Happy 24th of July

We spent the 24th at the Peterson's. We took Noah's bike down so he could ride somewhere that wasn't a straight hill up or down. Tommy took his training wheels off finally and Noah did a great job! He's so proud of himself that he can ride without training wheels. Now we just have to teach him how to safely ride down the hill at our house. After the bike riding we had some yummy dinner and then let the boys have some fun with sparklers (that was until Cooper burned his foot, poor kid). Then it was time for the adults to have some fun. We decided we had to break our last years record of lighting off 150 fireworks all at the same time, so we went for 200 ground bloom flowers. This all started with my friends in High School and each year it gets bigger. It was so much fun watching 200 fireworks spin all over the place, it's a wonderful 30 seconds of fun. We're already planning next years... bigger and better! You can see from the pictures below how we did it.


Before we set them off. It took 5 of us to light them this year. (and only 1 burned finger)
The aftermath... I really is alot of fun to watch and with a push broom clean up is easy!

Tin foil dinners up the canyon

We went up the canyon with our friends Kendee and Emerson for tin foil dinners. It's always so much fun to get out and just enjoy the beautiful place we live in. The boys (Noah, Cooper, and Cy) had so much fun collecting wood, running around in circles in the dirt, and roasting marshmallows. Everyone loves a good smore!

We finally have a trampoline!

Oh what a wait it has been for this. We finally got the trampoline in, even though we still have some more dirt to move (I have shoveled more dirt the last 5 months then I ever want to again). It's been worth it because the boys absolutely love jumping on it, especially on hot days when they can put their swimsuits on and put the sprinkler on it. It was well worth the wait and the work. You can see from the pictures below that we had a guy come out and dig the hole, but his backhoe wouldn't reach the empty lot next to us, so then we had to shovel all the dirt off our grass.

The Children's Garden

To get the boys out of the house we went to the Children's Garden with our Friends. Noah and Miles are so much alike it fun to watch them play together and see what their smart little minds will come up with. Then you have Cooper and Evan that are just alike, rough and tough! It was nice to get out and let the boys play.
Cooper, Miles, Noah, and Evan splashing in the water.
Noah and Miles picked a beautiful flower that they wanted to keep. But they knew it needed water to stay alive... so why not just put it in the drinking fountain! I tell ya they are pretty creative and funny.

Boating on Deer Creek

We had a great trip up to Deer Creek. Grandpa Phil took me, the boys, and Kiara out. Later on Jarom, Betsy, and Lily joined us. Luckily the water was smooth enough to water ski a few times, then it got a little choppy, so we pulled out the tube. Noah, Cooper, and Kiara all love taking a ride on the tube!
Cooper, Noah, and Kiara getting ready to take a swim. They liked to warm up before they got out on the tube.
Kiara and Cooper going for a ride. Cooper is all smiles when he's tubing with his Aunt Rara.
Betsy and Lily getting ready to go for a ride. Lily also loved riding in the tube!
Jarom showing off! He actually tried to do a 360 on it (we use to be able to do that on our old tube) but he just got dragged upside down for a min and had to let go. He's way tougher than me!

Noah's 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday Noah! His birthday just so happened to be while we were down in Zions. Grandma Roma told the Zion's shuttle bus driver it was his birthday, so when we stopped at the visitors center the driver had the whole bus sing Happy Birthday to Noah. It was so much fun for him. Then that night we did a pinata with his cousins and had smores for desert. He had a great b-day!
Noah cheesing it up holding the pinata just moments before it was beaten by a bat.
Present time. Noah's always so much fun when it comes to presents because he loves everything. It's so much fun to watch him open them up, he's always so excited. And from the mouth on Noah, "It's just what I always wanted!"
Showing off his new bike gloves. Let's be honest, he just got a new bike, new helmet, and new gloves and he really doesn't even know how to ride a bike. I guess that's what happens when you grow up in a Condo and then your parents buy a house on a hill. I guess he'll just have to learn how to use those breaks.

