to utah for the 4th!

  We went to Utah for the week of July 4th. The night before we left we had some fun in the pool. Rob thought the boys looked like Dr. Seuss characters:

 This has nothing to do with our trip, but I didn't want to leave out these hilarious shots of Tosh playing Wii tennis with me. This boy practically jumps the entire time he is playing:

  We left for Utah on the 28th of June. Rob grabbed a stack of our CDs to listen to on the drive and thought to introduce Mulberry Drive (Rob's college band) to the kids:

We made a brief stop at Lee's Ferry and walked across the bridge. On our walk back Tosh yelled, "Keep your eyes open for Mt. Rushmore!"

Church didn't start until 2:00pm on Sunday, which meant there was plenty of time to make chocolates with Helen on Sunday morning. The kids had never done this before and really enjoyed it. The chocolates were cute AND very yummy! Great idea; thanks, Helen!

We made a little trip to visit the Haynie's on Monday morning, while my dad was at the dentist and before the cousins arrived. We got to meet their brand new baby, Blake! I'm so lame and didn't take a photo of him, but here are the other cute kids:

My brother Todd's family arrived Monday evening, and we took the kids to the "Castle Park" on Tuesday morning.

Resting in the shade:

Everyone tickle Hewitt!:

Rob worked from my dad's house on Monday and Tuesday. I was excited that he had the rest of the week to be with us. Wednesday morning we did something I have wanted to do for a VERY long time: hike the Y in Provo! Hewitt practically ran up the whole mountain. He never stopped to rest once! Tosh and I saw a little snake on the trail. I also recognized a guy that Rob and I were in Young Ambassadors with on the way up. Such a small world when in Utah County.

Climbing the Y:

Helen offered for Liv to stay with her instead of going hiking (and let's face it, Rob would have carried her the entire way on his shoulders). It was no question as to what Liv wanted to do! Here we are at the top of the Y:

 Sweet photobomb by Todd:

Snack and rest break at the top:

On the way back down:

 Wednesday evening we got to go to a fun birthday party for Rob's sister, Jana! It was a fun evening of good food and great company. Here is Liv pushing Kiefer on the swing:

 Delaney and Burke playing some b-ball (I love these two. One of my very favorite cousin combos):

Peterson cousins!

Rob and two of his awesome sisters:

Mark's family got in on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning we went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. I sure love these people:

Liv was so excited to get to play with the new Princess Play-Doh that Helen bought. Cute Daddy and daughter time:

My niece McKaylynn did such cute braids on all of the girls:

Thursday afternoon we hiked to Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove. I promised some of the younger kids that it would be more of a "walk" than a "hike" and I had read that there was plenty of shade on the trail. Well, it was quite hot and sunny, and some of the kids weren't too happy on the way up, but I was told it was worth it once we got to the falls! Liv had worn her swimming suit and both she and Tosh got right under the falls:

Most of the gang:

Thursday evening we went to our cousin Jackie's home for dinner. After eating, the Dunning kids started playing a game of football in Mark and Jackie's incredible backyard.

They were soon joined by the men and some of our cousin Mark's kids (and grandkids) that were in town as well, and it turned into a big and long football game. I took so many photos! I promise these are just a few of them. Such a fun night!

Huddle up!

At one point Jackie came out with a horn and cowbell. She is such a hoot! I love my cousin.

It isn't a real football game without some cheerleaders!

Such a pretty view of the mountains. I really like being in Utah in July. I wish we could have stayed at least another week--our trip was too short!

 On the 4th of July we headed back to Provo for the Freedom Festival Parade. The kids were so excited (especially these three) when the entire cast of Studio C walked by. Cute Cami seriously started crying real tears, she was so happy.

My sister Mindy had suggested that Jamie could do the geocaching merit badge with Burke. I mentioned it to my brother's boys, and they agreed to go along. I think the four guys had a good time together, and for the last requirement they had to plan a geohunt for other kids.

 Learning to work the GPS

A special photo just for Aunt Mindy to show how excited they are about their completed blue cards:

Eliza (and Amanda and Helen) made a very festive red velvet cake:

Helen helped the younger kids to put on a little "Independence Day" program with chimes. My dad and Helen looked so cute standing in front of the kids holding the poster of the music cues:

Helen even provided Liv with this darling outfit for the program. Her job was to stand and wave the flags while the kids played "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" with the chimes.

We had a great trip. It was wonderful to spend time with family. A big thanks to my dad and Helen for hosting our big, crazy group! Miss everyone already! 

This is one of my favorite shots from the trip...Livvy Liberty!

june 2014

This month is cruising on by! I can't believe that it will be July in just a few days. My big brother Mark stopped by for a short visit on the eve of my birthday. It was nice to visit with him and have dinner together. 

