Quick over night Camp-out

For me, summer is not complete without a camping trip. However, since our annual trek to Whiskeytown Lake didn't happening this year, we planned a little camp out for our family. We coerced Heather and Travis to come with us and we were glad that they came.

Since it was just an overnight trip, we tried to keep it as simple as possible and only brought the basics. Also, since the only way to get where we camped was in the Jeep, we didn't have much room to bring anything anyways. =)

We found a great spot to camp up American Fork Canyon and set up for the night. After we set up, we put the tin foil dinners on the coals and took the kids exploring. They spent most of the time hunting for sticks to burn in the fire, which they loved doing. There was also a creek nearby the kids were able to splash around for a while too. It felt so refreshing I almost wished I had brought my swimsuit, too!

After dinner we made smores and Heather made us some delicious pies over the fire. Before long, it got late and our family crammed into our little two-man backpacking tent. We didn't want to bring our big one since it was only for one night. Needless to say, it was cozy! Good thing our kids are small, right?

The next day we woke up to some rain, but it was light and came and went throughout the morning. We had a yummy breakfast and broke camp early (due to the rain). The kids played around some more in the water and after lunch we headed home. I love camping, even if it is for just a night, and can't wait for our next trip.

Swing Set!

We finally got our swing set and after about 10 hours of work putting the hundreds of pieces together, we are happy with the results. The kids couldn't wait for it to be finished and now that it is, they are on it constantly. We don't have a great park within close walking distance, so it is so nice to be able to just go out back and play whenever we want! All we need now is to finish the shrubs along the back fence and the landscaping will pretty much be done; however, that will likely have to wait until next spring.

And here's a picture of the front of the house with the landscaping complete (including our poor, dead Japanese Maple that just couldn't take the Utah summer heat...Aaron was pretty bummed about that expensive little bugger's demise). The only thing you can't see in this picture are the quarter circle flower beds we have at the front of the yard on each corner.

Grotto Trail

I have been wanting to hike the Grotto Trail in Payson Canyon for quite some time now and with Aaron having some time at home before he started his new job, I figured now would be a good time to finally do it. We invited the Cummings to come with us and are so glad they could make it. Chloe and Abby love playing with Ashley and Owen and having them along with us always makes for an enjoyable trip.

 This hike was just the right length for our kids and it had a bunch of fun bridges to cross over. It takes you to a small waterfall with a pool of water at the base of it. It was really cold water, so the kids didn't want to go in it. However, Aaron grabbed each kid and dunked their heads in it. They thought it was so funny and tried to get out of it by running away, but he got them all! It was a great way to spend the afternoon and I'm glad we finally got around to doing it.

Splash Pad Mini Reunion

We met up with a bunch of our friends from our last neighborhood for lunch at the Highland splash pad and had fun catching up with everyone. The girls took off with their friends and loved playing in the water and I got to enjoy time with my friends as well. It was wonderful. There were a lot of new babies there that I got to hold and Abby also got a turn holding the them. I think she could have spent the entire day holding them if I let her. She loves babies so much; it's pretty cute. Before everyone left we had all the kids sit down for a picture. What a bunch of cuties right?

 Chloe and Bentley

 Abby and Vienna

Pioneer Day

This year for Pioneer day we went over to the Searle's house for dinner and then went to a carnival in Spanish Fork with my dad. The girls were timid at first about going on the rides, but after we finally got them to try one they had a blast! We went on a couple of  huge slides and the carousel. After we were done with the rides, we got some cotton candy and headed over to the park for fireworks. The Cumming's met us there and we watched the fireworks together. For some reason, the show didn't start until almost 11 p.m. so it turned out to be quite a late night, but it was a good show and we had fun talking and playing while we waited.

This ride totally didn't go well, we ended up getting off!
And yes, my dad was missing one of his front teeth =)

 Fun slide

 Yeah, they really enjoyed their cotton candy!

 Waiting for the fireworks to start

River Run

This year was the first year we felt our kids were big enough to float down the Provo River with the family while they were all here for the Fourth. It's become a bit of a tradition and we were excited to finally get to join this year. There were about 30 of us in all that went down and the girls loved trying to catch up to different members of the family that were ahead of us or watching for people behind us to catch up.

I was surprised at how shallow the river is in most parts, and that made me feel better about taking the kids. Needless to say the water was freezing and by the time we were done, we had lost all feeling on our backsides! We didn't get a tube for Abby because she is too tiny to sit in one alone, so she sat on my lap the whole time and enjoyed just putting her toes in the water. Chloe froze within the first 10 minutes and ended up on Aaron's lap for the rest of the ride with her tube in tow. The whole trip only took about 45 minutes so the majority of the group headed up for another run.

After we were all floated out, we continued up the canyon to South Fork Park for a picnic. We had beautiful weather the whole day right up until we finished dinner. Then, of course, a huge thunder storm rolled. Luckily, Matt and Paula happen to have had a canopy in their car so we quickly set it up and were able to stay dry. We all huddled under it and waited for the storm to pass. While we waited, we started singing silly camp songs and had a great time. It was fun hearing all the different variations of the same songs from each family member. Most of the guys gave up on singing and played football in the rain.

Abby found Grandpa during the storm because she was scared of the thunder and lightning. She snuggled with him like this for a good 30 minutes. =)

Canoe Ride

My dad has been wanting to buy a canoe for some time and he finally found one for a good deal.  Since he already had it on his truck, he called us up one day to see if we wanted to take it out for a test run.

So, we headed out to Utah Lake for the day. I'll be honest, I think Utah lake is disgusting and really don't ever want to go swimming in it, but since we weren't swimming it was actually a great place for a canoe ride. When we got there, Chloe asked me why I didn't put them in their swimsuits so they could go in the water. I told her I didn't want to have to disinfect them when we were done.  =)

We packed a lunch and enjoyed eating it out on the lake. Chloe and Abby kept throwing Gold Fish crackers into the lake hoping that they would see a fish come eat it--we never did. The girls also loved "helping" us paddle and they did a great job of taking us in circles! After an hour or so we headed back and I let them wade in the water for a little bit while we loaded up the canoe.

Thanks, Dad, for a fun day!