The Best Family Vacation

We took the most amazing vacation to the Bahamas!! We had 10 days of family time and it was the best!

We took the red eye flight on Thursday, August 14th. We picked up Brynnli from dance and headed to the airport. This was the first time our kids have ever taken the red eye flight. We were hoping they would sleep for most of it, but I don't think any of us got much sleep. Literally Caden didn't get any sleep. Maybe he was nervous? At least he can say he "raw-dogged" it! We arrived in Tampa, Florida about 7 am their time... 5 am our time. We were all exhausted, but we knew if we could power through that day we would be all ready for our week long cruise. 

We stayed in a town called Ybor. We couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00, so we had half a day to explore. We took the trolley to the downtown area. 

Caden slept the least of us on the flight,  so he was pretty tired needless to say. He took a quick nap on the trolley. 

We ended up at some random hotel and found this cute little nook where the kids ended up sleeping about 2 hours in the lobby. 

How cool is this view? Right on the water. 

Another mid day nap in the park while Brynnli played. 

We booked a tour of the Tampa Bay Buckaneer's stadium. 

One of our first stops on the tour is where they put people in "jail" if they are being naughty during the game. We were tempted to leave our kids in the jail, but decided they could enjoy the rest of the tour with us. 

The tour was really cool. We got to see the suite, which was so nice because it was the only part of our tour that was in air conditioning. See that nice grassy field? Did you know they pay to have new grass put in the field for every game? Talk about a waste of money!! 

Then we got to explore the field. They have a huge ship right on the end zone. 

It was fun to go right on the field. 

After our tour we spent some time in the gift shop. We don't know any of the players on the Buckaneers. but we though #14 Evans was a safe bet to cheer for. 

Maybe we have a future cheerleader on the team?

Or maybe future football players? They were getting each other hyped up. 

After our tour, it was finally time to check into our hotel. We were so happy to find out that Tyler was the guest of the day. 

To end our first vacation day, we met up with the Moffits who live in Tampa. We met up for dinner and the kids had fun hanging out. 

Tampa has some of the craziest weather. It rained so hard, but the rainbow after was worth it. 

We were exhausted after our first day and couldn't wait to go to bed. We were so excited to wake up the next day for our cruise to the Bahamas!!
 

Holding On to the Heat

How many people can you fit on our new couch in the basement? Looks like 4.

This summer has truly been my favorite. I have been able to spend one on one time with each kid. For this outing, Caden and I grabbed some lunch at Chick-fil-A. 

Then the boys were at one of their many camping trips this year, I took the girls to Cheesecake factory for their first time and introduced them to the deliciousness that is their cheesecake.

While we were chillin at home, Caden and Tyler went with the young men to Lava Hot Springs. They had fun floating down the river, hanging out at the campsite, and going to the pool with this huge diving board. It is an Olympic sized diving pool and Caden was brave enough to jump off of it, although he later admitted that it was awful. 

Remember Brynnli's summer goal to spend at least one day a week at a pool? This week was with Hazel at the Bluffdale splash pad. These two are the cutest best friends and look so much alike. After the splash pad we got ice cream and fries. 

Then, since it was just me and Brynnli for the night we went to Lagoon for a few hours. It was fun to hang out with just Brynnli and ride all of the rides she wanted to go on. 

The next day we continued our girls weekend by getting pedicures. This was Brynnli's first one and she said she loved the massage chair, but the foot scrubber ticked her too much. After pedis we got Mexican food for lunch. 

Now that Tyler is back from his church activities, we put him to work making dinner for my dad's birthday. Looks like he forgot his shirt again. 

My dad turned 79 this year. I really admire my dad so much. His patience with my mom is unmatched. I don't know how he does it. 

Guess who's nails match their hydrojug?

Another fun day at Lagoon. I don't know how much longer these three will all go on the same ride together, so I will take every picture I can when they do. 

Even adults can ride the little kid jeeps. 

Caden used his money to play Hang Time. He did a great job and lasted 53 seconds. He said it was fun, but really hard to hold the bar because he hands were so slippery. 

Another Saturday morning hike with Tyler. This time we went to Ensign Peak. 

Kneaders breakfast with this handsome boy. 

Hanging out at Tammy's pool with cousins. 

Our ward does walk abouts once a month where you go to different houses in our neighborhood and the two other neighborhoods in our ward. It's a great opportunity to talk and meet new neighbors, but the kids are in it just for the treats. Tyler made the kids hold his hand on the way. 

More pool time this summer. We are getting so tan!

The Moffies visited and Brynnli was so happy to be with her friends again. 

Makayla got her braces off and her teeth look amazing!! I love our orthodontist. One kid down, two to go. 

The kids have been begging to learn blackjack, so Tyler taught them. He was the dealer... let's just say that the kids should not go to Vegas anytime soon. 

Back to school shopping requires a quick break for ice cream, because unlike the other two kids, Caden does not enjoy clothes shopping.