Busy, Busy, Busy

This last month was seriously so busy but we loved every minute. 
Once again we decided to camp out on the street for the Pioneer Day Parade.  Crue slept at grandma's house again and then she brought him to the parade in the morning. 



We happened to be sitting right where a Deseret News photographer was taking pictures for the paper so the next day I found this one of our little fam and President Eyring.

My mom came out one day and we spent the afternoon together making strawberry/apricot jam.  Mmmmm!!! (And please ignore the ugly table. haha. We started to refinish it and then decided to just buy a new one but have yet to do so.)

Probably my fav thing we did was  attend the Clark Family campout and hike to South Willow Lake.

We just had to take a picture of Ron's awesome tent.  Now that is a good Boy Scout for ya!!  Someone had borrowed their tent the week before and returned the tent but not all the poles.

Rilynn, Claire, and Lucy

And of course the Demolition Derby was a big hit.  We took Claire for the first time this year and she LOVED it.   We have never been to a derby with so many fires and cars getting flipped over.

We headed over to the county fair one afternoon.  Don't let the look on Crue's face fool you.  He loved this ride and would cry when it was over. 

And then there were four weeks of swimming lessons crammed into the last two months too. 

Throw in several trips to the park, storytime at the library, movie nights on the tramp, and bike rides to get ice cream and it all adds up to a very great summer. 

Temple Square

I absolutely love staying home with my kids and am so grateful that it is possible for us to do so.  But every once in awhile I really miss certain things about when I was working. 

One of those things is Temple Square. 

I miss spending my days here. 

I miss the peacefulness. 

I miss the beauty. 

I miss seeing the temple.   

So one sunday afternoon we packed the kids into the van and headed into Salt Lake. 

This little guy ran and ran and tried so hard to get into the fountains.  He had a smile on his face the entire time we were there. 

My three sweethearts.

Claire really wanted to take a picture of us.

I am so grateful these two precious kids are sealed to us.  They make us so incredibly happy. 

Awww...so I guess he wasn't all smiles the entire time.  We had one small meltdown.  Look at that sad face when Crue realized that daddy really wasn't going to let him play in the fountains on Temple Square.  Up until this point I think he thought it was just a game when Luke would catch him right before he jumped into the water. 

Palisades Camping Trip

Guess it is time to play catch up.  Between being so busy this last month and not having internet half the time (hopefully the problem is solved) I just gave up on the blog for awhile.  I attempted several times but it was so frustrating trying to load pictures and then have the internet go out for several days.  But here I am.  I got up early this morning, found some good efy music on you tube to listen to, and I am determined to get as much blogging done as I can before my kiddos wake up.  

Last month we went on a camping trip with my family.  I had been looking forward to this for quite awhile and Claire....well I shouldn't have even told her about it until the day we left because she was so excited that she started "packing" a week in advance and was getting very frustrated that I was not packing too. Although it was very entertaining to see the things that she thought she would need while camping.

The only downside to the trip was that Luke was not able to come this time.  He was working in the Salt Lake Temple while it was closed and just couldn't get work off.

The grandkids made their way into Grandpa's tent and were busy telling him ghost stories.   

Ellie, Claire, and Rilynn playing down by the water.

Caitlynn and Crue. 

My mom, sister, Claire and Rilynn out on the paddle boat.

This boy suddenly decided he liked the water while we were there.  He would run towards the water the second he could see it.  At first he just wanted to throw in rocks and then he decided to throw himself in.  He had a blast.  And yes, I probably do look half asleep in this picture.  This little man sleeps amazing when he is at home in his own bed and all alone.  Outside, in a tent, with his momma and big sis, and wind blowing the tent around....well you can guess how well he slept.  Lets just say we spent quite a bit of quality time together in the middle of the night driving the streets of Manti.

The next day it rained and rained and rained but for the most part it was pretty warm.

We played lots of games.... 

and played in lots of puddles....

and tried fishing in a puddle....

and climbed this awesome tree...