We headed out to Utah towards the latter part of June for 2 weeks o' fun with the fam. Here are the results:
Ice Cream after the splash pad where Uncle Wendell accidentally convinced Christian and Samuel to lick the ice cream decorations on the outside window. Ew.
Hiking to Stuart Falls. This is definitely on my list of all time favorite hikes. The kids were rock stars. It was 4 miles round trip. There was no complaining and I had to carry Grant exactly zero times. I did however manage to get myself into some stinging nettle while assisting the girls in the adventures of "outdoor toileting".
This hike was so super gorgeous! Mostly I felt like I was in that beginning scene in The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews is singing in the Alps. It made we want to move to Austria and live in the mountains and milk goats and make things like goat cheese all day.
The kids called this the Zombie Tree
Samuel and Uncle Wendell. They tried to hike up to the waterfall but the path was blocked off.
While there the Barnes's took a vacay to CA and our kids were put in charge of caring for their butterfly science experiment. They took this job very seriously. Also, Lillie had the brilliant idea of letting them go. Luckily she ran that one by me first so disaster was avoided.
The night before Samuel's birthday the boys (Harry, Brian, Tim, Samuel, and Grant) took the RV out to the woods for some camping. The boys pretty much thought the RV was the coolest and I'm sure they'd have been happy to reside there permanently.
Happy 7th birthday Samuel!
On Samuel's b-day we hosted a BBQ and invited all the family ( Busath's, Costello's, Whaley's) and some neighbor friends ( Di-lee's fam and Talia's fam)
Here are the boys with Trevin and Towers...I think
And here's Lillie with her friends Reese, Rory, Amber, and Lizzie
Bustin' down the pinata
On Tim's b-day we started out the day by taking the kids bowling.
Then he enjoyed a peaceful afternoon while the kids played across the street in the water
In the evening Noelle, Camille, and Ben watched the kiddos and we went out to dinner as adults.
Ben is their hero. Especially now that he will be serving as a full time missionary! My boys are totally stoked about that!
Happy 32nd babe!
Once the Barnes's were back we went to the Clarke Planetarium in SLC for the day. We also took a tour of the Sweet's candy factory which was completely cool but we weren't allowed to take pics.
Visiting the moon...
...and Mars
Building birdhouses with Dad and Grandpa
Making a dress and receiving sewing lessons from Grandma
Yay! We love baby Eliza! It took Grant a while to warm up to this little cutie. Most of the time he had no idea how to react to her but by the end of our stay he was doing his best to keep her giggling :)
Christian - you rock
4th of July!
The Duck Pond at BYU
The Dino Museum at BYU
On our way home.
Here's Samuel...
And Grant...
who has turned into a wonderful car napper this summer!
...and Lillie. WAIT!!!! We forgot Lillie! Oh well, it's too late to turn around, we're already in NM. Guess we'll see her in a week!
L stayed in UT another week to visit with Gma and Gpa and her cousins. Harry and Dianne dutifully brought her back in a week. She had a great time staying by herself and was certainly treated to some awesome pampering!
Hotel Room Photo Bomb!
We had a great time Utah - see you again soon!
