1st Day of School

We had a fast and furious summer but the kids were ready for the 1st day of school when it arrived.  It's always great to get back into the routine of school and also fun to see friends again!  I can't believe how old these kids look this year.  Rease is starting 6th grade and is excited to be the oldest in the school.  I'm not sure that I'm ready for them all to be so grown up! 

Muscle Man

Love this Beck and his big muscles!

Camping

We went on a weekend camping trip with our good friends the Hammers, Flints and Chalks.  We went up to Little Deer Creek above Midway and though the road was a little rough for all our vans to get up there, we made it! It was a beautiful spot right in the middle of the mountains and a perfect getaway.  The kids all got along so well and we loved being together as a group.  We played in the pond, ate good food, roasted marshmallows, hid under the canopies during the rainstorm, played games and enjoyed the beautiful place we were in.  

 The Chalks brought their 4 wheelers and it was the highlight of the weekend to be able to ride them.  Josh took the kids on a long, fun ride and obviously they had a great time.  

We ended up leaving the night before we planned because there was a big rain storm headed our way.  We decided to pack up and leave instead of sleep in the rain and try and pack up in the morning.  We all made it out in the nick of time.  Just as we were pulling our vehicles out, the rain started coming and didn't stop.  Lots of lightning and loud thunder came with the rain and it was awesome to be in the mountains and hear how loud it could be!

St. George Trip

We took one last trip before school started for the kids.  Robin and Guy have a condo in St. George that they were generous enough to let us use for the week.  In the midst of the heat, we headed off to sunny St. George for one last hoorah!

Our daily ritual was to head out for a hike early enough in the day to beat the heat.  We hiked out in Washington near the condo one of the days.  The kids could have stood on that ledge and just thrown rocks all day long.  They were completely entertained just being out in the wide open space and doing what they wanted.  Each day we stopped at the Maverick by the house and picked up a slushee to cool off after our hike.  

The rest of the day was spent in the pool.  I sat on the chairs and read/slept/suntanned and once in a while jumped in the water to cool off.  But the kids just played and played and played in the water and couldn't get enough.  Their biggest accomplishment was making this 3 tiered shoulder stand.  

 We also hiked the Dixie Rocks one of the days and this was super fun!  There are lots of places to explore and crevices to hide in.  We stopped in the shade once and watched a turtle make his way from one cave to the next.  That was pretty awesome.

 We stopped at the temple and walked around for a bit.  It is such a beautiful and white temple!  

We had a really fun week just relaxing and made the most out of the few days of summer that we have left!

Keen's 6th Birthday!

 Keen turned 6 and we combined birthday celebrations with Uncle Caleb and Nolan while they are in town.  He wanted a pirate ship cake and though it isn't my best cake, he was really happy with it!  I had a hard time getting it to stay together, but it held ok for the party so that's what mattered.  Keen got the Catan Junior game and we can't wait to play it together!

He requested Pizza Factory for his birthday so that's what we did.  They do these cute pizzas in the shape of the number - he was so impressed that they could make a pizza into the number 6!

My favorite things about 6 year old Keen:

1) Keen is growing up.  He is tall and big for his age but is also growing up inside.  He is very helpful around the house especially when I'm cooking.  He loves to eat so is always willing to help if food is part of the equation.  Josh and I always say that Keen is going to be one we'll probably have to worry about when he is older because he is so handsome.  The girls will not be able to stay away from this boy!

2) Keen is very thoughtful.  He writes notes, does small acts of service and says nice things to people around him all the time.  His teachers at school and church always tell me how polite and kind he is and I believe it.  He is very much that way at home and I hope he continues to think of others throughout his life!

3) Keen loves to have fun!  He plays really well with his brothers and loves to play games, jump on the trampoline, play at the park, watch movies, visit family, anything that means that something fun is involved.  He is a fun and happy boy this Keen!

6 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 4'2" - 99%

Weight: 57 lbs. 9 oz. - 93%

We love our birthday boy!

