Bryan's name on screen: Production Assistant and...
as an Extra. We hope that Bryan will be able to someday see his dream come true and have his name as Producer/Director on a nationally released film.
One of our homeschool friends, Logan, played Megan--she also was Helen Keller this year (she was the youngest Helen ever, too!). When she is famous, I'll be able to say "I knew her when...."
The kids had fun trooping down to the creek...until the moms heard there was a snake in the water and we hurried the kids back up the hill. There were 11 kids all together, with siblings and a visiting cousin. It was a lot of fun! The kids had a water fight with sponges and buckets of water to soak the sponges in instead of water balloons. Also, a slip-n-slide was a great hit. Luci even went on it with JT. Here are some of the boys drying off while eating a snack.
JT hitting the slide.
John put cardboard underneath the slid so the rocky ground wouldn't ruin the fun. That was a great solution.
Holding that new permit and so excited....really, he was thinking, "Mom, people are watching!"
First time out in the parking lot at church.
Attentive driver?! We've got to nip those bad habits in the bud! 
Well, I broke our printer today. I followed the instructions from the internet, very carefully, but I broke it anyway. Panicking, I turned around, wondering how I was going to explain this to John. Hooray! What did I see but the printer Dad gave me when we left Idaho! Thanks, Dad, for not needing the printer that came with your system...or, thanks for liking your old printer better than the new one. I got it hooked up and working, all by myself. I feel smart.
Shanna and Sophia. Sophia is 4 months old. What a cutey! (Mom looks pretty good, too, don't you think?) Love that red hair on Sara!
Sophia in my old rocker. Isn't Sophia a beauty? Mom and Dad, remember that rocker? I never guessed it would get so much use.
Heath and Sara.
Luci pulled out the high heels and hats. She and Sophia had a good time dressing up. Only 8 weeks between birthdates....Sophia's birthday is early September and Luci's is late October.
JT's turn! Loving that little niece.
Papa, I think I need Mommy now.
Everyone got a turn to cuddle with Sara. Sara really is a petite thing. I guess it's the angle of the photograph because Luci didn't look quite so dwarfed in real life.
Decked out in Ratatouille birthday hats. It was a great movie!
WOW!! Cell phones! We got the boys pay-as-you-go phones. We bought their first set of minutes and the rest is up to them. They are going to more activities without us, and I think this is a great safety net. Can you tell JT is excited? Bryan looks pretty pleased, too.
Bryan had two friends spend the night on his birthday. (I can't find the photo of all of you guys together, I'm sorry!) Luci was a scream at supper that night. We'd say just one word or a phrase and she'd crack up with laughter. It was a hoot! 
Luci's first popsicle...I actually found some without any artificial colors or flavors. Yum!
Luci before she was bitten by mosquitoes. Look! She can wear pig-tails now! John says they are dog ears. Doggy is cuter, so dog ears they are. Oh, so cute.
Luci is a Mosquito Magnet. She was outside for just a little while yesterday afternoon and ended up covered with bites. She looks like an unfinished dot-to-dot puzzle. Poor baby. Here she sits in Bryan's laundry basket. Is it her mosquito net, perhaps?
We passed through a terrible storm on Tuesday, June 19, heading west. Kansas is the longest state! It seems to take forever. And when you add a violent thunderstorm, it seems even longer. JT took this photo while we drove and it shows the back end of the storms we went through. I thought this was a great photo. I wish we had a meteorologist to explain the formation of those clouds to us. It was a mighty storm.
Tori, Luci and Suzi 
A long, long road in Wyoming. This is on the way to Boise. On the way home, the boys recognized this particular stretch of road. I have hopes that someday, they will take their own kids on a long road trip and experience all the fun I had with them on this journey! ha ha. Really, the kids did extremely well. At least I didn't have to force them to drink KFC gravy.
Cow Creek fire in Idaho, just across the Utah line. It was very close to the interstate. After the two fires that were close to our home and then one in Colorado that affected our driving on Wednesday, this made a huge impression on Bryan and JT.
Bryan tried out new headgear. I don't tolerate the word "boredom" on a car trip, so the boys kept themselves amused in odd ways. That is a pillow tied on his head.
Luci makes an appearance as Popeye. What a good (?) brother.
Mom and Dad with Janet's girls, Katie and Laura.
My birthday dinner. Luci had a napkin tied on as a head scarf.
Telling stories. When the family gets together, you never know what they are going to say. It can get wild!
Newlyweds Tori and Caleb.
Charlie and Quinet (I couldn't find the right accent mark in this font, sorry Q!)
Mom and Dad having fun out on the town.
JT, Luci, Bryan and Katie throwing the frisbee for Tippy the dog. This is the park behind Charlie and Q's house. Pretty nice, huh?
Pretty Laura.
This puzzle party got out of hand and the house flipped! Luci, Nana and Aunt Janet
JT doing some styling on the ginormous trike at Mom and Dad's.
Luci learned to ride a tricycle on June 23rd!
The thing to do when kids are playing out front at Nana and Papa's: sit in lawn chairs at the front of the garage and wave at passers-by. It's a pretty neat set-up. When the kids are done playing, just wheel the bikes back inside and close the garage door.
Helping Papa put air in a bike tire. Little does Luci know that she is following a tradition: I used to be Dad's helper but Luci is much sweeter about it ("Dad, do I have to help you change spark plugs??!!")
JT built a tower out of little chairs. It is quite a challenge, and Luci was always eager to knock them over!
This photo just looked funny. Uncle Charlie picks Aunt Janet's nose as cousin Chad finishes his meal.
The kids made a movie while we were there. Dad let the kids take over his computer room, and even tape a sign to the door. This is the Editing Room.
Final photo of the cast and crew of Mystery. JT, Katie, Bryan, Suzi and Laura.
Happy girl! I think I posted this one earlier, but I like it so much it deserves another showing.
When we were getting ready to leave on Thursday for the long trip home, we were taking photos out in front of Mom and Dad's house. I couldn't find Luci....after a few seconds of panic, we found her in the van, buckling herself in. She was ready to go home!
Bonding:
When we got home from out transcontinental journey, it was apparent to both John and me that Luci is really, really bonded to us and she knows exactly where and what (or, rather, who) her home is. It is here, in our corner of Alabama, with BOTH parents, BOTH brothers and all of her STUFF. She has not stopped saying, "MY house. MY daddy. MY doll. MY pictures. MY (fill in the blank)." The happiest part of going shopping used to be getting the sticker from the greeter at Walmart. Now, the best part of shopping is pulling into the driveway and seeing HER house. (She will correct you if you say it is also yours! "MINE!")
P.S. I've always been patriotic, so I hope you were patient through all of that above. Even my name has USA in the middle of it! s-USA-n (pretty neat, Mom and Dad! Thanks for giving me that name.) My signature line on all of my emails has this quote by Thomas Paine: "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day that my child might have peace." ~1780 That says quite a bit right there, doesn't it?
Answer: "Yes, son. It is a family tradition."
