Abshire summer all in one post.  Ready? Go.

Tansy graduated from preschool!  She was adorable as she did her songs and dances.  She didn't know where we were since we were in the very last row in the chapel.  That's why she doesn't look happy when she's carrying her certificate.  She was still trying to find us.

Her graduation was also Ben's birthday.  I let the kids decorate the cake.  They had a great time.

The Wings Over Whiteman air show was as fun as ever.  The girls got to perform.  Sydney was in a dance/cheer class that she really enjoyed.

Tansy has been doing tumbling and loves it.  So glad it is starting again this fall!

We took a little family vacation to St. Louis.  We always said that we would schedule a trip sometime when we went to the temple.  We now have a temple in Kansas City, so we had to just plan the trip anyway.

Our first stop was the Cahokia Mounds (or "Hokie Mountains" if you ask Tansy) in Illinois.  They are huge mounds of earth created by the native people hundreds of years ago.  They had different functions depending on the shape.  We did that first because we didn't think the kids would be very interested.  But they really liked it.  We climbed Monks Mound (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk%27s_Mound) and got to have a good look around.

The next day we went to the zoo.  The carousel is free for the first hour the zoo is open so we rode it a few times before getting started.

My allergies decided to assault me shortly thereafter and we nearly scrapped the whole trip because I couldn't open my eyes.  I used WAY too many prescription eye drops, but after about an hour of that, my eyes calmed down and we had a really good time.

We tried to go up to the top of the arch, but they were sold out for the day by the time we got there.  We bought tickets for the next day, but we still had to get a picture.

We also visited the science center, which my kids absolutely love.  They had some fun shows as well as a hands on area where we played FOREVER!

As you can see, we finally did make it up to the top of the arch.  It was amazing!

We also went to Utah for a couple of weeks this summer.  The following three pictures are the only ones we took because we are lame.  Tyler was a horrible bed hog.  His pillow is actually at the foot of the bed on the other side so that he wouldn't bug Zack.  That worked well.  This room also had a set of bunk beds (one of my kids favorite things about staying here) so the boys got to sleep in those on the way home.

On our way back to Missouri, we were getting back in the car after a potty break.  The boys could not take their eyes off of this motorcycle next to us, and the owner offered to let them sit on it for a picture.  I couldn't get the boys to look at me for the picture because they were so impressed with the bike.

About a minute after we got home (okay, more like a day and a half) Ben found out he had to leave for a three-week training in New Mexico.  He left five days after we got home.  My parents decided to come keep us company.  Since bowling is the only thing to do around here, that's what we did.  I beat my dad for the first time ever.  Go me!

Zack celebrated his fourth birthday last week.  Unfortunately, Ben was still gone.  We opened presents while on Skype during his lunch break and had some friends come over that evening for cake.

We picked Ben up from the airport yesterday after getting Zack's portraits taken.  I was surprised that we were actually able to do them considering how much Zack's beat up his face the past few weeks.

This picture was taken at the ER after he fell on to concrete while trying to get off a trampoline.  He isn't bleeding.  That's all bruising.

Two days later, he did this on a different trampoline when he collided with his friend.  It turned in to a magnificent black eye that extended to his right eye as well.  Sorry for the poor quality cell phone shot.

He also fell off his chair at dinner a couple of days after that and got a bump and bruise on the top of his forehead.  Somehow, the kids managed to completely heal in just a couple of weeks and we got some good pictures yesterday.

Zack wanted to go to Rib Crib for his birthday dinner with Daddy, so we headed there from the airport.  It's amazing how happy the simplest things can make me when Ben is finally home with us.  I love my family and how we have such great times together.

Sydney turned 8 last month.  She requested a red dragon party.  I managed to find a pinata from Oriental Trading and I made this cake.  The picture actually makes it look better than it turned out, but Sydney and her friends thought it was awesome so it was a success.

We had a family party Sunday night, the 22nd, because Ben was working a long-shift the next day on Sydney's actual birthday.  The family cake was a LOT simpler.  However, Sydney was impressed with the sprinkles.  I was buttercream-making master by the time I finished frosting both of those cakes and the cupcakes we took to her classroom on her birthday.

Tyler did not bother waiting for a fork.

The following weekend, my parents and Ben's mom were able to come for Sydney's baptism.  I was busy making dinner one night so I asked Zack to take the carrots out of the fridge and put them on the table.  He left with the carrots then returned them to the fridge a couple of minutes later.  I told him again that I needed him to put the carrots on the table.  He gave me an exasperated look and said, "I did!" and left the room.  When I walked into the dining room later, I found that he did, in fact, put the carrots on the table.

