July Randoms

We had to have a little get together for the 4th of July!  Food, fireworks, Freeze's, games and sidewalk paint!  It was a fun night and I love when cousins are able to build their friendships.

Shayden & Caleb gave scaring the kids their best attempt.

On a whim one Sunday we headed to Porcupine Dam.  Casey and Shelby and I use to go there ALL OF THE TIME! But, life got busy and we stopped!  It is such a pretty place.  I really hate the drive though!  Right when we got there it started to pour rain!  We ate our lunch in the van and watched so many fair weather parties pack up and head out.  We ended up with a fantastic spot to play.

Shelby & Casey had some dirt to clean or whatever you say when you are looking for gold.  So they ran the gold cube and the kids played.  Then those brothers decided to swim across the dam and cliff jump.  Boys will be boys!

We had a family swim day at North Shore in Harrisville.  It is such a fun pool!

My strawberry plants gave us 6 beautiful, delicious strawberries!  Seriously - so much tastier than at the store.  Sweet, not sour.  Tiny though.  Hopefully next year we will have a plethora of strawberries.

Rylee and Taylor took tennis lessons for the 2nd year in a row. They really enjoy it and look so sporty!

Camp Bartlett! Before the church washes it's hands of scouting, Caleb was able to go to camp. Casey joined him too which made my mama heart happy.  Gaga ball was the big hit of the camp.  Caleb loved it!  He also came home with quite a few scary stories from his tent mates!  Memories that will last forever.

At the end of July we had a 90th birthday party for my Grandma Babe!  90?!?  My mind can't even begin to comprehend what she has seen and watch unfold the last 90 years.  I'm very lucky to have my grandparents still!  I'm glad my kids have had the oppourtnity to get to know them too.

It was a great day for a party.  There were so many dragonflies out!

June Randoms

Is there a better way to start off summer than a trip to Perry Ice for a tasty slushie?!  My new favorite combo is tigers blood and lime.  Lexi has been playing exploring her fashion sense.....I'm hoping it isn't quite settled in yet.

We headed to Studio 360 for the girls to get their summer toes!  I don't know what they love more.  The drink and doughnut part or the toenail part!  Memories for sure though.

Caleb wanted a treat one day so I told him to make one.  He picked brookies.  Part brownie, part cookie.  They were delicious!  My girls have cute aprons that they made with grandma Mona and they love any opportunity they get to put them on.

Casey & I told Caleb that if he earned half of the money we would buy him a gun.  Luckily he did a pretty good job helping clean up the netting in promontory earlier in the year that he had enough to get a Ruger 10-22.  He knew exactly what he wanted and is very happy with it!

Father's Day!  We celebrated with Casey a little early because he had to work on Father's day.  His kids sure love him!!  My dad sure loves Easton and I love when he wears his Tom Selleck shirt.  It's pretty bomb.  Caleb tried an O'Douls at Grandpa Carlos's house.  From his facial expression, it looks like it may have been a bit bitter.

Luke is a bug lover.  He found some rolly pollys and said, "You better take my picture and send it to Grammy and Grandma."

Caleb and his bestie Allie.  They are so cute.  I hate that they are growing up!

We had DOWNPOUR one afternoon.  It was crazy!  I wanted to take pictures, but was worried the force going down the gutter would sweep Luke or Lexi off of their feet, so Casey got to go play too.

Halloween costumes for the win!  Always!

Movie time!!

Shadow is such a good cat!  I can't believe that he hasn't left us for some tail.  He has stuck around for 5 years so far and is pretty dang patient with the kids.

We had a ton of cherries when we got home from Oregon.  The kids helped get them all picked, I washed them and picked out the nastiest looking ones and bagged them up for the kids to sell.  Later though, we decided to cut into a bunch of them.....um....worms.  We never spray, probably something we should consider.

Brigham City finally has a splash pad!  Casey took the kids their for some fun there one afternoon.  I actually quit babysitting and started a job at Farmer's Insurance working 25 hours/week.  I hope it works out and helps out my family financially.  These kids are only going to get bigger an more expensive and I sure don't feel ready for it!

Oregon Vacay - Soaking it in

The weather was much better than the previous for our last day of vacay.  Blue skies made for a perfect morning at the beach.  Caleb insisted to be buried in the sand.  Luke, Casey & Dylan had him covered in no time!

I have always enjoyed watching Taylor when we are at a beach.  She seems so in her element!

These little ladies.  Their personalities when they are together are so dang cute!  I love their reflection in the sand.

My mom had purchased the cutest little surfer girl & boy that actually could catch a wave!  Luke and Lexi got quite a kick out of them.

