JAMES 6TH BIRTHDAY AND LEVI'S 5TH BIRTHDAY ON 7/15/2013

We celebrated James birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. The kids had a ball running around playing games and earning  tickets they cashed in later for prizes. James was so excited and loved his party. 

The grandkids are not sure what to think about these strange animals singing.

Zack and Cash intensely driving their car

James is not sure about sticking those fake teeth in his mouth  Yuk! We sure love our James

Julie put together a "Super Hero Party" for Levi and his neighbor friends. It was so much fun and Levi was so happy with everything.  He and Zack look great in their Ironman costumes.

Levi blowing out his 5 candles

I love the excited look on Levi's face after getting his golf clubs. 

Levi opening his toys from Grandma and Grandpa. We sure love our Levi.

JULY 4TH CELEBRATIONS

Lily swinging with her baby cousin Makayla. They both look so cute in their July 4th outfits.

What a cute bunch of kids! We are missing Mack and Emme because they are with McKay's family at their cabin.

Grandma and Grandpa keeping Makayla away from the loud fireworks.

We bought quite a large package of fireworks this year. We did them earlier than normal so Todd could join in before heading to work. The kids did not seem to mind.

Jeni and Julie portraying the "Statue of Liberty"?

Sparklers always make me nervous but the kids were all very careful. No burns this year!

Zack spent most of the time across the street with his hands over his ears. But after watching the other kids having fun he decided to join in.

That night Jeni talked us into watching the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point. We were so glad she did because they were amazing. What a fun way to end the evening.

The following day we went swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center. Great picture of Todd and Lily!

Owen splashing his Aunt Krista. Hopefully she got him back.

They have a little lazy river that we all had fun going around. Just as we were leaving a HUGE lightning/thunder storm  started. We were grateful to be home watching it while eating pizza.

2013 SUMMER PROJECTS

Dale and his siblings worked hard throughout the spring and summer to prepare their parents home in Bountiful to be sold. They also went through everything in the home and held a family auction. It was a difficult process for all of them. We all have a lot of wonderful memories that took place in this house.  Dale's Mom is currently staying with Carolyn's family in Idaho Falls.

Dale has several projects he wants to build for our new home and this was 1st on the list. With no pattern he just started and ended up with 2 bookcases we are so happy with. They are downstairs in our Family Room.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE BEST HUSBAND AND DAD EVER

Dale and his kids

Dale and his crazy kids

I just had to jump in!

MAKAYLA'S BABY BLESSING 6/2/2013

All 22 of us. What a great family!

We were able to bring Grammy and Grampy up to Clinton. They really wanted to attend the blessing!

The proud Grandparents

DeeAnn and Kent were able to attend. They have always been a great support to our family.  Levi and Zack love rides with Auntie Dee

The Star of the day; MaKayla

Julie spent countless hours crocheting the dress and I helped make her slip. It was a fun project. Makayla looks so beautiful

Krista watching the crazy boys on the tramp.

Cute Zack

What a sweet family. They are all so happy to have Makayla.  Zack and Levi are the best big brothers.

YELLOWSTONE TRIP 5/24-5/27

Dale and I were excited to be able to join McKay, Kellie, Emmery and Mack for their first family trip to Yellowstone. We hope to have the same opportunity with the other families. Yellowstone is one of our favorite places to visit because of it's uniqueness and beauty. Our family has fond memories of camping, swimming in the Firehole River, looking for bears and other animals, experiencing the Grand Canyon and Norris Basin, and many other wonders. So now we hope to share in our children's desire to experience Yellowstone with their kids. 

Emme and I were testing out the walkie talkies before leaving. Dale and I drove up to Logan the night before so we could get an early start.

One the way we stopped at Dad's in Idaho Falls and ate lunch at Wendy's in Jackson Hole.

This is such a beautiful spot to stop and get a picture of the Tetons. What a spectacular site!

We stayed for 2 nights at the lodge in Grants Village. After settling in we heading down to the Lake Restaurant by Yellowstone Lake. It was relaxing to walk around the lake while watching the sun set.

This is just a cute picture of Emme and Mack by the lake. They were both so excited to be here. Emme really wanted to see a bear.

Waiting and waiting for our hamburgers

First stop was Old Faithful. This was McKay's first time to the park since he was a little kid.

A little squirrel entertained Emme and Mack while waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

What a site. It never ceases to amaze me how it erupts pretty much on schedule.

Artist Paintpots. We were able to see our first of many Bison.

I stayed in the car with Mack so he could continue his much needed nap so Emmy got to ride in the backpack.

Norris Basin

We hiked down to the top of the waterfall in the Grand Canyon. It was a little steep coming back up but very much worth it.

Grand Canyon Lookout

Hayden Valley has always been a place where if you get there around sunset you see lots of animals. Not so on this night. But it was still beautiful.

This bison was a little to close to our cars. Luckily he was busy eating.

The next day we headed up the upper loop of Yellowstone. On the way we spotted not one but four bears. More than we have ever seen during all our trips previously. This bear was fairly close to the road so you can imagine the hard time the ranger had trying to keep the people safe that were slamming on their brakes and dashing out of their cars with their cameras. Emme was thrilled to see her first bear.

Further up the road we spotted this Mom with two cubs. The other one was to the left. 

On our way to Mammoth we stopped along the road and had a picnic lunch and just enjoyed the scenery. When we arrived in Mammoth we were ready for ICE CREAM. There were elk wandering around the town which both Emme and Mack loved. 

Mammoth Hot Springs is so pretty with the yellow white of the rock against the bright blue of the water.

After Mammoth we headed to Jackson for our last night. It was a long drive but we were able to arrive in time to have dinner at the Bar J. It was fun to experience their Cowboy songs and poems.

This was such a fun trip and we were grateful that Kellie and McKay let us join them. Hopefully another family will go next year so we can tag along??