Ward Campout!

We had a great time at our ward campout this year!  I headed up before Kris got off work, and sweet little Jeremy in our ward helped me set up our tent, and Sammy helped unload our car. We had a wonderful dinner that night and some very entertaining skits. I’d like to say the night went smoothly, but after a rough little while with Shelby, Kris ended up in our car with Shelby, after which she finally went to sleep. Go figure. After that, and our Lake Powell trip, I’m pretty sure I’m swearing off all camping with babies. :) Kris had to leave after the breakfast in the morning, but I stayed with the kids and we hiked to Donut Falls. We had a nice visit to the mountains. Pictures!

Kasey with Eliot and Persy playing in our tent.

Kasey showing his muscles by hefting a log.

Coloring with Persy.

Kris and Kasey in the tarps some of the boys hung for beds.

Dad and Shelby (so happy, I might add) in the car after the long night.

You’d never know from this sweet and innocent face all the trouble she caused. :) (“What, me?”)

Our fam at the campsite.

Cute little Shelby in her cupcake shirt.

Climbing on the rock – my kids sure love to climb!

Shelby – tuckered out with Stacie.

Hey, anyone want to play some soccer?

Shelby’s First Birthday!

I can’t believe my little girl is one!  Okay, by one, I really mean 18 months because it’s taken me so long to blog about it. :) She is such a little doll and we love her so much! Her dimpled smile, big blue eyes, light blond hair, and darling giggle just melt our hearts. She is sweet, smart, energetic and fun. Here’s a few pics from her Strawberry Shortcake themed birthday party.

Her new dress from Aunt Janece (as wide as Shelby is tall! :) That’s a lot of poof!)

Shelby opening her doll – as you can see, Kris and Kasey designed and wrapped the package.

Opening her presents.

Hurray! It’s a phone! And a purse! (All grown up. Tear.)

Testing out her little mirror.

Hugging her little strawberry shortcake doll.

Time for strawberry topped cake – eating it by the fist-fulls.

The party in our backyard.

Yay for cake!

How did all that cake fit in there?

Our family.

Molly showing us her jumping skills.

Kasey and Shelby on her new birthday trampoline from Grandma.

Happy Birthday sweet girl.  We love you!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Other fun photo moments this year:

Motorcross:

Kris took Kasey to a motorcross event at the University of Utah Stadium. Looks like Kris and Kasey had the best time ever!

Cool.

Thanksgiving Point:

Kasey riding a pony.

Standing next to Noah’s Ark.

Beautiful waterfalls and scenery.

And of course, the tulips!

Sigh…this is why tulips are one of my favorite flowers!

Jordanelle:

We decided to go on an overnight camping trip to Jordanelle.  I believe this is the trip when I let the boat off the dock and it died. Kris tried to throw me a rope, but he forgot to hold onto the other side, and well, it is now at the bottom of the lake. I stood helpless on the dock while Kris and both kids floated away, Shelby screaming. Then, I did the only thing a mother could do, I ran around the lake (pretty sure it was about 6 or 8 miles, right Kris? :) ) to rescue my family on the other side – just in time for the ranger to arrive and give us a pull.

Makes for a good story, right?

The weather was rainy, so we couldn’t do much boating, but we had a good time. We attempted to take a family nap in our tent. As you can expect, it didn’t work out. :) But we enjoyed going down to the water and letting the kids (and Molly) play.  Kris had to go early in the morning to set up a booth – we met him there and let the kids play a little. It was a good little get-away.

Here’s a few pics:

Kasey enjoying his marshmallows.

The view of the lake from our campsite.

Kasey and Shelby going for a ride.

Kasey and mom walking across a bridge.

And a few other random pics. :)

Virginia Trip!

We had the most amazing opportunity to go visit my sister Heather in Virginia! We had the absolute best time ever – hanging out, seeing the sites, just enjoying our time together. Heather and Javan were so kind to act as hosts and tour guides, and we loved visiting them!

Here we are on the plane, our first time flying as a family!  The kids did great!

Watching a movie helped. :)

…and a long nap.

Here are some of the wonderful places we visited.

Georgetown.

Beautiful time of year – tulips and cherry blossoms!

Checking out a turtle (notice how different each person’s hair is in our family! Crazy! Kris would have me point out their awesome mullets, too…)

Liam and Shelby – all that site-seeing wore them out!

Roosevelt Memorial.

Natural History Museum. (Kris and Kasey are pretending to be sharks).

Site-seeing in DC.

Love these kids!

Shelby with her apple. As you will see, she was loving apples on this trip.

Cute little Liam with his hat – love that kid!

Kris is in heaven. Hamburgers!

Arlington Cemetery.

Roosevelt Park – just love little Liam’s head looking over dad’s shoulder!

Zonked.

Beautiful view of Georgetown.

Potamac River at Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument.

Playing at the park. Shelby: I just gotta bite this! Liam: Hmm, looks like traffic ahead.

Jefferson Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial.

Washington Memorial.

Aviation Museum.

DC Zoo.

Kris and Kasey, pretending to sneak up on their prey.

Shelby looks pretty unsure about this.

Love that dimple.

Cousins!

George Washington’s Estate.

Look ma, we’re packed and ready to go!

Kasey making some great faces.

Washington DC Temple – thank you Javan for taking such beautiful pictures!

The Bowles Family – gotta love those guys!

Say goodbye Virginia and Bowles Family!  We had the best time ever!