fourth of july/hardy family reunion/steel days fun

the fourth of july is a big holiday at our house. this year we got everyone up and out of the house by 6am to go see the balloons. unfortunately the balloons decided they weren't going to get up for us. it was pretty disappointing but there's always next year :/

getting up so early for the balloons made for quite a long day but that didn't keep us away from "stadium of fire".

we set up camp across from the field where they set off the fireworks and kept ourselves busy til it was showtime. the kids got some glowsticks that they used for decorating...

me...

themselves...

and even a tree that was near by.

the fireworks were awesome as always and we were so happy we made it through the day!

this year we all got to go to the big hardy reunion. we made the trek up to idaho for a few days of fun and family.

(showing off my awesome new "edward" bracelet from bk)

the boys finally got to try out their new fishing poles gramps gave them for christmas. they didn't catch anything but they got really good at casting their poles. (i know nothing about fishing so hopefully i'm saying that right)

isabel borrowed a pole and got in on the action. she didn't catch anything but she did save a baby trout that was caught in some netting on the edge of the water. she was so worried about the poor little thing, kind of funny when you think about it, lol

i just kept watch, i'm not much for getting my hands dirty

all in all we had a good time!

steel days was a blast this year, but as usual there were a few tears shed when a kid was rejected from a ride because of their height. i make them small, what can i say?! carter shed most of the tears so the older kids endured the smaller rides to keep him happy. day two of the carnival daddy came and snuck carter on the ride he was kicked off the day before, you would have thought it was christmas. (the day before he snuck on a ride with isabel and chandler but the ride operator kicked him off. he walked over to the the gate, threw his ticket at me and put his head down, no tears, he was mad!)

my brave little isabel went on the zipper with me, that was the highlight of my day. she was an inch too short but we begged the ride operator so he told me if i promised to hold onto her he would let her go. she had fun but i couldn't get her to go a second time with me. chandler and isabel fell in love with the gravitron and went on it over and over. i went on it once and realized it was a huge mistake, getting old really sucks!

going down the big slide, weee

we ended the celebrations with the big fireworks at the high school. i swear they get better and better every year! it makes me happy to be able to share traditions of my youth with my kids :)

it's about time :)

i was getting a few complaints that the blog had not been updated in a while, boy is that an understatement. i have been pondering what i would post since quite a bit has happened since bel's baptism in december. i decided instead of trying to play catch up i would do something i have been meaning to do for quite some time and that is get some updated pictures of the kids. this is how they turned out. sorry if i went a little overboard but at least it will give you plenty to look at til my next post in six months, ha ha ;)

and of course, no day at the park would be complete without shedding a few tears. hope you enjoyed the new pics.

8 pt 2

here are the rest of the baptism photo's courtesy of our awesome neighbor!

(this is chan's new face, we got at least a dozen family shots and this is the face captured in every one of them, i'm not too happy)

there were about three cameras on us so maybe eventually i will get the pics from the one we are actually looking at.
bel and dad bel and grandma sheila

bel and grandma bonnie (i chose this picture cuz you can kind of see how we did her hair)

bel and a couple of her best buds, jackson and peyton

carter and his third or fourth donut, we lost track

it's great to be eight

saturday december 5th isabel was baptized and confirmed a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. needless to say we are so proud! she was a little nervous at first but ended up having a really great day. grandpa brad had the honor of baptizing and confirming isabel and i think he may have been a little nervous too :) but he did a great job!
it turned out to be a very emotional day for me. it's hard to believe that eight short years ago we were bringing this beautiful baby girl into the world. she is no longer my baby girl but her dad and i are so proud of the beautiful young lady she is becoming. we love you isabel and are so grateful for all the joy you bring to our lives. you are such a great example to your brothers and sister, i can't wait to see what's next!

(we've had some camera/computer issues so i will post more pictures when i get them)

halloween '09

happy halloween! this year isabel decided to be a bride after she and grandma bonnie found this dress that could not be passed up. she wore a tiara to school but people were mistaking her for a princess, heaven forbid, so we decided to opt for a flower instead.


after a long day of putting out fires carter decided it was time for a little trick or treating. he had such a good time but only made it to a couple houses before he packed it in to check out his loot. he couldn't believe that people were just handing out candy and all he had to do was say "twick or tweat" and "tanx".


and then there's spiderman. chandler had a great night! his favorite part was that grandma bonnie and grandpa brad came out to spend the holiday with us, it's tradition! he made out like a bandit after only a few houses and decided his super powers were no match for the cold and called it a night.

bel looked so beautiful that i got "a little" carried away with the camera, hopefully you will bear with me :)