Camping Trip #3

We finally made it out camping again. This time it was for our ward camp-out. We went to a beautiful spot near Camp Verde called West Clear Creek. The weather was lovely and the kids had a great time playing with their primary friends. We took the kids on a six-mile hike and I'm so proud of all of them for enduring it!

The creek was a little too cold for swimming so the kids decided to just throw rocks in. What a bunch of crazies.

Birthday Photo Shoot

Getting these two to hold still for a minute is a challenge, but at least getting them to laugh and smile is not!

The Four Year Olds

Audrey and Elliot turned four years old this morning. They have been looking forward to this day for months because they know that you get candy in primary when it's your birthday. How fun that it was actually on a Sunday this year. Elliot asked for a train cake and Audrey wanted a butterfly. We're so in love with these two little bubbly children.

Audrey's Favorites at Four:

Animal - moose

Food - pizza

Activity - playing dress-up

Song - whatever she makes up

Color - pink

Elliot's Favorites at Four:

Animal - frog

Food - hamburgers

Activity - drawing 

Song - "Happy"

Color - blue

Summer Vacation

We finally got a chance to get out of the Phoenix heat and go on vacation. We crammed as much fun as possible into our week.

MT. PLEASANT

The first few days of our trip were at Rob and Leslie's new house in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. The weather was cool and breezy and we enjoyed getting to wear long pants and jackets. The kids wanted to be outside from sun up to sun down.

Jack, Elliot, and Madi riding home from church in the Bug.

Mule rides with Kenna

A family "selfie" on the Mule. Jack mastered driving this by himself, too!

The first birthday celebration of the week for the twins included new cowboy hats from Aunt Les and indoor s'mores.

A much needed ride for me and Ty.

Drinks with Aunt Les and Madi at Fizz.

PROVO

We spent a day in Provo to show the kids some of our old apartments and BYU campus.

The LOVE sign in the Museum of Art.

Audrey enjoyed sucking on this lime at Cafe Rio a lot.

Second cousins at the Blacks house: Audrey, Penny, Maggie, Jack, Cooper, Elliot, and Champ in the back.

Some of my favorite cousins! Whitney Spear, Katie Black, and Michelle Neff.

LEHI

We moved on to Lehi for a few days to stay with the Taylors. All the kids slept in the basement together and had fun playing restaurant and dress-up all day.

Josie and Audrey are pretending to be Beauty and the Beast.

We all hiked up to Timpanogos cave one morning. The kids were all troopers and walked the whole way.

Hiking buddies Jack and Josie.

Josie, Savannah, and Audrey

The aftermath of the hike.

The second birthday celebration for the twins. This time, Jack and Josie decided they needed to blow out candles too. Auntie made delicious chocolate molten lava cake.

We took a trip to Scheel's and put all the kids on the ferris wheel inside the store. They were so brave!

So high!

The aftermath of Scheel's.

PAGE

The last day was spent in Page at Granna and Papa's house. We spent the evening on the beach at Lake Powell. It was so peaceful to watch the sun go down while watching the kids play in the sand.

Granna and Jack

The third and final birthday celebration of the week - homemade peach cobbler with peaches from Granna's tree.

Rio Vista Fishing

Last weekend, we took the kids fishing at a pond near our neighborhood that stocks fish. It was a super hot day, but we went really early in the morning and tried to stay cool in the shade.

We caught two fish! The first one Elliot and I caught together. The kids all squealed and took turns touching it.

And the second one Elliot caught all on his own! Can you see it? You may need a magnifying glass. He was so proud of himself, though. He got this fishing pole for Christmas last year and he loves that it's all his own.

After fishing, the kids put on their suits and we played in the nearby splash pad. 

What a perfect morning!

Summer Survival

The weather has been HOT but we've tried to stay cool this summer. We gone to see a couple movies at the theater. This was actually the first time Audrey and Elliot have been to a theater and the second time for Jack. I'm usually not a big fan of going but it definitely helped cure some summer boredom.

We've had lots of play dates with friends at pools. The kids have all improved a lot in their swimming this summer.

A couple of McDonald's outings have made the top of the list of the kids' favorite activities.

And of course the epic water fight they had with Mom and Dad in the backyard... We all got drenched but we laughed a lot and we forgot about the 110-degree weather!