Busy Bees

We had a busy week last week - full of lots of fun. It was Mallory's second birthday, Hannah and Molly came to visit while Jake was in China, and we had Nathan 's summer work party at Boondocks. Despite the scorching temperatures, we had a great time doing it all. I liked this picture of Libbie and Mia. Their mini golf game consisted of running down the green, dragging their club against the ball until it fell into the hole. They consistently got holes-in-one. Ha ha.

Nathan attempting to calm Mallory's ferocious swing at the ball.

All the very cute girls soon before Hannah and Molly left. While they were visiting, we went to the aquarium in Draper and to Gardner Village. I think we were quite brave.

Mallory requested a bumblebee cake this year. The best part of her birthday for me was watching her sing "Happy Birthday to you" to herself and then seeing her eyes light up when she heard everyone sing "...dear Mallory". Sooooo cute!

Mallory going down her new slide.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Oyler came down for the big party. Here are Mia and Mals reading a story with her.

Libbie also just started her first tee-ball season. It has been great fun to watch. She just loves to play ball - no matter the sport. Look at that follow through!

Busy Bees

A camping we will go!

Mallory enjoying a sucker from Aunt Marci.

Libbie roasting a marshmallow.

On one of our hikes to the amphitheater.

We headed to Logan Canyon for Memorial Day weekend. It was great fun romping around in the dirt and bugs. We even saw a few dead snakes - which made Nathan a little uneasy for the remainder of our stay. The girls had lots of fun throwing rocks and sticks into the river and playing with Gavin. Libbie even led us on a tour to the amphitheater in the campgroud. She was quite excited about that feature. Mia even kept her anxiety attacks over the insects and spiders to a minimum. We'll call the trip a success.

Exhibition

Mia had her first exhibition meet last Friday. All the gymnasts showcased four events. It was great fun to cheer them on - they were all so proud of themselves. They also got a trophy at the end of the meet which Mia is quite excited about.

Mia receiving her trophy after the meet.

Mia doing the balance beam.

Mia in her second event - a variation of the vault.

Mia in her first event - kind of a relay thing.

The girls warming up.

I forgot to include this picture in my last post. This is Nathan practicing doing hair before I left for my trip to West Virginia. What a sport. It didn't look half-bad either!

Mom and I just returned from a fun vacation to see Jake, Hannah, and Molly in West Virginia where Jake is finishing up his MBA. They were great hosts and made sure we saw the sites. The picture above is of us in Pittsburgh, PA.

Here I am in front of the IRS building in D.C. Jake pointed out a quotation on the building I just had to get my picture with for Nathan, "Taxas are what we pay for a civilized society." Most people love to hate taxes, but Nathan is a tax lover.

Toward the end of our stay in D.C. we often found Molly in this position. I think she was saying, "Enough already!" She sure was a trooper though. We walked a lot!

Me, Jake, and Mom in front of the WWII memorial. We headed out in the evening to see the memorials lit up. They were really pretty, but the field trippers made site seeing a little difficult.

Me in front of the Washington Monument. I guess I was in a silly mood?

Here we are on the way home from D.C. As you can see in the background of the picture, there was quite the build-up of traffic. We weren't thinking clearly and left in the heat of rush hour. Let's just say we did a lot of singing, "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee".

We stopped for lunch in a sculpture garden. It was very nice.

During our stay in D.C., we also saw the Holocaust museum - which isn't exactly uplifting, but very enlightening. It made me appreciate my life of free choice and comfort.

Morgantown, WV and D.C.

California Adventure

Well hello. Sunday we returned from a whirlwind trip to California where we met up with Crystal, Rich, and their kids, along with Grandma Cardon. We were able to stay with Mara and Ben at their apartment in L.A. Despite being very tired and worn out, we had a great time seeing the sites and spending time with one another. We spent one day in Disneyland, one at California Adventure, and our final day at the beach. I managed to burn my children's skin to a crisp by not applying sun screen to their little bodies. Ooops! Good thing they had so much fun playing in the sand. The girls had a wonderful time playing with their cousins Kelbie, Caden, and Macy. We had to do quite a bit of coaxing to get them on the rides at Disneyland - especially after we took them to the Haunted Mansion (BIG MISTAKE). Our day at California Adventure was just that. It poured nearly all day, and we got to spend $40 on ponchos in the gift shop. We were grateful to have them however. Here are some pictures of some of the things we enjoyed during our stay.

The Beach


Mia playing in the sand - and getting a nice sun burn.

Libbie and Kelbie spent a lot of time making "king's chairs" in the sand, and Uncle Rich pulled them around the water on a boogie board.

Mallory, Mia, and Macy playing in the sand. Let's just say there was not an inch of their bodies not caked in sand. Yikes! Mia and Mallory enjoyed sliding down a sandy hill.

The love birds!


California Adventure

Uncle Ben and Libbie on the bumper cars in Bug World.

Mia, Mallory, and Libbie in front of the ride all the adults liked the best at California Adventure.

Kelbie, Caden, Libbie, Macy, and Mia with Mickey Mouse.

A hilarious picture of Nathan and Mia in their ponchos and 3-D glasses before the Muppets show.

Here the kids are before we entered the park. Little did we know that it would rain for the rest of the day. Brrrrr...!

Disneyland

Cousins in a tea cup.

Daddy and Mia on a ride in Tomorrow Land.

We got to see Minney Mouse as soon as we entered the park. What luck!

Primm, NV

We made the mistake of booking a room in Primm, NV, on our way to California. When we got to our room, it was stinky, dirty, and ants were swarming our bathroom sink. I said to Nathan, "I thought you said this hotel had a high ranking?" He replied, "No, I said this hotel was the highest rated in Primm." Scary Larry.

Our latest family trip to the portrait studio was actually not too bad. We got some good shots of the girls and there was very little crying. We'll call it a success.