Bear Lake

We spent this past weekend in Bear Lake with Andy's family. We just love Bear Lake and always look forward to going. I just love the drive up there, it is so beautiful. My favorite part is as you come up out out of Logan Canyon and begin the descent into Garden City and you see the beautiful lake surrounded by the mountains. It is just amazing.
The kids had a blast this year. We basically spent the majority of our time just hanging out at the lake and playing in the water and sand. Here are some of the pictures from our trip:

FUN IN THE SUN!







Kaden and Cassidy loved being buried in the sand!




Grandma always comes prepared with activities. This year it was decorating T-shirts!


Fun with Grandma and Cousins!

Island Park

We just got home a couple of days ago from a wonderful trip to Island Park, Idaho. If you have never been, I would highly recommend it. It is so beautiful there and so much to do. We had all of my immediate family there--12 adults and 18 grandchildren!! We rented this gorgeous cabin. It was huge and accommodated us all really well. I have to say a huge thank-you to my sister-in-law Andrea for telling me about this cabin.
We all arrived Thursday late afternoon. The kids were dying to get in the hot tub. Soon after they got in, Uncle Kevin joined them. He is a kid himself and this is why all the grandkids love him so much! Soon after Kevin got in, Aunt Laura did too, but not by choice!! She was a good sport and the kids had a blast with her too!!

We spent all of Friday at Yellowstone. I haven't been there in years, so it was nice to go back . The kids loved yellowstone and thought Old Faithful was especially "cool". We also hiked through the paint pots, and took a break for the kids to play in the water at firehole flats. Our only animal sightings were a bald eagle and buffalo(which were responsible for a 40 minute traffic jam).

Saturday was spent exploring Island Park. We went to Big Springs, equipped with a loaf of bread to feed all the trout--which were basically non-existent--but the seagulls sure enjoyed it! Then it was on to Henry's Lake for fishing. Thanks to Uncle Brian the kids were able to go out on the lake in his fishing boat. My kids weren't lucky enough to catch anything, but some of their cousins were and we enjoyed a delicious meal of trout that evening. We also went to Mack's Inn to do some canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boats.
We enjoyed hikes, sightseeing, playing games, watching movies, smores, and just being together. It was a blast!!

On our way home Sunday we stopped in Rexburg so I could visit my old stomping grounds. It was really neat to drive through the town and see what has changed and what hasn't. It was neat to be there, it brought back so many fun and wonderful memories.

My sister and I outside our old apartment in Rexburg.

The new Rexburg Temple--amazing!

Time to Catch Up!

I have been such a slacker at my blogging lately. We have been so busy and had so much going on. I realized that since I am sooooooo behind I will never catch up, so I thought I would just mention some of the highlights of the things I have missed!

**Ethan began walking about 6 weeks ago!! I think this is one of my favorite milestones. I always look forward to it, it is so neat to see them learn and grow and discover what they can do on their own! I know so many who say they think it is harder when their kids start to walk because they can get into everything and it is more work for the parent, but I think I am just the opposite. Ethan was already into everything so it didn't change much!! Now he is onto climbing!!




Ethan with his vacuum in hand--definitely his mother's son!

**A very exciting, emotional moment for our family came a few weeks ago when my mom recieved her mission call! She was called to serve in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia mission, and she leaves September 8th. I am so excited for my mom. She is going to have an amazing experience and I know she will be blessed for her service. I can't tell you how hard it is going to be for me to not have her here for the next year. That may sound crazy to some because I know many of you don't have family nearby, but I have been lucky enough to have my mom close by, so it will be an adjustment for me and my family. My kids are very attached to my mom and it will be hard on them too. Ethan is especially attached to Grandma. She is the one person that he will choose to be with over me--and if you know what a momma's boy he is that is pretty big! After my mom opened her mission call we were all just sitting around talking about it and didn't realize that Cassidy had left the room. Awhile later we found her hiding behind a chair in the living room crying because she is going to miss Grandma so much. It broke my heart, but I know that the example my mom is setting for my kids is worth it! Congratulations Mom! We know you will do a wonderful job, we will miss you, but know you are doing the right thing! GOOD LUCK!!

**We have had a fun couple of weeks with family in town, a vacation to ID(post to come very soon!), and two more trips coming up! My brother David and his wife Carrie came to visit from AZ for a couple weeks before our big family reunion to ID. We always look forward to their visits. They have a daughter, Rachel, who is just five months younger than the boys and they play great together. They also have a 3 year old girl, Becca, although you would think she is much older, she just fits right in with the big kids. She is so smart and says some of the funniest things I have ever heard! We were extra excited this year to see them all because they now have a sweet baby boy, Nathan. We haven't seen Nathan since Christmas when he was just 6 weeks old. He has changed a ton and was so much fun. I was anxious to see how Ethan and Nathan(we constantly called them the wrong names) would react to each other. They did really well together. Ethan was always patting Nathan's head and rubbing his hair. Nathan didn't seem to mind except for the times when Ethan was a little too rough. It will be fun to see them be little buddies as they grow older, we only wish they lived closer!

Ethan giving Nathan a hug!

It was nice to have them here for the fourth of July holiday. We had a great family BBQ and went to fireworks together. It was so fun to watch Ethan enjoy the fireworks. Last year he slept right through them, but this year he absolutely loved them! He couldn't stop pointing at them.

We were also lucky to be able to spend some time with my Dad. He came up the day after the fourth. We ended up taking the kids to the AF pool to enjoy some time in the water and with Grandpa. We had a great time!

Ethan loved being able to stand in the water by himself. We had to watch him very carefully though because he loved to let go and go under the water. He is such a little fish!

Of course the waterslide is always a favorite!

We just love summer and all the fun times together!

It just isn't summer without. . . . .SWIM LESSONS

The kids just finished up their swim lessons last week and I wanted to post some pictures we got of them. They did really well this year and are getting so good in the water. Cassidy loved doing all the different floats she has learned--especially the watermelon and jellyfish floats. In the boys class they learned to dive under the water and retrieve the diving stick. They just did awesome!!
I was afraid that Ethan might be hard to keep away from the water during lessons because he has this serious obsession with water and just can't get enough of it. Luckily he was just perfect and stayed with me the entire time.
Can't wait till next summer and more swim lessons!







The last day of lessons was the most fun for the kids because they got to go down the water slide!