These couple of hours were a highlight of the trip for me.  Everyone exploring, playing some games, relaxing and taking in the ocean breeze.  It was so nice.

Casey found an app for the tide!  So I finally was able to make my tidepool dreams a reality!  I loved it.  The starfish were a HUGE hit.  I loved them so much.  Caleb was fascinated with it all.  He has been fascinated with the ocean and it's creatures for a really long time!

Angela's face is pretty priceless here!

The crab with a missing claw was a big hit with the kids and Taylor loved the little hermit crab.  And look at my sweet Rylee Roo!!

Casey partook in some recreational activity and was taking a long nap so Ashley and Derrick sneaked away for a dinner date while I watched the Bodine children.  I even gave Easton a bath in the kitchen sink, because.....cute!  Angela & my mom soaked up some last minute hot tub time.  Papa Don got in some cuddle time with his favorite baby.

Oregon Vacay - Nature, You pretty

We woke up bright and early and headed to Florence, Oregon to the sand dunes to take a ride on a giant dune buggy!  It took some convincing, but we convinced my mom to come along too.  She was going to sit back with Easton, but with the Geriatric bunch loading on, we convinced her that she and the baby would be just fine.

It was pretty chilly the closer we got to the ocean.  The amount of sand was unreal!  The picture of Luke & Caleb is one of my favorites from the whole trip!

It ended up being a much calmer ride than I had anticipated.  But it managed to make my mother scream, and swear.  And with our little people it was just what we needed.  I want to go back one year and ride one of the smaller, faster dune buggies.

After the sand dunes, just a few miles away, there was America's largest sea lion caves! I love seals and sea lions so I had to stop.  There was an elevator ride that took us quite a ways down where there was a view of inside the caves, some videos to watch and a neat view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  

So, of course, with the lighthouse just up the road.  That was our next destination.  This was on my mom's bucket list of things to do also so it all worked out great!

It is one of the most visited light houses in the United States.  It was pretty cute!  

And such a photogenic little lighthouse.

It was pretty overcast for the day, but the views were still so pretty!

We stopped at a restaurant that was recommended on our way back to our rental home.  I wasn't super impressed.  And Taylor & Rylee were disgusted with Papa Don's oyster appetizer.  The restaurant had a pretty stained glass orca in the front door and I had to get Caleb's picture.  I wonder if a killer whale will be Caleb's first tattoo?

We all made it safely back to the home and gathered up some necessities and headed to the beach to make smores.  It was a busy day, but a lot of fun!  A little fire on the beach was a perfect ending.

I love to look at this picture.  It is pretty perfect.  The sunset.  The bare feet.  The father/son cuteness of it.  I actually think Caleb had just asked Casey which direction was Russia.  That kid cracks me up.

Oregon Vacay - Tourists

Casey started this morning with a hike in nature.  He found some pretty creepy creatures!

We headed to a lighthouse, Cape Mears.  The scenery was beautiful and the little walk was a fabulous reminder of how out of shape I am in! 

There was a weird tree called the Octopus Tree.  We got a pretty cute family picture there! The tree measures more than 14 feet across at its base and has no central trunk.  Instead, limbs extend horizontally as much as 30 feet before turning upward. It is 105 tall and is estimated to be around 250 years old.

A group picture!! I sure wish Jordon & Griffen could've joined us.

We are tourists.  We got sucked into a MAJOR tourist trap.  I can say I have been to Tillamook factory, and I can say that I will probably not go ever again! So many people. So underwhelming! I must say it did bring 2 of my very favorite pictures though.  My dad thought everyone (EVERYONE, not just his group) was ridiculous with all of the picture taking.  When he was throwing something away he looked at me and said, "Look....look....take my picture throwing away my trash."  While in line waiting for our sample cup there were signs that said, ONLY 1 PER PERSON.  Dylan was across the way from me totally filling up 2 cups!  I got my camera ready and then called him out...his face cracks me up in this picture so much!

Most of us took a turn in the Tillamook van.

After the drive back to the house, I wanted to go find some tide pools that weren't too far from our place.  Again...no tide pools - but I did find a tide pool app and I refuse to quit!!  I want to find some starfish!  The kids wrote their names in the sand and Casey & I got a dang cute selfie.

The sunset was beyond perfect.  I often wonder if I lived by the ocean if I would take it for granted. (or granite as most people say)  I would hope that I would marvel in it's beauty every day!  Luke is out on the rock with Casey.  That Luke is NON STOP.  He has so many questions, is always into something and on the go go go.  He is genuinely inquisitive and absolutely adorable.