What... School Already?

So where in the world did the summer go? I have to admit that I am sad to see my kids go back to school. I do love having a little structure in our lives, but I hate to think they are with their teachers more than they are with me. I guess I get a little jealous! Oh well, I'm not ready for home schooling, so I must obey the rules! Sunday night we bid a sad farewell to my niece. It is sad to see her go, but we are glad that she is making the choice to go to college. Good luck Sarah! We miss you already! (Who knows why I only ended up with a picture of the cake and not the actual college student?)Hard to believe Wesley will be a Junior this year. They grow up so fast!Connor is relieved to not be the "low man" on the totem pole this year!Braden is thrilled to be the one of the oldest kids in the school. I think he is going to have a great year! Check out his shoes. Both he and Connor have shoes that remind me a little too much of when I was in school. I guess what they say is true, Fashions always come back! My little adorable princess. She was very nervous to start 1st grade this year. She was so excited to get a blessing from her Dad to put her mind at ease. Although she went to the first day clutching her stomach because she was so nervous, she came home very excited about the coming year.

Parker doesn't start for another week and a half, so I'll post that when the big day arrives!

Here's wishing my kids the best school year ever! I love you all!

Zions National Park

So, this post is a few months overdue. Over Memorial Weekend we finally took the trailer and went to Zions National Park. Even though we had a few kinks to work out, the trailer was awesome and we had a great time! I love the picture below because I think we look like the Beverly Hillbilly's, all loaded up and ready to go.The campground was right next to the Virgin River. Connor ended up with strep AGAIN, so this is about as far as he ventured out the first day.We went on a short walk up the canyon. It is such a beautiful place.Unfortunately, Connor didn't join us on the first hike, but the boys had fun.The campground had a pool. Although it was VERY cold, the kids seemed to enjoy it. The scenery was amazing!After a very EXPENSIVE trip to the doctor, Connor tried to do a little swimming.Rod even made a quick pool appearance.The next day, we did a fun hike. Connor even came along. Wesley was so cute. The hike had a lot of drop-offs, so he would not allow Halle out of his sight!We had a great time hiking and camping with the Jensen's. Nate was such a big help with ALL things relating to the trailer. Sandy was great to have around because she always has such a fun, cheerful attitude!What a cute little family!!The last day we were there, Nate and Rod took Wes and Chase on the hike up Angel's Landing. Once again, Wesley was being overprotective and would not allow his brothers' to come. He said he would be too stressed out worrying about them on the drop-offs. The trails really are STEEP. Notice the chain that you hang on to.
Lucky for Rod, Wes was in great spirits.

I love this picture of Rod and Wesley at the top. The scenery is beautiful, but I especially love how it shows how grown up Wesley is becoming. It is nice for Rod to have someone physically able to help him and also do things that they both enjoy.
Thanks to the Jensens for coming with us on our first big camping adventure with the trailer. It was great to have such good company. I loved having my kids undivided attention and getting to spend time with playing games, cooking smores, and hiking. I hope this is the beginning of many more fun adventures.

Ear piercing time!!

I've wanted for Halle to get her ears pierced for quite some time now. It has to do with dance. (For performances she has to wear earrings and the clip-ons really hurt.) Anyway, she has refused. She always says when I'm 6 and when she turned 6, it changed to 7 or sometimes 10. So on Sunday, out of the blue, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. Of course, I told her we would go TOMORROW and we did!

Checking out which earrings to buy.

Of course she picked one of the most expensive!

I love this picture because it shows how nervous she was.

She was so brave! I really was suprised at how well she did.

The finished product.

We are both pretty excited that she has pierced ears. She was already trying to get me to buy every cute earring in the place! It was a strange feeling allowing some strangers to put holes in my daughters ears, but it is over now and hopefully they will heal well. She looks adorable. It's hard to believe that she is growing up so fast!!

Stadium Of Fire!!

This year we were lucky enough to get to go to the Stadium of Fire! Halle was thrilled to be able to see the Jonas Brothers. I just like to go for the tradition of it all. I think the patriotic parts are a great reminder of what a blessing it is to live in this wonderful country. I can't say that the boys felt "lucky" to be there, cause it is not "cool" to be a teenage boy at a Jonas Brothers Concert, but I was so thankful to have ALL my kids with me! That is a rare treat as they get older. All in all, it was a great night and a fun 4th of July!

This collage is the "before" picture. Okay, so they may not be excited, but the F16's were coming soon, so that would get them smiling a bit!

These pictures were taken during the concert. Halle and Parker and I seemed to be the only ones having fun. (Check out the picture of the boys, that is how they stayed for the whole concert.) I swear Halle did not sit down once. She was dancing up a storm. (Good thing she has a little rhythm!) I looked up once and saw here making the "I love you" sign to them! Where does she come up with these things? She's only 6!! I personally thought that Jonas did a great job! They really tried to cater to their audience much better than a certain performer last year!

They had a cool ceremony to retire a flag.

As always, the fireworks were spectacular! It felt like they were right above us. My one wish for attending this event is that my kids grow up with a sense of respect and gratitude for the country we live in. We truly are so fortunate and I hope they will always know that!

God Bless the USA!!

4th of July Parade

Thanks to Rod, Paul, and the boys for sleeping out in the pouring rain, at the parade route so that we could have a great spot to watch the parade. The kids love this part of our 4th of July festivities. Braden especially loves the sleeping out. I wonder if it all is worth it, but isn't it all about tradition and memories?!?!

We love the USA!!!

Braden has counted down the days until he could wear his soda hat!!

We loved the pirate ship float! We love hanging with friends. We loved seeing all the missionaries.

Rain or shine, we love the parade and the fun that comes with it!

Teddy Bear's Birthday!

So Halle got up one day last week and dressed her Teddy Bear in a birthday hat. While Halle and Braden were at swimming lessons, Parker and I went to the store. He kept talking about how it was Beary's Birthday. We decided to get a cake and celebrate! It was fun and kept them entertained for a little while.

This picture only shows one third of the party guests!

We made him a yummy cake. They decided he was turning 6, just like Halle!

He even blew out the candle on his cake.

Even Beary got a huge slice!

Like I said, it was a great way to kill a few hours. I loved to see their imaginations at work and I especially loved that it was summer, so we had time to do something that was absolutely unnecessary and fun!!!

Swimming Fun!

Yesterday we headed up to Misty's apartment and went swimming with Mike and Sherrie. Lauren and Danielle came along. We had a lot of fun. Mike and Sherrie are so great about playing with the kids and making them laugh! I just loved having ALL of my kids there! The kids enjoyed racing each other, teasing one another, dumping Sherrie in the pool, and having a few chicken fights! Thanks Mike and Sherrie for letting us hang out.

We missed you Misty and can't wait for you to come back so we can swim with you too!!!