Take me out to the ball game!

Kev's company ATK had a party at a Salt Lake Bees game!  We hadn't been to a game in years.

It was nice because it included a free all you can eat BBQ.  The watermelon tasted so good on such a hot day!

Let's just say that Kev and I enjoyed actually watching the game.  The kids on the other hand had a shorter attention span.

Kev talking with some friends from work. 

 

Kev's company threw out prizes into the crowd.  A man in front of us caught one and passed it back to us.

The kids got a kick out of these giant blow up hands.  It kept them entertained for most of the game.  It was an exciting family night for us! 

Family ties!!

We had our annual Grant family reunion July 18-20th at Reid Ranch.  It is a great time to catch up with all the family.  Grandpa Grant told me that there are 34 great grandchildren now.  I have to admit that I lost count along the way.

The kids love being at the Ranch with their cousins.  One of the first things they did was archery.  I can tell our kids are getting older because they constantly wanted to be doing activities.

We did get a big rainstorm which is not uncommon for the Ranch.  This time it even began to hail.  We felt bad for those family members which were still on their way in at the time.  Addy looked so cute in her little raincoat.  She was happy just running inside and then back outside.

Grandpa Grant brought a pile of his hats to give away.  Some of them were classic.  Everyone had a good time trying them on.  Grandpa is well know for giving away "stuff" to the family.  We are just wondering where all of it is coming from.  The Grandkids say he has been giving away things since they were little.

Parker and Tucker had a great time together.  They were always some of the first ones to show up at meal times.  I jokingly told Kev that Parker was getting there before us just so he could say he already ate and go straight for the ice cream.  The soft serve ice cream is a big hit with everyone.  There was always a huge line to prove it.  It reminded me of a Wendy's frosty.

The kids enjoyed going swimming everyday with their cousins.  They had all kinds of contests jumping and seeing who could swim the farthest.

Mckenna was so happy that cousin Liz was there.  They always have so much fun together.  It is nice that they are so close in age.  They set up their nail salon again this year.  Their favorite place to hang out was down at archery.

At night we spent tim around the campfire.  The kids enjoyed finding sticks to roast marshmallows on.

Hadyen was not happy when I told him he could only have one marshmallow.  When Kev saw the picture he thought he was in timeout or something.

 

The next day the kids went for pony rides.  The boys were waiting with Grandpa and Uncle Steve.

Aubrey and Halle waiting for their turn on the horses.  They are both looking so grown up.  I remember the first year we brought them up to the Ranch when they were babies.  It really doesn't seem that long ago.

Cousin Kyle was in charge of horses that day.  The kids love hanging out with their cool cousin Kyle.

 

Aunt Tracey is such a kind Aunt to my kids.  They always enjoy hugs from her!

Grandma and Grandpa Grant had fun watching all the kids run around.  They are both such wonderful Grandparents.  It is thanks to them that we have this reunion every year.

 

Cousin Jen set up a fun Olympic games event for all the kids.  They had to hula hoop and then race zig zag through the cones.

She made them these fun medals out of licorice rope and cookies!

 

One of our favorite activities is paddleboats.  We always get a big group of us out on the water.

We usually all end up like this!

 

Addy and I enjoying one of Aunt Susans delicious brownies.  We look forward to them every year.

 

The kids asking cousin Kyle for some more arrows for archery.  I think it is funny how Hayden's little face barely reaches the window.

Mckenna having fun at mini golf with Grandpa Foster.  It was another good time up at the ranch with all the family!

SuperHayden turns four!!

Our curly haired boy turned four years old on Wednesday July 17th!  He had a really fun birthday!

He got some presents that were bigger than him.  He got a new sand and water toy and a new slip n slide.  He loves having a summer birthday!

It was fun to have cousins come celebrate with us.  Hayden opening a Lego train set.  He still loves trains.

I made him firetruck birthday cake this year.

 

Hayden making his birthday wish.  He loved his cake and had THREE pieces.

Hayden sitting on Great Grandma Rosen's lap.  He was showing her his "Thomas map".  It is actually a piece of paper that shows all the Thomas trains you can collect.  He carries it around everywhere with him.  It was so loved that it started to fall apart so we laminated it.

Aunt Amy made him a SuperHayden cape for his birthday.  He got on the tramp to do some flying.

A picture of our SuperHayden in mid air!

We love our Hayden!  He is full of boundless energy.  He keeps us smiling and laughing each day!

Camping with the Fam!!

We went camping up in American Fork canyon last weekend.  It was the first time we have been camping with my family.  We had a great time!

Grandpa set up a fort for the kids in the back of his car.  There were blankets to sit on and smarties to eat.  The kids played happily in the back while we got camp set up.

Halle had fun with cousin Brady.  They went looking for worms and exploring the trails behind our camp.

We borrowed my Aunt and Uncles tent trailer again.  The rest of the fam was giving us a hard time about how they were roughing it while we were in "the lap of luxury".

We had dutch oven pasta that night for dinner.  Parker had three plate fulls.  He is a growing boy.

The kids went on a walk and brought me back bunches of wildflowers.  I had to post this picture because Mckenna is actually smiling.  She got her braces on her front teeth the day before we went on the campout.

Hailey got the sleeve of her jacket soaked.  So Amy came up with the idea to roast her sleeve over the fire until it dried.

Kev threw a box on the fire and it was blazing high.  Mike and Elle were feeling the heat.

Grandma Loni brought the kids glow sticks for each night at camp. 

 

The next day was our hike to Timpanogos cave.  The whole family before the hike.

 

A beautiful view of AF canyon as I was hiking along.  We had beautiful weather and were lucky that we didn't get rained on.

Cooling off and having a snack at the top.  The kids did great on this hike.  I didn't hear any complaining.  Hayden hiked the whole way on his own little legs. 

 

A picture of the whole family before we headed into the cave on our tour.

 

It had been seven years since I had last hiked to the cave.  There was a lot that I had forgotten as we went through the cave.  This picture is the heart of the cave.  My brother Mike and I remembered that they used to shine a red light on the heart.  I don't know when that changed.  My Dad had shared the legend of Timp with us prior to our hike.  It gave us all a good laugh!

The stalactites and stalagmites almost touching.  We learned from our tour guide that it takes hundreds of years for them to grow even a couple inches.

 

One of my favorite parts of the cave were what they called cave straws.  We learned that they are actually hollow in the inside.

Our cute girls ready to start the hike back down. 

 

Kayley and Loni playing phase ten back at camp.  Grandma Loni also put together a fun treasure hunt for the kids.

Mike playing catch with the kids.

 

We only had one rain storm while we were camping.  It didn't last more than ten minutes.

The bonus was this beautiful rainbow right over camp.

The next morning we took the kids on a nature walk.  They were all filing along after Kev.

There were butterflies everywhere we went.  My favorite were the black and white ones.

 

There was a little stream that went by our camp.  Parker had fun skipping rocks.

 

The kids took off there socks and shoes and played in the water.  I even joined them.  The water was freezing.  The camping trip was a success!  I am sure we will do it again!