Meet Dad's New Friend

When Dad was camping with the boys this summer he mentioned to me how much he and the boys missed Princess and having a camping dog.  Well, he finally talked Mom into letting him have one after he saw this cutie:

When they first met she jumped right into his arms and just snuggled down.  They were instant friends.  Her name is Lizzy and we picked her up a couple of days ago.  She's part golden retriever, Irish setter, and border collie.  We've had a couple of sleepless nights (she doesn't like to sleep in her crate yet), but other than that Dad's been very happy with her.  She follows him everywhere.  She does surprisingly well with the cats, too.  Here are a few more pictures of her:

July Birthdays

Happy July birthday to

Kelly,

Emily, and

Jessica!

Hope you have tons of fun!

Tea Party Continued . . .

After we finished the bears, I sent the girls on a nature scavenger hunt while I got the table and food ready.

I sent the girls off with a basket and a list.

Here they are, ready to go.

I used the teddy bears they made as decorations for the table, along with flowers in little Coke glasses I found.

The menu included: 

Strawberry Lemonade with Berries and Lemons

Bear Paw Cookies

Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

Teddy Bear Trail Mix

Blueberry Scones

and 

Strawberries Dipped in Whipped Cream

We reminisced about last year's party while we ate.  We really missed Cassidy and KayLee and Aunt Ashley.  We hope they can come next year and we're excited that Alexis will be old enough to come as well!

And, of course, it wouldn't be an Aldridge girls tea party without some silliness in the end.

I sure enjoyed spending time with these girls.  I hope we can do it again next year!

2nd Annual Tea party in the Woods

We had as many of the girls as we could round up for a visit last week and this week.  Kelsie and Sarah's cousin, Jasmine, also joined us.  Dad took the girls camping last week and, of course, that meant we had to have a tea party.  This year's theme was Teddy Bear Picnic.  I did things a little differently this year.  The food wasn't as fancy because we did some activities with it.  Here's what we did:

We started out with a craft because I wanted it to dry while we did other things.  The girls made washer necklaces.

Getting ready to make the necklaces.

Annie with her necklace.

Here's how the necklaces turned out.

Here's what Dad was doing in the meantime . . .

While the glaze was drying on the necklaces we worked on the girls' teddy bears.  I bought some fleece and we cut it into small squares and made ponchos for the bears.

I thought the bears turned out cute!

Stay tuned for more . . .

I Crashed the Party . . .

. . . and they let me stay!  

Dad and the boys are camping up in Cottonwood Canyon right now.  They left on Tuesday so I drove up yesterday to see how they're doing.  They're having a blast.  Dad told me he's really enjoying the boys.  Here's what we did last night and this morning.

First, Ethan and Burke took me on a hike.  The first stop was this beaver pond that is near the camp site.  

We played around at the beaver pond for a little while.

Then we hiked some more.

When we got back to camp, Taylor and Dad were working on the fire.  When it was ready we had . . .

s'mores!

When we finished with s'mores Dad put a hollow log they had found on the fire.  What a show!

Then we stayed up talking until dark.

This morning, after breakfast, we went for a drive.  At one point, there were rocks all over the road so the boys got out and moved them.  They had lots of fun.

This is what we saw at the end of the road:

After that, they fished in the beaver pond for a little while.

Then we played games for a while.  We played Would You Rather and laughed a lot.  I left at about lunch time.  It was great to see them having such a good time!

June Birthdays

Happy June birthday to:

Mom,

Steve,

Ethan,

and Cassidy.

I really hope I didn't forget anyone.  I can't find my calendar right now.  Happy birthday to all of you!  I hope you have a spectacular day!

Fast Fact Friday: Justin

Have you ever broken:

A window?
Yes, playing baseball.

A bone?
Nope. :)

Someone's heart?
Nope.  And never will.

Someone else's prized item?
Yep.  List is too long to write.

Your cell phone?
I went through about 6 chocolate phones.  Now I have the indestructible and I love it!

