Bonfire, Zoo, and East Canyon

Last week we took the girls to their first bonfire in the mountains. We drove all the way up Farmington Canyon and enjoyed hobo dinners prepared by nate and joni, dutch oven desserts prepared by kenna and gage, and of course, SMORES. It was fun, but next time I think we'll do things a little different like... take a light so it's not completely dark (you'd think the fire would give off enough light, but it didn't) and take a play pen to corral the little ones, but, for the most part, it was great and, for the record, WE HAVE THE BEST FAMILY EVER!!

The day after the bonfire we went to the Hogle Zoo with Nate, Joni, Kennedi, and Kylee (Joni's little sis). Brinlee and Rai Rai had fun seeing all the animals, especially the elephants, giraffes, and snakes. Brinlee posed with the cougar for a quick pic (GO BLUE!!) The Zoo is definitely a once a year kinda place. It is so HOT and there were way too many hills. If fact, it took like two people to push the strollers up some of them because they were so steep. It's good for the kids to see the different animals, but, like I said, it's a once a year kinda place :)

On Friday we watched the Hannah Montana Best of Both Worlds concert on disney channel. Brinlee and Raigen both love Hannah. They wore their 3D glasses and danced with Chief. They are growing up way to fast.

On Sunday we went up to East Canyon to spend some time with Kyle's side of the fam. His mom and dad have a timeshare up there so we go up to hang out with family and swim at least once every few months. The girls love spending time with their cousins and Kyle treasures the time he gets to spend with his dad. Kyle definitely caused his dad a lot of stress as a child. He was the problem child, but you'd never know that now. They have become really close and Kyle continues to learn a lot from him and his example. Brinlee took most of the pictures. She has turned out to be quite the photographer.

Kyle's BYU Countdown

Just in case any of you like BYU Football as much as Kyle, here's a countdown to their first game. Kyle has been getting two season tickets every year since we've been married. He loves BYU and I guess that means we do too. Brinlee and Raigen love to watch the games with him and you can bet he's taught them to say, "GO BLUE!" In fact, Brinlee will probably know the Cougar fight song by the time she's 3 :) Watching the games has become a tradition at our house. Even I watch them at home when Kyle is at Lavell Edwards Stadium, and then again that night when he plays the recorded version. Anyway, I hope they do as well this year as they did last year. Because, even though we're still fans when they lose, it's so much more fun to watch when they win!!!

fun in the sun

Hi! this is cassidy blogging for lindsay. On monday july 14th we went to lagoon. when i say we i mean, me, my friend Meriah, Mckenna, Trevin, Joni, Kennedi, Joni's sister kylee, her mom Marnie, Janae, her friends Jorden, Cassie, and Gage, Lindsay, Brinlee, Raigen, and Hallie.
Oh wow !!! That's a lot of people. We had a blast !!!

me, meriah, kylee, brinlee, and marnie went on Music Express first. It was fun.

Rattllesnake Rapids was the funnest ride we went on.

Then we went to lagoon-a-beach. The lazy river was way nice.
The water slides were fun too. we did other stuff there to but thats most of the fun stuff

We went on the little slides with brinlee and rai rai.

then they worked on their tans while we went on the big slides.

Brinlee loved the airplane ride and all the other rides she went on.


Hallie, trevin, and rai rai spent most of the time in the stroller or in the shade
They were pretty good but.....
Rai Rai got a little sad and tired. she had a good little nap then she was fine.

Our trip to Idaho

For the 4th of July, we took the girls on a road trip to Idaho. Their cousin, Emma, got baptized on the 5th so we decided to all go up early and enjoy the 4th together too. I didn't get very many pictures because I spent all of my time chasing kids, but here are a few.

Brinlee and Rai Rai were both so good to help Hallie drink her bottle in the car. They are both little mommy's.

We got a hotel with two full beds. Raigen, Brinlee, and Kyle slept in one and I got the other to myself! It was great. The deal was always that Kyle would lay with the girls until they fell asleep and then come sleep with me, but he always fell asleep first. Hallie slept in the Play Pen. She is such a good little girl.

Here's a good attempt at a picture of all the girl grandkids and Grandma Jean...

On Saturday after the baptism and great lunch everyone went swimming. Brinlee loves the water. Raigen just walked around the pool showing off her cute suit, Kyle loved the water slide, and Hallie and I hung out in the shade.

After swimming we went out to eat. The combination of a lot of sun, a lot of fun, and no nap resulted in a very tired Brinlee. Ever since Brinlee was a baby whenever we have gotten her out of her carseat she has woke up. When we got her out of her carseat at the restaurant she didn't even budge. She slept like this on Kyle's lap the whole time we ate. She was pooped!!

Raigen is definitely starting to show her cute personality. She is so independent. As aunt Annie would say. She is "Silent but Deadly" She is quiet but gets into everything and likes to tease everyone. Her and Brinlee are becoming partners in crime. We just love our girls.

Splash Park

Another thing we've done this summer...

Last week Kenna, Joni, and I took Cass and all the kids to the new splash park in South Ogden. It was perfect for the little ones and I think Cass liked it too. It was perfect for adults too because we got wet enough to stay cool, but not wet enough to need a swimsuit.

Brinlee dunked her head in every fountain she could...

Kennedi drank water out of every fountain she could ...
She was fearless and SO CUTE!

Raigen avoided every fountain she could...

Cassidy liked taking all the kids and getting them as wet as she could...

and Trevin sat in the same place and enjoyed playing with the little fountain the whole time...

Summer Fun

Well, summer is here and the girls spend most of their time in the house to avoid the heat. They really get tired of staying inside all the time, so, for my sanity and theirs, Kyle and I have made a special effort to take them out to do something every day. Usually it's just a walk to the park in the evening, or a trip to Wal-Mart, or going to watch Kyle play softball, but we have done a few other fun things.

A couple of weeks ago Kyle and I took the girls to the the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden and they loved it. It's fun because everything is focused on the kids. For example, all the doorways and archways to the different exhibits are like 5 feet tall or less so Kyle and I did a lot of ducking. And, there are child sized toilets and sinks in the bathroom. I mention this because Brinlee decided she needed to go to the bathroom at least 6 times in 2 hours and I'm sure it was only because she liked the little toilets and being able to reach the sink and soap dispenser. The chairs and tables were all small. It was like two-year old's dream playhouse. Brinlee dressed up in every costume available and each time we had to fight her to take it off.

The baby nursery was a big hit!

Raigen loved the bridge (she just kept walking back and forth over it), the tables of toys, and the train...

Brinlee loved the big teeth...

Kyle had as much fun as the girls :) He played at every exhibit and loved the rock slide...

He spent like twenty minutes looking at everything through the microscope. Finally I had to tell him to let the kids have a turn...

Raigen hated this "talking donkey" and Kyle made the most of it (it was a puppet)!!

We had a lot of fun!

Me and Hallie took the pictures!