Bryce Canyon

I forgot to post this earlier but for the 4th of July weekend we took a family trip to Bryce Canyon. It was the perfect trip for a young family. The hikes could be as long or short and you wanted, you could drive to lots of different look outs (that were all amazing), and because of the high elevation it makes for a cooler summer location. The kids loved the hotel (with a pool) and even though they got tired pretty quick on some of the hikes they endured. Brynn would tell me a lot, "My knees really hurt." It was just so funny that she always used her knees as the reason for being tired on a hike.

 On the way home we stopped at Cove Fort and this was the only picture we got but it was a cute one so here you go:

Outdoors, 1st Day of 1st Grade

Derrick took Caleb with him on a scout campout (like he does every so often) but this time it was backpacking. Derrick carried most of Caleb's things but he did give Caleb a little backpack with food and a change of clothes. Derrick said the hardest thing about bringing Caleb wasn't that Caleb got tired but that he wanted to stop and explore everything along the way. Luckily Caleb listened and marched on with the scouts. They had a great time!

 I mentioned last time about how Talia loves bike rides. Well, I caught her once in the garage just sitting in the bike trailer and when I saw her she smiled super big and was happy just to be sitting in it. Also, I think she is getting a taste for wearing dresses. This pic was not taken on a Sunday she handed that dress to me in the morning and when I asked her if she wanted to wear it she gave me her "yeah" sound with a nod.

 I also mentioned last time that Andrew came to visit. I was able to snap this pic of him with the kids on the day he left. Talia is unhappy here but she really did start to love him.

Talia does this funny walk every once in while. It's so funny!

 This last weekend we went camping as a family. Paul, Lynne, Scott, Julianne, Evan and Lisa joined us for dinner. The kids love camping (I'm still trying to understand why) and it was fun to see them so excited and talk about it afterward. Talia slept in a pack and play and she woke us all up bright and early.

 Here's the pic from first day of first grade:

Stories:

• Derrick was drinking Fresca. Talia wanted some. I told Derrick to let her have a sip just so we could see her reaction. She took a sip, had a confused look on her face, put her arms up and hesitantly said, "hot" in a confused voice. I couldn't even talk I was laughing so hard seeing her loss of expression for the carbonation she just experienced.
• I signed Brynn up for a dance class. It doesn't start for another week and a half. So far she has told me she wants to practice and has asked me what to do. I told her I don't know. She was also washing her hair in the bath and told me she was scrubbing extra well so she could look good for dance class.
• Caleb says that his first day of school was boring because there was a lot of talking and not a lot of working.
• At stake conference they were doing the sustaining votes (you raise your hand in the air if you support what was proposed). Talia saw everyone raise their hand and put both of her arms in the air, looking around at everyone else. It was so adorable.
• Brynn was talking about how we need water. Then she said, and I quote exactly, "Pee is our water. Poop is our food. I learned that at church." Now, I know there are sunbeam lessons about water and food but I highly doubt that's exactly what she was taught :)

I thought this was so cute. Brynn had Elsa playing the guitar and singing.

  We went to a man-made beach in Herriman. The kids had a blast.

 Brynn tried to take the ride-on scooter down the stairs. I just see in her mind thinking it would be fun. We were lucky that she only got a small bruise on the side of her cheek:

 We've been riding our bikes to get shaved ice this summer. We all love this new tradition!

 Andrew has been visiting us. One time we went to Scheels, rode the ferris wheel, played the shooting game and walked all around the store.

 We also went to temple square with Andrew and Jenna. We had fun

Stories:

• Brynn has been getting a lot of mosquito bites. During sacrament meeting she told me her shoe hurt. She had a huge welt around her ankle. I took off her shoes and she went barefoot for the next 2 hours at church.
•  Talia's favorite word is "hot". She definitely knows the meaning of it. She knows the stove and oven are hot, that smoke is hot and that food and water can be hot. Once she saw someone smoking and when they let out a puff she said, "hot". Luckily they didn't hear but it was still funny.
• Talia loves riding in the bike trailer. When she sees us getting ready to go, she goes over to the trailer, sits in it and stays put until we leave. It is sweet how much she loves it.