WHEW!

Well, I said we would pack as much in the week before school started and I think we have done a pretty good job!

Jill, one of my best friends came in to visit from Texas. It was so nice to see her and laugh (as usual) together. We enjoyed a great dinnner (without children) at Midtown and then went and walked around and window shopped. After wallowing in our misery of being so full from supper we decided to get ice cream.....what? We had so much fun and it is always sad to see her go home. The girls love "Jill Pea" (don't ask, I am not sure I can even explain) and were also very happy to see her. Here are some pics of her visit.

You have NO clue how many times we took this picture!

Baylee and Jill "Pea"

(Becka fell asleep).

Today we woke up to rain rain rain. We were supposed to have a park date with friends but it was washed out. SO, my good friend Bianca, her two year old Kinlee, me and my girls went to Chucky Cheese. Kinlee, Baylee and "BAKE UH" had a great time and ran from one thing to the other the entire time. It was a nice end of the summer treat before heading back to school next week.

"Bianca the Builder! Can she build it? Yes, she can!"

"Excuse me, does anyone have the time?"

"That's a BIG mouse!"

My handsome fireman husband visited our ward tonight to teach the Cub Scouts about Fire Safety in order for them to earn a badge. He did a great job teaching the kids and the boys had a fun time playing with all the fireman "toys."

Dressing up in turn out gear was really cool for the boys to watch. They learned about each piece of equipment, how much it weighed and how it is used in a fire. They asked many great questions and shared all kinds of stories.

The boys playing with the fire "toys."

Rolling out the hose for the boys, Bro. Cosby and Bro. Russell.

The week is not over yet so I leave you in great anticipation of what we will do next....until next time!

Hovis Olympics, Birthday Fun and Summer Reading

The girls decided to do their own Olympics here at the Hovis home by doing water sports. The girls decided to do "water tennis" and have a water relay. Do you think they are watching too much TV????

Water tennis













Water Relay

We had a great time celebrating Mom's birthday with family. We had a yummy meal and a very fun Family Home Evening that made all of us howl with laughter! Happy Birthday Mom!

After the party all four girls came back to our house for a slumber party. We stayed up until midnight singing, dancing and playing. Towards the end of the night everyone piled on the sofa to watch "Strawberry Shortcake." I thought they would all sleep in late but I realized I was wrong at 7am when they came to our bed ready to go swimming. We had a fun time with Madelyn and Natalie.

We enjoyed a quiet day at the Library. The girls enjoyed the new computers and reading different books. We found that the "doggie in the window" was named Bailey. Becka enjoyed snuggling with this oversized stuffed animal and Baylee enjoyed reading a book to her little sister.

Using the new computer!

I won!

Can we take the doggie home?

What a nice big sister!

We're Baaaaackkkkk!

After having our computer attacked by a nasty virus we're back! Thanks to our good friend Lisa (who is a computer genius) and her kind service she was able to make all the yucky stuff go away!

We have had some fun and busy days since "the virus" came into our home. Just as I was getting the hang of blogging I was cut off and made to go through blogging detox. In the meantime I had a lot of fun with my kid-o's!

Baylee and her friend Alana went to a fun place in the mall to get all dolled up. They both decided to be "rockers" with punk hair and make up. They had a great time with each other as you can see below.

While Baylee was on her playdate, Becka and I picked up my Momawl for our own fun. We spent the day with her and had so much fun. Towards the end of our day Momawl wanted some ice cream so we wheeled into Sonic and she had her first Sonic milkshake, I don't think it will be her last! While she was enjoying her caramel milkshake Becka had fun riding the Sonic Rocket. We had a great time hanging out with Momawl!

YUMMY, YUMMY!

Slow down there Becka!

We also had a lot of fun going to my niece's 5th birthday party.

Baylee, Becka, Madelyn and Natalie always enjoy playing together. We had a great time out on the boat until a quick storm came up that left us getting home in strong winds and white caps on the lake. Family, friends, food and swimming are always a great combination!

Baylee and Nana splashing in the lake.

Becka watching everyone else swim while refusing to get in the "dirty water."

Mommy and Baylee chilling in the lake...

"PEACE!"

There aren't that many days until school starts for me and then the kids. We are trying to pack in as much summer fun as we can. We will keep you posted on all the Hovis activities....until next time!

Flying High

We had a fun trip today to the airport. It is a free activity and the girls really enjoyed watching the planes from the observation lot. We went with our friends Bianca and Kinlee. The planes were very "LOUD" as you can see Baylee screaming in the picture below. Becka said "It was really cool to see dem (the planes) and they are REALLY REALLY awesome!"(even though you can't see this from her expression in the picture.) It's a fun trip and something out of the ordinary.

"IT'S SO LOUD!"

"The Plane, The Plane!"

Drama Queens

How much drama can one house hold?

Baylee is such a drama queen so it was only appropriate that she was chosen as the star in her school play as Snow White. She would like to thank the academy for her new found fame and the Russell girls for allowing her to use the dress (thanks Sumer!) Introducing.... Snow White.

Becka is the other drama queen in the house! She wanted me to take her picture sitting on the air conditioning unit while she posed and her hair blew in the "wind." Watch out world, the next Marilyn Monroe is underway.

Finally!

THE HOVIS FAMILY

Yes, I am finally attempting to catch up with the rest of the world and start a blog for our family.
After sitting with friends this morning at a play date I decided it is time I learned how to download the 500 pictures I had on my camera. The girls and I have had fun looking at pictures and movies this afternoon from over the last year that had been tucked away deep inside my camera.

I hope this blog will keep family and friends far and near updated on all the interesting things in the Hovis home.

We have had fun during our summer vacation! It is going by WAY too fast but we are making the most of it with lots of fun activities.

We had a great time in Virginia Beach when we visited my best friend Jen and her family. The beach was awesome and we loved seeing the dolphins that swam so close to us. I enjoyed hanging out with Jen and laughing with her until I cried. Jen and I spent each night sitting up late talking. laughing and reading scriptures. The girls enjoyed playing on the beach and playing with Don and Jen's kids. Marty relaxed underneath his "shady chair" while watching the rest of us soak up the sun. He also had fun building many sand castles with the girls only for them to jump on their hard work once it was finished. Jen's family is so great and we are forever grateful to them for letting us come to their home during our family vacation.

After leaving Jen's house we headed for the Outer Banks in NC and had SO much fun! We did all of the sight seeing in the OBX that we could do. The kids even made it to the top of Cape Hatteras Light House which was amazing! We loved going on top of Jockey's Ridge but I think the girls (and their daddy) liked jumping and rolling down the hills much more. We were even able to fly kites from The Wright Brother's hill where they flew their planes and made the big climb to the top where we saw the famous Wright Brother's Monument. On our last full day in the OBX we stayed on the beach ALL day. We ate WAY too much ice cream and sand and got a little bit too much sun but had a great time and made many memories.

The girls have had many play dates with friends, attended princess dance camp, and enjoyed our blow up pool. We had a lot of fun going out with family and friends on July 4th to watch the fireworks and enjoyed a yummy cookout.

Since my Momawl is now living so close we invited mom and her over for a Family Home Evening one night and the girls enjoyed making biscuits with Nana. Momawl won our "Kill the Frog" game which was a lot of laughs. We attended our ward's Pioneer Day last Saturday and had fun in our Primary bike parade.

We hope to keep you updated in the Hovis world in all our adventures!