4th of July

The 4th of July was a little different this year.  Since we were driving home from Lake Powell on July 2nd we weren't able to go to the Stadium of Fire which is our usual 4th tradition.  Instead we woke up and Gordon went for a bike ride then I went for a run.  Then we ran a few errands and got stuff done around the house.  Our next door neighbors, the Cooks, had a little party that we went to that night.  We had hotdogs, lots of yummy salads and treats, and a great fire work show.  We tried to watch a movie outside but the weather wasn't permitting!  It turned out to be a nice day.

Taeya and Anastyn all outfitted in patriotic colors.  I was planning on putting the ribbon around Taeya's neck in her hair, but she had other plans for it!

Brielle and Taeya - Lawni stayed in town for another few days and we were so happy they did!

Brielle and Rachel

Anastyn being silly - she absolutely loved the fireworks this year.

Lawni and Bryce

Our family

Cassidy, Frank, and Presley - they decided to join us for the evening.

Anastyn wanted to be as close as possible to the fireworks.  It was so fun to see all the fireworks in the neighborhood this year.

We love Bryce, Lawni, and Brielle, and we were so glad they stayed to celebrate with us.

Muddy Girls

What is it about mud that is so attractive?  I don't think there is anything good about it.  It is just messy, hard to get out of clothes and shoes and annoying, but Kids love it!  For whatever reason we had a ton of water in the dirt between mine and Alyson's house and Anastyn and Alayna seemed to find it!  We eventually took their clothes off and let them have a blast!  It was a messy cleanup, but the fun the girls had made it worth it!

Lake Powell

Right after I finished running the half marathon we hopped in the car and headed to Lake Powell (boy was I sore when we got there).  The Huntsman family invited us and we had a great time.  We were sad that several family members weren't able to come this year.:(  Thanks to Kelly for her awesome job on the food and to the Huntsmans for providing the houseboat.  We had a nice, relaxing week!

Our Little Family

Taeya ringing the dinner bell.

My cuties - what is it with these buckets of water?  There is a lake 5 feet away and Anastyn chose to spend her time in the bucket.  Maybe she liked the warmer water??

Me and Gordon

Gordon and Anastyn - the kids loved this blow up jetski.

Jayne and Kelly - I know this picture is a little blurry, but I didn't get very many pictures (other than out on the boat, or my kids), so I had to include Jayne and Kelly - things are no fun with out them around!

Cael, Anastyn, and Jayne - Jayne had this great little DVD set-up in the "hideout" as Taeya calls it.  The little kids loved it down there.



The Hobie cat was a fun addition to Lake Powell this year.  The bad thing was that no-one really knew how to sail.  It was quite entertaining to watch all these "men" try and figure it out.  We got a lot of great laughs when the Women decided to join them out on the Lake.  Lets just say I was really glad we weren't in the ocean and I could still see the houseboat!

Taeya attempted to waterski - she just wouldn't stand up - silly girl.  At least she's still smiling.

Cameron also learned to waterski - first try - I love Gordon's excitement in the background!  Cameron wanted to go and go - I was afraid we were going to loose Gordon!

Gordon is an awesome teacher and he taught Cael to waterski - he popped up his first try!



Anastyn and I

My Sweet Taeya

Wakeboarding with Dad

Anastyn saying "cheese" while watching Taeya and Dad

Taeya loves the lake just like her dad and is usually the 2nd one in the water - 2nd to Gordon of course!

Gordon really wanted Anastyn to wakeboard with him - she didn't really like it.  To try and help the situation I let her go with her binki, it didn't really help.



Still crying.....she needed lots of snuggling from mom when she was done.  Maybe she'll like it better next year?

 

One thing that I got to try this year was surfing.  Every year we've gone to the lake with the Huntsmans I've been pregnant.  So this year I didn't pass up the opportunity.



It was harder than I thought it would be, but after a few tries I kind of figured it out - at least I figured out how to get up!

I thought I'd try and let go....

I guess it was too soon!



Cameron and Kimball enjoying themselves.



Me, Kimberly, C.J., Chantel, and Collin - Every year we go to Lake Powell my dad always says he wants to go to Hole in the Rock - well this year he finally got his wish.  We weren't really planning to go all the way to the top, but we did, and it was kindof tough.  I don't know how those pioneers did it.  I definitely have a deaper appreciation for all the hardships they had to endure.  There was a nice couple at the top who took our picture than emailed it to us!



Taeya and Kierra on the Barge - leaving the lake.:( 

We really did have a great trip - the girls were great, the food was so yummy, the weather was realively good, the company was awesome, what more could you ask for?

Random June

My girls spend a lot of time with the Bailey's.  Alyson is always great to help me out when I work, but even when I'm not working they prefer to be with them.  Here are some random pictures Alyson took.  These girls are so fun!

Anastyn and Alayna love to push around strollers, and carts. 

Anastyn is starting to like getting dressed up - she has on Brynn's shirt and maybe Kira's shoes.

These girlies were getting all cozy in the covers!

They both really like shoes!

Brynn is definitely one of Taeya's favorite people.  Brynn is always great to do Taeya's hair, let her wear her clothes, pretend to be her ballet teacher, and just play with her whenever she wants!  We love Brynn. 

Af Canyon Half Marathon

I started going to the gym regularly last October.  Before then I would work out at home, or I would go for a job on this great trail we have by our house, but I started getting a little more into weights and running.  I would run 3-4 miles and was feeling pretty good.  A friend at the gym started asking me what I was training for.  I wasn't training for anything but it got me thinking.  I've never actually wanted to run a marathon, but I started to think that maybe I did.  So I signed up for the AF Canyon Half Marathon.  The course was mostly downhill and since it's practically my backyard I figured I could train pretty easily.  It ended up being a lot of fun.  My plan was to do it in 2 hours.  I figured I could run pretty fast down the canyon and then I could slow down and still make it under 2 hours. I went pretty fast down the canyon like I planned but I didn't really slow down much after.  I got pretty tired around mile 10, but surprisingly the last few miles went by fast.  My final time was 1 hour 47 minutes, which I was really proud of.

 Lawni and her kids met me at the finish line, Gordon tried to meet me down the hill from our house but I was too speedy!  I saw him running down the hill about 50 yards from me, but I wasn't about to stop to wait for him!

Alyson had planned to meet me at the finish line but it was too early in the morning so she met me in the driveway instead!

When I was finished I grabbed a quick drink, visited with Lawni for a few minutes and then headed home to shower and head to Lake Powell!!  I don't think I want to do a full marathon anytime soon, but maybe someday.......