The Walkers

The end of June marked the third biannual Lee Family Reunion.  This year was super special because we welcomed home this guy... My baby brother,Matty, is home from his two year mission in Montana! He is still as stellar as ever and will be returning to BYU Idaho this fall.   And Isabel and Kaiya (aka: Laurel and I) spent  way  too long coloring that sign. Alicia documented the whole event on her blog a month ago.  I'm perpetually playing catch up.  Here's a highlight from the "talent" show. And the most recent family photo. Good choice on the colors, Mom! Moving on... Clint and Jen hosted a ginormous Fourth of July party.  Here's Boston and Kaiya in the three legged foot race.  I love how annoyed he looks by her presence. Of course Ben spent most of the evening bugging and attempting to communicate with the puppy. I'm never going to buy you a dog, Ben.  I'm serious.  Pretty Kaiya a midst the chaos. ...

High school reunions are totally lame.  And yet I'm travelling 800 miles to attend my ten year this weekend.  I figure it's as good an excuse as any to buy a new outfit, right? So, recently, my friend Greta insisted on seeing my photo albums from high school.  I think she just wanted to make fun of my bad haircuts and unflattering jeans. (Why oh why were they SO high waisted and baggy?) But when we came across this picture and I got really sentimental.   Some of my best memories of high school were made senior year with these girls. We had so much fun. I see this picture and I'm reminded of the voice-over in the closing sequence of Never Been Kissed , when Drew Barrymore is talking about her second high school experience and says, "Those girls are still there. The ones that, even as you grow up, will remain the most beautiful girls you have ever seen close up." That is how I feel about these gorgeous girls.  I was lucky enough to tag along with...

I love everything about this group of people.  Our "game night friends" have been getting together once a week at the Bradfords' house for over six years and every once in a while we get to go on kick-a vacations too.  A couple years ago we went on a Caribbean cruise (as seen here ) and this year our destination was Mexico.  We also got to add two more couples this go-round, which was awesome.  We had an absolute blast.  Here go the highlights. Before we got on the boat, the season passport holders had to make a kids-free trip to Disneyland -- why not, right?  We quickly discovered how awesome it is to run from ride to ride without strollers and height requirements.... we also discovered that we are getting old and very prone to motion sickness when we try to run from ride to ride without strollers and height requirements.  It didn't help that we rode Space Mountain first and then seven more rides before lunch.  And then we jumped right onto ...

Kaiya had her first dance recital last week and it was adorable. I love everything about this picture...I'm pretty sure that Kaiya (second in from the left) is looking for us in the audience. The thing about three and four year olds at a dance recital is that maybe two of them actually dance. Kaiya was not one of those two. She mostly just swayed awkwardly, tapped her toes occasionally, and grinned. And I couldn't be more proud. Brad gave her a pink rose afterward and she couldn't have been more thrilled. Yes grandmas, we have the whole show on a DVD.  And yes, we will make you watch it.

The past two weeks (since my temporary emancipation from the high school) have been a riot. We've spent quite a few afternoons with the Richardson cousins running through sprinklers, improvising our own water slides in the yard (check out Isabel and Kaiya stealing sips from our Cokes in the background), and playing with the new teeter-totter. I love Ben's sad, looking for anybody to play with, face in this picture. Isabel came through :) We spent last weekend with the Lillywhite kids while Amy and Frank were out of town. Let me tell ya', spending four days with five kids is all the birth control I need.  I'm so not ready for another child. Ava was my little helper. She is definitely the ringleader of the group with her big imagination.  Here she is playing at "The Costco Park" in Spanish Fork. Koben Ben Vance Kaiya was not cooperating with the camera.  It's a little embarrassing that out of all five kids, she is the har...

I'm a little embarrassed at my candor turned pity party I threw myself this week.  I'm still a little emotional about it all (I swear I'm not pregnant!) and I'm still not sure what decision Brad and I will make, but I'm glad I have such a supportive husband, family, and friends who let me be myself and trust me to make my own decisions. It's also so helpful to know that I'm not alone in my struggle.  People have come out of the woodwork to offer support and help watching my kids, and that means more to me than you will ever know.  Thank you!! On a lighter note... We spent a couple days last weekend up at the Wilsons' family cabin up in Scofield.  It was pretty cold but we managed to have fun both inside and out with the Bradfords, Jenkinses, Kyle Wilson, and Tahsha Ford.  Oh, and TEN kids -- please, everybody, it's time to stop reproducing :) Anyway, we spent some time taking in the scenery from the deck F...