Summer Goal

Aaron told me the other day that he felt like we haven't done many "summer activities," So he made a goal for us to go on a picnic and have a BBQ every week for the rest of the summer. We have done pretty good so far and have had a lot of fun on our picnics. Our new favorite picnic place in up in Hobble Creek Canyon at a campground called Jolly's Ranch. There is a great playground and the creek is low enough that we can take the kids down to play in the water. We went up last Sunday after church for dessert - that counts for me as a picnic - and then played in the water. Abby even put her feet in for awhile.

Swimming at Grandma's

I am always surprised at how few people have pool's in Utah. Having grown up in California where everyone has a pool, it just seems strange to me that people in Utah don't get pools. So, I feel extra lucky that when my parents moved out here, the house they bought had a pool! Chloe just loves to swim, and lets be honest, so do Aaron and I. We went over last Saturday for a nice little swim and finally decided to document some of our summer fun.

Chloe

Grandma and Chloe

Chloe showing off her new goggles

Abby zonked out from a fun day swimming

Grandpa lounging around

Sundance Ski Lift

Last Saturday while family was still in town, we decided to go up to Sundance Ski Resort and take the ski lifts up for a ride. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time relaxing on the lifts.
When we got to the top, we took a little hike to a look out of Stuart Falls and had a picnic lunch. As a side note, I had Abby in the baby carrier the whole time so she was safe and secure =) and we had the bar down in front of us so Chloe wouldn't fall out either.

Chloe and Grandma

Ty, Chloe and Ethan (yep, somehow Chloe talked Ethan into carrying her most of the way.)

Chloe, Emma and Riley on our little hike.

My little family (minus Aaron) with a beautiful view of Stuart Falls in the background (top left).

All of us enjoying our lunch.

Chloe and Abby (it's a little blurry because the battery was low, but still a cute picture)

A group shot of the cousins at the top of the lift.

If any of you were wondering why Aaron wasn't in any of the pictures from today, it was because he was at home working on the Jeep with his dad all day. So while we were enjoying a beautiful day, Aaron was up to his elbows in grime and grease! Who do you think had more fun?

Scera Pool

Another thing that we usually do while Aaron's family is in town is go to a water park or pool. This year we dropped the big kids off at Seven Peaks and took the little ones to the Scera Pool. I was worried how Chloe and Abby would do but they both did great. Abby fell asleep and the pool area was shallow enough that Chloe could walk around in most of it. It was a win-win situation!

Every time I tried to take a picture of Chloe, she stuck out her tongue!

Me and Abby

Gracie, Chloe and Ashley

4th of July

The 4th of July is always a much anticipated holiday in the Searle household. All of Aaron's family comes into town for a family reunion and we always have a blast. Chloe had a great time playing with her cousins and for the first time, wasn't super shy around them. As soon as we got to the Searle's house, Chloe went straight to her cousins and asked them to go downstairs and play, and from then on I hardly saw her. That would have been a nice break for me, but Abby wouldn't let me set her down for a second the whole day. Oh well!
I was in charge of the games this year and we started off with a game of kickball with a little water twist. Each of the bases had a different water feature that you had to go through, and in order to get home you had to slide on a slip-n-slide. We played that for a while and then of course, a huge water fight broke out and then the fun really began!
Chloe had hurt her knee earlier on in the day and refused to walk on it, but we were able to get her to kick the ball once.
The rest of the day, Chloe had Elissa carry her around! Thanks again!
I had a bunch of Minute to Win it games planned, but the weather had other plans for us. It started to rain right as we started the games. We tried to move them inside but it was just too crazy. We did get a chance for Aaron to play Junk in the Trunk before we called it quit though and we got quite the show!

But through it all we had a great time and can't wait until next year to do it all over again.!

Parade

Here are some pictures from the 4th of July parade in Provo this year. We had a great spot under the shade of a tree, not that we needed it much because it was overcast and even rained on us a little, but that didn't damper the fun.

The Cousins

Chloe, Daddy and Abby

Abby seemed to enjoy herself.

The whole group (check out Aaron's face... classic)

Abby was pooped out by the end of the parade.

Chloe and Mommy

Fireworks

We always go to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks and this year was no exception. It was just our little family this time, but Chloe and Abby both loved them.

Family Picnic

Whenever Aaron's family comes in town we try to go on a family picnic up the canyon. However, this year it was packed at all the canyon parks, so we found a cute little park in Provo instead. The kids didn't mind and had fun playing in the sand and at the playground. As a side note, Chloe wore this exact outfit that Abby has on in the pictures below. Check out our post from July 2008 and see how much they look alike.

Abby and Grandpa

Gracie, Chloe, Ashley and Maddie