Swimming with Grandpa

My parents were released from their 3 year calling as Mission Presidents over the Baton Rouge, Louisiana mission on June 28th. Since then,they have been sightseeing and visiting with a lot of family on the long drive back to Washington. They arrived in St. George on the 25th of July. We were so excited to see them. It's been 3 years since they saw Anna, Lainie and Paul. Lucky for Ava and I, we went out for a visit when she was 6 months old.

No one to play with but mom

Ava was sleeping and Anna was at a friends house, so Lainie and I spent several hours together, just the two of us.

Ava's Day

It was Ava's 2nd birthday yesterday. I can't believe it. Little stinker is 2. We celebrated in the city park with friends and family. The city puts on an outdoor movie night twice a month in the summer and we were so excited to watch Nims Island under the stars...however we got rained out about 30 minutes into the movie. Good times. I'm sure Ava loved it anyway.

Lil Stinker

Trying to catch of few of my girls the other night...this is all i got. Lil stink!

Keeping cool

It's not hard for Anna Jane to figure out how to keep cool. We spend most of our time at the pool, but on this particular day we didn't and she was just too hot. A bottle of ice cold water was perfect.

@ Girls Camp

Please forgive my lack of posts lately. I went to Cedar Mountain for 5 days with young ladies from our church. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't gone since my days as a youth. Not a lot has changed...there are still a ton of late nights, devotionals, junk food, pranks, and singing. Although, I will complain a little bit about the lack of showers. 5 days with no shower...yeah I was funky.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I'm so lucky to have such great men in my life. My sweet dad, two wonderful father-in-laws, and a super husband. Thanks for all you do!

Gone Fishin

Anna and Lainie went fishing with their dad today...twice. Once to Pine Valley where Lainie caught a fish and later to Sand Hollow where Anna caught this fish. Lainie's was too small to keep, but Paul fried up Anna's and the girls loved it! Lainie just about ate the whole thing by herself.

Splash Park

My sister and I headed over to a new splash park in Hidden Valley Heights today. It was so fun and cute...despite the heat! Tons of toys, swings, covered patio areas, a sand volleyball court and lots of grass. I think we may go there in the evening one of these nights w/friends and have a bbq/volleyball game.

P.S. no more baby

Now I realize why a lot of you wait the critical 3 months to tell anyone you're pregnant. I miscarried Sunday night, spend 2 days crying and now I'm alright with it. It's just another lesson to me that I'm not in charge.

Carpinteria Beach

We went beach camping in Carpinteria, Ca last week with the Kirby family. We had a lot of fun collecting shells, building castles, and laying in the sand. Paul and a few others braved the cold water and did some boogie boarding. I just stuck my toes in.

we're farmers

So apparently we are farmers now. We've lived in the sticks for about 6 years and have finally made the leap. We now have 16 baby chicks. Paul's reasoning is that we eat a ton of eggs...well, egg whites...and he considers this food storage. I don't mind the idea of fresh organic eggs every morning either, but this is his thing. I don't want much part of it. We've already had 2 chicks die and that was sad enough. The girls have been having fun with them. They always say, "I'm going to go check on the chicks." Now if I can just get them used to the idea of eating green eggs!

Beaver, UT

On the way home from my sister's house we stopped for a potty break/snack at a gas station in Beaver. The girls noticed a giant rocking chair and insisted on a picture . (By girls, I mean Anna. She constantly is looking for cool spots to take pictures.)

Cousins

A shot with cousin Maylie who is moving in a few days. We love you Maylie Rae. Jana and I have 5 girls between the two of us...perhaps 6. Time will tell.

Springville with cousins

My little sister Jana and her family are moving to McLean, Virginia in a week. It being that we do not travel out that way much, we took one last trip up to Springville to visit them before they took off on their big move. My other sister Jen was there with her kids as well and we had a great time playing with cousins.