Oquirrh Temple

Sorry I post so many pictures with every post. I take way too many pictures, but love having all of our memories recorded for us. This little adventure was to the Oquirrh Temple Open house. We love living in Utah and being so close to all of the happenings of the church that take place so close to us. We are very blessed to live where we do! It was pretty cool to be standing in one place and be able to see three temples all at once. Thank you President Hinckley for being so inspired.

Here's our little family in front of the temple after the open house. Braxton thought the temple was cool, but didn't quite follow the whole concept of things. He started to get a little bored towards the end...not wanting to stay on the walkways...and wanting to wander and explore. But I can't complain...I did too! Now don't get me wrong, but I didn't think this temple was as 'fancy' as all of the others I've been in. I had just been to the Draper Open house a month or two before with our Young Women and thought that temple was absolutely beautiful. This one just seemed to be more plain...and quite frankly maybe that's more how it should be...

Braxton posing with his daddy!

Braxton loves giving hugs and I wasn't about to pass this one up.

Summer Fun!

Braxton wanted to have some friends over for a pool party. We set up his new pool in the backyard and had the kids come over and play for a bit. It was busy, but still a lot of fun for the moms.

Braxton chillin' with Kenzie!

Samantha is always on the run...it was hard to get a picture of her.

Brynlie thought it was great fun to try and drown herself. She found the deepest part of the pool and would slide down into the water. She thought it was hilarious, as we all panicked to get her back up. Kenzie has been playing at our house since she was pretty little ...she's like a big sister to Braxton.

Pioneer Day

Me and my awesome little sister Ashley!

Grandma with here cool pops for the kids. They LOVE her!

Every year we got together at my dad's house for dinner and do some fireworks. It's been tradition to hang out here for most of July...at least that's what it seems. We ate and hung out for a while before we went outside. Braxton and I were in a little bit of a hurry this year because I wanted to take him down to Willow Park for the fireworks they were having down there...what a waste. I can't believe that the city even wasted their time and resources for 10 minutes worth of fireworks. They started and then they were OVER...just that quick. We met up with James who was directing traffic for a couple of minutes and then he had to take off.

Camping in July

We only went camping once in July with all of the holiday stuff going on. This is the second year we've gone camping with the Vernon Clan. We absolutely love hanging out with these guys. We stayed at Beaver Mountain this year and then drove down to Bear Lake for the day.

I think this picture of Braxton is so cute. He is always so happy and fun to be around. I thought he'd be more leary of the water than he was. He got right in and had a blast with the girls. They'd drag him out on the float toys and bring him back, but he'd get one of them to take him back out.

This was so fun to watch! James had built a sand castle using the bucket. He'd fill it all the way up, pack it down, and then dump it out leaving the sand standing. Braxton was fascinated by this. He would get his shovel and dump some sand into it and dump it out, but he didn't fill it all the way up or pack it down. He couldn't figure out how to make it work...we had so much fun watching him try to figure it out.

Before we came home, we hurried up to Bloomington Lake. Braxton was a little sad since he'd just burned his hand on our trailer, but he was a trooper. We watched people on the rope swing and the Vernon's hiked around to the other side of the lake to swim and play on a log. We hiked down on our own and met up with them at LaBeau's for lunch. I love how beautiful it is up there and I'm surprised to hear that so many people have never been up there.

Swim Lessons

We put Braxton in swim lessons this year for the first time and he was in a class of all boys. He did awesome the first day. He was the only one who jumped to his coach and thought it was pretty cool. The second day the pool was a lot cooler and he didn't really LOVE it like he did the first day. There were days that he would cling to me and not want me to leave him, but as soon as he got in the water with his coach he did great! I think it was more about the temperature of the water than anything else. He definitely hates water getting in his face...so we're working on this.
Braxton's favorite part was doing bunny ears as he hopped through the water. They taught the class to slide their hands up and then point them out. They taught the class to say, "Slide 'em up, Shoot 'em out, Push 'em down!" Braxton was so cute doing this that they would make him repeat it so they could hear him say it again. The instructors thought he was hilarious.
On the days he had lessons, we tried to go swimming afterward. We would go to lessons, go out to the car and eat lunch, and then come back in when they opened at noon. Braxton loved going down the slide and is looking forward to being able to go down all by himself next year.

