Our Camping Trip

Last week we went on a camping trip with three other families. We went up to Payson Lakes and it was beautiful there. We had 24 people in our group. We took turns cooking which I thought worked out very nicely. The kids got along pretty well and we all enjoyed the time away from our regular every day life.

Some of the kids had floaties for the water, but S found this log to use instead!

M, J, and Morgan hanging out, relaxing in the hammock.

T fell on our hike and got a few war wounds.

J and Lena hiking up to the waterfall.

The kids all piled into the back of the truck to go down to the lake.

J and her friends playing in the lake.

This might have been one of the highlights of the trip. The first evening we built our fire and noticed that there wasn't really a ton of sitting room around the campfire. So, the men decided to build a deck. Yep, that's right a deck. They busted out some wood that we brought, tools, even a chain saw, and went to work. It turned out surprisingly nice considering what we were working with, and we had a little extra seating.

We hiked up to this waterfall and it was FREEZING! The kids ran in and stood under the waterfall just long enough for me to get their picture.

Hanging out in a little cave.

We had a wonderful time camping. I really love to camp and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves. I wasn't ready to come home, except for the fact that I really needed a shower. We hope to make this a yearly tradition!

I Am Pocahontas

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?


This was kind of fun. Who would you be?

Fiesta Days Parades

The 24th of July (Pioneer Day) is a huge celebration here. In fact we spend almost an entire week celebrating. Last Saturday the celebrations were started by the Children's Parade. Our ward did a float and all the kids had to dress in red, white, and blue. They are always so excited to be in the parade. M, S, & J all rode the float, T rode a bike, and I walked alongside it. All the kids had such a blast.

After the parade, they got to cool off with a popsicle. Then, we headed over to the children's tent for activities. It was a mad house, but the kids enjoyed it, so I guess it was time well spent.



Today we went to the stock parade. We sat with Grandma D., Aunt Ari, and Aunt Brenda. The kids enjoyed watching all the horses parade up and down the street. They also got to run and get candy which is always an added bonus.



Now, tonight DH is working late. T went to the rodeo with his friends' family and then he'll have a sleep over. I'm blogging. The other kids are upstairs playing. We have 3 cousins spending the night here with the rest of the kiddos. So, it should be a party!

State Champs!!

We've spent the last 3 days living at the ball park. T's team was first in their city leauge, so they went on to tournament. We played 6 games and went undefeated!!! It was a great season. The boys played well together and they all did really well. Things really started to click with T this year. He had some excellent hits and was a great fielder as well.

Go White Sox!

Go T!

Congratulations State Champs!!

More Fun Hair

I've been having a lot of fun lately trying new hairstyles on the girls. They've been quite the patient little guinea pigs. I think the hairstyles have turned out pretty cute!

For this one I parted the hair into five sections and rolled them and secured each roll with a bobby pin. Then I just took the piece of hair and twisted it around into a ball and then put a bobby pin through it again. The ends are just flipped out with a flat iron. So cute!

Side View!

For this one I did 7 little braids and then criss crossed them and put them into two messy buns. Looks a little complicated, but it really wasn't hard. I'm just not good at giving directions.

Back View!

Family Cleaning Hour

We had family cleaning hour the other day. The kids griped and complained. But, they actually ended up having fun and doing a good job. And, my house is finally clean!

M doing a little bit of vaccuming!

T actually swept and mopped the kitchen,

dining room, and living room all by himself.

And he did a good job!

S cleaned all the mirrors! He then wanted to go

outside and clean the windows!

J dusting. She even moved the stuff to

dust underneath!

Memory Lane

MEMORY LANE-This will be fun especially if everyone and I do mean EVERYONE will join in!This is just too fun to pass up.
Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember, good or bad but be nice!!!!!!!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.We can make it a competition if anyone wants. Let's see who can come up with the funniest memory and who has the most memories. Please keep it going. ENJOY :)

Cute Hair

I tried a new hairstyle on J for church the other day. I think it turned out super cute!

Of course she changed out of her dress before I could get a picture, so here she is after church!

FHE Dinner/Games/Fun!

I was on the phone with my friend Brandee the other day and this is how our conversation went:

Me: ...(we had been talking about our friend Saedi and how I haven't seen either of them forever) The three of us really need to get together soon!

Brandee: I know. I haven't done anything with her for a while either. We are going over there tonight for dinner.

Me: Oh, sure. Have a party without us. I see how you are!

Now, you gotta understand, I love these girls! And, this is just how we talk to each other. Totally joking, but if you didn't know us you'd think we were the rudest people ever!

So, I finish talking to Brandee all the while still joking with her about how they must hate us since we weren't invited.

About 2 minutes later I get a call from Saedi. It went as follows:

Me: (instead of hello) Is this a sympathy call? And you're trying to come up with some lame excuse as to why you didn't invite us over today?

