August

August was a very busy month! We had 2 major vacations planned! At the beginning of August, we went to Yellowstone with my family. It was so much fun! My parents booked condos for all of us, and we went to see all the sights.

Yellowstone was amazing, of course. Our first day there was very drizzly and wet. We all thought, as we waited for Old faithful in the rain, that we weren't sure this was going to be a great week. But the weather was great after that day!

It was so fun to see all of my family, and to spend the whole week with them! Besides Yellow stone, we also went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone village. The kids loved to see the bears eating and hang out with their cousins all day!

Each evening, 2 families were assigned to cook for everyone, and we would all get together for one big meal. It was a crazy, chaotic time, yet really fun time.

We also all went swimming together a few times. That's what's great about staying in condos!

There were 5 babies born into our family in 2010. This was the first time we were able to get them all together! Left to Right- Evan and Jared Rappleye (August), Alyssa Rappleye (July), Briggs Ford (May), and Sean Doyle (November). It's amazing how similar they all look! They must be cousins.

Over all, It was a great trip to Yellowstone, but best of all was the reunion with my family. The only ones who were missing was Richard and Callie. (They went away for the summer to install alarm systems.) Bottom left corner-Monica and Ruston Ford + 6, front right- Mom and Dad, middle right-Mindy and Lafe + 4, top right- Roger and Tasha + 1, top left-Ryan and Jocelyn + 3, across the middle- The Doyles.

On our way home from Yellowstone, we decided to stop off at the Idaho Falls Temple. It's a beautiful place, and a beautiful Temple!

At the end of August, we went to Lake Powell again. This has become a yearly trip that we’ve taken with some friends of ours. John’s taken up skiing and he’s getting better every time.Erin went cliff-jumping, knee boarding, snorkeling, and swam so much that she came home with swimmers ear. She also learned to ski!!! She’s tried before, but this year she was successful. She loved it. Devin went cliff jumping too! And he really liked knee boarding and the jet ski, but his favorite thing to do this year was tubing. He was always asking if we could go tubing. Colin slept on the top of the houseboat for the first time this year. In years past he’s slept inside with me, but he was a big boy this year! He also just loved going out on the boat and especially loved the jet skis. I was kind of worried about taking Sean to Lake Powell, but he slept great, even for naps. And he was easily entertained by swimming, going on the boat, or playing in the sand. He loved it!

July

We spent the 4th of July in Delta this year! We had a great time swimming in the kiddie pool outside, going on the 4-wheeler, and seeing the parade. In the park afterwards, Devin and Erin participated in the fish catch. They got to catch a fish with their hands! Colin was not interested at all. I don't blame him

Devin turned 6 this Year! I can't believe he's 6 already! We had a great low key family party. He is a sweet boy! We love you Devin.

John's work put on a great Summer party in preview of the new Harry Potter movie. We got t-shirts, and we got to make potions, be sorted into houses with the sorting hat, see cool reptiles, and dress up in Harry Potter costumes. We even got cool treats for the movie like chocolate frogs, pumpkin juice, and Butter Beer! Then we took the kids to a friend's house while we went to a 3d preview showing of the movie. It was a ton of fun!

In the middle of July we went to a really fun Family reunion with my Mom's family. They had lunch, a water slide, and some fun games to play. Thanks to Mandy, Stacy, and Valerie for putting it on.

In July Sean was 7 months old. He loves to play with toys and with his brothers and sister. up until this point he was generally staying in the same spot, but in July he really started to roll around! He could get all the way across the room eventually as he moved from one toy to another rolling along as he went.

My birthday was in July too. I'm now 32 and John treated me to dinner and a banana cream pie!

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June

In June we were busy with Soccer! (It started in May) Devin loves to play Soccer! And this year John surprised us all by volunteering to be his coach! I think they both really enjoyed it! At least it made us be on time to every game!

John ran his half marathon in June too. His goal was to run it in less than 2 hours. and he did just that! he ran it in 1 hour 50 minutes! Way to go John!

At 6 months old (in June), Sean is getting big. he sits up really well and is a fun little boy!

He's even starting to grab onto the swing! It's time to pack away all the little baby toys!

We also took the kids swimming at a new pool in our area. It was Sean's first time, and he loved it. There was no water shyness at all!

At the end of the month, Erin got her red belt 2nd degree, and John got his Brown belts. I think we're well protected at our house!

April/May

Well, There's more for April. Erin entered a couple of art pieces in a contest (like reflections) at school. She won an Honorable mention on her tiger picture!

Erin and John had a Daddy Daughter date in April too. They dressed up fun and had a great time playing games and dancing.

In early May, I took the two little boys and went on Devin's field trip to the Hogle Zoo. There were so many parents there, that we got Devin to ourselves! It was a lot of fun. I just wished Erin and John could be there. Maybe another time.

Sean touching his toes! (May, 5 Months old)

Also in May, John took a weekend trip down to Bryce Canyon and Cedar City with a couple of his Mission Companions and College friends, Duane and Chad. They had a great trip reminiscing and visiting with friends.

May was the ending of the school year too, so Erin and Devin both had school programs. Erin's was all about patriotism.

Devin's was all about animals. I made his costume out of a black sweater and sweats he had, and some scrap materials. He did a great job learning about his animal and singing the songs with the group.

For Memorial weekend, we went up to Park City with Mom and Dad. We stayed at their condo and even though it was cool, they all went swimming. We also went to the Olympic park. Mom and I went on a tour while John, Dad and the kids went on the alpine slide and zip lines. It was an adventurous day!

And, Yes it snowed while we were there!