The Big News... ;-)

To begin...I forgot to shift all the sideways pictures before I posted them, and as our computer is being extremely slow at the moment, I will just let you turn your head sideways to see the real thing. Sorry...Maybe I'll fix it later. I just don't have the patience to redo all this. And now, the big news...

 JAKE GOT A BIG BOY CAR SEAT!!! I know it's not that big for anyone but us, but we're pretty happy about it because he loves it! :) Our trips have been MUCH happier since he got his new seat.

Our family took a hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon a few weeks ago. The trailhead was Butler Fork and it curved into the Dog Lake trail. It was BEAUTIFUL!

We just got back from our family vacation to Tony Grove Lake. It is in Logan Canyon. about 15 minutes away from Bear Lake, but SO much better than Bear Lake in our opinion. :) There is a 7 mile road that leads from the canyon road up into the mountains. We found the quintesential campsite, just above Tony Grove Lake that was close to all the trailheads. We are definitely going back!

Here is our happy camper! :)

 Jacob experienced his first S'more this trip:

Our hike to Mt. Naomi Peak (There was a lot of snow and we lost the real trail, so we only went up as far as we could without it, which was still pretty far)...

 They call this the Devil's Staircase.

Our hike to White Pine Lake-highlight of the trip! The pictures are pretty, but it is nothing to the real thing.

Our little bear on our last night...

 Jake loves to smell EVERY flower...

We got home and had a family birthday celebration for Brian.

 Brian chose indian food for his birthday dinner. I made chicken curry and naan bread. :) Mmmm....

 Wishing daddy a happy birthday!

 Brian's traditional birthday cake: homemade carrot cake.

 We invited our good friend Melanie and her nephew, Justin, to join us for cake and ice cream and pudding painting fun... :)

 Our little man is SO much fun! He loves his daddy!

I had to include this picture because Jake reminds me so much of my dad when he pulls this face...

Melanie and Justin brought Brian a bunch of random gifts-super fun! Here he is with his package of lime jello! Yay!

Our amazing pudding art...

The birthday boy in all his glory! We love you Brian!



Catching up!

Wow! Do we have some catching up to do! Unfortunately, we are not always the best at remembering our camera for all our family events. We have had lots of trips to St. George this summer, and sadly don't have any photos from any of them. Oh, dear... We did have lots of fun with Grandmas and Grandpas playing in the splash pads, going on carousels, seeing fireworks, floating the virgin river, playing with dogs, hiking, and eating yummy food together. Thanks to our awesome moms and dads for spoiling us and Jacob this summer!

And now for the catching up-

On April 30th, we saw three dear friends off on their new journey to Pennsylvania. Norman, Kristie and Daniel have been good buddies for us, and we miss them. We are excited for Norman to be in PA school, though.

In May, we took a family trip to the Bountiful temple. Jacob loved the water fountain area. We will be attending the Bountiful temple while the Ogden is under construction for the next 3 years.

We had a joint Family Home Evening with our friends, the Bellistons. We made ice cream sculptures. :) When no one was paying attention, Jacob made a sprinkle sculpture and turned into the sprinkle monster!

Brian ended the school year with a really fun pops concert. Everyone loved it and said it was their favorite concert of the year. Highlights of the show included music from "The Incredibles" "Pink Panther" "Thriller" "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Spiderman." This was Brian's first year starting a Jazz Band. I was going to post the video, but it is pretty long and takes forever, so just use your imaginations.

Jacob has a new favorite food: corn on the cob. the video explains it all...

Our friend and neighbor, Melanie Porter, comes over often to play games and she recently brought a surprise for Jake when she came: pop rocks! He loved them!

Jake loves his daddy. I'm sure he wants to grow up to be just like him someday... :)

Our good friends, the Evans family, invited us to Lagoon with them early this summer. Jacob had so much fun on all the rides. I wasn't sure what reaction I would get when I put him in the rides all alone. He looked a little nervous, but he is a good follower of other children and could see that they all thought it was okay. As soon as the first ride started, he looked completely stunned. After the initial shock, he settled in and had a blast. It was so much fun!

We got adventurous one day and bought a slip 'n slide. It was a blast. Jake loved the slide, playing with the hose, and running through the sprinklers that day.

We offered to watch our friends 6 children so they could have a date night a few weeks ago. Jacob loved the company. We had a lot of fun with them, perhaps the best part was the ice cream party.

After all the craziness, our little guy cleans up pretty nice. Here is our adorable little man:

Sadly, as I mentioned before, we don't have any pictures of the 4th of July, but we sure did have lots of fun! We love visiting our grandmas and grandpas in St. George. Can't wait to see them again soon!