Quick update of the summer!

Hey all! These are some fun pics from over the summer!

Ethan and Wade went to Scout Camp at Camp Loll, we went to Lagoon

with my family, the kids were in a musical at Layton Amphitheater,

and the girls and I went to Idaho! It was busy and fun and we had a blast!!

 

 

Over the summer of 2012 we had the opportunity to attend the Philmont Training Center in Cimmarron, New Mexico. We were able to go because of Wade being in the Stake Presidency. It was a week filled with horseback riding, tours, games, hiking, making new friends across the country, sleeping in tents, and playing in the sun. It was so much fun!

We had three tents for our family- two people in each tent. We all had name tags that said what part of the country we were from and that we belonged to Wade. :) The kids were put into groups of other kids their own ages that they spent the week with.

Look how comfy! Obviously, this is day one, considering how clean the tent is.... I'm sure it didn't look like this at the end of the week. :) Haha

Doing hair in our tent city. I seriously loved doing hair the girls' hair outside. And look how blue that sky is! It was gorgeous!

We were asked to make a family flag/banner that represented our family. The first night we there, all the families participated in a  family home evening parade. There were about 1500 people there, so you can imagine how long of a parade that was!! And no candy! There were cookies, however. FHE is all about the treats. :)

Our family picture with Sister Esplin, who is a member of the General Primary Presidency. She was completely awesome.


Izzy on one of the many playgrounds included in the tent cities.

At Mesa Verde on the way home. Seriously, those adobe structures built into cliffs rocked. The kids loved climbing down and around wherever they could.

In front of the Diamond Belle Saloon in Durango, Colorado, on the way home from NM.

This was one of the most fun vacations we've ever been on! I couldn't believe that sleeping in a tent for a week was something that I would enjoy! :)

Random pictures through spring :)

Ethan started playing baseball this year- he learned so much and had a blast!! He's a natural!

 On a beautiful Sunday at the Conference Center in Salt Lake.

Going shooting with dad and cousins on Easter weekend up in Clarkston.

                                                        All dressed up in Eater finery :) They're so gorgeous!!

 

Trying out the new pool for summer. :)

Ethan's birthday.... a couple of months later....

So I'm the best mom in the world and realized that I forgot to blog about this amazing boy's birthday!! Ethan turned 11 (!!!) at the end of March and had a fun day. I can't believe next year he'll be turning 12.... maybe a law will be passed before then that says parents can boycott birthdays to keep their kids from growing up. :) Lol

Birthday morning!

Ethan had to go on a treasure hunt and found all these presents.....

....that all added up to the Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts castle set!! Which he promptly put together in about three days time.... and didn't play with again. Haha :) 

Izzy...isms

A conversation with Izzy today whilst folding laundry:


Izzy: "School is not the most important thing, you know."
Me: "Oh really? What is?"
Izzy: "Jesus. And family. But not the Grinch. Cuz he's a brat and he steals stuff."


Very true. Don't be a Grinch.


Later on she saw that I was feeling a little blue so she said she would do a dance for me that was half Chinese, half Handy-Manny. How can you not be happy after that? And really, nothing blends better than a Chinese handiman with a Spanish accent. Really. 


:) 

Happy happy birthday!

The girls celebrated their birthdays back in January. Abby turned 13.... 13!!! And Livi turned 9. I can't believe they're so old!! They woke up on their birthday mornings covered in balloons and then we celebrated with family later that week. The kids all helped decorate the house for the party and we had a blast!

December part 2 :)

December fun!! One of our favorite new traditions is to make and decorate gingerbread houses and trains. I love seeing how creative everyone can be! Word of advice, though. Don't eat the frosting. Bleh bleh bleh.

Apparently our frosting was not up to building standards... an hour later they looked like they'd been through an earthquake. Haha :)

This is what the kids left out for Santa and his reindeer. Popcorn, carrots, goldfish, pistachios, a snickerdoodle cookie, a mug of milk, and a cup of apple juice. Surrounding the plate of goodies were notes from the kids explaining the snacks and asking Santa questions about how reindeer fly, what he does during the summer, and how old he is. :)

Christmas Day. All dressed in their finery for church :) and then back in jammies after church to open presents.

The three older kids got Kindles from my parents. As you can tell, this was a MAJOR excitement factor. Haha!

A few days after Christmas we went down to see the lights at Temple Square. They were absolutely amazing!! My favorite were the blue ones. They made everything pop!!

We hope your Christmas was just as fun! Here's to 2012!!