We went CAMPING!

Last weekend we decided to get out of the heat for the weekend!  We went CAMPING!!  Now, we are not usually campers, but we were going with some friends so we thought we could rough it for one night!!

We ended up LOVING every minute of it!  We have decided, however, that before we go again we need to get something soft to sleep on... a sleeping bag and blanket is just not soft enough to get a good night's sleep!

Making smores!!  The kids loved roasting their hotdogs and marshmallows on the fire!

Miranda was so excited to sleep in the tent!  She was so tired that she asked if she could go to bed, but once we got in the tent she got all hyper and giggly!  It was pretty cute... and we were CAMPING so we went and sat by the fire some more instead of going to bed just yet!

After they were all sleeping soundly Nik and I sat around the fire with some good friends and we ended up staying up till about 1:00am!!  Then we squished into our tent and tried to get some sleep.  I'm not sure if I actually ever did fall asleep... I was holding Kamryn in my arms and had Miranda right next to her.  Nik snuggled with Ian.  Miranda kept uncovering herself, but it was freezing so I had to make sure she stayed covered!  There were coyotes howling all night and they sounded REALLY CLOSE.  Nik and I had to pee in the middle of the night. =)  It was pretty fun!

When Ian woke up he was SO EXCITED he could hardly stand it!  He wanted to go out of the tent and explore!  I loved letting him and Miranda explore the mountainside for hours!!!!!  They really got to be kids!  It was a little scary for me to not be able see them every second, but we had a good system in place... When I whistle really loud (and I can whistle REALLY loud) then they would come back!!  They were with some other (little bit older) kids too!  They really just had a blast!  They were also so dirty!!!!!!!!!!

Just chillin by the fire bright and early in the morning waiting for breakfast!

Kamryn was a trooper!  She slept great, loved being outside, had fun watching the kids and liked looking at the fire!  She is so easy to please!

Despite Miranda's face in this picture we all really had a good time!

That's more like it!!  Permanent smiles from both of them!

After packing up camp and before heading home we headed over to the really small town by the campsite!  When we drove in there was a sign that read "Population 50-5,000".  They had a free little petting zoo and a little playground that we played on for at least an hour!!

We then found a good spot to make our lunch, eat, do a little shooting, and play with friends one last time before we headed home!

The kids slept the WHOLE way home (and so did I!)  What a fun little family vacation!  Thanks to those we went with... we had so much fun!

Kamryn

We started Kamryn on solids!!!  She seems to like them but her tongue doesn't always cooperate!  Out of the few fruits and veggies she has had she does the best with green beans!

She is usually a pretty happy girl!  It doesn't take much to get a smile out of her!  She laughs the hardest for Ian and Kamryn when they are being silly and snuggles the most with me!  She has crazy hair, but I love it!

Cool tricks Kamryn!

First ponytail at 4 1/2 months!  The top is really long and the sides and back are pretty short!  It was a pretty cute ponytail!

Kamryn brings peace to our home and to me... she warms my soul and makes me smile every day!  I also thank my Heavenly Father and her for being such a good baby day after day!  We all love her so much!!

California

Kamryn and I were able to go to California for my beautiful cousin's wedding!!!  Kamry was of course a big hit with everyone and we had such a good time!  Thanks to my whole family for making a wonderful stay!  So glad we got to be there!

While in California my sisters and my dad and I were able to go to the Sacramento Temple.  They did baptisms and I did Initiatory!!  (What amazing blessings!)  The Temple is beautiful and like always I felt the Spirit so strong!  I got lost from my sisters and dad for about 45 minutes (couldn't find them anywhere...even in the baptistry) so I walked around the Temple grounds and just enjoyed the beautiful gardens and the wonderful weather!  I just want to share that Heavenly Father knows of our needs and our struggles and he is there to help us if we just ask!

The rest of the trip was spent doing things for the wedding... rehearsal dinner, girl sleepover, actual rehearsal, getting hair and make-up done (thanks Jamie), and getting the bride ready of course!  It was so fun to spend time with my cousin Katie!  I love her and am so excited for this fun time in her life and so happy she found Aaron!

