First Steps

We have another walker in the house. I love watching him take those first steps with his arms wide and that big smile on his face.

Family Hike

We sat down a few weeks ago and planned out some fun family activities for summer. One of the things the girls wanted to do was to hike up to the Y. Danny and I had done this hike when we were dating and we knew it was a difficult one, so we have been putting it off for years now. We finally conquered it on Friday. We knew Tyler would not make it, so we borrowed a second baby carrier backpack and Danny and I each wore a kid on our back. We thought we were in trouble when about a minute into the hike both girls were struggling. We didn't think either would make it to the Y. They kept pushing through each of the 10 switchbacks until we finally made it to the bottom of the Y. We tried to talk them into going to the top, but Alyssa was done. So we split up and I took Ashley on the additional 3 switchbacks to the top of the Y. She was so happy to have made it.

Alyssa was perfectly happy to have made it to the bottom. I don't think she moved from this spot until we were ready to head back down the mountain.

There is Alyssa at the bottom and Danny walking up the Y with Tyler.

Danny and Tyler eventually made it to the top, as well, and we took this picture. Camden was so happy to be out of the carrier, even if his only surrounding was dirt. I was too exhausted to care that he was eating it, which is why he has a dirt mustache in this picture.

Going down was almost as hard on our bodies as going up. We were all very dirty and tired afterwards. But at least we don't have to do that one again until the boys are old enough to ask for it(and hopefully by that time they can walk it themselves to give mom and dad a break).

Tyler's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Tyler's 3rd birthday last week. Instead of having a big party, we decided to go swimming, something Tyler loves to do. It was even better because the outdoor part of the pool was open again for the summer. After swimming, we went home and had cake, ice cream, and presents. Tyler loves Spiderman and Toy story. We went with a Spiderman cake because it was easier to design. It was my first attempt at making a cake with fondant. The only disappointment was that my writing icing smeared and the fondant didn't taste very good.

After cake, Tyler opened his presents. He loved getting new toys and clothes.

We got to celebrate his birthday again on Sunday with extended family. He received a few action figures and they immediately became his friends.

He loved having so much attention on himself. He is 29.2 lbs and 36.4 inches. Both about the 25%. He's a little guy, but oh so cute.

Island Park Getaway

The girls finished school on Friday, May 27th. We left almost immediately for Island Park for a Memorial Day weekend getaway. The kids did really well for the car ride. We pulled in a little after 8 that night, unloaded the car, and went to bed. On Saturday, we introduced the kids(and ourselves) to geocaching. We didn't come on our trip prepared with prizes to trade and Ashley was quite upset after our first find, to realize that we didn't actually get to keep the treasure. The first treasure we found was called angry birds, although nothing inside of it was related to angry birds anymore.

Our second find was a book cache. We just looked at it and celebrated for finding it. The third treasure hunt came up empty handed and Ashley finally understood why we can't just take the treasure when we find it.
On Sunday, we decided to make the Sabbath a delight by heading to Yellowstone to enjoy the beauty of God's creations. It was a beautiful day. We explored different parts of the park than we had last time we went(two years ago). We still saw geysers...

but we also saw some pretty amazing waterfalls.

Tyler's favorite thing to do was to throw rocks into any body of water.

We came across this pay phone and asked the girls if they knew what it was. They didn't. Oh, how times have changed in the last 20 years. I didn't even know that these still existed.

 On Monday, we packed up, cleaned, and headed home. It was a fun getaway.

Odds and Ends

I'm a little behind on my blogging lately. Here are some of the things we have been up to.
The girls had a piano recital. They both did very well. They even played a duet together for one of their pieces. Here they are receiving a trophy after the recital from their teacher.

We went to a BYU baseball game last month and these three were lucky enough to run into Cosmo on the concourse. Tyler was the most excited. He loves Cosmo.

These little boys love being outside, especially Camden. Unfortunately, I don't love to have him outside until he can walk. I slipped out one day to do something and came back to the door to this. I'm not sure why neither of them is wearing pants. It must have been close to bed time.

 I worked for a week straight turning this garden plot into soil that I can plant in again.

 This is where we are at now. I still need to add topsoil and plant. It is almost there.

We took the girls to see Saturday's Warrior Live last week. I didn't get a picture of Danny and Ashley because she was suffering with a stomach bug that night and barely made it through the play without puking.
It brought me back to my childhood and I spent the next three days singing the songs in my head.

We are in the last two weeks of school before summer starts. It is always bitter/sweet for both mom and kids when the end of school comes. It will be nice to not be so scheduled for a little while.

Camden's First Birthday

 Our baby turned 1 a couple of weeks ago. We made him his very own chocolate cake to dig into. He didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Tyler. Our favorite part was watching him stick his mouth right onto the cake and start sucking up the frosting. We didn't get any pictures of it, but it was hilarious.

He didn't quite get the whole opening presents thing. I think Tyler and Ashley opened most of his presents. He was pretty tired by the time we got to his party and it was a little too much excitement.

It has been so fun watching Camden grow this year. He is very good at crawling and standing up to just about anything. He walks along furniture, as well, but has not figured out how to stand on his own or walk. That is just fine with us. He climbs up stairs, but doesn't know how to go down yet. He babbles a lot. His favorite words are "Dada, Mama. and Baba." He also knows how to wave and to clap. He imitates sounds really well. He has three teeth right now with more on the way. Here is a great shot of his single top tooth(none of my other kids have had just one grow in alone like that).

We sure love this little guy and look forward to the things he will learn to do in the upcoming year.
Here are his growth stats: weight: 19 lbs 10 oz. 22% (he hasn't even doubled his birth weight yet)
                                        height: 30.5 inches 75%

Tulip Festival

We went to The Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point as a family. The flowers were beautiful as usual. We thought this flower bed was funny because there was a single yellow flower in the middle of all of the purple ones.

The kids all love the fountains even more than the flowers.

They also love the waterfalls.

 In our opinion, these four are pretty dang cute.

It was a beautiful day and so much fun.

Mom's 60th Birthday Party

Shannon and I threw a birthday party for Mom's 60th birthday on Saturday. I had a lot of fun putting all of the decorations together.

 Pictures from her childhood

 I especially loved this pineapple palm tree fruit platter. So much fun.

I failed to get pictures after the guests arrived. we served BBQ chicken sandwiches, fruit, and veggies. People just came and went as they pleased and visited with each other while they were there. Her Alpine friends enjoyed being able to see their new house in addition to celebrating her birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom/Gawbie! We love you!