Campin'

This weekend we decided to get out of the heat a bit and head up the canyon for a little campout. Jacob wasn't too thrilled about finding a good camp spot out of the way via our car. It was just pure redneck for him to head up the rocky trail in the family sedan. We learned our car really doesn't have good clearance. I am happy to report the underneath portion of our car is still in tact (so far as we know). Hopefully the hunt for a new truck will soon come to a successful end.

Aahh, a great spot.


We went on a little hike. It was sure pretty up there. But this is my favorite scenery right here:


Nothing like a good wrestle in a tent before we call it a night. Allie sure gave Kenna a run for her money! These girls went into hyper mode after we got them in their jammies and in the tent. They loved it! They were giggling and jumping on the air mattress for quite a while.


This is Allie in the morning pretending I'm not asking her to look up at the camera and smile. This is her new trick. When she doesn't want us to talk to her she'll look down and the ground and glare. Our neighbor dubbed her "Allie Attitude." We obviously didn't get the best sleep. Good thing she makes up for it with some great smiles and loves.


Saturday we went to a fun little place that they stock with fish just for kids. The fish were jumping all over and we could even see them swimming in the water, but apparently we aren't very professional in the fishing arena. Not a single catch. Perhaps holding the pole in the water isn't the best form.

Forget the fish, let's just get wet! Let it be noted the attire (or lack thereof) was NOT my doing. I turned around and this is what I found. Did I mention something about redneck previously?....

Thanks girls and daddy for another memorable camp trip.

Summer Vacation

We got July off to a great start by spending over a week up North with our families. Yay!

The first highlight of the trip was seeing Aunt Connie and Uncle Ross who both came home from their missions on Thursday. Their flights were scheduled to come in only 2 minutes apart. Now that is time management! It was so fun seeing them again and they both look GREAT. We had fun spending time with them again, and loved visiting with all the family who came to hear them speak on Sunday. I wasn't quite into the picture-taking jive yet so I didn't get a picture of us with the newly returned missionaries. One of my "Duh!" moments.

The rest of the week was spent playing, hauling hay, relaxing, laughing, and all the good stuff that comes with it. Jacob can be proud of the approximately 3,456,789,000 bales of hay that he and all the boys got hauled, and I can be proud of helping my mom clear out approximately 2,318,902,001 pounds of stuff from her classroom (she will be the Librarian next year at her school- way to go mom!). I was in heaven having so many people to help love the girls. I think the girls were equally grateful for the change of scenery and all the attention. We drug our heels and grumbled at the thought of having to come back home- it went by too fast. Here are a few of our highlights:


Grandma's always have the best toys. And crazy Uncles make those toys even better!

Strolling along with Cousin Olivia. Quite a trio! Some advice for Cousin Olivia from Kenna and Allie: do as we say, not as we do, and your mommy will be very happy.

Let's give a big shout out to going to lunch with old friends who I don't see near enough. I had a blast Hayley, Linda, Ady, and Sienna, thank you! It was just too short.

Ready, aim, fire! Kenna has a wicked good arm for throwing pop-its. Check out that form!

What to do with 7 cousins on a hot summer day? Grandpa Kerry to the rescue with a pool!

Hooray for the squirty thing on the pool! Can you get any Allie?

Grandma Shelly scored big at the fireworks with the glow stuff for all the grandkids. They were a hit! It was a ton of fun being with all the cousins at the fireworks.

Uh oh, Allie ran away and is hiding from mommy again. Where did she go? Has anyone seen Allie?

Hey, here she is!

These girls can't get enough time on the horse with daddy! Especially Allie. Daddy wishes mommy shared the same equine exuberance....
Allie always loves a good toss. "'Gen, 'gen," she asks with a giggle. It's enough to just about send Grandma Marsha into cardiac arrest.

Jacob and Uncle Karl took Kenna frog hunting. Somehow I got talked into going. Perhaps my inner psyche wanted to see Jacob and Karl revert back to their summer days as little boys playing in the mud. I wasn't disappointed. This is the first catch of the afternoon, and as you can tell, Kenna thought it was such a great adventure. She just skipped around the banks waiting for each new catch. Yep, pink polka dots and tadpoles- a perfect combination!

However, as the frogs got bigger, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to hold on as long.

Now we're just looking forward for our next visit to see family. Thanks everyone, we love you!