Sydney was baptized on April 29, just in time to attend the temple dedication the following Sunday.

She shared her baptism with two other girls in our ward.  It was a good service, and I'm really glad our parents were there, even though I apparently didn't take and pictures of them.

Sydney adopted a pet a couple of weeks ago.  This is Turty the Turtle.  She really wanted to keep him, but we did some research and decided it wouldn't be a good idea.  When I told Sydney that we were going to release him, she was really sad.  I told her that keeping him would be like if she had to stay inside all the time alone and not get to eat any of her favorite foods again.  She understood so we had a goodbye party at the lake behind our house.

Tansy and Zack and both playing tee ball.  Tansy is on a 5&6-year-old team, and Zack is in Start Smart, which is a parent participation, skills-building program.  They are both really enjoying it.

This past Friday, we promised the kids a backyard campout.  We bought a 10-man tent from our neighbors a few weeks ago.  Sydney is the only one of our kids who has been camping.  Tansy turned 5 in March, so that tells you how long it's been.  We decided this would be a good trial run.  The kids loved helping Ben set up the tent.

Meanwhile, I built a fire.  This was my first fire ever.  Sure, I used 8 matches, but this girl made fire!

We roasted hot dogs and had watermelon.  Of course, there were s'mores!

We stayed up until 9:00, so these little people were exhausted!

Ty woke up nearly two hours after Zack and Tansy.  It might have something to do with the fact that he stole my spot on the air mattress.

Round one of playing catch up.

March 13 was Tansy's 5th birthday party.  We had a few friends over during the day, but I wasn't able to get many pictures since Ben was in Vegas.  They decorated cupcakes, had a pinata, and colored their own gift bags.  All in all, a success.

March 14 was Tansy's actual birthday.  Between the toys donated to us my neighbors, the clearance rack at Walmart, and the bike I won in a raffle, there was a pretty spectacular haul.  You can see Ben in background on Skype.

From March 20-28, I got to go to Vegas to see Ben.  My mom stayed with the kids.  We were planning a 10th anniversary trip to Oregon this summer, but since Ben had to work a grand total of six hours while we were there, we took advantage of the free hotel room and rental car.  We bought tickets through the base and got great deals.  These pics are Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum (fun, yet creepy) and the gondola ride at the Venetian (short, but we had an awesome gondolier named Cosmo pictured below).

Ben wanted to take pictures of cool cars we saw.  Here are two.  Yes, the gray one is a Delorean.  Even I thought that was awesome.

Hoover Dam was cool.  This is a view from the bridge facing the dam.  We also went on the tour inside the dam.

We walked across the dam and took pictures of Ben in Arizona and Nevada.  Too bad we were already on daylight savings time, so both clocks were the same.

We also went to the Las Vegas Temple.  We showed up for the only session of the week in Spanish so we had to wear headphones.  We went to Blue Man Group (super fun!), the Louie Anderson show (good thing these tickets were free to military members; it was awful), Ka by Cirque du Soleil (absolutely stunning!), the Mac King Comedy Magic Show (hilarious and totally kid friendly), The Phantom of the Opera (disappointingly shortened but still a great show), the Ethel M Chocolate Factory (go early since they stop production about 2:00), the Bodies exhibition (honestly, weirdly cool), and the Titanic exhibition (amazing and beautiful).  We visited the aquarium at Mandalay Bay and saw some incredible animals.

In the gift shop, this guy was hand-painting whatever name you wanted for $5 a letter.  We couldn't resist picking up one with our last name.

We ate ridiculous amounts of food, slept whenever we wanted to, and generally had the most relaxing vacation of my life.  I left a few days before Ben did, so I didn't get to enjoy the Red Rock Canyon with him.

Ben got home March 31, so that weekend we colored our Easter eggs.  Tyler didn't quite understand the procedure and tried to eat his yellow egg, shell and all, shortly after it came out of the dye.

For Easter break, we had a visitor.  Her name is Midnight.  She is a guinea pig that lives in Sydney's classroom.  We might get to have her again later this month since Sydney's teacher is going out of town for a week.  They kids loved her and went into hysterics every time she left "poo poo pellets."

Easter morning involved the standard Easter baskets.

Followed by an Easter egg hunt.

Sydney might have had a little trouble finding hers.