Zions

We just spent the weekend down in Zions with the Petersons. As you will see from the pictures below this annual trip was more about playing and less about hiking (and no camping this year!). Tommy's sister reserved some Cowboy Cabins at Zions Ponderosa Ranch for us. It was such a fun place to stay. They have an awesome swimming pool, a big barn with lots of activities (ping pong, pool, baseball, and a kids play area). A great place to eat and just alot of fun for the kids. We really had a great time.
Are we there yet? Noah actually hiked the whole time, but he was having a hard time getting going after we stopped at the bottom to wait for everyone.
Enjoying Ice Cream Cones after the one and only long hike. We usually go on several hikes, but we were all to excited and wanted to get to the Ranch. Riley, Noah, Cooper, and Ethan.
This is Cooper at the Cowboy Cabin. I think he's afraid someone is going to take one of his bats or baseballs... he's just not willing to let anything go! He did however really enjoying playing redrover with his cousins.
This is an accident waiting to happen, but when the boys do something the girls have to follow. Shelly, Emily, Kristine, and Amy.
Yes, they started it! Did you expect anything different?! Nate, Aaron, Tommy, and Matt.
Cooper enjoying the pool. He was actually a little bit afraid of the water this trip, but he sure had a fun time running around.
The all important Baseball game! Now that we have Isaac (Cooper's cousin) and Cooper who are die hard baseball fans we just have to play. We used our flip flops for the bases and divided the adults and kids up and had a great game. This is my favorite picture because Cooper has his eyes closed and Uncle Aaron's going in for the big hit.

The joys of being homeowners!

We finally bought a much needed lawn mower. Our grass in the front was approaching the foot tall mark. It was to tall to stand up any more. I figure since we were the only ones on the street with actual grass growing it wasn't such a big deal to just let it go :)

Timp Cave

Back in June we took a trip up to Timp Caves with the Peterson Family . It was such a fun trip the only bummer was that Tommy was working, so he missed out on the fun, and his younger brother and Dad had to pick up the slack and help me get the boys to the top. It's a long hike , but well worth it when you get to go through the Caves. All 9 kids did such a great job! I can't wait for our next adventure up Timp.
Noah taking a break with his cousins. They really didn't take many of these, they were troopers!
Uncle Nate doesn't fit as well as Cooper does. He sure thought the cave was cool though.
Say Cheese! Notice there are alot more children than there are adults (the two on the right were not part of our family, just part of the tour group)
Timp Cave formation.
Me and the boys. Cooper doesn't like to smile for pictures can you tell?!

BYU white vs. blue game

It's all about BYU in our family! And we love BYU football, so what better way to spend a Saturday than at the BYU spring white & blue game. The boys had so much fun being out on the field with the football players. Noah also got his jersey (notice it's #1) signed by Fui, pretty cool. It really was a fun day with family and friends and it got us all excited about the upcoming season. Go Cougars!!!

Noah and Cooper running up and down the stairs.

Noah learning how to catch and throw the football.

The group getting ready to enjoy the game!

Baseball Game

In Cooper's world nothing can be better than a baseball game (I think it was almost better for him than Disneyland). It was he and Noah's first BYU baseball game. I think Noah enjoyed the hot dog, icee, and gift shop the most. Cooper however was all about the game, he wouldn't even leave to get food, he stayed there for the whole entire game. It looks like we might have a baseball player on our hands!

Cooper trying not to take his eyes off the game, but still eat his hot dog.

He was all smiles. What a fun day for him.
Tommy and the boys enjoying the game together.

Daisy Girl

Daisy joined our family in March. My mom got her as a puppy, but as their schedule got busier and we now have a backyard and two boys who desperately wanted a dog daisy came to join our family. And because of her our boys now share a room again because they would fight over whose room she should sleep in at night (they're so funny). She's such a great dog and we really love her.