. Thanks men for the fun, the kids loved it!!!!

AMY ANNE WATKINS... welcome to the world.

It's official...on June 30th at 8:09 p.m. we welcomed a darling little girl into our family. She was 7 lbs 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Labor was 4 hours long and easier than I expected (since I finally decided on an epidural...which was my first, I didn't get one with my other three kiddies). Amy is adorable. She has red hair and blue eyes (that we can tell so far). She is 3 weeks already and has been such a joy to our family. If I posted all of the pictures of her that we have taken, it would take 50 posts! The kids love her like I've never seen. She is everyone's new love and new toy. We are having the time of our life! Here are some pictures of July 4th also. Our new family picture with 7 kids instead of 6. Amy in her red white and blue...an outfit that we picked up quick while grocery shopping 2 days after she was born! We wanted to share our joy, our whole family is just enthralled and in love!

Blow out!

If you will look down 2 posts, you will see that I blogged on our trip to Lake Powell...please look down and read!

Here is a picture of part of our trip to Lake Powell, read on down a couple posts and you'll understand this picture!

Sam graduates and Camille turns 9.

Just before the beginning of freedom for all of the kids, we celebrated two important things.

Sam graduated from elementary school. My 6th grader is moving on to Jr. Highschool. What? I find this change hard to accept and scary. I can't help my feelings of apprehension, I want to take him back and forth one million times from preschool, all over again. Why must they grow? I used to think that the principle of opposition in all things was applied to only good and evil. As time marchs on, I see that opposition is also present in the bittersweet. The inevitable changes that are before us in this life, that can be beautiful and so sad at the same time. Sam grows and he moves and he learns, the hands of time can not be stopped....but neither can my love, my love for him will never change. We're proud of you Sam!

Camille is 9 years old. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was posting on her baptism? Camille wanted Shepherd's pie for dinner, and that is what she got. This seems to be a favorite with all of the kids in our family. Camille got a lemon cake too, and some very girly presents....to fit in perfectly with the little girly threesome that is imagining around our house every time they are together. Lauren, Camille, and Heidi. The girls group. We are very grateful that Camille is in our family. Camille is a fun loving kid like no other. This girl will have fun with any group of kids anywhere. She's the perpetual clown and loves to make other people laugh. She is upbeat and versatile, she plays with the girls like a champ. Camille is very bright and observant. She is a good sister. I am still getting to know Camille, but from what I see, I really love her and we are very grateful she is in our family. I know Heidi would never be the same without her Camille, she adores her as a sister and a friend. We love you Mills!

Lake Powell and some fiascos

We recently went to Lake Powell as a family. This was a last ditch effort at a family vacation before our little one comes! Here I am 3 weeks from my due date and taking the kids to Lake Powell...my friends and family think it's kind of crazy, but we had a lot of fun!

Among the fun things were: a day on the lake in a boat..the kids tubed and Ivy and Josh got the prize for staying on the tube the longest! We saw lots of wildlife, jack rabbits and lizards and ants! The kids loved the wildlife, I have about 100 pictures on my camera to prove it. We played on the beach and the kids made a really awesome mud castle that took hours. Here is a picture of the finished product. We collected shells on the beach for hours, and are making frames out of our shells to frame a picture from the trip. We played lots of card games, especially one Dustin made up, the kids loved the new card game. I beat the tar out of all of the kids at Blokus. That is not me taking advantage of poor innocent children that have never played the game, it's my sheer expert-ness! JK.

We were lucky to have borrowed my parents camping trailer for the trip....which was a double edged sword. The trailer made our daddy a grouchy camper at times, but this was understandable and we can laugh about it now for sure. The Tahoe's battery died twice and we had a blow out on the trailer tire while on the road home. We couldn't empty the sewer from the trailer because we're clueless...and these were just a few of the fiascos. Oh, and we ran out of gas on the freeway...that was fun. Amid these crazy times, we did manage to have a great time and are thankful for the fun and for the family!

Oh, did I mention that the kids were dangling their feet over a 700 foot drop ledge when we caught up with them on the trail to horseshoe lookout? The craziness of a large family...should this be laughed at? Only later, over Sunday dinner and many weeks later! Hah hah.

Star of the Show

Here she is folks...the opening solo in Miss Mimi's dance group, Swan Lake. Yesterday, Heidi's mom and dad, her brother Sam, her grandma Colleen, and her grandparents Lowe were favored with a fantastic performance in her Swan Lake dance recital. Just when the curtains open and you see your beautiful daughter dance gracefully like a swan...that's when it feels your heart might actually explode inside of your chest! Heidi has really enjoyed dance, evidence being that she could not wipe the smile off of her face throughout the entire recital. Heidi has been fortunate enough to take ballet from Mimi Jones in Holladay for the past 4 years. I was floored at the progress they have made and how developed all of the girls are becoming in their skills. Heidi is turning out to be quite graceful ballerina. She adored the roses afterward and there was cookies and punch for everyone. Parenting might actually be the most fun I've ever had. Heidi, you did wonderful sweetheart! We are so proud of you!

Grandpa's 70th Birthday

We took a road trip this last weekend to Reno, Nevada to surprise Dustin's dad for his 70th birthday. All four of his children showed up from 3 different states to surprise him...and did the tears flow! He was so touched!

We had a fantastic buffet complete with delicious prime rib and a dessert bar that beats all. We went to a baseball game in the new minor league baseball stadium (and the Reno Ace's won!), where Dustin caught a shirt that was thrown into the stand...turns out it just happens to be

MY size! We had cake and went swimming and had a ball. Dustin's family is so warm and loving. They have a real gift of being able to laugh at life, and that is so relaxing to be around. The kids even had fun listening to the John Bytheway CD's that we played for them. For any family, I would recommend these for a long road trip! Thanks for the suggestion Tina and Margie! I have to admit, the thought of taking all 6 kids on a road trip was daunting, we've done it before, and it does not come without it's hardships. Honestly, the dynamics of a blended family are just down right hard sometimes...but we were very pleasantly surprised. The kids did great, and thankfully, so did the parents. A wonderful time was had by all!