Chillin' at Lake Powell

We had an incredibly relaxing time at Lake Powell last weekend. The weather was sunny and warm, the lake was nice and cool, and the company was great!

Jack finishing off Papa's ice cream. No drop is ever wasted!

Jack and Madi

Jack getting ready to wakeboard with Dad

Jack driving Uncle Rob's boat

I love those happy smiles!

Helicopter Ride in Page

My sister Anna is the office manager for Classic Lifeguard in Page, AZ. We were visiting there for the weekend, and she was able to hook us up with a 30-minute helicopter ride. It was by far the craziest/scariest thing I've ever done, but it was so worth it. Ty was in heaven the entire time. Jack was very brave and only screamed once...which is more than I can say for myself. Our pilot was in the military for 17 years and flew helicopters in combat in Croatia, Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I think he was excited to show us some of his combat moves.

This picture looks like Ty is pointing the camera downward, but he's not. This was taken out his side window. We were banked very hard to the left.

Can you see how close to the ground we were? The pilot said we were going about 160 miles an hour at 15 feet off the ground.

Skylight Arch. Right after this picture, the pilot asked me if I like to rappel. I quickly yelled "No!" He replied, "Well, I'm going to take you rappelling right now," and we dove a couple hundred feet down the side of this cliff.

A nice view of Lone Rock.

We flew right through that "V" notch in the rock. Yeah. We could see the people on that houseboat freaking out.

We survived! Thanks Anna!

Gilbert Temple: Coming Soon!

The new Gilbert Temple is under construction and it's only 20 minutes away from us!

My visiting teacher gave me the greatest idea. She has been taking her family to the site on Sundays and the see the progress that is being made. We thought Jack would enjoy it, so we made the drive last Sunday and took some quick pictures. Hopefully, experiences like this will help us remember what a blessing it is to have another temple so close to us.

Story Time

Just a cute picture of my boys reading. We love the Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems. They get Jack laughing every time.

Jack's MormonAd

Jack made this video on my phone a couple days ago. I didn't even discover it until the next morning. I love hearing the things that he comes up with all on his own. You can tell we watch Mormon.org a lot.

Afterward, I asked him what a Mormon is and he said he didn't know. I asked him what church we go to and he said "The Latter Saints Day Care."

Mini-Reunion

We had the most fun time tonight with the our cousins the Ogdens and the other Woods crew. I don't know when the last time was that we were all together or if it has even ever happened. Shane and Amber live in Wyoming so we really don't get the chance to see them much. We survived the 100+ degree weather by hanging out in the pool. Thanks for enduring the heat to hang out with us!

L to R: Hallie, Stanley, Taelor, Johnathan, Shane, Brielle, Amber, Mickle, Ethan, JoEllen, Trevor, Gavin, Cody, Jack, Ty, and Me (phew!)

Home Sweet Home

It's so good to be back in Arizona. We love being back - unbearable heat, and all. Jack has loved having a backyard again.

If I let him choose, Jack will always go for long dark socks with shorts.

We also got to spend a few days with Mike and Carrie's family from Texas. Jack loves getting "mothered" by all his girl cousins...

Here's our big helper working hard to get our walls painted. We painted the living, family, and dining rooms last week and it looks so good! As soon as I can get decorations back on the wall, I'll post some pictures.