My Uncle Rick with Kamryn!  He loved her!  He is going to be a Grandpa soon!

My dad with Kamryn!  It was fun to see my family there as we aren't going home until November!

This is the bride, Katie, with Kamryn! 

 The day after the wedding Kamryn and I went to the California State Fair with my Uncle Rick, Cora, Rochell, and Melissa.  It was a lot bigger than the Utah one! =)

This is the goat that sneezed on me shortly after this picture was taken... GROSS!!!!!!!!

Can you believe that?  Chocolate covered bacon?  I like bacon and I really like chocolate, but I'm not sure about together... maybe I'll give it a try one day!

Deep fried.... EVERYTHING!  At this particular stand they had oreos, cereal, pudding, moon pies, twinkies and pretty much any candy bar you could think of! 

What is a State Fair without a corndog?

They have these beautiful amazing gardens there.  They were growing all sorts of food, hay, rice, flowers, veggies and fruits.  It was very impressive and everything looked so healthy and big!  I want a garden like that one day! =)

Such a fun trip and so nice to get away with just Kamryn!  Thanks to Merrill, Annette, Khayden and Baxter for coming to stay with the other 3 kids ;) (Nik included) they had such a good time and it made it easier for me to have a good time while I was away because I wasn't worried about them!

What we've been up to,,,

Fun visit from Aunt Sara and Uncle Izaak

Nik put up misters using his father's day ladder!

Playing in the cupboards

Miranda thinks it is so fun to get into the lotion or conditioner or diaper rash cream and rub it all over her, the walls, the floor, her dolls... loads of fun lately!

We moved to a new house and we love it!!  I will love it even more when I get everything put away!!

My little finger sucker...hands and feet... pretty talented if you ask me!

Lots of swimming!!

All ready for church!

First time sleeping in her crib! She usually sleeps through the night!

Fell asleep standing up!

Ian thinks he is big enough to hold Kamryn... I disagree!

"Happy hot dog man"

Notice she is talking on her phone while pushing her stroller!

When Nik holds her she always hangs onto his ear!

Those fingers again!

Mini Trip

KANAB UTAH!!  Love it!  I needed to renew my drivers license in Utah so we decided to go to the closest city... Kanab!  We had everything planned out... Kanab is about 5 and 1/2 hours from where we live so we left really early Monday morning, we were going to renew my license, let the kids play somewhere, and head back home!  Our plans were destroyed when we went to the office and they were CLOSED and are only open every 2nd and 4th tuesday of every month... can you believe that?  Luckily the 4th Tuesday was the next day so we eventually decided to just stay! 

They have the best city park!!!!  It is beautiful and we spent about 5 hours there!

(What else were we going to do?)

All of us kids had a really good time!!

This actually turned into one of the most fun things we have done!  Nothing was planned and we didn't have any cell phone service so we couldn't tell anybody where we were at and we didn't have any distractions!  We had so much fun with the kids and they were such troopers! 

The grass was so wonderful and soft and green!  I made the kids roll around on it just to feel how wonderful it was!  We also took our shoes off and ran around!  We had a blast!

We found the cutest place to stay called the Victorian Inn!  I highly recommend it if you ever stay in Kanab!  The funny part about this mini trip is that it wasn't planned... we didn't have clothes to change into, toothbrushes, food, deoderant...  Luckily the hotel provided toothbrushes and a comb!  Needless to say my new drivers license picture is not the cutest!! (But I did get it renewed!!!)

On our way home we stopped to see part of the Grand Canyon... (the free part!)  We walked out onto this bridge and it was amazing!  I was completely sure one of my kids was going to fall over the edge though so I was a nut case and we didn't stay very long because it was too stressful, but it surely was AMAZING!! =)

See how big those holes in the fence are?  Definately not safe!  I seriously about had a heart attack with my kids on the bridge!  Plus it was really windy and they wanted to run around on it... I had a death grip on both their hands and walked in the very middle of the bridge most of the time!

Fun little family mini trip!!

KAMRYN 

She is such an ANGEL baby!  She is so sweet and so cute!  She is so happy and always smiling!  We love her so much!

I think we need a bigger pool!?! =)