Happy Birthday #30 Susie!

Kristin, Jill, Kate, Lisa, Susie and Me

This is a shout out to my good friend Susie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! The BIG 30 huh? You can now officially join the rest of us in being middle aged. That sounds older than I thought. You are old! : ) I want you to know how grateful I am for our friendship and that you are a big reason I am happy we moved to Texas! Have a fabulous day!
P.S. Your friends love you! You can thank your husband for all the birthday shout outs today. He is quite the guy, organizing this surprise for you.

Hiking to Timp Cave--We made it!

We had so much fun hiking to Timp Cave with Mike's sister, Jenny, her kids and Eileen. It took us most of the afternoon, but what an experience! The kids had a blast hiking with their cousins, and I enjoyed the gorgeous view looking over the valley. I also felt empowered making the climb packing Savannah on my back most of the way up. : )

On the way up the mountain.
Cousins: Makayla, Anne Marie, John, Darrin, Logan, & Dan
Cute hikers: Logan and Anne Marie
Logan and Makayla had so much fun hiking the mountain with their cousins! They were little troopers and had more energy than the three grown ups following behind them.
The last part of the climb was very steep with sheer drop offs. It was beautiful, but freaked me out some that one of our kids would fall off the mountain. I was grateful John packed Savannah the last quarter of the way. It was quite the workout to pack her on my back.

We made it! At the cave entrance. Elevation 6730 Feet.
Inside Timp Cave.
The Heart of the Cave. I love this story about the Indian Princess and how her heart still beats in the cave after sacrificing herself for her lost love.

Almost back down the mountain. John's face exemplifies how we all felt after our long day's journey--exhausted! But the view from the top and seeing the cave was well worth the climb. We had a great day with Grandma Eileen, Jenny and her kids!

24th of July Weekend Welcomes Baby Ryder

Best Buds: Logan, Brynnley, Makayla, Savannah & Brooklyn

The kids had a blast playing with their cousins while we were in Utah! It was the highlight of the trip to spend so much time with Brynn and Brooks. We love you girls and miss you already! We had a fun-filled 24th. The boys grilled for us and then we commenced in an awesome firework event in Mom's driveway. There was even a grand finale. You can thank Mike for that one.

Savannah loves her cousin Brooklyn! Cute girls!

Brynnley and Logan keeping it cool with their Creamies. Notice pyro Mike's firework show.

Is it inherent for boys to love fire? None of the girls were interested in lighting the fireworks, and Logan was all over it. Good to see his dad is teaching him the essentials of proper firework procedures.
The little girls were more about the pre-show.

Me, Jeanette and Mom. Doesn't Jeanette look great for the night before having a baby?!!
Brandon. Brynnley, and Makayla watching the coolest firework display ever.
After our extreme home firework show, we headed around the block to watch real fireworks.

The next day, Andrea, Chase and Emmy came down to visit. The little girls love their cute cousin!
Mom, Andrea, Emmy and myself enjoying family fun in the yard.
Extreme Makayla riding Brynn's 4-wheeler. The kids had a blast riding all over the yard thanks to their cool Uncle Brandon.

Brynnley and Logan at different levels in their Kung Fu training
Family Croquet Tournament. We're not competitive or anything!

Friday night, Aug. 25 my sister, Jeanette, had baby Ryder 5 weeks early. He's her little miracle baby coming into the world a little unexpectedly. He was truly blessed by our Heavenly Father, and only had to stay in the hospital 11 days. They were 11 very long and stressful days , but Jeanette did so well bouncing back after having Ryder and running back and forth to the hospital. She has been so brave through all this and is such a strength and example to me. I love her and her sweet baby so much. I miss them everyday!
Coming to visit Jeanette and Ryder in the hospital. The kids were a little sad they could only peek through the window to see their baby cousin.
Ryder 10 days old.

Jeanette rocking Ryder in the NICU. He looks so much better with just 1 cord attached to him.

Thanksgiving Point

We spent a fun-filled afternoon at Thanksgiving Point with Mike's mom and his sister, Rina.

When did my daughter get so grown up? I have a fourth grader?!!
The kids loved the animal farm and feeding all the animals corn.
They especially loved riding the ponies.

We ended the day at the Point's cute little Soda Shop with the biggest banana split I've ever seen. When I ordered it, the guy asked if I was sure I wanted it because "it's pretty big, Mam." That really made me feel great, like I'm going to eat it all myself.

I told him, "Yes. I think I can handle it." He looked pretty disappointed that he had to make the giant split. I just smiled and began ordering all the yummy icecream flavors and toppings we wanted in our creation. It was the perfect end to a fun day (and also dinner for the kids--nice parenting, huh?)

We miss lazy Saturdays in Grandma Eileen's Backyard

Is it a bird? Or a plane? No it's Super Mike with his sidekick the incredible Kayla!

We had such a nice time visiting all of our family while we were in Utah. We had so much fun with Mike's family, and the kids especially love all the fun things to do at Grandma Eileen's house.

Savannah herding Grandma's baby ducks

The kids loved playing with Grandma Eileen and the ducks. I don't know who loved the ducks more--the kids or Mike?
Logan loves running and playing in Grandma's back field. The kids all love to play in the tree house and the fairy house.

My handsome husband Savannah loves her Aunt Rina!