Recipe for a successful Utah reuion

1 week in July
26 hours of driving
1 Cabin in the Mill Creek Canyon
23 People who all share Jed's genes in one way or another
1 small creek for kids to play in and to keep watermelon cold
3 days of P90X
13 birthdays celebrated with 3 special and unique cakes
10 powerful water guns
1 daring squirrel
1 awesome squirrel trap
Several campfires for roasting marshmallows, chatting and singing
4 baby birds
Bunches of pig tails
1 hot fun-filled day at the zoo1 wii with 4 controllers
5 brothers, 3 days, and one AWESOME new deck built at Grandma Nila's house
895 new hair bows made
3 or 4 very funny skits put on by the "Angry Mob" comedy troop (aka all of the cousins)
11 painted Frisbees
1,473,987 bits of glitter on the ground after the girl's art projects
A bucket full of Legos
653 of Uncle Paul's cookies
A couple of friends visited
2 meals (for me at least) from Cafe Rio
15 loads of laundry to recover from all the dirt
1 fun (for me at least) treasure hunt

Directions: Mix all ingredients together over the course of 8 days...along the way add lots of laughter, scraped knees, wrestling and a few trips to town. No need to bake as it was over 100 degrees away from the cabin and probably in the 80s at cabin.Things that I am opting to leave out of the recipe for next time:
2 little girls with temperatures around 103
1 shower to be shared by all....that breaks
1 dis-functional fridge/freezer

Thank you to the BYU Idaho Dancers

Tonight we took the kids to a BYU-Idaho dance performance. It was really fun! We haven't done anything like this in so long and I think that I enjoyed it as much as anyone. Owen liked it all and whispered to Jed half-way through, "This is so much fun!" Davis said he liked all of the dances with guys in them, but could have done without the ones with only girls. Gracie liked the colors and smiled and pointed, but let's be honest, it started at bedtime, so she was a mess by the end of it all. Then there was Kate...she was clapping, dancing and twirling in her seat. She wanted to meet all of the dancers afterward (well, so did Owen) and they all were asking when we could go see the dancers again as we tucked them into bed. It felt good to do something different from the norm.....I needed that today. So, thank you BYU-Idaho dancers! You helped make a fun memory for our family.

The Great Summer Collage Catch-Up

Here is a little proof that we have actually done a few things this Summer...

Baby Foot Lake, where is that you may ask. Well, if you ever decide to venture off to find it PLEASE be sure to ask us for advice first. We had quite the adventure on Memorial Day seeking out this little lake. We drove for miles up a big mountain, on gravel roads, with the Johnsons, but it was well worth the trek. It was a fun adventure and a beautiful area. With the cold spring that we had and the high altitude that we were at it was a chilly adventure to kick off our Summer (yes, I realize Summer doesn't actually begin until the end of June) fun, but it was still loads of fun.
Owen has been asking for months now to take an Art Class, so I enlisted the help of my talented artistic friend, Tammy, to help teach my kids (and any others in the area who wanted to join us) a few new skills this summer. They love it and definitely look forward to Tuesdays! Thank you Tammy!
The Fourth of July! Need I say more? We loved being with our friends the Chambers and the Butlers, eating Cafe Rio recipes, and doing fire works. God bless America!
Our friends, the Schultz, invited us to the Train Park as part as a service project for a service group that they belong too. The kids (especially the boys) loved the miniature train rides. They are still talking about this...let's hear it for the Schultz!
We visited the temple with the Primary (the children's organization) from our church. We enjoyed the peaceful spirit of the temple and loved being with our friends.
And Finally....more of little Gracie's birthday! Once Jed was back in town we celebrated the big day with our family and also with Sarah Robinson and her family. Just like Kate and Caroline, Gracie and Sarah were born 3 days apart. Could we have planned that better? We sure love our little Gracie!

Legoville

So, I was just looking through pictures trying to decide what to post next. I kept finding all of these random LEGO photos in with other photos. Obviously the boys have taken the camera a time or two to photograph their work. I actually love their creativity and had to post a few of these images. These are not even their best creations, but I think that is part of the charm of these photos for me...
Also, in May Jed made the boys this "Lego Board" to contain all of their LEGOs. This way they can be on the floor, easy to dig through and access, but we are not stepping on them all of the time. If you have ever stepped on a LEGO in the middle of the night, you know why this was necessary and brilliant on Jed's part.

Our baby is ONE!

Unbelievable...our baby girl turned one yesterday! Jed is with the Youth from the church on a boating and hiking adventure, so we are really going to celebrate when he gets back, but we did do a few special things...

Bagels and strawberry cream cheese for breakfast--YUM!

We let Gracie open one of her gifts. I was cracking up at how possessive she was and didn't want any help! Thank you Auntie J and Uncle Dan for the great swimsuit and cover up. Again thank you for all of the birthday wishes to Gracie. We love this girl with her mischievous twinkle in her eye...more on her first birthday to come.

Anything is possible when you are THREE!

Here is the breakdown of how Kate's actual birthday was spent: Wake up extra happy, help Mommy and Davis frost cupcakes for the Nursery class at church, eat the treat cereal that she selected for her special day, go to church, love being the center of attention in Nursery, come home, eat grilled cheese sandwich, open presents, sing in the microphone (yes, we are wondering, "WHAT WERE WE THINKING!" Really, it is adorable...just really LOUD), play with her baking set (Thank you Nana and Papa), pink pony (from Davis) and dress up shoes, watch the Strawberry Shortcake video from Owen, play outside with family, eat hamburgers for dinner, blow out candles...whew...this was the "best birthday ever!"

As a note: Thank you to all of you who called Kate and sent cards...she felt very loved and "happy".

Funny quote: Yesterday I told Kate to come outside for something and I said, "You can just come in your bare feet." She looked at me with unbelief and said, "I am not a bear! I am a kid!"

Kate and Caroline turn 3!

Three years ago my dear friend Kelly and I were both anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girls, due the same day. We just knew that these little girls were going to LOVE each other as much as we do and wouldn't you know that they do. Kate and Caroline were born just three days apart, so every year our families look forward to celebrating their births and their lives together.

This year the girls were all about Strawberry Shortcake. I wish that I could take credit for this amazing cake, but once again the glory goes to Jon (Caroline's Papa). He really outdid himself this year.Kate loved celebrating with her special friend and in her words, "I love Caroline and she loves me!" Happy Birthday Sweet Girls!