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!!

Mommer and Papa's 40th Anniversary

Mommer and Papa (aka Joe and Marilee Clark) June 27, 1969

Here they are 40 years later!!

We celebrated Mommer and Papa's 40th Anniversary this past weekend! Mommer and Papa are Kimball's Mom and Dad. We love them dearly. They are wonderful parents and grandparents. They are a beautiful example of what marriage should be.

We started the weekend-long celebration with an adults only, surprise dinner at Donovan's! It was fancy, fancy, fancy! It was fun to be together and enjoy an evening of great food and entertainment. Mommer and Papa told stories from their courtship and offered advice for a happy marriage.

On Sunday we all went to church with Mommer and Papa. I think Mommer said that we added 17 kids to the Primary that day! We went back to their home where we ate lunch together and the kids put on a litte talent show. These grandkids don't hold back. They love the attention! It's fun to watch the cute things they come up with.

Mommer and Papa are an inspiration. We love them so much and look forward to many more anniversaries with them!

Kimball and me anxiously waiting for Mommer and Papa to arrive!!

Suprise!!!

Ashley, Karin, and Janell

Bryan and Karin

Ashley and Britney sang a song for their parents and then it was the boys turn. Good job to all!

Lil' Swimmers!!

Gage and Carrigan are deathly afraid of water. Many of you have witnessed this. It has been heart-breaking to watch them as they struggle with this fear. They sit on the sidelines as friends and family enjoy swimming. Kimball and I have been worried about how unsafe it is for them to not know how to swim. Swimming lessons have not gone well-- alot of screaming and strangling!! Another concern is that Gage is to be baptized in a few months. There is no way he was going to let Kimball dunk him under the water! In an attempt to help them overcome their fears we bought an above-ground pool. It's shallow enough that they can touch the bottom and their heads are still above the water. Yet it's deep enough that they can practice swimming around. Little by little they are getting more and more comfortable.

It is such a joy to watch Gage lift his feet and swim to the other side of the pool. Today he braved it and took his life jacket off. He only left it off for a few minutes but we were so proud of him. I nearly cried. I honestly never thought I'd see the day! We are still working with Carrigan. She and the ladder have become the best of friends. Amberly has always been our little fish-- she is LOVING the pool!

These are pictures that I took of the family enjoying some swim time this evening. I still can't believe that these are MY children. Happy day!!!

Random tidbit from our lives

During FHE, Kimball and I were asking the kids random questions about the gospel. We asked them what the name of our current prophet was. Fortunately they got it right. We then asked them what the names of his counselors were. They looked perplexed so I gave them a little clue -- I pointed to my eye and then my to my ring (Pres. Eyering). Amberly responded, "Oh yeah, President Uchtdorf!"

The Noodle Forest

Gage visited the Phoenix Children's Museum on a field trip with his class a few months ago. He has been BEGGING us ever since to go as a family. Finally we gave in. We figured it would be a fun "Family Fun Night". The kids had tons of fun!! Gage LOVED racing the cars. Amberly had fun participating in the dance contest. Carrigan's favorite was shopping in the little grocery store they had set up. Emmalin was entertained the whole time with "people watching". The highlight --playing in the Noodle Forest. We had a blast!!

Meet Snippy!!

We aquired a new pet today. Meet Snippy, the Horny Toad. Thank you Backus family (they brought this little guy all the way from Colorado)-- we are so excited. It has been a while since Spike, Horny, and Thorny passed away. My kids have felt a void in their lives not having a horny toad around. The other lizards, scorpion, frogs, insects, and others fun things that have come to live in our home over the last year or so just couldn't fill the void. Gage is in heaven!!! Kimball and the girls like him too!!

Emmalin's New Toy

Emmalin is 7 1/2 months now!! Time is going way too fast!! Kimball bought her this cute little turtle pool an she LOVES it!!! We wanted something that she could play in and be safe away from the other kids as they run around wild and crazy in the water. Outside we fill it with water and she splashes and splashes-- all smiles the whole time. Inside we fill it with balls and it's equally as fun for her!! Life is good for his sweet baby of ours. We love her so much!

Tae Bo

My kids wanted to play "exercise class" today-- and they wanted ME to be the instructor. Emmalin was a bit fussy and wanted to be held which made it impossible for me to be the instuctor. Not wanting to disappoint them I came up with plan B. I pulled out the old Tae Bo videos (which I think are actually Amandas), blew the dust off of them, and sat down for the show. They had the BEST time and it definitely made me smile. They swear their muscles grew and can't wait to do it again tomorrow!! Why is it that something that is such a CHORE for me can be so much FUN for them!! It just isn't right!!

Rainbow Cookies

My Mom often made these cookies with us when we were kids. I think just about all of have carried on the tradition with our own kids. My kids like to squish the dough. I just put dough and food coloring in ziplock bags and they go to town!

The Dunking of Uncle Ben... Memorial Day Weekend (Monday)

Monday was another wild party with the Wilkins Family. A little water park was set up in the yard for the kids and was quickly taken over by the adults. It started out innocently enough. The kids were having a great time when Uncle Ben decided to soak all of the adults and then run and hide in his bedroom. The men in the family worked together and dragged Ben from his room to the kiddie pool. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. A few of the kids were traumatized by this-- poor kids! It took 6 men to get Ben out of the house and into the pool. And boy were they all breathing hard in the end!! Ben put up a good fight but ultimately lost in the end. They spent the rest of the day in wet clothes but it was well worth it!

Dragging Ben through the hallway

Standing guard at Ben's bedroom window so that he couldn't escape!

Pushing (and pulling)Ben through the front door

The dunking

A soaking wet Uncle Ben-- you're a good sport!!