Cute Cousins

When the Cardons came for a visit, we braved the portrait studio for a cousin picture. Everyone was so well-behaved, cute, and sweet (minus Mallory). She decided to throw a fit for the entire session. Anyway, here the eight cousins are. The Guys: Caden, Henry, and Gavin

The Gals: Mallory, Macy, Libbie, Mia, and Kelbie

The Group!

Reunion Time

Last week we got together with the Cardon clan for a few days. We were able to do a lot of fun things together including a hike to Cecret Lake - which by the way, isn't much of a secret anymore. The trail was quite crowded. Above is Mara and Mia climbing a large boulder.

Here are the big kids showing off their climbing skills.

Gavin and Mallory had a great time throwing rocks into the lake.

Here are all the cousins, minus little Henry, in front of the lake.Sitting down to enjoy the view, catch a breather, and eat a snack.

Here are my girls a couple Sundays ago.

So Grown Up!

Libbie turned six-years-old on Friday. I can't believe she's that old. She was very excited to have her first "friend party" in a Hawaiian theme on Tuesday afternoon. I think everyone had a good time. Friday, we went to the zoo with Marci and Gavin and then to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Oyler, Nathan, and Courtney. I would say she's pretty spoiled.

Libbie asked for a "Sprinkles" cake. Apparently this is Blues Clue's new baby brother - probably the ugliest cake I've ever made, but oh well.

Here are the kids at Libbie's party enjoying a cupcake.

Here they are playing a game where they had to pop a balloon. They thought it was great but were not excited for the loud noise.

Fourth of July Camping

We headed to Marysvale, UT, (aka the middle of no where) for the Smith/Palmer reunion for the Fourth of July weekend. It was hot, but we had a good time relaxing, playing cards, and eating the day away. It was fun to see some family we haven't seen in quite a long time too. Above is Libbie and Mia burring each other in the dirt. We all agreed brown was the right color choice to wear that day.

One of the days of our camp out, we decided to take a drive to Bryce Canyon. Shortly after we unpacked all our picnic gear, the thunder began to rumble. We raced to make sandwiches and feed our faces before the rain began to poor. It was a nice lunch but very quick. Our trip to Bryce was definitely cut short because of the rain. I think we stopped and ran to two lookouts before we decided to call it good. We also stopped at a fun gift shop where Grandma bought us all a souvenir. Above is Mallory enjoying the "munks" - chipmunks. She was really trying to get them to come to her, but they just wouldn't listen.

Here is Mia, Libbie, and Grandma at our picnic in Bryce. Cute, cute.

Here we are shortly after getting our tents up at Lizzie and Charlie's ATV/RV camp. WoooHooo. Party animals.

This is a photo of Libbie enjoying the new pool Grandma Cardon bought Mallory for her birthday. The girls love to slide into the pool and have had great fun with the neighbor kids in it this summer.

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.