The Fourth!

The Fourth! Man, I love the Fourth of July. I love seeing everyone come together to celebrate such a wonderful place to live. I feel a joyous appreciation for all the many people who have worked and who continue to work and sacrifice to give us the peace and comforts of life we enjoy here in America. And you just can't beat the colors!
We got together with our friends and had such a fun time BBQing, eating yummy homemade ice cream (thanks Ben!), jumping on the trampoline, and watching fireworks.

The girls are waiting to be bounced up in the air by Bill, who is lying UNDER the trampoline. That guy is so creative! The kids laughed so hard!

A little ring-around-the-rosey action. Luke LOVES this game!

The girls are all waiting patiently for it to get dark so we could bring out the fireworks.

We topped off the holiday weekend with a picnic at Rock Canyon park yesterday. Such a fun park with lots of stuff to do. AND....we finally got a great picture of ALL THREE KIDS! I can die a happy woman. Look how happy they are!

Summer--Week 4

We went to the Thanksgiving Point gardens on Monday for Family Home Evening. It was beautiful, as always.


And we said goodbye to Aunt Ali. So sad. We had so much fun with Alexandra! She is truly a gem: so sweet, helpful, funny, and spunky. We're going to miss her a lot around here.
Silly faces!!


One of our good neighbors was able to get us into the Princess Festival FREE! It's held in Lindon every summer and all proceeds go to a charity that serves people in Africa. It was such a fun day. The girls got to get all gussied up and were so excited about it! There was a show where all the girls got to "solve" a problem among the princesses. I loved how the actors taught the girls about what a "true" princess is: she's kind and serves others, not bossy, she's clean and neat, etc. Good messages for girls to hear. Then we were free to walk around and mingle with all the princes and princesses. They were all there: Tiana, Ariel, Tinkerbell, Rapunzel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty and many more. Emma and Rachel were in awe, especially Emma. They got to do a few activities too: pick out a princess beauty kit (soaps, lotions, etc.), make a few (guided) stitches in a quilt, go on a treasure hunt, and get autographs in a special princess book. It was a very fun 3 hours. We would have stayed longer if I didn't have my little prince with me, who was getting very tired and cranky by the end.
Luke makes a great mermaid, don't you think?

Quilt-tying

Cinderella and Prince Charming--aren't they darling???

Tinkerbell (and she was modest too!!!) and Peter Pan

Ariel and Prince Eric

Tiana and her prince


The girls are enjoying storytime at the library this summer and made these cool bubble pipes last time. They've provided lots of entertainment.

We enjoyed Sunday dinner at Aunt Sue's this week. Delicious ribs and all the fixin's. Gorgeous weather. And lots of dress-up time! Luke was hilarious in this wig! Emma enjoyed dressing everyone else up. Grandpa makes a most handsome king!

Summer--Week 3

Hooray! Aunt Ali is here! My sister, Alexandra, came to visit us and we had a blast with her. The girls can't get enough of her!

Strawberry Days

Reading books together. Alexandra loves reading as much as the girls do. We enjoyed trips to the library and bookstore for some new reads.

We had a craft night and made some oobleck--that drippy gooey silky (and messy!!!) stuff. A lot of fun to play with.

We went up AF canyon Saturday night and had a hot dog roast and s'mores. It was beautiful! The kids had fun exploring and even found a little caterpillar.

Summer--Week 2

Lots of chill-out time--that's what summer is all about!

Emma had her last piano recital and did great. She was super-nervous this time, but played everything without a hitch (with the exception of playing one of her pieces an octave lower, but that's okay, right?!).

We broke out the baby pool and the kids enjoyed dumping water on each other and on themselves (especially Luke).

Summer--Week 1

We took a field trip to Wheeler Farm the first week of June and it was awesome! I was quite impressed with it. The animals were lively and easy to observe. There was a ton of land to explore with a beautiful rushing river going right through the property. Ducks and geese waddled around everywhere and loved to be fed. There were a bunch of old tractors and wagons to look at and sit on. And they did a great job educating kids with posters, charts, and exhibits of how farms work, of tractors through the years, and how cows are milked. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed a picnic on the beautiful grounds after exploring.



Emma found a goose feather (notice it in her hands below) that has become a treasure to her.

Daddies

I had every intention of doing a cute Father's Day post, but didn't ever get to it.
I was going to include these adorable pictures of daddy and son, taken up in the canyon on Saturday night. I love them. Daddy love is the best!

I Do

There was a wedding at our house today. Yes, that is a toilet paper wedding dress. And isn't the groom handsome?