Martin's Cove

 We recently took our family vacation to Wyoming this year to visit Grand Nan and Papa on their mission. On the road we stopped at Little America for $0.50 ice cream cone. Carson loved his first ice cream experience and he just couldn't get enough.

We certainly saw our share of Antelope - "Home, Home on the Range, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play"

Split Rock

Carson is not too sure what to think about Papa

Pioneer - Emily

Pioneer - Abigail

Pioneer - Elizabeth

Square Dancing was Abigail's Favorite

The Sweetwater

Devil's Gate

Lemonade Anyone?

 

Yesterday was another Fun Day Monday and the girls did a Lemonade Stand. It got to be 102 degrees outside and the girls were so cute with their little cash register, umbrella, table, chairs, signs, and pink lemonade. I was so bummed for them that NO ONE stopped. There were several cars that passed by cause we kind of live on a busy road for a neighborhood, but not a single person stopped. I think we live in a world these days where people just don't take the time to slow down. Good thing daddy came home from work and bought some. I just love those little smiling faces. Oh to be a kid again!

9 Months Old and On The Move!

This little man is 9 months old now and he is a busy boy these days! He is so happy 95% of the time and very easy going. He has some crazy bed hair in this picture, but it was hard to get him to be still to take a picture. He crawls, pulls to stand and scoots along furniture. He has also started to attempt to let go of things when he is standing and tries to maintain his balance. I can't believe how fast he is growing! Carson's growth has tapered off a bit in the past month or so, but he still remains way ahead of the girls when they were this age.

 

Height - 28 3/4 inches (69%)

Weight - 21 lbs - (59%)

Head - 46.7 cm (86%)

 

 

Celebrate America

We headed to Victor / Driggs for the 3rd year in a row for the Huntsman Springs Celebrate America Event. We decided to tent camp this year and it wasn't that bad because we found a nice shady spot and had some awesome air mattresses.

Grandma and Grandpa Ralphs came along too and it was a fun time!

We wanted to go to the Spud Drive In Movie Theater, but it was closed (just for the day), so the kids were bummed that we didn't get to see Monster's University. We decided to go to the city park in Driggs instead and the kids had a fun time playing.

We went up at 4:00 to set up and participate in the day events. The Free Family were not nearly as good as last year, but we still had a good time. I guess you can't complain when it is free. The first stop was the face painting booth. Elizabeth got a patriotic mustache, Abigail got a firework, and Emily got a red, white, and blue rainbow.

Snow White was there to charm all of the princesses in the crowd.

We thought we might get rained out, but it was just really windy and a little rain came here and there, but it wasn't too bad.

The evening show was spectacular. The Beach Boys performed all of their hits and we saw an A+++ fireworks show and live performance of "I'm proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood.

Sometimes the best thing about camping though is coming home and crashing in your nice soft bed. Elizabeth and Abigail did just that and slept for a good 3-4 hours when we got home.

More Summer Fun!

 We had another Monday Fun-day (see post below) and this time we decided to work on the girl's baby books. I am really behind on baby books and the girls kept asking me where their baby books were, so I decided to have them help me make them. We got a lot done, but didn't get quite finished and when it was all over, the girls said, "that's a lot of work mom." It is amazing how you realize how difficult things are sometimes, when you actually try them for yourself.

*Darin and I had been talking about getting the girls some kind of game system or something for our summer car trips, and we found these Android Jelly Bean Tablets at Wal-Mart for $70.00 a piece. Much cheaper than a DS or portable DVD players for the car or I Pods. The girls can play games, listen to music and watch movies, so they serve their purpose well. We haven't figured out all of the bells and whistles yet (like how to download music and movies), but the girls love playing games and it is a great bribery tool. I just take the tablet in the morning and tell the girls they can have it after all of their chores are done that day, works like a charm every time!

Can I just say that this little dude has totally stolen my heart! He is one active little guy and has loved cruising around the house in his walker. It took him one day how to figure out how to run and turn and now he chases me around the house. He is my number #1 fan and I am his!

Dance Camp

Abigail and Emily decided to do DSDS Summer Intensive Dance Camp this past week and they had a blast. Elizabeth is less interested in dance and just wanted to spend time with mom and Carson, which is just fine with me! Dance is a pretty expensive activity and I don't want to pay for anything that the girls don't just simply love. Emily was excited to have Miss Sierra, home from BYU for camp this week. * You actually have to click on the picture below to see Emily because it is a large image.

 

Liz didn't really mind missing camp until today. Today was hip-hop day and she wanted to go. Maybe I will just sign her up for hip-hop day in July if I can.

Getting Excited for Hip-Hop Class

Swim Camp

I have really struggled with finding decent swimming lessons here in South East Idaho and I knew with us not taking our annual trip to Texas this summer, I had to get my girls swimming. We have tried a couple of places and they were simply terrible. If only I  had a pool, I could have such a great impact on this community with providing top-notch swimming lessons. Anyway, I did some research and found a place about an hour from my home called Downata Hot Springs. They used Red Cross Learn To Swim Levels like Stocker Swim School, and they seemed to have experienced teachers and small classes, so I thought we would give it a try. We decided to camp there because I didn't want to drive 2 hours each day for lessons. It was a success! The girls liked their classes and they seemed to learn quite a bit. I really liked the twins teacher, Deb. Abigail's teacher was decent, but I liked Deb better. I think if I go back next year, I will request a private lesson with Deb for Abigail, she really needs work on technique. Lots of dirt, sun, and swimming was just what we needed after an intense week of dance.

Carson just loved the splash pad with 93 degree water squirting out of the ground.

Abigail and Emily braved the Dragon waterslide. Emily became quite the fish over the week.

Swimming with 4 kids under 8 is quite the job, at least Abigail can tread water a little bit now.

Sitting in the shade. It got up to 92 degrees during the day, pretty hot for Idaho.

Waiting for swimming lessons to begin.

Carson was pretty patient watching the girls swim. It was cold in the mornings, but the pool was 92-95 degrees, so as long as you were in the water it was pleasant.

 

Emily is quite the floater. She loves to float on her front and her back.

Swimming to Mrs. Deb.

Elizabeth is a lot more cautious when it comes to swimming, but she actually swam to the wall on her last day with out her teacher's help. YEA! LIZ!

Waiting her turn - Abigail

Working on the American Crawl and the Breast Stroke