Memory Lane...

 

This past weekend I was able to go up to Couer d'Alene for my 10 year high school reunion!  I signed up for it last year and when it came right down to it, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go, but once I got there I was so glad I did.  It was so great playing 'catch-up' with so many people that I haven't seen since we graduated and especially chatting with the people I still continue to talk to!  It was as if we picked up where we left off (well, add a few kids and a husband to the mix!)  Some of them haven't aged/changed a bit and we all laughed at our old pictures and yearbooks, it's a great thing for pictures because I had forgotten that most of those 'memories' even existed!  I can't believe all the wild and crazy stuff we used to do together!  I had totally forgotten about all those 'so-called' talent shows and lip sync contests, and oh, the prom pics were priceless!  We also had a family day at the Fort Sherman park to let our kids get together to play, it was fun to meet some of my friend's children.  

I must say, after this being my 3rd reunion in a month....I am all reunioned out for the year!  It was well worth the trip....and the bonus was that I got to stay at Nana and Pops house along with my 'great Aunt Lala and Uncle Homer' who were visiting from San Diego!    

 

The other 'Highlight' of our weekend trip was that we got to go to Silverwood for a whole day!  For anyone who doesn't know what Silverwood is, you are missing out!  It's the NW's largest theme park/water park and it is a total blast.  The kids were in complete heaven.  (I can only imagine how much they'd love Disneyland!)  We rode all kinds of rides, cooled off at Boulder Beach water park, did carnival games, had ICEE's, corn dogs and fries, rode the train and witnessed a 'train robbery' (KJ thought it was real at first!), and best of all, the kids finally got to experience the thrill of putting their hands up during the roller coaster ride (the kiddie one, of course)!  I'd say it was a successful weekend, one that I'd love to do again....maybe in another 10 years!

sEvEn YeArS oLd!!!

Happy 7th Birthday to our Keaton!

Keaton's actual BIRTHday!  I cannot believe that 7 years has flown by so fast, it seems like yesterday....but then, I also have a hard time remembering life without our KJ!  We drove KJ by the hospital he was born in, it flooded me with memories!  This boy put me through 21 hours of labor and then we had to go C-Section, but he was worth it in the end!!!

 

1st Birthday!

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday!

4th Birthday!

5th Birthday!

6th Birthday!

And today....the big 7th Birthday!

Man...things change fast in the world of motherhood.  Where has the time gone??

Keaton has had 'kind-of' 2 birthdays this year.  We did his Birthday party and big celebration last Saturday (while Dan was in town) and then today we mainly just had a family day (which is just as much fun!)  So he's been double spoiled and has really gotten to do the whole birthday dessert 3 times....how lucky is he?!!

Tonight at bed-time I asked Keaton, what's the best part about birthday's, and he said,  "I love birthdays because it's my favorite holiday.  It's the only holiday that is ALL MINE!"  I thought that was so cute!  

We feel so blessed to have little Keaton in our lives.  Our family definitely wouldn't be the same without him in it, he fills a HUGE spot and we all love him for it.  Some things that describe Keaton are that he is:

Curious about all things in life, he loves to ask question after question until he is satisfied with the answer.  This is also the reason he is so smart, he retains anything that is said to him.  He is super knowledgeable and remembers and learns very quickly.  I think he's smart beyond his years!!

He's a HUGE helper around the house.  He plays so well with his little brother and sister and they think he's the best!  He loves to help out in the kitchen.  In fact...he'd like to be a chef someday.  As he would say, "I'm going to be a chef and an astronaut, so I can cook up in the spaceship for everyone."

He's loved doing the 'boy' things this year.  He played on soccer and baseball teams this year and he really enjoyed it.  His new favorite thing is swimming and he's become quite the little fish this year.  He also loves to do anything outside...rollerblading, scooters, trampoline, bicycle, and slip-n-slide, to name a few!

Best of all....he's very kind and sensitive.  He still likes to be cuddled and bundled up with mom and dad.  We hope that lasts for years to come!  Our day doesn't feel complete unless we've had some down time to read and cuddle with our sweet little KJ.

Here are a few photos that we took of his '2' Birthdays this year!  Keaton was very good at picking EXACTLY what he wanted to do on 'HIS' days!  He chose some unique things, but we all had fun!

