Bear Lake

Lance's parents usually get a condo up in Bear Lake over the 4th of July & stay a week, this year we decided to go up with them for a couple nights the next weekend.

We boated, swam, went for walks & played at the condo, there wasn't much beach so we stayed on the boat most of the day. The kids had fun & were it not for some afternoon storms & a ticket the adults would've had just as much fun ;)
Of course I forgot my camera & didn't get any boating pics, but here is a nifty little thing Lance's little cousin Autumn came up with to entertain Seneka & Sami...Thanks Autumn, you are such a good little babysitter!

Swimming after a long hot day of Boating

Roo & Tige doing what they do best ... ;)

& here's just a cute one of Luke patrolling the condo <3

4th of July

This year over the 4th of July weekend we took our kiddos up to the Woodruff Rodeo & let them chase rabbits, chickens & ride sheep! Sami has waited a long time to be able to do "mustin bustin" & this was the year. I'd like to say she jumped right on & took off, but if any of you know my Sami you wont be shocked to hear that it took more than a little encouragement (& maybe a little bribery) to get her on one of those sheep. Her complaint at first was that we didn't bring her saddle, the second was that those sheep were "way too dirty". Finally we (me prodding, the cowboys cheering & her daddy running along side) got her on one & away she went! She didn't last long but not because she didn't hold on tight enough, only because she was holding daddy instead of the sheep. lol! She was very proud of her new shirt after it was all over :) Her 2nd cousins did much better though, Emily caught a bunny (that you get to keep) & won a belt buckle for mutton bustin, Natalie caught a chicken (that you trade for $5) & Makayla got a nice cut above her eye when her ride stepped on her head (better than any trophy)

It was fun, I always enjoy a good rodeo & I love Woodruff!

After a meal & nap we went back to my parents to light fireworks:

My Princess's 4th of July gettup:

St. George/Christmas Present :)

Last Christmas my parents surprised us all with a free trip to St. George, & tickets to the opening night of The Little Mermaid down at Tuacahn. So this June my siblings & I packed up our families (minus the babies under 2) & headed down to a weekend filled w/fun, laughter & entertainment. :) Thanks so much mom & dad it was awesome ... can't wait to see how you top it this Christmas . ;) just kidding <3<3<3

Here we took the kids on a nice little hike that lead to a beautiful little waterfall & swimming hole.

Some of us got a little more wet than others ;)

Here's my ever so photogenic children @ Tuacahn before the delish dinner they served us.

"twinners"

Here's our brood on parade walking from the hotel to the Family Fun Center...

The entire fam (minus our baby boys abandoned @ home (sniff)) out to dinner, something we don't do very often considering our size...

our "good boys" :)

.... and swimming!!! We LoVe to sWiM! :)

Memorial Day Camping Trip

Lance & I threw together a last minute camping trip over Memorial Day, we took the kiddos, 4~wheelers & his parents trailer & went up to the Hotsprings Camperworld in Plymouth. We swam & 4wheeled, my parents & Mist & her girls all came up Saturday so we could try out our dutch oven skills on them & it ended up storming on us. It was fun though, here are some pics from that trip....
Here the kiddos & I went "fishing" in the super high river water while Lance & papa were golfing.

Here's Lukey in his prison at the beginning of the storm

The kiddos on the first night chillin around the campfire.

The kids & I all ready to hit the trails :)



Roo LoVeS him some s'mores!! ;)

Chillin in the nice warm pools

Sami's Dance

Sami's first year in dance was tons of fun!! She loved; the socializing, the costumes, the make-up, the friends, the stickers, the cupcakes, the performances, the pictures, the friends, the teachers (sometimes), the glitter, the sequins, the friends, the twirls, the games, the spins, the splits, the friends, the fans, the snacks, the friends .... notice the pattern? Sami had so much fun playing with her friends that sometimes she completely forgot to dance. Infact we got a little email from her teacher saying that potty breaks needed to be done before class because my sweet little girl always had to go & usually had the entire class go with her. (like Jr High already!) So funny!
These are some pictures I got of Sami's first recital, I wasn't able to take any at her "big" recital because it was at Weber States Browning center & there was no photography allowed. But that ended up being okay because it was a long recital & the "Little Pretty Ones" had to entertain themselves until it was their turn by collecting all the little sequins that fell off theirs & some of the other classes costumes. Evidently it was a pretty big deal ... so big that my little angel didn't want to put hers down with the other girls' so she could go dance, instead she just held hers tight in her fist & kept her left hand on her hip (the entire dance) so no one could see them. Only problem was that during her dance they were supposed to do moves that didn't involve keeping your left hand on your hip.... I hope you can see where this is going... I said to Lance about half way through " They must have really grilled it into the girls to keep their hands on their hips cause Sami isn't moving that arm ... (?)" So you can imagine my laugh out loud humor when during intermission (an hr later) I go to get my "Little Pretty One" off the stage & she shows me how she has the most sequins & it unfolds why she was positioned the way she was the entire performance. LOL ... I still chuckle :)
Anywho~ here's my princess all dolled up....

Memorial Day

Every Memorial Day my mom has us get together at Alans grave & take pictures as a family, its always fun to see how they turn out...here's mine from that day.