Rec Center

The girls have been going to the rec center and doing a tween workout class.  They LOVE it!  Today they rode their bikes to the rec and back and were tired by the time they made it home.  I'm proud of them though and their hard work!  It's good for them to be able to do something that makes them feel independent and grown up.  Love these girls!

Silly Rease

This girl is hilarious and silly and crazy!  I hope she never changes!

Early morning boating

We snuck in an early morning boat day today and even got Papa out with us before he had to get to work!  It was a little chilly this morning but it warmed up and we had a great day at the lake!

Smoky skies

It has been a summer of many fires in Utah.  The skies have been smoky for the past month because of all the fires around the state.  There have even been a couple up in Rose Canyon just up the road from us.  The helicopters circled around and filled up the water bucket from the Cove Pond across the street from our house.  It has been a dry, hot summer and we are looking forward to getting these fires under control and having some clean air back.

Corndogs

Corndogs may be one of the best things ever created...

Corn huskers

These 4 boys have become great corn huskers!  They work hard and get it done quick and make a mess while they're at it!

Baby Wesley

Andy and Kristi lost their sweet little boy before she delivered him.  She was 32 weeks when they found out that there was no heartbeat.  We were heartbroken for them and what they had to go through.  She delivered the baby and the family gathered a couple days later for a funeral and burial for Baby Wesley.  It was such a beautiful funeral with lots of tears but full of the spirit.  Andy and Kristi both shared their testimonies and they were full of hope and love for each other and their baby that they knew would be with them someday.  It was a sweet day to be able to gather together as a family.  We love them both.

Goose Egg

It's not uncommon for Desh to bump his head.  Today was a good one though...

Girls weekend

I haven't seen my high school friends for so many years.  We have been in touch but life is so busy that we just haven't seen each other in like 10 years.  Misha invited Brooke and I down to St. George for the weekend and we took her up on it.  We needed some catching up time!  It was so fun to be together with these girls of mine again.  We laughed and reminisced and laid by the pool and just enjoyed being back together for a few days.  So much to catch up on, but it was funny how we just kind of picked up where we left off 10 years ago.  These goofy girls are the best!

 We spent all of one night going through our old scrapbooks and yearbooks.  What a crazy time high school is!  But what better way to get together with old friends than to recreate old pictures?! 

We had the best weekend together.  Thanks to Mish for inviting us in to her beautiful home and giving us so much needed catch up time! Love you girlies!

At the park

The girls took Desh and my phone today while we were at the park and did a great job taking care of him and documenting their fun!

Babysitting texts

Rease and Rhen were babysitting for us tonight.  We left Josh's phone with them just in case they needed to get ahold of us.  Well, the computer at home is hooked to my account so they can also text from the computer to Josh's phone and it looks like it is coming from me.  Rhen was putting the boys to bed and started texting me...little did she know that Rease was intercepting the texts from the computer upstairs and responding in place of me.  What we got is a hilarious series of texts that I was able to read later!

Beck Pouting

I got this text from Hayley today...

Space Discovery Mission

Rease and Rhen have been to this Space Discovery Mission a couple of times this summer.  It has been really fun for them to do!  The group gathers and is given a mission and each person has a role on the space ship.  They work together to fight off alien invaders, dodge asteroids, make it through worm holes to reach their goal.  They LOVE it!  We got a group together while Nolan and Wyatt are in town and they couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had.  

Kiddos

I love finding these kind of pictures on my phone.  These kiddos of mine are the best!

Activity Day Camp

I have loved being the Activity Days leader in our ward.  Both my girls are in there with me so it is great to be with them at each activity.  We got to go to camp this week at Camp Jeremiah Johnson and had an absolute blast!  The girls were able to do archery, an obstacle course, bead making, shooting, a wagon pull and 3 legged races.  We had a really fun group of girls and everyone had a great time together!

Hammock night with dad

Josh bought a new hammock and took the boys to Ewok Park to test it out.  It's a tri point hammock and has lots of room for a group to be on.  It looks like it was a hit!

Cousins

Grammie Beutler took Rease, Rhen and Liev with her to Preston for the weekend to spend some time with Betsy and Whitney and their kids.  They came home and couldn't stop talking about how much fun they had with their cousins!

