Summer Happenings Part 2

On July 1st my brother Craig and his fiance Breanna were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple.

Thanks to Chad's parents, who willingly watched the girls for us, we were able to participate in their sealing.  It was beautiful and great to be there for their special day.  They didn't have a professional photographer, so I offered to take some pictures of them around Temple Square.  I don't have the best of camera and wouldn't claim to be a good photographer, but I think a few of them turned out really nice!  Here are some of my favorites.

(I absolutely LOVE this shot of the two of them in front of the temple!)

Had to throw in the ever popular family shot.  It was so hot and miserable outside, so we all look like we're faking our smiles...which we probably were.

Later that night we attended their reception.  My mom did an amazing job setting everything up and it really was beautiful.  I spent most of my time chasing the girls around, so I wasn't able to get as many pictures as I would have liked to.  However, the bride and groom were adorable, the cake was stunning, and the food was divine.

It was a great day and we were all so excited to finally welcome Breanna into the family.  CONGRATULATIONS to the two of you.  We love you both so much!

Summer Happenings Part 1

This summer has been a busy one. It's taken me awhile to find the time and motivation to get started on these posts (I don't like getting behind on my blogging), but it's better late than never. So, we'll be starting this series of Summer Happenings with Cousins and Sprinklers.

Back in the month of June our little niece Kailyn got to come out and visit while her mommy and daddy went to New York. Since we don't get to spend a lot of time with them (they live in Vegas) we decided to make a special trip down to spend the day with her and other cousins at Kenneth's house.

Here are all the cousins in the family besides Karena's 4 kids.  It was fun having all the girls (except for Abree) together.  And it was super cute to watch them all play together.  They spent a good portion of their day getting wet in the kiddie pool and playing in the sprinkler ring.

And let's not forget how much fun everyone had with Aunt Kylene.  She was really good to play with all the kids and run through the sprinklers with all of them.  She is by far the favorite Aunt in the family!

After swimming we had a yummy barbecue lunch.  It was so much fun getting out to play and visit with family.  This is when I wished we lived a little closer to our family and the girls cousins!  The kids then went inside and played with toys while all the grown-ups sat and visited.  It was a great day and needs to be repeated more often!

 The sprinkler ring was a huge hit with my girls so I've tried to be good about getting it out and letting the girls play outside and cool of in it. 

It has been so much fun to watch these two spend time together and play with each other.  They have become such great little friends.  It seems like they both have to be doing what the other one is doing which can also lead into a few little arguments and screaming fits, but they're best buddies for the most part.

As much as they like getting wet in the sprinklers I think they like drinking the water more than anything!  This is usually what "playing in the sprinklers" looks like at our house.

So, that's what we done with some of our summer.  Stayed tuned for more exciting events.

Must Read!

I'm still alive!  I have been crazy busy this summer and haven't really had a second to think about blogging, or commenting on your blogs for that matter.  However, I still find time to read through the events of your lives.  In fact, I just finished reading a post from a family memebers blog that I really wanted to share with all of you.

 Are Mothers Invisible?

This was something that I have needed to hear for several weeks now and feel as if I've just been given the biggest hug ever.

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

Chad and I have been dying to go on some sort of vacation since early March. So, we weren't about to pass up the opportunity for Memorial Weekend! (Even though there were flood warnings and bad weather forecasted for our entire trip.)
We actually decided to skip most of the crowds and leave the Wednesday before the big weekend.  We found a great little campsite, near Causey Reservoir.  There were some small pools of water scattered throughout the campsite due to the swelling water from the river, but nothing big.  The girls actually loved throwing rocks into the water and digging sticks into the mud.  Kinsie couldn't get enough of the dirt and mud!  If I didn't know any better I would say I have two little boys on my hands.
The girls had a rough time getting used to sleeping in the trailer, so we ended up taking a few late evening drives in the truck to help lull them to sleep.  While driving around we were able to get our fill of the wildlife.  Chad saw a good number of elk, we both saw several deer, and we both ended up seeing a grand total of 7 moose.  The one in the picture below actually decided to walk right by our trailer on the first morning.  HE was no more than 20 yards away.  It was pretty exciting.  The girls loved seeing him and every time we got out of the trailer they thought we were going to see the moose.

The weather was actually pretty amazing the entire time we were gone.  We spent most of our time walking throughout the camp grounds, relaxing in the trailer, walking by the river, and trying to get the girls to take naps. 
Friday night our friends came up and joined us for dinner and dessert.  The girls (because that all we have in our two families) loved exploring through the trees and bushes.  Kinsie loved having friends to play with and followed the "big" girls all over the place.  Our friend Rob hung up a rope and made a great little tree swing that everyone took turns on.  Then, we ate dinner, sat by the fire, enjoyed some yummy cobbler, and struggled once again to get our girls down for the night. 

It was so nice to finally get outdoors again as a family.  We both love camping and we were so glad to see that our girls love it as much (if not more) as we do.  We have high hopes of having a busy summer full of camping with friends and family!  If only we could get it to warm up a little.

Kinsie turned 2

So, we took her to the Zoo!

(And fun was had by all!)

Kinsie loves the movie Tarzan, so the gorillas were a big hit!

 She got really excited about the peacock that was roaming around the walkways!

 Britnee had too much fun and was out like a light for a good hour.

 Up close and personal with a Falcon/Hawk and an owl...it was so cool!

 Playing in the water fountain before we headed home.

Then we opened presents and had cake and ice cream.

The next weekend Kinsie's birthmom Dannie (and Dannie's mom Michelle) came by to visit and give Kinsie her gift.

 Kinsie loved it.  She has a thing with dresses and can't get enough of them.  This was really the perfect gift for her.  Dannie and Michelle stayed for dinner and we spent the entire night enjoying Kinsie, talking, and catching up.  It was so nice to have them come and visit.  All in all I think Kinsie had a really great birthday!

(I love this picture!!!  It is absolutely priceless and makes my heart burst with happiness.)