Summer Getaway

I feel like this summer went by faster than any other summer. Maybe its because the kids were still really busy with dance and basketball, and hanging out with friends all summer. We needed one last get away before we get back into our routine and school starts, so we took a mini vacation to St. George. We started our vaca in sunny, hot Mesquite. The kids love the pool at the Casa Blanca, so that's where we spent almost our whole two days here. 

We spent a day at Fiesta Fun riding the go carts, the bumper boats, playing laser tag, mini golfing, and the arcade. 

We had to laugh at the little kid go carts. Caden was either too big or his go cart was broken because he went about the pace of a snail. 

The next day we went to Zions National Park after we filled up on our hotel breakfast. 

Did you know that Zions is one of the most visited National parks in the U.S.? And it's basically in our backyard. The only thing I didn't like about Zions is that we had to take a bus (with no air conditioning) to get to different spots in the park. It was hot and stuffy and there were so many smelly people on the bus. 

We hiked to Weeping Rock and the Canyon Overlook. 

See those tiny little specks on the rock? That's us!

We also hiked to the narrows, but didn't go through them because some people in our family were getting hangry. Ok, it was me... I was done. And also.... look at all those people. Zions was so crowded. 

On our way back to the car we saw this deer up close. Kinda cool. 

Although Zions was fun, I still think my favorite National Park is Bryce Canyon. 

All the hiking really wore our kids out. 

We heard we had to try Pinkbox donuts while we were in St. George. It was a cute store with some fun donuts. 

Can you tell what the kids love to do on vacation? Swim!!

Do you know who the best sport is? Caden. Because he agreed to go see the Barbie movie. 

The Barbie movie is one of the biggest movies of the year. I thought it was just ok. You would think a Barbie movie would be geared toward, I don't know, little girls? But it wasn't. It was more for adults. It had some funny moments, but when I asked Brynnli if she liked the movie (Because she plays with Barbies literally every free moment of her life) she said she didn't understand it. Why can't we just get back to the times when movies were just entertaining, not trying to send children indoctrinated messages?

So the whole reason we went down to St. George is because we bought tickets to see Tarzan at Tuacahn. 

We loved the musical show... so much that I think this trip needs to be a new tradition for our family. 

Our last day on our vacation and can you guess what the kids wanted to do? Swim. And in true Brynnie fashion, she made another friend. 

This one opted to play on her phone... kids these days. 

And this one is just rockin it. 

It was such a great vacation spending time with my favorite people in the whole world. I love that we work hard so that we can play hard. 

July Memories

July has been non stop fun. Tyler had to go out of town right after the 4th of July, so it was just me and the kids... and you know what that means... we stay up way to late, sleep in, don't make our beds, and have lots of fun.

Kneaders has a special $5 French Toast, so we woke up "early" one morning for breakfast. 

We had so much fun at the West Jordan Pool and Brynnli pretty much wins the award for best tan line. 

Alas, Daddy came home from his work trip and Bella was so excited to see him... either that or she thought his ice cream was for sharing. 

Makayla and her friend Maddi are so cute together. They bought matching pajamas and matching stuffed animals. Makayla even bought baby clothes for her stuffed animal. Maddi invited Makayla to her first ever sleep over. I was a little nervous, but they had a blast and slept out on the tramp.

Since Makayla was gone, Brynnli was missing a sleeping buddy, and Caden never gets to have a sleeping buddy because he has his own room, so the two of them had a sleepover in Brynnli's room and it was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. 

Sushi date night!

My dad turned 77 this year so we had my parents over for dinner. 

It doesn't get any cuter than this...

Wednesdays are the days I take my mom. I hope Brynnli will always remember these special moments she is able to share with her grandma. Brynnli is so patient, helpful, loving and understanding with Grandma's forgetfulness. For being the youngest in our family, Brynnli sets the best example for all of us. 

It's back to school shopping time. I took each of the kids alone on a date to get new clothes and shoes for school. Brynn and I needed a little pick me up at Swig because we were shopping until we almost dropped. 

And somehow she also convinced me to get lunch at McDonalds. 

Caden and I got to go on a special date to Pizza Pie Cafe. I love these one on one events... our kids are pretty amazing. 

Check out this sunset. 

Caden has been working so hard during the basketball off season. He goes outside to practice everyday and he has also been working out in the basement. His hard work is really paying off because Tyler and Caden were playing one-on-one and with Tyler cheating, Caden still beat him. 

Our kids are the best. All three of them wanted to go on the plane ride at Lagoon. I hope they will always be kids at heart... even when they don't fit in the kid rides anymore. 

I am so grateful for Tyler. He works so hard at his job and does so many things for us at home. Sometimes working so hard just takes it right out of you. 

Have you seen the meme that says something like, "One day someone will be obsessed with you.... it's probably going to be a dog, but that's ok". Bella is so obsessed with me that she patiently waits outside the door for me to finish going to the bathroom. 

It's ok because I'm just as obsessed with her. 

24th of July can only mean one thing around her... Pie 'n beer day! We celebrated Pioneer day the only way we know how with Key Lime pie and Root Beer

Fridays have become our homemade pizza night. Yum!!

So our bonus room needed a little re do. Makayla and Caden needed a space for them and their friends to hang out and Brynnli needed her own space for her many, many, many toys. So we moved all of Brynnli's stuff into the bonus bedroom and turned the living room area into a cool hang out spot. Now everyone is happy and the kids literally spend all day up there hanging out and playing. 

Fondue is fon to eat!

Surprise day date to The Red Iguana. This place is famous and their food is delicious. 

We had some birds hatch just outside our family room window. I loved watching these 3 cute little birds every day. Unfortunately only one bird survived because the other two fell down into our window well. We tried to rescue them, but they died a day later. Makayla named one of the birds Chirp and made a cute memorial in our playroom to remember him. 

Summer mornings are best spent sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed. 

I got my hairs did. Love it. 

I think Bella thinks she is human and wanted to join the card game fun. 

Also, sitting on dad's head is fun. 

Check out this girl. Makayla works so hard at dance and tumbling everyday. She's getting quite the muscles to prove it.. and she also has a great tan line. 

We are so proud of Makayla. She created a power point to help convince us she is ready for a cell phone. She made some compelling arguments and we worked together to come up with a contract for her first phone with a phone number.  

Family pie time. 

Caden had a bunch of his friends over for a late night outdoor movie. I love Caden's friends. They are a really great bunch of kids.