July was so great. Laura and her kids came and visited the first part of the month. We had some ice cream at Mom and Dads on a Friday night and then they came and stayed at our house overnight. The next morning we took them boating and had such a great time!
Christian was a natural!
Fun on the tube.
I love that my Dad came, too! I don't get to spend enough time with him.
So daring!
Even though we were exhausted that night, we went up a mountain in Lehi to watch the fireworks with Brandon and Samantha. It was the weekend of the 4th, so we got a pretty good show with Utah lake.
Love this picture.
The kids have made great use of our pool this year. Unfortunately, they both got swimmers ear, too. Still fun, though!
4th of July fun. We had Cody and Danielle come over for some dinner and fireworks.
I finally got my hair done after a year and a half!! You definitely get what you pay for, I started going to a new girl for the first time in 12 years and it is SO much better!!
Before....
after!.....
Love his smiling face!
Levi, Shaun and I went to Wakefest at Jordanelle one Saturday. We spent the whole day on the lake and were shown 8 different boats and different boards. It was great practice for me to get up surfing!
Here's some pictures from when Noah got the priesthood. The kids and I went to their ward and to their house afterward for some lunch.
Thanksgiving Point Gardens. This is my favorite part about Thanksgiving Point! I wish the kids liked it as much as I do. They like the fish, but the rest to too much walking, according to them!! Haha!
Secret garden
Isaak got to go to Cub Camp this year! I've been before when I was in scouts, and it was fun to see Isaak be there with all of his buddies. He had a great time.
Isaak and Taj
Isaak and Massimo
Archery
The whole group!
The challenge course was pretty cool!
Blackridge Reservoir! It's not nearly as busy as past years so we actually went this Summer. Twice!
Shaun and I got to go to a fancy gala because Shaun had donated some money from work toward Honoring Heroes. It was fun to get all dressed up and rub shoulders with mega rich people!
Love how good Isaak and Lila are to this boy.
Patsy retired from her job!! Her work gave her a really nice send off. Luncheon at Cheesecake Factory, gifts for the kids, lunch, dessert, all kinds of gifts for her. They were sad to lose her!
Haha!! We went and got pedicures with Nick and Sarah. Shaun looks uncomfortable!
I so wish I had more pictures of this!!!! On Pioneer Day, July 24, our Christmas elf, Candy Cane came to celebrate Christmas in July with us!! Complete surprise. He said they were doing a great job, that he couldn't wait to see them near Thanksgiving time, and he even brought them all gifts! Porter got this awesome motorcycle, Lila got a Monster High doll she's been begging for (Mom had to pick her battles on that one!) and Isaak got a Jurassic World lego set. Uber cool!
Isaak, Zac, Lila, Taj, Tana, Grace
The end of July we went to Silver Lake with the Woodfords! They were all backpacking in to Tamarac Lake which is 2 miles in. We decided since we have Porter, we would camp at Silver Lake, then hike in one day and spend the day and hike back at night.
Here we are leaving!
McDonalds in Evanston
Look at that face!!! Fresh mountain air, wind in your face, it's my happy place, too!
Such a beautiful campground!
AWWWWW
On our hike!! It's 2 miles in and 2 miles out. It's the most either of the 2 older kids have ever done. They were champs!!! Isaak and I actually hiked closer to 9 miles that day because we went on the day hike with the rest of the family, too. Shaun, Lila and Porter stayed behind with Grandpa and a few others. Isaak was leading the group most of the time. What a great hiker!
We didn't stick to a path, just followed a map and compass so we were bushwacking our way through the forest and crossing all kinds of obstacles. Fun adventure!!
Josh, Sunny and family
Back at camp
Most of my favorite childhood memories are camping and backpacking with my Dad. He is turning 80 this year and even this hike was hard on his knees. I'm not sure how many he has left in him. I am SO glad we made it!! Love this man!
Poor Porter was not feeling good at all the entire camping trip. He was cutting several molars and had a fever. It's hard to get this boy to drink fluids as it is, (I stopped breast feeding him only about 2 months before this trip, and he REFUSES to drink bottles, sippys, milk, juice....... ALL that he will drink is water. And it has to be out of a straw. And even then he doesn't drink a lot. ) it was even worse this trip because he wasn't feeling well! I was giving him a popsicle every chance I got. Of course as soon as we got home he felt just fine and his fever was gone!
On the last morning there, Isaak wanted to take me to his special spot. There were logs perfect for sitting on and we enjoyed the view and ate oreos. I love moments like that.
I didn't want to leave!!
