Why does summer have to go so fast?

SUMMER 2012

So I don't leave out one of the funnest things this spring was K's Baptism. The poor girl had to wait a few months due to BAJA!!!!!! Where are the priorities? She is so darn cute and is such a fun little girl. We just love this little one! It was such a special day with close friends and family.

Then it was time for EFY. This girl had a blast! She loves her some social life and let me tell you she was one sad little cookie to be home without something going on 24/7. As we dropped her off it was a reality check to the fact that college will be here before we know it. We loved the strong spirit and Testimony she came home with. What a great experience for her.....She is so darn beautiful on the inside and out!

Next up on the summer schedule was cheer camp for the youngest and Art City Days. Grandpa sure does set some fun traditions! We look forward to the rides, scones, food, and fun with cousins! 

Every Summer I can't wait to watch my girls in their dance recital. They all do such a great job and I love seeing all of their hard work! G did so awesome with her solo!!! So proud of her and ALL her hard work, YOU GO GIRL!

Next stop Lagoon! No summer is complete without a trip to good old Lagoon. Once a summer is plenty for me but that one day of fun a summer is a great tradition. The girls had a competition there and did so awesome. The funnest part about it, going the rides. The white roller coaster gets me every time, HAHA! What is it about that ride????? The Sounds it makes, you feel it is going to fall apart at any moment!!!!!!

Then came Moab!  We love the meeting that Chris has there every other summer. We stay up the canyon in these fun little cabins. The girls and I swim all day and of course eat. We look forward to at least one meal at "Pasta Jay's". If you have never had it make the trip and go eat there. YUMMY!!!!

Of course I hardly have any pictures from the summer. Our kids can't remember the fun things we do because I NEVER take a camera or, I take one and NEVER get it out!! The next trip was Lake Powell for Youth Conference. The youth are simply amazing! We had such a great time and amazingly enough   all the boats worked great and NO One had any major accidents. Just a bonk to a nose for one girl. So much fun!! Brought back memories of camping with the Condie's at Lake Powell, So Fun! Of course I took a camera but did I take it out NO. Others took some really fun photos though!

Next on the schedule was Chris' dirt bike trip he planned for several months. The Utah 500!!!! Took a group of over "20" I think? Noellie and I loaded up the kiddos and headed to St George and it took them nearly 3 days to dirt bike there. We had a great time watching the kids swim, going out to eat, shopping, and visiting. What a fun trip! The guys came in and were full of stories, dirt, and sweat (UGH)! They had a few challenges, a hill comparable to the "Widow Maker", but of course had the best time.

We had a few great trips to the ranch to ride the horses, four wheelers, and for the oldest to get her feel of driving. Love the time we get to spend there.

Girls Camp was so much fun this summer with the second oldest being with us. I love being up to Heber Valley Girls Camp. Amazing things happen there. I can't believe the experience I had this year. Did I mention that the youth are amazing! Such a special experience I will treasure forever!

Family reunion 2012! We have so much fun with  the family and cousins at our reunions. Such a fun time in Zion and of course a good old hike to Angel's Landing. I spent the night worrying that one of my girl's, or nieces or nephew would fall off the cliff! I was so scared the first time I went there because I had NO IDEA that I was in for some chain holding to keep me from falling. I think it helped immensely to know what I was in for. I still would never dream of letting my girls hike there on a day date (this was what kids did where I come from)

The older girls and I had a fun overnighter with some friends to down town Salt Lake to shop City Creek. So much fun! What a beautiful area and so quaint! Fun shopping, fun food, fun friends, and fun to see all of the families coming from recent weddings at the Temple.

Last but not least a trip to Cedar for Labor Day. This was a trip down memory lane for Dad. We did the walk to Squaw's Cave. It was really fun! Great summer but just went by Way Too Fast!!!

THANKS BROOKE for inspiring me to do a post! I loved yours and wish I knew how to comment! I will just need to give you a call....So many worries we have as MOM's!

A day of sewing AND.....

I was just trying to do some sewing. I have had material to re-do Goose's room for
months and months. Just at the moment I thought hmmm where are my other pair
of sewing scissors I looked up to see my littlest coming with the broom and dustpan.
When asked what she was doing her response was,"Just sweeping up my hair I
giveded myself a haircut". Thank heavens I had pulled some hair up that day or this
really would have been disastrous. Those darling curls felt like a horror film as
every turn I made produced another little pile of them. Isn't it just part of childhood?

You can tell from the smile she got a real scolding!!!!!!!!!

HALLOWEEN
This year we FINALLY went to a Halloween party of our friends in Twin. I never
in a million years would've thought Chris would dress up let alone be the HIT of the
party but you can see why.
So we totally surprised Tara and Lloyd and Tara just stood there looking at us
wondering who Chris was and was even stumped by me. She thought I was her
sons date. I will take it, she can mistake me for a high school girl anytime. We had
so much fun seeing all of our fun friends.
We had a fun night at the Pickering's and the kids had fun trick-or-treating in
the freezing cold rain. It happens every year nice days and evenings until Halloween
Night and then BRRRRR.

