Summer Randomness

What can I say?
It's been hard to find time to blog.
So here's a random synopsis of our summer...so far!

We ladies had a Girls Night Out when the boys went on their
"Father & Sons Campout".
So we feasted at Applebees and topped off our meal
with frosties from Wendys.
Then we watched a movie and had a slumber party!

We've been a little crafty:

Sammy got his braces on!

Sara had some of her favorite friends over for
sprinklers, popsicles, giggles, movie, twinkies, & dress up!

And we've been going to the Herriman Resevoir to cool off!

Little Patriot

Sing it, Baby!

Butterfield Peaks

Yesterday, we trekked up to Butterfield Peaks
(yep, this mountain has 2 peaks)

It was a spectacular view.
We could see all of Salt Lake County
and part of Utah County as well.
We could even see our neighborhood,
and a few of the kids were pretty certain they could see our house, too.

We live in a beautiful country.

The 3rd of July

So our 4th was on the 3rd this year.
We went to Riverton
sporting our homemade T's
to watch the fireworks.

They were loud, bright,
and totally awesome!

And nope,
Violet didn't even cry!
She loves fireworks :-)

Fort Herriman Days

Every June we head down the street for Fort Herriman Days! Sam and Kaeli were in this year's parade riding in a decked-out trailer for their orthodontist. So Rylie, Sara, Violet and I watched the parade on our own! We got a great spot in the shade and scored quite a bit of taffy!

Later that day we went to the park and rode the carnival rides!
The kids had so much fun!

Then we watched a concert (Jericho Road)
and sprawled out on our blankets to watch the fireworks!

Catch-up!

Our summer started off the minute the kids were out of school, literally. We picked Sam and Kaeli up from school on our way out of town and headed up to Washington for a family reunion. We hung out and played with Aaron's parents, grandma, & siblings & their families (15 adults & 14 kids...yikes!). After the visit we headed up to Moscow to stay with my parents for a few days. We headed home and stayed the night with Aaron's aunt & uncle in Boise and visited with a few old friends and finally got home. It was so nice to see our family and friends, but it was also so nice to get our sleep-deprived children home and get the baby back on schedule!

We have way too many pictures from our trip up north to choose,
so I threw this one in of the kids all wet from sprinklers :-)

Dannon Poster Child

Can you tell this girl is serious about her yogurt!

Here she is in the middle of her testimonial,
telling all about the benefits of Light & Fit:
(vanilla is her favorite)

She got very serious and even thought about crying
when someone wanted to take the yogurt away:
(Don't mess with this 4-monther!)

And here she is wondering aloud why she hasn't lost any weight,
but in fact continues to pack on the pounds.
She's sure it's not the yogurt's fault:

It must be the whole milk!

Lil' Miss GRADUATE!

Rylie has graduated from kindergarten!
And is ready to move on to bigger and better things, like...
eating lunch at school!
having more than one recess!
and reading chapter books!!!

As for me, I am preparing to boycott the first grade,
so she can stay home with me :-)

BESTest Cousins!

This is Violet with her cousin, Ridge!
Isn't he handsome?
Violet and Ridge are only 2 weeks apart!
I think they were hanging out together in heaven knowing that their
journey on earth would be close to each other, in time and in distance.
Ridge, being the gentleman that he is,
decided to come to earth a few weeks before Violet.
You know, to test the water and make sure it was safe.

They were destined to be the bestest cousins ever!

Funny thing, this has happened to our families before,
Violet and Ridge both have older sisters that are only 2 days apart!

Kami and Rylie chose to take the plunge together :-)

Memorial Day

On Monday we headed to the mountains for a hike up Grandeur Peak.

The girls were tapped into their "inner nanny goat"
and trotted up the mountain.
Sam said he was a satyr.

Satyr = half man half goat.
(in case you didn't know)

lots of UP...

Here are the kids at the summit of Grandeur Peak over looking the Salt Lake Valley.

(and I am a few hundred feet below, nursing my baby on the side of the trail...in the wind)

Chop, chop...

Last Friday the girls did the unthinkable! They got their hair CHOPPED!
(just for the record, Daddy was not in favor)

Rylie was brave and went first:

Hers turned out the longest out of the 3, and we can still do ponies and piggies.

Sara was 2nd. I had trimmed her hair only once before,
so this was her first official chop!

(I almost cried):

We were shocked by the thickness of her hair, we're talkin' volume baby!!!

And last, but not least, Kaeli took the plunge:

cute and sassy

The girls are officially ready for summer with their new dos!
So long tangles!

V's got SKILLS!

Smiley

I don't think they come any CUTER!

I couldn't resist a photo shoot of Violet in her purple onesie.
The trick was trying to keep her hands out of her mouth.

Those fingers must be mighty tasty!

Her momma was making her pose in silly things like boxes,
but she was a good sport.

But the book shelf may have been pushin' it!

Birthday Girl!

Rylie had a birthday on Thursday!
What a BIG girl!
I told her she looked bigger to me and she just giggled.
I think she thought so too.

Rylie is so SWEET.
She loves to GIGGLE and be SILLY.
She loves SCHOOL and she loves to READ.
She loves GYMNASTICS and spends most of her time UPSIDE DOWN
(doing cartwheels & hand stands & walkovers & back handsprings & you-name-its...)

She also loves this rowdy bunch,
and they love her too!

We love our JELLY BEAN!

Today is Mother's Day and my baby is 3 months old...too soon!

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

love, love, LOVE this!

She's my hero!

Love Story

Body Art

I love permanent markers. I have one of every color.
It turns out, Sara loves them too!

She discovered my markers yesterday morning before church,
while I was attempting to sleep in.
(not a good idea)

She colored her hands & face, which we scrubbed,
but the marker didn't come all the way off.

We had another surprise after she got her dress on.
She had colored on her legs too:

She thought it was pretty.

Although she went to church with faded marker all over,
and bright red skin from being scrubbed,
she still looked pretty.