Where Has the SUMMER Gone?!?!

Now that summer is all but over, it's about time for some updates...what do you think?! :)

-OUR SALT LAKE TRIP-

Took the kids to Build-a-Bear (or pony!) Lauren took one look at this & that was that!

Ben with his giggling puppy! (We maybe should have put the 'bark' in it, but the giggle was too cute...hopefully we don't confuse the kid!)

These 2 are kissin' the hearts before they stuff 'em inside...so cute!

-BRIGHAM CITY TEMPLE-



We were fortunate enough to go to the Brigham City Temple Groundbreaking ceremonies...we are SO EXCITED for the temple & are glad we can be around for the construction of it & to let our kids have that experience - we are so blessed to have a temple so close to home - can't wait!

Thanks for coming with us April! Lauren adores you!

My Boys! (adorable, aren't they?!)

-BEST BUDDIES-

Ben & Miles - we're so glad to have Wade, Kali, & Miles back close to home! These 2 are gonna be best buddies!

Ben & Grandpa Ron

-24TH OF JULY-

Lauren had lots of fun at Mendon's 24th of July celebration, even after a day of hiking!

-WHITE PINE-

Jake thought it would be fun to hike in & camp-out at White Pine by Tony

Grove...keep in mind, I've NEVER been backpacking (overnight) before + we've got 2 KIDS! Maybe I'm a wuss, but it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience...(meaning, I'll never do THAT again!) Don't get me wrong - we had a blast, especially going with Josh, JaLynn, & family...I'm just not cut out for that kind of stuff! :)

Lauren was a good sport...she walked most of the way herself! (JaLynn's sis was nice & carried her down the easiest part - lucky girl!)

I hauled Ben up in the Kelty...he loved every minute of it!

Ben is so close to walking! He's taking 4-5 steps on his own - still just a little hesitant...

Nathan, KaitLynn, Lauren & Ben...they all had so much fun (of course they didn't have packs on their backs - it was all fun & games for them - I wanna be a kid again!)

Perfect photo op - as much as I complain, it was BEAUTIFUL up there - I could go again, but just for a day hike!

Getting ready to hike out & head back home!

I think Josh got tired of Lauren slowing us all down on the way out, so he packed her on his shoulders, along with a 60+ lb pack on his back...THANKS Josh!

-THIS & THAT-

Ben sure loves his food, however, we have recently discovered some major food allergies, so it puts a small snag in his eating habits...but we'll deal with it!



This is only the last 1/2 of our summer...we've been very busy!
Our computer crashed though, so my pictures are no longer easily accessible - so just details, no pics for the rest of our fun summer!

-We went to Island Park & Yellowstone with Scott & family - had lots of fun & even saw a few bears! It was still a little chilly up there, but glad we went.

-We went to Bear Lake with Josh & family; it was fun, but VERY windy. Ben seemed to enjoy the sand & the water. Lauren on the other hand, not so much. She thought the lake was the ocean & that it was very dangerous - we had a hard time getting her out into the water.

-We went on a few small hikes up Logan Canyon, Wind Caves included - Lauren did so good & hiked the whole way!

-Went up to Twin Falls to visit Jessica & family...Lauren & Charlie are best buddies!

I think that's our summer so far...we've done so much, but there's so much I still would like to do-Hogle Zoo, Dinosaur Park, Swimming...just to name a few, not to mention what's already planned...Heber, Lagoon, Ben's 1st Birthday!, Jake's Birthday, then a trip to Disneyland for me & Jake! (shhshh...don't tell the kids!)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

So please be patient & don't pay any attention to the current layout of this blog...I'm not sure what blogger has done, but I don't like it! It takes WAY too long to make any changes now! CHANGES & NEW POSTS SOON TO COME! :)

Outdoor Adventure

Since Jake & I both have Monday off & it's finally started to warm up, we've decided that Monday is our fun day. We're going to try out a new hike every week - we'll see how it goes! We started last week & just did the hike up Logan Canyon from the Stokes Nature Trail up to Second Dam. It was a good warm up for us all - we're just a little out of shape...

This week, we thought we'd finish what we started & hike from Second Dam up to Third. About halfway up the hike, we were kinda thinking that we got a little more than we bargained for, but we continued to the Spring Hollow Junction. As we were walking along, we saw a trail sign with directions to Spring Hollow, River Trail, & one other one...we walked down to the River Trail & believe it or not, we took the wrong way up! No wonder we thought we got more than we bargained for! Of course, we took the actual River Trail on the way back down...

It was beautiful up there! Lauren was a trooper & we had so much fun, even though we got more of a hike than we bargained for...
We might just get in shape by the end of summer! Wish us luck...(we'll need it!)

This & That...

So, just a bunch of random pictures from our week...

*It doesn't matter how many pictures we take of Ben -

he's always got a different expression...he's full of it!

*Lauren wanted to go to the park on her birthday - the weather was beautiful - probably the best day of the year so far, so we walked to the park, played, took LOTS of pictures, & just had FUN! (That wasn't the only thing we did for her birthday...we scored some tickets to the Real Salt Lake opening game (soccer) - we had a blast! (We just forgot the camera, as usual!)

*Ben & Lauren all dressed up from church.

*He's finally sitting up...he has been for a while now, we're just slow getting pictures!

*& last but not least, some silly pictures...we were having fun at the park (I'm a little old for swings, but Ben had to get on there somehow!)
& some pics of my silly kids (yes, 3 of them!) playing in a box...

4!

Our sweet little angel turned 4 today...where does the time go? I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday.
We LOVE you Lauren!

Happy Birthday! :)

It's Gone!

So...Lauren has always loved her long hair. Anytime she was uncooperative while we were trying to brush it, etc., all we had to do was tell her we were going to go get it cut the next day & she'd shape up. Thanks to her cousins getting short haircuts, this back-fired on me one day...she actually WANTED her hair cut... so here she is with short hair & we LOVE it! No more snarls! (The only downfall is that she looks more grown up now... )

Bring It On

Ben really loves FOOD! He's so happy to finally be able to eat; he's always grabbing for whatever we're eating & he's loved EVERYTHING that we've given him...gotta love it! Such a change from Lauren - she's very picky. She has never eaten as good as Ben does. One of us will have to get a 2nd job just to keep food in this kids belly! :) We love it!






Lauren decided she was going to help me feed Ben - the results...