Lou's Baptism

Lou's baptism was a wonderful day for our family.  We felt so much love an support from all our family.   Lou was baptized by Fisher and confirmed by her great grandpa Morgan.  I wish I had a picture of the huge smile on her face right after Lou was baptized!  Her friend, Sadie was also baptized and confirmed.  Afterward, we had a big lunch in the backyard and enjoyed the beautiful day until a storm rolled in (complete with a tornado sighting 20 miles away).  So, we moved the party inside and went bowling.  

Thanks to Paisley for taking pictures!

Lou and Sadie

Sisters

Spud and Paisley selfie

Nail Salon

We believe in teaching our kids patience and perseverance, so we take them to pick huckleberries.

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Waiting for your sisters at piano lessons isn't so bad when their piano teacher has a magical backyard with a stream.

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Marathon

We are approaching the finish line of the summer birthday marathon.  Summer already is a so busy and fun with all the activities and outings, but throw a few birthdays in and it really makes the summer fly by.

Spud turned three in June.  We celebrated his birthday with a quick overnight camping trip.  He loved all the attention, and treats and the tractor ice cream cake that his sisters helped make.  He's the size of a 4 year old and talks really well, so we are glad he can finally say he is three.

 Curly celebrated her 10th birthday with a birthday bowling outing and donuts.  She is excited to be a "tween" and I think it has something to do with being able to go in the "tween" only reading room at the city library.  All she wanted for her birthday was a pogo stick and she proved instantly that she knows how to pogo!

 

 Lou had a big birthday weekend for her 8th birthday.  Her birthday was on a Thursday and her cousins arrived just in time to watch her soccer game and have birthday cake.  On Friday she had her BIG birthday party with about 22 friends and cousins.  The weather threatened her outdoor water party all day long but it turned out ok in the end (aside from the dud of a pinata that kept breaking of the hook before the kids could crack into it).  On Saturday she was baptized and we had another fun day with family celebrating her baptism (more on that later).

 

The end of the marathon is in sight with out final summer birthday arriving any time in the next week!

A bit of paradise

 

 In May we had the awesome opportunity of going to Mexico with T-man and Shar.  When they first invited us, we were a bit hesitant as I would be 7 months pregnant but I am so glad we went.  We had a blast!  

One of the highlights was visiting the ancient temples.  We had a great guide take us on tours of three of the area ruins - Chichen Itza, Tulum, and  Ek Balam.  We all enjoy history and antiquities and loved learning about the ancient people of the area.  Our guide also gave some interesting perspective to how these ancient temples relate to the Book of Mormon.

 

 

We enjoyed delicious food and seafood at local restaurants and people watching while we ate or relaxed on the beach.   At a close tie with visiting the ruins was swimming and snorkeling in freshwater, underground cenotes and in the perfect blue waters of the ocean.  Our favorite snorkeling spot was Akumal Bay where we snorkeled with sea turtles.  We also snorkeled in a natural aquarium with tons of fish, anenome and coral.

We could not have asked for a better vacation.  Good company, good food, good weather, a perfect combination of learning, history, relaxation, and excursions, AND it was just long enough that we felt relaxed and ready to come home to our kids.