Camping Trip

So many pictures!!  I can't decide if this era of pictures is my friend or foe.  I capture so many moments and love them all but it's a lot of work to organize them!

When Casey & I were dating and newly married we would go camping A LOT!  Well...then Caleb came, and we camped a few times.  Then twins came - twice - and camping was just too overwhelming for me to even think about for several years.   We managed to organize a Freeze family weekend camp out at Emigration Campground near Montpelier, Idaho.

The weather was PERFECTION.  Mid 80's.  Shady.  A little rain.  I loved it.  The kids were all so excited!  When we first got to camp and they got their wiggles out, they all sat on these rocks.  I didn't have to stage this adorable picture at all!

My sweet little bug a boo making a wish.  SO CUTE!

When it comes to sleeping, I have amazing children.  They usually just go right to sleep.  One afternoon the littlest were getting pretty cranky so I put them in the tent and sat with them while they slept.  It took less than 5 minutes to start sawing logs.

While Luke and Lex were taking their siesta, Mona organized a shirt making activity.  All of the kids had so much fun making their shirts!  When Luke & Lexi woke up, Casey & I helped get their shirts finished.  They still get so excited when I take them out of the washer.  Luke will say, "There it is!  I wanna wear my t-shirt!"

How cute are we?!?!  Casey is such a good sport when it comes to my weird picture posing ideas.

I love when the cousins have the opportunity to get together.  Caleb has so much with Logan & Nathanael & Shayden every time he gets together with them.  He doesn't have many 'boy' friends around the neighborhood yet, so I am so happy when he gets a chance to hang with his 'boys'.  Taylor, Rylee & McKenna are so cute together.  Alexa & MaKayla are mischievous little ladies...and I love it!  We missed Kaden & Tyson this trip, but look forward to the next time they can play!

Here are a few random pictures.  Luke in the water - oh my goodness.  That kid is everywhere!  I took him on several little walks around the campground loop throughout our weekend to keep him busy.  He had to stop at every single watering station!

The time right before dark is my favorite.  Is that called dusk?  I love getting the fire going, finding smore supplies, organizing the chairs around the fire, getting your jacket....it's just a fun time!  Kaetlyn did inform me that I was the one that taught her how to make the perfect smore.  That made me happy.  It's an important skill to master!

Little flower girls!

Some more random pictures.  We drove into Montpelier one afternoon and found these adorable horse swings and some killer whales for Caleb!  I've heard it said that you should always observe the way a man treats his mother when you are looking for a husband.  Casey loves his mom.  And he's pretty decent to me too.

 It was a fantastic camping trip.  I think it should be a new Freeze Family tradition!

June

The month started off with something that made my heart hurt....Taylor & Rylee have been begging me to let them get a short hair cut.  So we loaded up one day and all 5 cuties got some new summer do's.

I mean seriously.  Who sleeps like this?  I always know when this little lady is tired.  If we are watching TV she will get her pillow and take her spot smack dab in the middle of the TV and she's always out within minutes.

My siblings took my dad out to dinner to Tucano's at the Gateway for Father's day.  I took Caleb with me because he always asks why I take the girls places (shopping) and not him.  I think he enjoyed himself.  He was happy because he got his own pepsi and LOVED the cheesy rolls.

One afternoon we headed out to promontory hunting for railroad ties for a yard project.  The kids loved riding on the 4-wheelers with papa Don & Dylan.  Dylan said that every time they would start going Lexi would say, "See ya later suckers!"  Luke was pretty nervous to get down around the cows - but he got over it.  Those creatures scare me too buddy!

All Rylee wants for Christmas this year is her two front teeth!  I forgot to tell her that the tooth fairy takes holidays (like Father's day) off.   That girl needs some vacation time just like the rest of us!  Since she missed the first night, Rylee got a 5 dollar bill!!  What a lucky girl!  She was said that it was only 1 dollar though....it was a rough go trying to explain to her that it was really $5, not just $1.

It wouldn't be summer time without a couple of outdoor picnics here & there.

We attempted curlers one night with the girls short hair.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  Their smiles melt me.

Another year of swimming lessons have come & gone!  They are all improving so much.  I just hope that they can swim better than I can.  They all do pretty well not plugging their noses...Taylor forgets sometimes...but if I go under water for anything ever, I'm plugging my nose.  I don't know how to keep water out of it.

The Glenn's came over one day for a little backyard swim sesh.

I think I water logged these kiddos this month!  My neighbor, Toni, had some swim vouchers that were going to expire - and she invited us to join her & RJ at the pool.  Caleb got to use his killer whale that he got for Easter!!  It was a great time and I got my base tan for the summer....it's glorious.

May

This boy reached 3000 reading minutes!  He was pretty excited.

Taylor & Rylee put on their clothes that they had gotten from Grandma for their birthday.  It was their idea that I take a picture and send it to her.  Then after that they said, "You better send it to Grammy too."  What thoughtful little girls!  I love that they know they are loved by their Grandma & Grammy.

