Pizza Night

Once a week my parents (Grandpa and Grandma) host "pizza night" at their home. This is a fun tradition that has been going on for many years. It's a fun time for all of the Wilkins family to get together. We wish we could get there every week but we go as often as we can. This past "pizza night" we also celebrated Grandpa's birthday. He's 65 this year. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Mmmmmm...Caleb and Gage enjoying their pizza

Amberly, Ashlynn, and Hailey putting the candles on Grandpa's cake

Helping Grandpa blow out his birthday candles

The calm before the storm - waiting for the pizza to arrive

These girls LOVE their Uncle Patrick

Coleton doing his "trick" (patting his head and rubbing his belly)

Rachel, Emmalin, and Joslyn - Emmalin sure liked their pacifiers. She kept stealing them (even though she had her own).

This is a GREAT new game!! It can get pretty noisy with all of the grandkids running around doing their thing. Every now and then an adult will say, "Let's play dead fish". The kids stop what they are doing, lay down on the ground, and act like a dead fish. No one moves a muscle. It gets so quiet! Even Grandpa got in on this game.

JJJJJJJ's Backyard Waterpark

Click on picture for a bigger view

Summertime just wouldn't be the same without Jordan and Janell's Backyard Waterpark! Their yard takes a beating and I'm sure their water bill is through the roof. It is definitely a fun time for all. Thanks JJJJJJJ, we always have so much fun keeping cool at your house!!

Emmalin - 9 months old

Where does the time go? I say this everyday it seems! She CAN'T be 9 months already! It just doesn't seem possible! But it's true, our sweet baby Emmalin is growing up. She gets more and more fun everyday. Just recently we have seen a change in our quiet, mellow baby who up until now has been content to simply observe all that is happening around her. Now she is the life of the party! Squealing and LOUDLY talking much to the delight of her big brother and sisters. She has discovered the joys of eating table foods and LOVES sitting at the table with the rest of the family. She still loves playing in water. She practically jumps out of my arms to get into the bathtub. She can wave hello/goodbye and she is getting ready to crawl. She has FINALLY fallen into a regular schedule (much to the delight of her mother). She sleeps through the night and takes 2 2-hour naps a day. I really can't complain about this little girl. I would dare say she is the PERFECT baby! I hope I didn't just jinx myself by writing that. She has been a total joy and blessing in our lives. Gage often tells us how much fun it is to have a baby in the family. He's right!!!

Little Imaginations

I'm always amazed at the creativity and imagination that children have. Oh how I wish I could get that back. Remember the days when you could take a cardboard box and turn it into an afternoon activity! I enjoy watching my children and the fun things they come up with. I try to provide little projects and things for them to do but they aren't nearly as fun as the things they come up with on their own! It hurts my pride a little bit, but I think I'll get over it. It's also fun to listen in on the conversations that go on. Oh, the DRAMA!! Here are a few of the things they have recently done. I wish I had taken more pictures of their ideas over the years but you get the idea...

Gage wanted a forest for his G.I. Joe's. This is what he came up with. Artificial plants, paper trees and bushes, and plastic animals from his collection.

At the beginning of summer we built a castle out of boxes. The girls have taken it over and it is now a dollhouse. They have colored all of the walls and floors inside. It is truly of work of art!

All of our kids love dress up. The girls in their fancy dresses and jewelry and Gage in anything from Luke Skywalker to a Ninja Turtle. But they also enjoy dressing up their Dad. Kimball is such a good sport!!

They have turned our swing set into a pirate ship. They tell each other to "walk the plank" which is actually the slide. If you walk outside they greet you with "ahoy there, Matey!"

They like to see if they can use every single mega block to make some sort of large building. Gage usually wants it to be skyscraper and the girls a princess castle.

This is one I can only handle every once in a while because of the NOISE!! They get out bowls and pans and boxes and make a band. Emmalin even gets in on this one. They even named their band "EGAC" (It is the first initials of their first names combined).

To some this might look like a water slide. You climb up the ladder and then slide down. Don't be fooled- to these kids it is a fortress that has to be protected! They turn into seamonsters and all kinds of other creatures. Anyone that comes near gets soaked!

The Laughing Song

Kimball and I have been blessed with wonderful parents, and our children with wonderful grandparents. Our kids adore their Grandpa and Grandma (my parents) and their Mommer and Papa (Kimball's parents). This is a video of Papa singing "The Laughing Song" to the grandkids.

Our 4th of July Fun!!

We enjoyed a fun holiday! The kids woke up to find "firecrackers" hanging from the ceiling. When they pulled the string confetti and little treats spilled down over them!!

For breakfast we had red and blue pancakes (warning-- we discovered that this turns your poop a funny shade of bright blue! Sorry if this is TMI).

We then got dressed into our red, white, and blue and headed to the movies. It was fun to watch the new Ice Age movie with all of the Clark family!! The kids love spending time with their cousins!


The 4th wouldn't be the 4th without a yummy BBQ! Thanks Mommer and Papa. The food was fabulous!
Next came swimming!! It's fun to watch the men in the family become boys! They were catching the ball midair as they jumped from the diving board. Karin has a pretty good arm! They made human totem poles-- and giant waves for the kids! The kids had a blast. There was always a line for the diving board!! Even Gage got in on the action. Wow-- who is this kid!?! He is a different boy this summer and we are loving it!



Next came Karin's yummy treats--homeade ice-cream sandwiches!! Mommer and Papa gave a little lesson and reminded us all of why we celebrate the 4th of July in the first place. The kids marched around the house with their flags as we sang patriotic songs.


We ended the evening watching fireworks from Mommer and Papa's backyard. It was a fun day for all and we look forward to next year! (Well maybe not Carrigan-- poor girl was eaten by ants!!! Her little feet are still swollen!!!)

Night Hikes

Kimball grew up catching all things creepy with his Dad and brothers. Their love of this continues and has been passed along to the next generation. They always look foward to warmer weather and the things that come out at night to play. During the summer they like to go out on night hikes. Kimball and Gage gather their boots, headlamps, sticks, and blacklights, meet up with the uncles and cousins, and head out into the Arizona deserts. They have the BEST time!!! Here are some examples of WHY I DON'T GO!!!
This...

and this...

and this! They also see millipedes, gila monsters, kangaroo rats, and different kinds of snakes. Ya-- I like to stay home!!