4th of July

Yesterday, we had a great 4th of July. We started off by sleeping in, well at least me :) then we finished a puzzle that the kids had started the night before. We were only missing 4 out of the 750 pieces which I thought was pretty good. We weren't sure what we were going to do that evening because we just didn't want to fight the crowds especially in 106 degree heat, but we finally decided to all go out to dinner at Chili's with a gift card that we had and then we headed to a local high school where they were shuttling people to a nearby park to watch fireworks. After a yummy dinner we got to the high school and were shocked at how many empty parking spaces there were! Ava was so excited to ride the charter bus. She just sat smiling the entire time.




Once we got to the park, which was right next to Jerrod's middle school he will be attending, we found a spot on some COOL grass and let the kids play on the playground while we waited for it to get dark. They had a jazz band performing on a field below us and Jerrod and Derek went down there in search for some kettle corn and cotton candy.





Once the first firework went off Ava started clapping and said "More". She loved them. About half way through the show she wanted to go ride the bus again. I think that was her highlight of the night. We had a great spot to see the fireworks. It was a lot of fun! Once we were home we let the kids do sparklers and pop its.

One Down, One to Go!

I finished my first section of my Anatomy and Physiology class today. Yay! I ended up getting an A- in the class which is good but being the perfectionist I am I want the minus taken off! :) I'll take it though. It has been a long week full of presentations and exams so I am so ready for a 3 day break before the next section starts up on Monday! The boys are going camping for the father sons outing on Friday. I think the girls are just going to be lazy.

P.S. Ava is pretty much potty trained now so so long diapers forever at the Crouch house!!!!

Visit From the Drapers

Our good friends Matt and Toni Draper and their family stayed with us two weekends in a row on their way to and from California. We had a great time with them. We all lived in Reno at the same time. Our Reno friends were awesome! Saturday we headed to Bass Pro Shops which is connected to a casino. One of my classmates is a mermaid in one of the aquariums and they interact with the kids on the weekends. The kids all thought it was really cool. Ava talked about it a lot on Sunday.



After that we headed down to the strip and walked, and walked, and walked. It was pretty hot so we were beat by the time we were done. But, I love to go to the strip and see the fountains at the Bellagio.

The kids knew who to beg for pennies!

We went to M&M world but got there too late for the tour. Even though all of the different colors were neat it wasn't worth $11 a pound!! These were just the colors for the peanut M&Ms.


We saw the lions at the MGM. They were very lazy. They have a recorded lion roar that they play and Ava thought that the lions were very loud. It was a fun weekend! Can't wait to see them again and any other visitors coming our way!!!

Piano Recital

I have tons of catching up to do! A couple of weeks ago the kids had their first piano recital. We started them out a couple of months ago with a girl in our ward who is great!! They are learning so fast. Jerrod played "In the Jungle", Allison played "Shoo Fly" and Emma played "10 Little Indians". I'll have to video them later playing so you can actually hear how they are doing.

And then there were 3

Well, one of our fish finally died. We thought they were going to live forever. They survived Ava feeding them pepper!

13th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday was our 13th anniversary. I can honestly say that I can't imagine being happier with anyone else. He is my best friend! Our life has taken paths that I never expected but I am so happy it did! We have had so many awesome experiences and met so many great friends along the way and grown way closer together because of them. Thanks for 13 awesome years babe! Love You!

Career Day

Last week the kids had career day at school so Derek altered a couple pairs of scrubs for Allison and Jerrod and Emma found a chef outfit. I thought they looked cute.