Saedi: (starts to make a smart mouth comment, but ends up laughing instead) No I'm not. It was a total last minute thing with Brandee, and since you are SO busy all the time, I didn't think you guys would be able to make it. And, I was tired of getting turned down by you (a total lame excuse in my book!). But, we would LOVE for you guys to come. Even if R has to come when he gets home from school.

Me: I'm totally kidding. You don't have to have us over.

Saedi: No, please come. We'll be so sad if you don't.

Me: Are you sure?

Saedi: Of course I am!

So, to make a long story short, we went over there and had a blast!! Saedi made yummy Bajio salad stuff. And we had lots of treats. It was a great night, and I'm so glad I ended up inviting ourselves over, and I know Saedi was just thrilled! We played some fun games, and had lots of laughs. It's always a great time, when the three of us get together!

Brandee, Me, Saedi

Our hawt hubbies!

Me and baby Stetler! What a cute boy!!

I'm so grateful for these friends. I love that we can joke around with each other. And, we always have the best time together!

Party! Party!

We went to eat at Sizzler for dinner at M's request.

They sang to her and everything! She thought it was great.

Some gifts! Thanks for the shirt Grandma and Papa!

M begged and begged for some matching panties and bra sets. She totally doesn't need them, but was thrilled to get them! Look at that smile, who could resist?!

Happy Birthday my sweet little pumpkin!

Guess Who's 9?

Today my sweet M turned 9! I can't believe how fast time goes. She is growing up so fast. For her birth story, go here.

I'm so grateful for M. She is such a sweet girl and brings so much to our family. She is growing up into quite the little teeny bobber. She loves make-up, doing hair, babysitting, writing notes, and dancing. She's a great helper, she's smart, she's loving, sensitive, and understanding.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY M!!!

Stadium of Fire

Many of you know that Miley Cyrus came to perform at the Stadium of Fire this year. The tickets sold out within the first few hours. My girls wanted to go SO badly. Well, my friend April called me last Friday and said that someone at her hubby's work had 5 extra tickets that she was selling and did we want to go with her and Morgan. I couldn't pass it up, especially with the price tag of only $40/ ticket. I heard that some of the last minute tickets were going for as much as $1600. CRAZY!

!

I was SO excited to tell the girls. It worked out perfectly too since M's birthday is in 3 days. So, this was part of her present. They were so thrilled when I told them. They started jumping up and down and screaming, just like any other girl would, right? Of course the girls NEEDED to have matching outfits, so we headed to the store and found some really cute matching clothes. They looked adorable!

We enjoyed the dancers, the sky divers (which I thought were very cool), the Blue Man Group, some tributes to the military forces serving our country, and of course Miley Cyrus. The girls got up and were dancing and singing all the songs they knew. I really think they enjoyed themselves.

After all that, we watched the firework show, which was very good! We left a little early and watched the rest as we were walking to our car and driving home. We wanted to beat the crazy traffic, which I'm happy to say we did. One time it took us like 2 hours to get home. It was hateful.

The girls had a blast! And I enjoyed watching them and how much fun they were having. I think 10 minutes into our drive home, my girls were out like a light! Good evidence of a great time:)

Balloon Festival

This morning we got up nice and early at 5:00 a.m. so that we could drive to Provo for the balloon festival. They must've started early because by the time we got there the balloons were all already inflated. That is my favorite part to watch, but oh well. We did get to see them all take off and then circle around to throw their bean bags at the targetin the middle of the field. It was kind of cool to see all those balloons floating around up there. I think it'd be cool to ride in one.

I've always wanted to. Maybe some day.

Afterwards we walked to McDonalds for breakfast. It was SO packed so we drove home and went to the one there. Now we are getting ready to watch Enchanted and relax until our next activity.

Happy 4th!

Ward Campout

We had so much fun at our ward campout last weekend. It was great to get away and enjoy the outdoors. We had a yummy dinner and enjoyed lots of conversation around the campfire.

The kids had fun swinging into the freezing cold pond, exploring, hiking, burning everything they could find, roasting marshmellows, shooting guns, eating, playing volleyball & horseshoes, running, laughing, looking for animals, and many more fun camping activites. They had a great time.

The only downfall to the trip was the sleeping. It was freezing! At least I was freezing. The kids slept relatively well. I however hardly slept. I got up to go potty and looked at my phone to see the time, 3 a.m. and I hadn't slept a wink. Then M had to go potty, S was cold, and then M was uncomfortable. T woke up at 6, so all in all I think I slept maybe, maybe 2 hours. I was a sleepy girl. That next night at home, I sure slept well. We all slept in until 10:30, that's how tired we were.

But, even with no sleep, the camping trip was a success. The kids had a blast! And we enjoyed spending time with our friends. We are looking forward to our next trip in a few weeks and know to pack a little more blankets for sleeping!