Burke and I went for a little spin in his rental car:

Liv did swimming lessons the first couple of weeks in June and is doing ballet again this summer. It is interesting how much more focused she is since her last ballet class (ended in March, I think?). She doesn't especially enjoy all the stretching, but she enjoys dancing for sure. At the very end of class the teacher puts on a Disney tune and lets the girls "free dance" to the music. I took this photo through the window so it isn't great, but I think she looks so cute up on her toes. And yes, I'm pretty sure that is a blurry 'jazz' hand :)

Hewitt went to cub scout day camp June 5-7 at Heard Scout Pueblo in Phoenix. One of my friends sent me this cute photo from the first day:

I went up as a chaperon on the second day. It was a fun group of boys and we managed to survive the 108+ heat (it honestly wasn't too bad)! We were in shady areas most of the afternoon and were spraying everyone with water to stay cool.

Hewitt's face is so cute here:

 I got to take a turn too!

Hewitt and Tosh are doing swim team this summer! It is a pretty big commitment as they practice Monday-Thursday from 6 to 7pm and then have swim meets on Saturday morning. Neither boy was thrilled about us signing them up. Tosh started getting excited about it once he got his new racing shorts, cap and goggles:

Hewitt got very anxious before every practice at the beginning, but both boys seem to be settling in and enjoying it more now that their bodies are getting used to swimming the long distances. At the first meet, Tosh did Butterfly when he was supposed to do Breaststroke! Rob and I (and some other parents) were chuckling on the sidelines. He took 2nd place, and then took 2nd place for REAL when everyone did Butterfly stroke!

Some really exciting news this month is that Sue and Zach (Rob's sister and bro-in-law) are moving here! They were here staying with us for a little over a week checking things out. I was super lame about taking photos, but Sue was kind enough to send me some that she took of their trip.

We swam every day. Sometimes twice. August and Kiefer love the water. I think this is the kids playing "store" here:

Burke was really looking forward to the twins being here. This is such a cute shot of Kiefer and Burke playing together:

We went to Tumbleweed park EARLY one day. I've never seen it so empty! We lasted for about an hour until our water was running low.

Hewitt doing floor puzzles with the boys:

The Lundells had us over for Addie's 4th birthday party. Kiefer decided to do his own sunscreen! Ha! :)

Addie's party was a 'Batman' theme. Liv and Addie came out all dressed up at one point. I love these two little friends:

This is such a great photo of Hewitt reading to these cute cousins that both suck their fingers when they are tired. I'm not sure this is the best book, but it's what Kiefer brought Hewitt to read :)

We had a nice Father's Day. I made pork roast and mashed potatoes for dinner (among other things), and Rob's favorite chocolate cake for dessert. Tosh did this for Rob in his primary class:

I think he was right on! 

My sister had a great idea for us to make a video for our Dad for Father's Day. She had a certain song in mind that she thought my dad would really like (they are both country music fans). I was able to get the video put together and sent a copy to my dad before Father's Day. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb26gTg0tvA

Boy scout camp started the day after Father's Day. Burke met his troop at 2:30 in the morning to drive north of Flagstaff! Early! It was strange to have Burke gone an entire week with the rest of us here. It was the very first time he has ever spent the night away from some family member. Rob joined the troop for the last two nights of camp (Thursday-Saturday). Here are a few photos I got from Rob's phone:

Do you see the dirt on Burke's shirt? I hate to document this, but I guess Burke wore the same shirt and scout shorts the ENTIRE WEEK! Well, he did change into his Class A shirt in the evenings for dinner. I bought two Class B shirts and we packed other clothes as well. He did change his socks every day at least. Boys are so different from girls...  Burke finished four merit badges and has three partials that he should finish soon (camping and cooking take a long time). He had a great time!

It seemed REALLY quiet around here when our cousins left and with Rob and Burke gone. Tosh had the great idea last week to do a lemonade stand. I didn't know how successful it would be, but since we get a lot of traffic driving in front of our house,  it was worth a try. I had already bought all the stuff to make Rice Krispy treats, and I thought it would be fair to charge 25 cents for lemonade and 50 cents for a treat. The boys got busy making a sign and setting up on the sidewalk in the shade.  I thought it was a good opportunity to teach the kids how to sell/talk to customers, and Tosh was super excited to make change. Turns out that no one ever wanted change back which was a bonus! The kids ended up making $9.25 in a little under two hours.

While Rob and Burke were driving home from camp last Saturday, Liv and I went to Tosh and Hewitt's second swim meet (she was a trooper as the meets last almost four hours!). So Hewitt insists on wearing this sweet swimming mask. I keep offering to get him racing goggles (and a cap), but he isn't interested. It is helpful that I am able to spot him easily though:

On your mark!

Tosh doing backstroke:

 This last random photo of my funny girl (with some crazy hair) makes me laugh!

Hope you are enjoying the summer as much as we are!