Family Camping Trip

A couple weeks ago we were bored and decided to go to Goodwill just to look around. We ended up finding a bunch of tents that all looked new. We only have a 4 person tent which does not fit our family so we don't get to go camping. In the pile we found a 12 person, 3 room tent for only $120! After looking up online we found that this tent sells for $300. We stood there and debated for quite awhile knowing that if something was wrong with this tent we couldn't return it. We finally decided to go for it and we are so glad we did! It looks like it was only used once! It is awesome!

We went camping this last weekend and were a little worried since it was raining as we drove up the mountain. It was still raining as we set up our tent. But once the tent was up the rain stopped and it was a beautiful weekend! We thought we were going to be the only crazy people camping that weekend but the whole campsite ended up filling up.

The kids were excited to be on the mountain!  We roasted marshmallows of course.

In the morning we cooked pancakes on the fire which were delicious! We were a little nervous we wouldn't get breakfast since our wood was a bit wet. If it wasn't for Chad's persistence we wouldn't of had a fire or breakfast for that matter.

The kids enjoyed exploring the campsite. Easton decided he was a big kid and kept trying to climb the hill. Once he ended up rolling down it somersault style and it didn't phase him.

We went on a hike which turned out to be more of a short walk. The two youngest gave up on us. Lydia wanted to climb and play on the rocks and Easton wanted to explore and then relax.

With all the rain there was actual water flowing! The kids loved throwing rocks and crossing this little stream.

We had fun and are excited to be able to go camping more now that we have a tent that can fit all of us!

Life Lately

We have been getting into the school groove. Sophie loves school although she says she does not like that she has to sit on the ground outside for snack. It gets her clothes dirty...I wonder if any other kids are concerned over this. Silly girl. Her favorite days are library and computer days.

I think we finally got into a schedule trying to adjust Easton's naps around taking Sophie to and from school. But most of the time both Lydia and Easton pass out picking her up.

Lydia has been doing surprisingly well with Sophie gone too. I think she enjoys the undivided attention she gets from me. Which usually involves playing one of her many made up games such as "otter." She pretends to be an otter while I cheer her on like a dedicated zoo visitor and feed her pretend treats. Aww the things she comes up with....

Grandma and Grandpa Clayton found a free swing set and dropped it off at our house! The kids LOVE it and are always wanting to play on it.

On Pioneer Day Grandma and Grandpa Clayton came over to celebrate and brought a yummy Pioneer meal. Grandma made the girls some cute bonnets too...

 and even Easton liked them.

We made our own butter for dinner which turned out delicious.

And the girls and Grandma filled out family trees.

Easton is getting so big. and has started saying more words. He loves trains and always points and says "choo choo!" when he sees one. So far the only animal sound he will say is quack "cack" and has started saying thank you "too too."

His favorite toys are hot wheels cars but he is not afraid to jump in and play barbies with the girls but usually pushes the barbies or princesses around making car noises. He is obsessed with shoes and is always pulling them from the closet and bringing them to me "go go go!" and them drags me to the door.

He enjoys all of the attention from Lydia when Sophie is at school too. They play really well together. I think Lydia likes that she gets to control the games and Easton is happy to follow. Its a win win relationship...for now.

Sophie is in Kindergarten!

Monday was Sophie's first day of Kindergarten! She was completely excited and I was completely nervous haha. She did have a moment of panic the week before because she was afraid she wouldn't know where to go. But once she knew I was going to be with her to help her find her classroom and line up the first day she was nothing but excited. The fact she got to go shopping for a backpack helped too. she just loves to shop. We gave her a budget and told her she had to get a backpack and lunch box but if she had any extra money she could get something else. She was determined to get new shoes and compared prices like crazy and got her shoes!

 The week before we met her teacher Mrs. Malm.

On the first day she jumped out of bed and was dressed and ready to go hours before school started.

She did so good lining up with her class and had no problem with me leaving. I on the other hand had a much harder time and teared up.

After school she was all smiles and loved it! She did say that the one thing she doesn't like about school is that she has to sit on the ground outside for snack time and it gets her outfit dirty.

Lydia did surprisingly well with it all too. She had no problem giving Sophie a hug and leaving and she actually cried when I told her we needed to go pick her up from school. Apparently Lydia is enjoying the alone time with Mom and Easton.

Fourth of July Camping Trip

For the Fourth of July weekend we got to go camping on Mt. Lemon! Sierra is in Girl Scouts and Brad and Becca reserved a cabin at their camp for the family! IT was a lot of fun spending time together. On Friday there was a parade through Summerhaven. we were able to be in with the Girl Scouts.

Brianna, Sophie and Sierra had their hair done to look like a star.

Right when the parade started it started to rain.....then pour. Luckily we found some garbage bags in our bags to cover Easton and Lydia. And the Girls Scouts had a tarp to protect the guitars.

We hung out at the cabin quite a bit Saturday since it rained a lot. A bunch of our group were on a four mile hike when it poured down on them. We played games in the cabin and enjoyed hot chocolate.

They had a bunch of activities on Saturday for us to do. The kids had fun dancing and doing crafts.

The girls especially loved making their own candles.

We also did some team building exercises. We had to fit everyone on this wood box. Poor mike ended up hurting himself pretty bad as the box tipped with him trying to get on it and he rolled with the box. We really thought this thing was anchored to the ground.

We had to help each other climb over a ten foot wall.

And we had to get everyone on this balancing seesaw and keep it balanced the entire time. It was a little difficult with all the little kids but we did pretty good.

Then we did archery which the kids really liked. At the end of our session it once again poured and hailed on us and we had to run to the lodge. We had so much fun spending time on the mountain. Even with all the rain it was awesome!

California Trip Part 3

The last day together we all headed to Monterey and visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

There were bat rays you could touch. One came right up to Sophie but I couldn't convince her to touch it. Sadly it wasn't there long and the rest hung out in the back of the tank.

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They had some seaweed and crabs you could touch too.

The kids liked to play area too where they could play in "tide pools"

The jelly fish area was awesome too.

After we walked to a Mexican restaurant for lunch that my parents went to on their honeymoon. It was right on the beach and the kids enjoyed watching seals while they waited for their food. Then we drove to Pebble Beach and climbed on rocks and checked out the tide pools. The girls loved finding sea shells and brought a bunch home.

On Friday our family headed to San Diego so Chad and I could take turns  going to the Sand Diego Temple. We got caught in a lot of traffic and it took us a lot longer than we thought to get there, but it was well worth it! The Temple is gorgeous!

The kids did really good in the car except for a few well umm moments of Easton's high pitched screaming. But we made it home safe and the girls are already talking about wanting to go back to the ocean.