He wanted to go to Cracker Barrel for his birthday party dinner!  I had never been there before, but it was kind of fun!  The kids loved getting breakfast for dinner!

Here is the dessert number 1 that I mentioned!

These are KJ's cousins that he wanted to have come to dinner and a movie with us!

All the 'boys' sporting their 3D shades. 

We took them all to see Ice Age 3....in 3D!  It was really cute!

Here is the best part about birthday's.... the presents!  He got totally spoiled, thanks everyone!

One of the great things about living by family is that they can take the kids out on special dates!  Today Ninny and Papa took KJ out to his choice of lunch (Fudruckers) and then to the toy store to pick out a couple of toys!  He loved it!

We spent a lot of  today at the Boise Zoo.  It was SUPER hot, but it was fun.  The kids really loved seeing all the animals.  I haven't been to the zoo in years, so it was fun for me too!

KJ was most excited to see the lions!

After the zoo and a stop at Toys r Us, we went to Red Robin for dinner and KJ's 2nd dessert!

We finished the night by making a cake for home (dessert #3), blowing out the candles time after time, and watching Coraline.  It was a great day for a GREAT boy!   I'm sure we will all sleep well tonight!  Big thanks to Keaton for being the best boy he can be!  We love you and look forward to what your seventh year will bring!

Family + Sun + Lake = A Ball Family Reunion!

 

We just got back from our second family reunion of the summer!!  This time it was my mom's side of the family and we went to Bear Lake and stayed at this HUGE house that fit all 59 of us comfortably!!  (well except the teenagers, we made them sleep outside in tents!)  It had a huge game room, a 'bar' room that was stocked with every kind of soda pop you could think of, 2 large hot tubs, 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, billiard/TV room, 3 refrigerators, 5 ovens, etc., etc., etc.!  As expected, we had a jam-packed weekend and really enjoyed seeing everyone.  We missed those who weren't able to make it this time.  The best part about the whole trip was watching my kids play with their cousins.  I don't think they even knew Dan or I existed that week because they spent every waking hour playing with cousins and enjoying the lake.  We played hard, got lots of sun, and now we are ready to sleep soundly in our own beds!  I am so lucky to have such an awesome family! 

 

We had a talent night and here are some pictures I snapped.  The top pictures are of the guys doing their synchronized swimming routine!  It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, I wish I had a video of it!  We had all kinds of so-called 'talents', I even did one with Tawni and Ashley and it was a hit!!  We also had a karaoke party in the soda bar, that's always fun!

 

And of course, what's a Ball reunion without the lake!?!  We spent a couple of days enjoying the sand, sun, clear water, and ski boats!  We all came back with a healthy dose of Vitamin D!

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Logan Temple.  It is amazingly beautiful!  The kids all thought it was a castle, and Olivia thought she should live there, because she's a princess, of course!

(Just click on the collages to see the pictures enlarged)

We Made it!

Well we made it to Boise, and have been busy busy!  It's really late, and I'm super tired from lack of sleep all week, but I wanted to post a few pictures of our first holiday in our new place.  The neighborhood we moved to has a beautiful club house with a pool, park and tennis courts and we found ourselves taking full advantage of it our first day here!  It's hard to justify unpacking when the sun is shining and you can look our the window and see the pool house!  I'll get to it eventually right?!  We had an awesome night on the 4th.  What's better than spending the night with family, lighting fireworks, and living in America?!  Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! (I'll post some pictures of our house when I get all these boxes out of here!)

This is the life!

This was the highlight of the swimming day!  The wall to jump off!

Jack loves his Uncle Jess

KJ has really gotten good at swimming this year, it'll be so nice to be able to go to the pool whenever we want now.

I LOVE this picture!  

Watching the fireworks in the front yard of my parent's house.  Their neighborhood goes CRAZY with fireworks, it was amazing.  I'm talking professional fireworks, not the wimpy ones I bought from a TNT stand!

Livie loved it!

My camera wouldn't focus on the big fireworks, so I didn't get to snap any pictures, but this one is far better in my opinion!

Yes, this is one of my 'wimpy' ones!  But the kids still loved them!

And I had to add this one because it was my last night out before the move and also my birthday night.  I went to dinner with Dan and then I went to get milk shakes with a couple of girl friends.  It was a lot of fun, as always with those ladies.  I'll miss you guys. :(