Zucchinis!!

I do not have a green thumb. Sometimes I have trouble keeping house plants alive! But, this spring I decided to plant some herbs and a few vegetables out in my front flowerbeds. The herbs did well from the beginning and I have started getting tomatoes. I only have one yellow squash and I don't think any more will grow. But, check out these zucchinis. I don't know when they got so big!! I picked a normal size one last week and then Monday night I went out there to get a tomatoe and I found these two huge zucchinis.

I planted too many plants in a small area, so it is a little hard to see what is growing with all the big leaves. I guess I just missed them.

Jennifer's Visit

My oldest sister, Jennifer, and her family came from Kansas for a visit July 9th-12th. We did a lot while they were here. They flew in, so straight from the airport I met them at Six Flags and dropped Lil Jesse off to spend the rest of the day there with my 16 yr old nephew, Alex. Jennifer also went in with my niece Kerstin and my step-nephew Austin (from Barry's side of the family) Jennifer, Kerstin, and Austin only ended up staying for a couple of hours due to the Texas heat of over 100 degrees! But, Jesse and Alex stayed til almost closing. Everyone else met for dinner at Hibachi (one of the Japanese restaurants where they cook in front of you at the hibachi tables) The kids love going there! Then Sunday and Jennifer took the little ones back to the hotel they stayed out to swim, while I went and picked the two older boys up at Six Flags. On Friday we took the kids to a pool to swim and had a great time. It was also my niece on Jesse's side, Aubree's 10th birthday, so my family went to her house to have some birthday cake! Then we all went to Lone Star Park (live horse racing). They were having a concert with an Elvis impersonator. The kids were having fun watching the horses and cheering for them. On Saturday we loaded up in two cars and drove about 2-1/2 hours to Georgetown, TX to go to the Innerspace Caverns. When we got there we all mined for gems. You bought bags of dirt from inside and then you take them outside and empty them into the sifters. Each bag had different gems and crystal, and fool's gold in them. The kids were having a great time and we had to go back in and buy more bags because they wanted to keep doing it. Then it was our turn to start the tour. You load up into a little train car (which Cole loved!) and it takes you down a tunnel into the cavern. The guide takes you on an hour tour, pointing out things and explaining how things were formed. It was very beautiful and interesting. The pictures don't really do it justice. Even the little ones were following the tour guide and asking questions! After driving the 2-1/2 hours back, we just all went to my house for some dinner and visiting. On the last day, we went to see a movie at Studio Movie Grill. That is a place where you sit at tables and you can order food and drinks during the movie. Steve (Jen's husband, Alex, and David ( Sunday's fiancee) went to see Transformers 2 while Jen, Sunday, and I took Cross, Cole, Jude,and Kerstin to see Ice Age 3. It was good and all of us liked it. We had lunch while watching and then it was time to say goodbye so they could get on the road to the airport! We should have taken some more pictures, but the only ones I took were while we were at the caverns. Oh well!

Grandma Miller's Visit

My Grandma (my mom's mom) who lives in Kansas came for a visit. While she was visiting we had a barbecue at Mom and Barry's after they were sealed in the temple and for Grandma's birthday. Then Grandma flew to Utah to visit there for a week. When she came back to Texas she visited with an old girlfriend who lives in Denton for a couple of days. Then Sunday and I tool her to a day spa for a late birthday gift. We had facials, manicures, and pedicures. After that we all went to Red Lobster for some dinner. Cross, Cole, and Jude were crazy for the live lobsters in the tank. They were over there watching them. One of the employees came over and started taking them out so they could see them out of the water. This freaked Cole out completely and he ran back over to the table - he was calling them monsters instead of lobsters! But, Cross and Jude were loving it and they got to touch one! Then they wanted to eat lobster, so the waiter played along and said that the fried shrimp and chicken tenders we had already ordered for them were really lobster. On the Friday before July 4th we took Grandma and the little ones to the Dallas World Aquarium since we were all off work for the holiday. It was packed, but we had a great time. They have so many different animals there in addition to the aquariums. When we were done with that we all went back to my house. All the ladies relaxed and watched Walk The Line (the Johnny Cash movie) while my great husband grilled up a ton of food!
It was so nice to get to spend some time with my Grandma and for the kids to get to spend some time with her too.

Our trip to Arkansas

We were invited back to Arkansas for the annual Ott Memorial Golf Tournament 6/25 - 6/28. Most of you know the man Jesse and I both worked for for so long, J.R. Ott, passed away last June 2008. The golf tournament was in honor of his dad, Robert. Unfortunately, J.R.'s funeral ended up being the same weekend as the tournament in 2008. His family asked us to come back this year to enjoy the tournament and we were able to spend time with his Sister and her family, his Mom (referred to by the grandkids as Nonnie), and J.R.'s ex-wife, Gina and their kids, Andrew, Axel, and Lily! We had a great time mostly swimming and eating! J.R.'s sister, Joanna, let us stay in a furnished corporate apartment. We went to the Centennial Valley Country Club for swimming and some meals. Joanna and Jim have a dinner around the pool at their house on Thurs. evening. Then Friday there is a lunch for family and the golfers. We got to take some golf carts Friday afternoon and drive the kids around and have burgers out by one of the holes on the golf course. Saturday and Sunday Lil Jesse got up early and went with Andrew and Axel to cook hamburgers for all the golfers and family. I think each day they cooked more than 300 burgers! (There were several adults doing the cooking too) I took Cross and Cole swimming everyday! Saturday night there was a nice dinner at the events center with a great live band! Thanks to Gina for letting all the kids stay at her house Friday and Saturday evenings so Jesse and I could stay out and enjoy the bands.
We made the six hour drive home on Sunday and brough J.R.'s two boys, Andrew and Axel, home with us. On Monday night all the boys saw Transformers 2. On Tuesday, they all came up to the shop and rode dirt bikes on the mini track by the shop. Wednesday, I dropped them off at Six Flags for the whole day! Thursday evening big Jesse took them all to Village Creek Motocross Park to ride dirt bikes. Friday we had a cook out at the house and they shot off a few fireworks. Then on Sat. 4th of July we went to lake for the day and they tried to ski. Jesse and Lil Jesse are good at skiing, but it wasn't as much fun for Andrew and Axel since they weren't able to ever get up. Then we set off a bunch of fireworks at the house that night. Sunday we took them to the airport to fly back home. We were all exhausted by then. Hopefully they had fun!