City Creek

I was meeting a lady in Salt Lake to buy some stuff from her, so we decided to make a day of it and head to City Creek. We went a couple of times before it was open, but I haven't been back since. Rachelle and Samantha came with us and we had a blast. We walked around for a bit then Josh and Adam joined us for lunch with Andrew at Chick-fil-A. After lunch we let the kids play at the coolest playland. They loved it and were sad when we had to go. 

Water Fun!

Everyday the kids ask if they can go swimming. Once in a while I find the energy to get everything out and fill up their pool. It's always a bit of work since I can't leave out the pool or the dog will chew it up. I hooked up the warm water hose and filled it up. They spent hours out there swimming and playing. They did manage to take a break for lunch. 

Brynlee was never a fan of the kids going down the slide when she was at the bottom.

 Samantha joined us after lunch.

Bathing beauty:

Cheetos!

On the way home from the cabin I gave Brynlee a bag of Cheetos. She thoroughly enjoyed them.

Cabin

We headed up to the cabin with one of our friends, Mark, and Josh's family. It was a very relaxing weekend and we enjoyed the break. We were the first ones to go to the cabin since winter, so the water hadn't been turned on yet. Usually Josh's grandpa gets the cabin ready for the summer, but since he passed away in December none of it was done. We finally figured it out, then turned it on. After about 5 minutes of chatting outside, we headed inside and I went downstairs to grab our stuff. That's when I heard rushing water. It turns out grandpa always opened up the water valves in the bathrooms and by the water heater when he winterizes the cabin. We didn't know this, so we didn't know to close them before turning the water on. Awesome. There was 2 inches of water in the bathroom and utility closet in the basement. We finally got it all figured out and cleaned up. The rest of the time we didn't have any major problems. Here are the kids painting:

 On Saturday we went on a hike and loved every minute of it. It's been a while since we've hiked up to the waterfalls. The kids loved touching the water with sticks and throwing rocks in.

 Lexi LOVED the hike and LOVED the water. It's the first time she's been to open water, and she jumped right in.

On the way back Josh caught a garden snake. The kids both loved holding it.

On Sunday evening we took the kids to a swingset by the bottom of the cabins. I was surprised Lexi made it the whole by chasing Josh on the bike.

 The rest of us went down on the 4 wheeler.

 I brought little squirt guns and the kids LOVED them. Even Brynlee had fun squirting them.

 It was SO yellow and smokey from the fires. Our cars were covered in ash.

 After a quick bath, the kids did the hokey pokey with Elmo. We stayed Sunday night and took off Monday morning.

Farewell Rachael!

Before Rachael headed down to Provo to the MTC we all got together one last time for lunch. We met at Johanna's Kitchen and had an enjoyable time talking to Rachael and saying goodbye. Good luck Rachael! We love you and will miss you!!!

Rachael's Setting Apart

The night before Rachael entered the MTC she was set apart at her home. We had a yummy dinner and spent a lot of time talking and hanging out with Rachael. The Bishop and Stake President came over @ 9pm. We put Brynlee and Brooklyn in the van outside with a cup full of cereal and turned on their shows. It was nice to be able to focus on Rachael without the distractions of kids. We all were able to say a few things about Rachael and then the Stake President set her apart. It was really neat and we are SO excited for Sister Ericson!

Last Date W/ Rachael

Rachael was so busy getting ready to leave for her mission, but she made time to take the kids out one last time. They went to Nickelcade for a while, then headed to the theaters to watch Madagascar. The kids had a blast and loved spending time with Rachael. Andrew and Aaron tagged along and the kids loved being with them as well. Thanks Rachael for being the best aunt!!!

Yummy!

No explanation needed. Let's just say she enjoyed dinner this night!

Little Stinker

Josh and I were outside working on sprinklers while the kids were playing. We both saw Brynlee grab a little red chair and carry it up the outside steps. We both laughed and thought nothing of it since we take them inside on occassion. Well, 5 minutes later I went inside to grab something and came around the corner to this...little miss Brynlee had carried the chair all the way from outside just so she could climb onto the piano bench, then climb onto the piano. "Why?" you might ask...To get all the marbles that I had found and put up there. I couldn't believe that she would figure out how to get up there. And yes...I was furious! She got sand all over my piano. However, I don't know who I was more mad at - Brynlee for getting sand on my piano, or Josh for trying to clean it up with a damp rag (a big no-no for my piano.) It took me 30 minutes to clean off the sand and water spots. Oh the joys of motherhood... 

Nicholas Summer BBQ

Last minute we decided to head on over to the Nicholas BBQ. We weren't there very long because it was SO hot, but we still had fun. Lunch was great and they had a bunch of fun things for the kids to do.

 Luckily it was pretty easy to take of the chocolate part of the ice cream sandwich. Brayden was in heaven.

 And of course he had to throw the baseball everytime there wasn't a line.