Red, White, & Blue

July is one one of my favorite holidays of the year. Not only do I love the BBQs and family get-togethers, but I love the fact that we get to celebrate our country's freedom. I'm so thankful for all the men and women who sacrifice their time and dedicate their lives for our country. The fireworks are a great bonus too.This is me and James waiting for the fireworks to start at the stadium. We sit on the corner of the street my parents live on and take the radio with us so we can hear all that is going on at the stadium. James always has to direct traffic right after the fireworks so hanging out with my parents is the perfect location for him to take off as the finale starts.

We were waiting for the Hyrum parade to start. Candy wasn't quite the hi-light I thought it would be. Braxton is such a passive little guy, we had to guard the candy for him. He was learning the concept of candy flying through the air. He came home with lots of candy and we had our fair share as well...along with lots of fun freebies and fliers.

Here is Braxton at the annual 'Cruise In'. It's not quite like it used to be, but we have fun going every year. Braxton sits in awe as he watches the cars go by. We've sat in front of Carl's Jr. for years now and it continues to get more and more crowded on our little corner. We've started the tradition of getting a slurpee right before it starts. We were sad that Nana was sick this year and didn't come with us, but we hung out with Papa; and even got to see James for a minute before he started his long night of work.

Happy Anniversary!

I found this amazing deal on a trip/airfare to Vegas in June. Since we already had two camping trips planned in May, we planned our little adventure for the next month. We had a blast and wore ourselves out. We discovered the bus! I know sounds silly, but it was the cheapest way to get up and down the strip. We rode to Freemont Street twice. The first night we got there too late for the light show they have...so James wanted to go back again. We had fun watching an amazing artist there paint with spray paint. AND another highlight...I got to eat at Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

James anxious to get to our luggage. We had a flight delay both ways. Next time we'll just drive. We almost would have saved time and we'd have more fun.

Our hotel, MGM. We discovered a short cut out of this hotel the last night we stayed. Go figure! I think they said this place sits on 32 acres or something. The pool was divine...just like in the movies. I could have hung out at the pool the entire time I was there.

We went to see the show Ka that was in our hotel. I thought it was so awesome. People had a hard time following the story line, but I thought it was great!

Blue Man Group. Need I say more? James has been wanting to see these guys for years and we've just never done it. There show was hilarious and a little sticky...after I was sprayed with bananas. We'd go see these guys again for sure!

Rain Forest Cafe is one of my favorite places to eat. We've started going there at least once when we go. This time was more convenient since it's at the MGM. Yay! I can't wait to take Braxton there one day.

James has this obsession with taking pictures of me while I'm eating...ever since we were dating. I dunno! This time I set it up...not really...but I think it's funny the dessert sign is ironically above my head as I eat breakfast...that I found in the dessert section they had set up for lunch.

This was a much needed most fabulous get-a-way trip. Only the second time we've ever left Braxton. I missed him muchly, but it was good for our little family. HUGE thank you to my most wonderful little sister Ashley who took him for the four days we were gone.

Memorial Day

Hanging out around the campfire...one of our favorite things.

So, you all may think I'm a little strange cause I'm posting a blog entry from 'May', but my OCD won't let me miss an entry...I'm trying to catch up.
The last weekend of May has become a family tradition to go camping at Alred Flats campground in Wyoming. There are always other family members that meet up with us there. We're never sure what kind of party we're in for until we get there. This year was very rainy and cold, but fun. We always drive over to the cemetery in Afton and typically have lunch at the park one of the days we're there, but it was too cold this year. We've been camping so much this summer that our trailer is literally becoming our second home. Braxton absolutely loves it.