Camping

 We had a ward camp out last weekend! It was our first time camping since Norah's been born. Yes I went when I was 8 months pregnant, sleeping on an air mattress in a tent. I figured I could last one night plus I wanted the family to have the experience. And it was a good experience.

Our camp hosts, the Holleys, were amazing. They fed us and cleaned up after us. Even their daughter followed the kids around so we could set up the tent or relax. We loved getting to know other families in our new ward.

So the night was a little rough. I have my sweet toddler to blame, not so much my mattress. Norah slept for the first 4 hours in her pack in play, but around 2 in the morning she noticed mom and dad sleeping next to her and decided she wanted to be with us (you might be able to tell these photos were taken after we woke up the next morning).

 She got a second wind and thought it was great fun to laugh and roll over on our heads. Daddy wrangled her up in his arms and she was soon fast asleep on top of him. Great that she was asleep. Not so great that Benj had to stay in the same position for the rest of the night.

 Logan was totally loving the freedom of getting dirty and running around. He had a little friend from his primary class there and the two were inseparable. He was a great little sleeper too. Great job Logan!

 It was a beautiful campsite. Its owned by the church and near Kamas called Aspencrest. We hope to go there again and maybe check out some of the hiking trails nearby.

Logan had run off so we didn't get a picture of the 4 of us. Norah was asleep within 10 minutes of driving home and it took us a couple days to recover. 

But we would do it again. We'll see if we're brave next year.

Pioneer Day

 One of our favorite things in the summer is celebrating Pioneer Day. Bountiful City always does a great job with the parade and festivities. This year we invited Uncle Andy down from Utah State to join us. We also joined Benj's mom and sister's family.

Here's the parade - Norah had just finished a blue fruit roll-up.

My kids started preferring Uncle Andy over their momma. It didn't take them long to realize how much fun he is!

My one shot of the parade itself - I thought this horse was really cool.

 

Cousin time with Colton. These boys have lots of fun together.

After the parade we went over to the park and ate a healthy meal of pulled-pork sandwiches, hot dogs, corn on the cob and scones. The scones were bigger than our heads and made this pregnant lady very, very happy.

We headed to Bryce and Jon's house to watch the fireworks. Logan still wasn't excited about them and wanted to stay in the car. Grandma Bradshaw stayed with him and he fell asleep about 5 minutes after they started. I guess he just wasn't feeling them this year. 

 

Andy was a good sport and kept these two entertained. You can tell how much they love him.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Ogden Dinosaur Park

 I made a goal to myself to take the kids to new, fun places this summer. Ogden Dinosaur Park definitely fit the bill. Although a little bit of a drive, it was worth it seeing the looks on the kids faces. Logan LOVED it and kept asking me a bunch of questions about the dinosaurs. He especially liked learning about if the dinosaurs were herbivores or carnivores. 

There was an indoor exhibit (that was pretty small but still cool).

 But the real fun was when we went outside and saw over 50 life-size dinosaurs!

Its so hard to get these kids to look and smile at the camera.

This picture cracks me up. He actually isn't crying - this is his "cheese" face. He was actually really excited about the T-Rex.

Here's another one to prove that I'm not torturing my children.

They had a great picnic and playground area where we ate our lunch. It was a very hot day so we didn't stay too long after, but here's a shot of Logan going down the pterodactyl (yes I had to look up the spelling) slide.

Overall a big hit and a place we'll definitely visit again!

Happy 4th!

 Our family had a great time visiting Idaho Falls for the 4th. We were smaller in number this year since both of my brothers weren't there, but the kids thrived on the attention given to them by their loving grandparents. We made a stop to the zoo . . .

and enjoyed watching the parade. 

Sadly this is where the pictures end! We also enjoyed going to the splash pad in Rexburg, introducing my parents to Neilsen's Frozen Custard, and enjoying yummy BBQ! 

When it came to the fireworks, Logan flat out told us he didn't want to go. Norah fell asleep and we decided not to make the trek down to the river. We learned that the fireworks were postponed for an hour so I'm actually glad we didn't go. Instead we adults enjoyed the neighborhood fireworks while eating creamies. 

Something we did miss - our annual croquet tournament! Maybe next year.

Sweet Girl

 This sweet girl makes me smile.

Especially when she thinks she's a big girl (she's trying to be 16 I swear).

"Mom, can I please have the car tonight?"