Bear Lake

Before the summer ended we wanted to do a little weekend trip and Bear Lake sounded perfect. We went with my sister's family and stayed at a nice little condo we rented. It was so fun having all the kids in one place and watching them play together.

Our day at the lake was so fun! It got a bit drizzly at times but it was super warm and balmy outside so it was all right. All the kids loved splashing in the warm water and looking for seashells.
     

*My cute sister is expecting baby #3 this fall!


This last picture just melts me. Violet was so content just to let her dad hold her while she watched everyone play on the beach. It was such a nice little break. We relaxed, hung out at the condo, had yummy raspberry shakes (they really are the best!), watched the kids play together and enjoyed the lake. We'll be back, Bear Lake!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent our 4th of July weekend in St. George and it was hot, hot, hot! It was between 110 and 115 degrees every day so we spent most of our time either in the air conditioned condo or in the pool. It was awesome! We usually go down with Paul's parents since it's their time share, but they were out of town visiting other grandchildren so we just went down by ourselves, and had a great time!

On the Fourth, we went to the local festivities at a park and only stayed for an hour because we were melting, but it was great! Penny got her face painted (with a pink butterfly, her specific request), we bought a ticket for her to ride the swings, we watched some bad karaoke, and called it good.

Paul was so nice to wait with Penny in the hot sun in the long line for the swings.

She loved it! She just kept saying "Wheeee!" the entire ride.
They had yummy food stands at the park but we opted for a nice air-conditioned restaurant. These girls were so giggly and cute during lunch. They really are best friends.


And that's all the pictures I took! We didn't even see any fireworks because the girls were wiped out (and maybe we were, too) so we just put them to bed at their usual time and watched a movie. But I think they had a great Fourth anyway. We spent a bunch of time in the pool and generally lazed around and relaxed. It was great!

Delicate Arch

A couple months ago Paul and I decided to plan a weekend family trip. Since Moab was only 4 hours away and I had never been to Arches National Park, it was the perfect fit. We knew it would be really hot but we came prepared and were excited for the main event, a family hike up to the see the famous Delicate Arch. Paul assured me the hike wasn't hard since he remembered doing it as a cub scout. But I'm guessing he didn't have 30 pounds of baby and backpack on his back...needless to say, the hike was really, really hard. It was 90 degrees, we each had a child on our back, the hike was three hours long and full of steep inclines, and it was through sheer force of will that we actually finished it.

But look at the view we got!

Some folks kept going right down to the arch.

But we parked it right here.

And had someone take our picture.

(Like how the arch perfectly frames my head? That's because I'm the most important person in our family.)

When we trudged around the corner and first saw the arch, a French woman was right behind us and she exclaimed, "Que belle!" ("How beautiful!"). I agree. It was very beautiful. And it's a good thing we have these beautiful pictures, because I'll probably never do this hike again haha. At least not with a baby strapped to my back. But hooray for nature! And for family memories!

Last Day of Preschool!

Penny had her last day of preschool last Wednesday and it was so cute to watch her in their little program! They sang a bunch of songs they had learned over the year, and Penny stood up for every one of them to do all the actions for each song. She spotted Grandma and Paul in the hallway with a fussy baby Violet and put on a show just for them. I love these photos below because she is looking straight at them and having a great time!

So excited...

"Look at me, Grandma!"

With her wonderful teacher, Miss Karen.


I'm so proud of my Penny! She had such a good time this year and learned so much. She actually has another year of preschool next year because she missed the kindergarten age cut off by one week, but I think it's perfect! A little more school never hurt anyone, right? Now we're looking forward to a warm summer, trips to the library, playing outside in the kiddie pool and eating lots of watermelon!

Farm Day

Last Saturday was a beautiful day so we packed up the girls and went to see the farm animals at Thanksgiving Point with Paul's parents. The girls loved it! Here's some pictures from our day...


I'm so  looking forward to doing stuff like this all summer long. I feel like this winter has dragged on forever and I'm ready to have some fun in the sun!

Fullerton Trip

It was so nice to get together as a family and celebrate Derek coming home from his Brisbane, Australia mission. We had to get up at four am to meet him at the airport, but it was worth it! 

There he is!! We all stood at the top of the stairs with a bunch of signs we had made. It was awesome.

First time hugging mom. *sniff*

Derek, Paul and Violet (who Derek got to meet for the first time, along with my sister's daughter, Elsa).
 
Me and my little bro. (I'm barely awake, it was earrrrly...)

The whole crew. We were so happy to see him!

And what do you do when a missionary gets home after two years out of the country?? You take him to Disneyland, of course! It was super fun. The weather was perfect, the lines weren't too long, and we just cruised all over the park all day. So fun.

Splash Mountain (me and Penny hid in the back for the big drop) + Haunted Mansion.

My gorgeous friend Rubi just happened to be in town from New York and I was so happy we got to chat and catch up! It was her first time meeting Violet, too. I love me some Rubi!


(Do you see the band-aid on Penny's little chin in the picture above? Baby girl tripped on the cement in my parents' backyard and scraped her chin up pretty bad, and also chipped two teeth! Ack! Luckily we were able to have my parents' dentist buff and smooth out her teeth. They don't look that bad, and they're going to fall out anyway, right? Poor girl!)

I love this picture below so much. We got to attend the temple as a family while we were all in town together and it was such a great experience. I can't wait for all of us to hang out together again!

Violet's 1st Birthday Party

That last picture just says it all, doesn't it? Haha. The little grubber LOVED her chocolate cupcake. There wasn't a moment's hesitation, she dove right in! We just had a small party with Paul's parents and my sister's family over, and it was nice and low-key. Just a few presents, some balloons and cupcakes and we called it good. Penny was more excited than Violet! She couldn't wait  to give her the Hello Kitty ball she picked out, and she helped Violet open all her presents and blow out her candle.

I love my baby girl to pieces and can't believe she just had her first birthday party! I'm so excited to watch her grow and do new things. We love you, Violet!