Fast Fact Friday: Ashley

Have you ever broken:

A window?
I don't think so?

A bone?
Yes.  My toe.  I was babysitting Burke and Annie and dropped a plate sideways on my middle toe.  It bruised all the way up to my ankle, and I could only wear flip-flops for a good month.

Someone's heart?
Yes.  I still feel terrible.  So I went on a date with a guy a few years back and I wasn't really interested , but kept on texting back to him to be nice.  I remember him asking me if we could be more than friends and I said no.  Which is fine, but it happened to be Christmas Eve.  I hope he still had a good Christmas.

Someone else's prized item?
I ran into Mom and Dad's house once . . . with their car.  

Your cell phone?
Hahaha.  I have sent one swimming in a toilet, sent them angrily flying through the air, chased kids in Shopko until it flew out of my pocket, bounced three times and shattered into pieces.  Interestingly, I have only ever broken one phone completely.

Fast Fact Friday: Cassidy

Have you ever broken:

A window?
No.

A bone?
Yes.

Someone's heart?
Yes.

Someone else's prized item?
No.

Your cell phone?
No.

Fast Fact Friday: Jenny

Have you ever broken:

A window?
Not that I can remember.

A bone?
My pinkie . . . thank you, Emily!  We were fighting and she kicked me.  I tried blocking it and her kick had some power to it.  :)  Don't ask me what we were fighting about because I can't remember.

Someone's heart?
I hope not.

Someone else's prized item?
I am sure I have and I am sorry.  :)

Your cell phone?
Yep, on more than one occasion.  :)

Fast Fact Friday: Sarah

Have you ever broken:

A window?
No.

A bone?
Yes, my collar bone and my shoulder blade.

Someone's heart?
Too young for that, but Daddy says I'm a heart breaker.

Someone else's prized item?
Yes.  My piggy bank . . . Rest.  In.  Pieces.  Mr. Piggy.  :(

Your cell phone?
No, I have never even owned a cell phone.

When you were a kid  . . .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A mom and a teacher.  I made a school room in the basement, complete with a bulletin board.  I also made up worksheets for my siblings and made them do them (I think they wanted to, though. :))  I also wanted to be an archaeologist, a journalist, an author, and a translator at the UN.

What was your favorite song?
Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked 

What was your favorite TV show?
It was definitely Little House on the Prairie.  Are you noticing a theme?

What was your favorite game?
The dictionary game.  I loved looking through my huge old dictionary looking for obscure words.

What was your favorite meal?
Stroganoff (it still is my favorite, too).

When you were a kid . . .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to own my own construction company.  I still love tractors and any kind of big equipment.

What was your favorite song?
How You Remind Me by Nickelback

What was your favorite TV show?
Angry Beavers

What was your favorite game to play with your family?
Spoons

What was your favorite meal?
Olive pizza

When you were a kid . . .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Ok, this one is hard to explain . . . I wanted to marry people.  LOL.  Not like marry other boys, I wanted to be the priest marrying couples.  Yeah, I blame Jenny for getting married when I was little and giving me strange ideas.

What was your favorite song?
This is funny because I refuse to have favorites nowadays, but as a child it would definitely be "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

What was your favorite TV show?
I don't think I really had one.  I loved watching the Disney princess movies, especially Beauty and the Beast.

What was your favorite game we played as a family?
Probably Uno.  Although now you would have to pay me to play it . . . funny story . . . I do get payed to play Uno.


What was your favorite meal?
Mashed potatoes and gravy, for sure.

When you were a kid . . .
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A mom

What was your favorite song?
I remember really liking New Kids on the Block, but I can't think of any specific song.

What was your favorite TV show?
I remember watching TV Friday nights as a family.  I remember liking Family Matters and Life Goes On.

What was your favorite game we played as a family?
I remember going to Grandma's house and play the colored egg game and Ghost in the Graveyard.

What was your favorite meal?
I love Mom's taco salad.  It is the best!