Back to School!

The summer flew right by!  The kids are loving school (as they always do)!  Here are some pics of their first day back.

 Lydia- 4th grade

Rachel- 4th grade

 Charity- 2nd grade

Hyrum- Last year of preschool

Summer Recap

Obviously I struggle to keep our blog updated!  We had a really great summer and enjoyed doing lots of fun things!  Here are a few pictures that highlight our summer.

Kenny and I went on an incredible trip to Alaska

Alaska

Hiking as a family in the mountains above our home

Hill Air Force Base Air Show

Fourth of July fun with cousins

Gardening

We ran in a race as a family-  Our kids did great!

The kiddos had fun riding in a parade for Pioneer Day

Ogden Temple Open House-  Before temples for our Church

are dedicated, they are open to the public to walk through, see,

and ask questions.  Our kids loved seeing the inside of a temple.

We really did have a fantastic summer....this only scrapes the surface.  Hopefully I can be better about updating the blog more often!

Happy birthday Charity!

Charity just turned seven years old!  I am always amazed at how quickly kids grow up.  Charity had a fun birthday.....here are some pictures to highlight it!

 Her favorite gift- an American Girl Doll!  We've always said
that she couldn't get one until she turned 8.....

that made her surprise all the sweeter!

 She really wanted Isabelle- the American Girl Doll of

the Year.  She's a ballerina just like Charity.

 I had to smile when I saw the ballet class in session

with Charity, Rachel, and Lydia's dolls.

 Charity really wanted me to make a layer cake for her

with a "7" on it.  She wanted the bottom layer to be

lemon cake, the top layer to be chocolate cake, and

the whole thing covered in lemon frosting.  She decorated

the cake with candies that she had picked out.

I always love to post a baby pic because it

reminds me just how much they've grown!

We love our sweet Charity!

Hyrum turns 4!

I seriously have a hard time believing that my youngest is now 4 years old!  Hyrum had a great birthday!  It was his first year to have a party with friends.  He loves monkeys so we had a monkey-themed party and it was a hit! 

He was such a handsome baby...

 Now he's such a handsome boy!  

He wanted me to make him a clown cake.

He wanted to try out all of his new presents-

here he is trying out the new scooter 

 

 And roller skates

 

Hyrum's friends playing "Jungle Parade"

at his monkey party 

 Cupcakes I made to stick with the monkey theme

Hyrum whacking the monkey pinata

We love Hyrum so much and we couldn't
 imagine our family without him!

Spring Break Family Trip

We had a great time getting away as a family during spring break!  We saw a lot of neat things during a short period of time.  We went to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Dead Horse Point State Park, Four Corners, and Mesa Verde National Park (in southwest Colorado).  We did a ton of hiking, walking, and driving and the kids were troopers and did great!

 Running down a giant sand dune in Moab

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands

Can you tell it was crazy windy at Canyonlands?

 Dead Horse Point

Ready to hike to Delicate Arch- We brought along

our kid carrier for Hyrum but he did 

great and hiked most of the time..... lucky

for us because he is getting too big to carry around!

 Taking a break

 Petroglyphs

Landscape Arch at Arches

 Our two little buddies headed to Double Arch

Four Corners-  All of us (except Hyrum) wanted

our own picture straddled across all four states

Mesa Verde National Park- Indian cliff dwelling ruins

Inside the Spruce Tree House ruins

We had a great time!  Our only glitch was Charity getting sick our last night in the hotel.  The poor thing must have eaten something that upset her stomach so she was up throwing up during the night.  Having six people in one hotel room gets tricky in a situation like this, so we set up a bed for her in the bathtub.  She slept there the whole night and I just wish I would have taken a picture so we could remember!  I spent a good portion of the night sitting on the bathroom floor with my head propped against the wall....not ideal, but luckily she felt better in the morning for the long drive home from Colorado.  That aside, we really did have a fantastic trip!

Rachel and Lydia Turn 9!

Nine years?  Seriously?  I can't believe it's been nine years since we embarked into parenthood.  Lydia and Rachel had a great birthday.  They seemed to enjoy the extra attention they received.  Hyrum and I went and ate lunch with them at their school.  For their birthday cake, they wanted a giant brownie with strawberry frosting (decorated by them with candy) that was shaped like the #9....much easier than some of their other cake requests!  We went as a family to see the movie "Frozen" and enjoyed spending time together.  Happy birthday to my sweet girls!

 

They've grown up so fast!