Beck's 4th Birthday

We were at the lake for Beck's birthday so we celebrated a few days late.  He asked for a Ninja Turtle cake so that's what I did.  He was so cute opening his presents and was so excited for a new sleeping bag and a new beanie boo.  I love this boy!  

 And Grammie's present of 20 one dollar bills is the best!  I took Beck shopping with his money and he found this cute Sammie beanie boo and a diamond ring.  He insisted on paying for it himself, so 20 one dollar bills went in the machine one at a time...

My favorite things about 4 year old Beck:

1) Beck is quiet and a little shy, but he isn't a dummy.  He's taking everything in while he's quiet and learns things really quickly.  He can outwit and outsmart his brothers any day of the week and has become quite the tease at home.   He is a smart, sweet boy!

2) Beck is my buddy.  He will give me a hug, kiss or snuggle with me anytime I ask.  He always wants to help me while I'm cooking and helps me put clothes in the right pile when I'm folding laundry.  I'm going to rely on him a lot when school starts and it's just him and Desh at home.

3) Beck is a very thoughtful boy.  He loves to write notes or draw pictures for his brothers and sisters.  It's not uncommon to find something that Beck has made for me or Josh on our pillow or by our bed.  And he is a great older brother to Desh.  If Desh is sad, Beck is the first person he turns to for a hug.  That is something special that this birthday boy has!

4 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 3'8" - 97%

Weight: 41 lbs. 11 oz. - 85%

Happy Birthday Mr. Beck!

Boat Week

Boat week is hands down my favorite week of the whole year.  It has become a favorite tradition of ours and we have been looking forward to it for weeks!  It has gotten really hot the last little while and we couldn't wait to get out on the water.  We had a lot of firsts this year and here are some of the highlights of our week at Deer Creek!

First of all, we became a little pit crew this year.  Each of the kids has their own job while unhooking the trailer and hooking it back up.  As soon as Josh stops the van, the kids jump out and get to work on their jobs.  The trailer is hooked up in no time!

This year Liev became very brave and wanted to try all sorts of things.  He did the kneeboard all himself and learned to pull himself up to his knees!

Rease started wakeboarding and Rhen perfected her skiing skills.

 Rease and I learned how to stand up on the kneeboards at the same time.  It was a little hard to get up but once we got it, we had a blast!  Rease got rid of the skis that hook together and got up on two single skis.  And Baby Desh rode the kneeboard!  He was adorable and could not get enough!

 Later Rease forgot the double skis and jumped right to slalom skiing.  She has a gift that girl!  She looked like a natural out there.  Liev and Keen both got up on the skis this year!  I was so proud of both of them for not just trying, but getting up and riding for a while.  And Beck did awesome on the kneeboard.

 Rhen caught the wakeboarding bug and once she started, she didn't want to stop.  She looks so cute and tiny on that big board!  And Liev loved riding double kneeboards with Rhen.  Rhen started getting all tricky on the kneeboard and rode backwards, stood up and even laid down.  She is hilarious. 

 We spend most of the time on the water, but back at the cabin we have our things that we love to do too.  Hammock time is a must, smores are delicious and we celebrated Beck's birthday with cinnamon rolls for breakfast!  No boat trip can end without a stop at In-N-Out on the way home.  We had such a fabulous week at the lake.  It is the best time with our family and we LOVE the water.  I'm so proud of all the kids and how much they improved this year!  Looking forward to the rest of the summer and some good boat time!

4th of July

Chad and Britt and family stayed in Utah after the family reunion and spent the 4th of July with us.  We went to Delta for the small town celebration and spent some time with Aunt Celia and her family.  The night before the 4th we played in a coed volleyball tournament at the high school and had such a fun time playing as a family!  Justin, Caleb, Chad, Dad, Steph and I were on a team.  We didn't get too far in the tournament but we had a blast playing together!  

The next morning we went to breakfast in the park and hit the parade which the kids think is amazing because of the amount of candy they walk away with.  It was a beautiful day and we loved being there with the whole family!  Happy 4th of July!