I took these two rascals to the Adventure Zone one morning.  It was a great reminder of how out of shape I am, but we all had fun.  Look a Luke's face :)

For Mother's day this year the girls took my mom to a little fiesta.  The tacos were tasty.  The setting was perfect.  And it was fun to do something new.  

A couple of days after the fiesta my mom treated all the girls, even Grandma, to pedicures.  We then went to Herm's for breakfast.  My Grandma couldn't believe her cinnamon roll pancake.  It was huge!  (and delicious)

One afternoon the kids built forts in the front room.  They got to sleep in them for the night and thought it was awesome.

Caleb was really into Spiderman for a couple of months.  He set up this awesome shot, took the picture, and asked me to type VS in between the two.  He cracks me up.

Curlers!!!  It took forever, but the end result was worth it.

Curly!  Curly!  Curly!  Alexa wanted her pictured taken in a costume so badly.  She has always wanted to just be one of the big girls,

My identical twinsies!  Rylee with her leg popped and Taylor's straight.  (just in case one day I don't remember)

 Rylee, arms folded.  Taylor, arms up.  If I was the picture poser...I would've put my ladies in the front :)

These cuties are Kindergarten graduates!  The school posted their teachers for next year and they aren't in the same class.  They don't even care.  It breaks my heart though.

I was asked to head up a beach party for all of the 3rd graders.  It ended up being perfect!  My favorite part was the photo booth.  Kids are hilarious.

We did a little backyard camping for a couple of nights.  It was nice!  Felt like camping, but not near as dirty.

My little mischief makers.  They were hollering for me one day and I looked out the window and they were stuck in the cherry tree.

Spring soccer was in full swing.  I didn't make it to a lot of Caleb's games, but I enjoyed the ones that I got to to see.  Look at the size difference between him and the kid in the florescent socks....it blows my mind!  He isn't the most aggressive player, but there is definite improvement in his confidence and skills.  That makes me happy.

Warmer weather finally greeted us and we took full advantage one day.  I love taking the kids to first dam over in Logan to feed the ducks.  Luke was funny.  He would rip the bread, eat a piece....rip the bread, feed it to the birds...rip the bread, eat a piece....rip the bread, feed it to the birds - that boy of mine LOVES to eat.

April

I don't know who was more excited when the snow FINALLY started to disappear - the adults, or the kids!  We took advantage of a warm afternoon and went to Mantua to do some shooting with Shelby, Malissa and MaKayla.  The kids found puddles, rocks, worms, rivers and even some snow.  It was a nice afternoon!

 

After shooting, Shelby's family came over for some dinner and games.  It was the longest Texas Hold Em' tournament in the history of EVER.  Before the night was over, Lexi and MaKayla were the best of friends.

Casey brought me home some tulips one day.  He knows that I love them, and for some reason I can't seem to make them grow at my house!

One afternoon I took my babies with me to get the oil changed in the van.  While we were waiting we walked to Shopko to look at books and then stopped at Wendy's for a little lunch.  They were being so cute.  I don't know who cracks me up more in this picture.

Taylor is the one of my kids who isn't afraid to pick up a bug or two.  I remember when she was just little, probably around 2, Caleb would make her pick up grasshoppers for him because he didn't want to touch them.

This particular afternoon, she had a whole collection of critters.  The night crawler totally grosses me out.

One night for dinner, we ordered pizza.  I asked Caleb to grab some paper plates out of the cupboard and he said, "I don't think that's a good idea.  We've been learning about how to reduce, reuse and recycle at school."  He still got out the paper plates for me, but a couple of days later we went to Alpine Gardens and he picked out some cute things to make himself a little garden.  So one cancels out the other, right?

Rylee & Lexi.  Or is it????

These two.  They have a love/hate relationship I've decided.  They can be the best of friends, but they sure do like to pick on each other as well.  I captured this adorable moment one night.

I do a face mask once a week and Rylee wanted in on it one day.  She loved it!

Mother's Day

I am one lucky lady to get to be the mom to these little people.  Heavenly Father has given me a lot to do, and I need to notice the blessings a little bit more!

Now that all 5 of them are in underwear (trumpets blaring)....it seems that the craziness of being 'needed' is changing.  Watching them get their independence is a fun and a scary thing to watch unfold.

One night when I was tucking Taylor in she said I was just like Miss Hannigan on Annie.

I had just finished explaining to them why it was important to keep their bedroom cleaned up.  I hope that their memories of me aren't all 'do this' 'do that' 'clean up' 'read for 20 minutes' 'turn off the tv'....I hope that they can remember how much I love them and how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be their mom.

Twinsies in the Tulips

My mom kept telling me and telling me and telling me that I had to get a picture of Taylor & Rylee in their Easter dresses with the tulips at the Brigham City Temple.  How come 9 times out of 10 mom's know what they are talking about?  I'm glad that I listened to her!  Mother knows best!

These girls look so cute.  Just to clarify - I did tell them to put their hands like that, but I wasn't even paying attention to their cute little legs.

 I love that I got to take a few pictures of some of my favorite things.  My twin girlies and my love for tulips!  They should bloom all summer long