HAWAII
We went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving with Chris family. We had the best time!
We left our littlest but it made it so easy to snorkel, swim, tour til we dropped,
and just go non-stop the entire trip without worrying for her safety and well-being.
It was so much fun to be snorkeling on Thanksgiving Day in Hanauma Bay. What
a beautiful Island Oahu is. GREAT MEMORIES!!!! A few picture from our lay-over in
Seattle. It was the girls first time to fly so everything was sooooo exciting. My favorite
was the fact that right there larger than life as we got off the plane in Seattle was
none other than Elder L Tom Perry. What a great man to take the time and shake
our hands, it just made my day. He is so Tall!
We got in at 2:30 Utah time and Chris' Dad let us know we would need to be down
to the lobby by 8 in the A.M. for a 10 (that's right folks TEN) hour Bus Tour. It ended
up being awesome for a good view of the entire Island(nearly every square inch).
A few pics from this day. The highlight for me would of course involve food. We were
introduced to some mighty fine coconut ice cream YUM YUM! The food makes or
breaks the trip for me for sure.
Dole Plant-what beautiful grounds they have.
A view of Lani Kai from the rain forest, well pretty much the family.
Our first day on the beach. Cute Aunt Angie is helping the girls out with their
sand castle. Prepare yourself for one of the hottest bodies on the beach I saw that
day. Who can resist a good looking BODY in a SPEEDO no less YOW!!!
SERIOUSLY? And now a picture of me in a BIKINI! Quit covering your eyes and rocking back
and forth in the fetal position I was only joking.



Pearl Harbor and a tour of the Missouri

Pretty much this was something her Dad asked her to do and I was not around.
Gross, BED BUGS!Hanauma Bay
Thanksgiving Dinner at PF Chang's and I couldn't have been happier. I am telling
you what this is the way to go. Pretty much I insisted we get up at the crack of dawn our last morning there and
hike Diamond Head. A quick fun little hike with a GREAT VIEW! Just our little
family and the gorgeous Oahu sunrise.What a great vacation and then home to some snow and a broken furnace. A few wasps
decided to invade the pipe that leads to the outside and we came home to a VERY COLD
home. Hawaii how we miss you.One of Chris' accounts is the Vet for Lagoon and they had baby white tigers. The
tigers lived in their home with them for several months after their birth. A girl
Athena and a boy Titan (look for them at Lagoon). The week before they were
headed off to live at the park the Vet had us over to pet, cuddle, and wrestle with the
tigers. They were so COOL! They were beginning to really get their pouncing instinct
though and our littlest was not too sure of them. This was a once in a lifetime chance
I don't think we will ever be cuddling up to white tigers again.

Titan loved Chris' leather jacket. He bit through it a couple times too. They had there
main floor completely re done and new furniture too. Even with all the blankets
covering the couches they still went through and put holes in them. His wife said one
day she was home alone and was playing with Titan and he put her neck in his mouth
and she could sense him tensing up she bravely made a quick move and got away.

Summer Fun

Bryce Canyon
Okay I am so not good at the whole blogging thing. I always put the newest event first
and the oldest last but, I guess I am catching up for most of the summer at one time.
So, this is the backwards version of how summer shook up for us. It was so wonderful
and we had the best time. A few things left out but, stay tuned maybe in November I
will post the remainder of summer and then some.


Trip to Grandma's
We headed to my mom's and went to Bryce Canyon for the day. It was so much fun!
These four braved a little hike with me down to this Arch. It was all I had with all the
marathon training this summer but, I was so happy I took them down. I love to live
life. Grandma took a little trip down memory lane and told stories of the days when
she and my Dad worked at Bryce it was just too much fun.
The Crew

The lady playing the piano was always a favorite to pick out when I was little. We
stopped on our way and made sure all of the little kiddos could find her on the
mountain and then double checked on the way back that they could still pick her out.

Uncle Tony's Wedding
How fun to have a sister-in-law. The girls are already hoping for some cousins and so
is Grandma.






Goose's Birthday
Love that we have our family near and can have them over to help us CELEBRATE!

The Royal Treatment
She had a manicure/pedicure and ate ice cream. TOO CUTE!












Lagoon
What would summer be without a day at Lagoon? Just not the same. We had
a great day until Chris and I got motion sick! The girls are little rebels they
want to do all the crazy rides. Grandma loves the spinning rides and the rest
of us adults can only do the up and down rides, the kids, they ride all of them.






Putting Cows on the Mountain
The girls all went for a ride and had a blast. We made it this summer at the
ranch without running water. Going to the outhouse with four girls is no easy task!
Going back to the basics no T.V., running water, Ipods, D.S., just the radio
and lots of fun stories, games, and food now you know why I go. I do love
to spend time in the mountains.
Bug helped move the cows for the day. I was so impressed!
This is the reason we had no running water this summer Uncle Robert and Derrick
had a little accident with the water trailer but, we survived and then some.

Cheer clinic always starts the summer off for us. Aren't they adorable? She did AWESOME!