Independence Day 2013

We had a packed Independence Day weekend. It was one fun thing after another! First our little family went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to hike Donut Falls. It was perfect for little hikers.

Ryan and Uncle Nate climbed all the way to the top of the falls. It was a wet and steep hike up that part.

We waited safely at the bottom, threw rocks in the water, and had some snacks.

Sadie's festive hairdo.

The kids got some special t-shirts from Grandma Diana. I tried to get pics of all three together, and I'm pretty sure I have yet to do successfully get one. Brooklyn's smile is so dang cute in this one.

Sadie is a wonderful big sister. She is so careful and gentle with Baby B.

Mr. Boston will NOT sit still for a picture.

Our traditional sparklers while it is still daylight. I feel a little bit bad we have yet to take our kids to see the real fireworks at night. Only a little though. It just isn't worth the battle between parents and sleep deprived kids the next day. And thus WE haven't even been to see the fireworks in 5 years.

Geez Louise, this man is HOT!

Strawberry Days 2013

Strawberry Days is a wonderful perk of living in our town. We look forward to it every year. All the festivities are close enough that we can walk there.

This year we went with our home teaching family, the Petersons.

Proof that I was there.

Sadie was brave enough to go on a ride without an adult. She was a bit nervous at first, but enjoyed the ride soon enough.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Sadie got a kite for her birthday, but we had to wait for a windy day to try it out. We just went over to a field right behind our place.

The kids thought it was great. Sadie and Boston each got a turn taking the reigns. We got to check that off our summer bucket list.

Silly Sadie

I had to go pass out a visiting teaching assignment the other day and asked Sadie if she wanted to come with me or to stay and watch a show. Boston was napping and I planned to take Brooklyn with me. She wanted to stay, so I told her that if she needed anything, she should go downstairs to our neighbor’s house. I was gone about 7 or 8 minutes. When I returned, my neighbor came out of her place to talk to me before I could go upstairs to my place. She said she had a funny story to relate. Apparently after I left Sadie went right down to Sister Covey’s house and knocked on the door. She said, “My mom said if I need anything, I could come down here and ask. Well, I need some candy.” Sister Covey responded, “Well, is your mother home?” “No. She had to deliver something.” She was laughing to herself, but wanted Sadie to know that she COULD depend upon them if there were a real need. So she happily obliged and gave her some chocolate. I was dying. I felt like I should be embarrassed, but I did leave the instructions open for interpretation. Ryan described her as resourceful. What a funny, clever little girl! Next time I’ll clarify, “If someone is bleeding, go down to the Covey’s house and get help.” Hopefully that’ll clear things up.

Swim Lessons

Ryan and I have been Sadie's primary swim teachers up until this summer. We have a community pool that we go to regularly in the summer. She is pretty fearless when it comes to swimming and she can't get enough of it. Both of her Grandmas gifted her swim lessons for her birthday and she was ecstatic to go have lessons everyday. We got her in the same class as her best friend, Sophie.

At the end of the two week sessions, they got to go down the big water slide. This is right after her turn.

She was great at following directions and waited patiently for her turn to do whatever task was next.

These two are peas in a pod!

Thank you Grandma Diana and Grandma Lark! It was the perfect gift!

June 2013

Just some miscellaneous pics from June this year. Brooklyn gets lots of loves from her siblings.

At 5 months Brooklyn consistently rolls front to back and back to front. We also refer to her as our "dragon baby" because she will growl over and over. I was sure she would lose her voice because of it, but she never did. It can be so loud that if Ryan and I are in the car next to each other, we cannot hear the other person because she is growling so loudly.

Mr. Boston got a new balance bike. He loves it, but refused to sit down on the seat for several weeks. He would merely stand and walk. He refused all help and INSIST he does it all on his own.

Sadie has been going to gymnastics since March and already she has been invited to a more advanced class for her age group. She tells me regularly that she doesn't want to go, but once she is there, she has a good time. I think we will take a break for a few months and try it again.

Boston does his own thing while Sadie is in class. We found the perfect time to go when there aren't many kids in the class so he can play without interrupting class.

Thank you Sadie for setting up this picture. I laughed so hard when I found Brooklyn like this.

I was going through my pictures and found this nearly identical pose of Brooklyn and Boston around 5 months old. I just love those chubby legs!! (Brooklyn is on the left.)

New York, New York!

Well we got to go to the Manhattan Temple for... drum roll please....

Devin and Katie's wedding. I think Katie is an amazing addition to our family and I'm so glad she chose my cute brother.

It was so great that all my siblings and parents were able to go (but we missed Jennifer a ton!)

The temple is right in the middle of skyscrapers and you could walk right past it and not even know it. We had to cross the street just to get a shot with the angel Moroni.

We did SO MUCH in such a short amount of time, it was crazy! We went to see Wicked on broadway. Can I say that it was amazing?

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was amazingly huge. We took about a hundred pictures inside, but I will spare you guys from it all.

We stayed at the Millenium Hilton literally across the street from the Freedom Tower.

Each person that passed in 9/11 had their name around the pools of water. There was a small stream of water for each name. The imagery was a lot to take in because of the sheer volume of water flowing into the pools. We found my cousin's name. We remembered, and we cried. It was a really beautiful tribute.

We went on a mini cruise around lower Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty was closed because of Hurricane Sandy so we were only able to see it from afar. Luckily it was a beautiful day and not too cold.

We went to the top of the Empire State Building with a magnificent view of the city.

We walked miles and miles over those 4 days. We had an unlimited subway pass while we were there and we used it a lot, but we had so many stops nearby that it was a lot of footwork.

We had to stop and get some of the amazing New York cheesecake.

NBC Studios and 30 Rockefeller Center.

I even got to meet up with my dear friend, Bonnie who lives in Manhattan. We had a delightful dinner at a little french restaurant near her apartment.

My Uncle Bryant and Aunt Diana were amazing hosts and let us spend a night at their place as well as take us all over town too. We don't get to see them very often, so it was a real treat to spend time with them.

There are a million other pictures that I will spare you from, but we won't forget the late night chats with family, the beautiful wedding and the great company. It was an amazing trip and I am so, so, so grateful for Grandma Diana for taking care of our kids. Because of her we could actually have fun!