"Cow camp"

We went camping July 26-27th at Payson Lakes.  It was our first time camping there.  Things got off to a rough start.  The looks on the kids faces in this picture say it all.  It was really hot when we got there and everyone was a bit grumpy.

There was also cow manure everywhere. They let cattle free roam in this area.  Kev had to shovel it up so we could set up our tent.  It turns out the campsite was really small.  We barely had enough room to put up our tent.

Once we got camp set up we went to the lake for the afternoon.  We had borrowed our neighbors canoes.  We all had a great time paddling around the lake.

It also felt nice to jump overboard and cool off on such a hot day.

Kev and the kids were having fun making faces on his phone while we waited for dinner to cook.

I love me some tin foil dinner. It always takes awhile to cook but it is worth it.  This time I added jalapenos and bacon to mine.  

We also tried putting our roasted marshmallows between an Oreo instead of graham cracker.  Mckenna loved it!  Smoreos might just become a new tradition.

The next morning we went on walk around the lake.

They had these nice boardwalks and bridges. It was good for the whole family to get some exercise.

It really was a beautiful lake!  We think next time we might just make a day trip to play at the lake.

The kids had fun swimming most of the day.

They found this floating tree in the water.

It kept them entertained for a long time.  They even managed to get all three sitting on it at once.

I filmed this fun clip of them playing in the water.  The best part is when Addy whips Kenna in the face with the rope.

We stopped by to see the Payson Water Grotto on our way down the canyon.  We still managed to make some fun memories even thought the camp spot was not our favorite.

Girls day out

One of my favorite things about Summer is when my friends from out of state come to visit!  My friends Lisa and Marilee came to visit in July.

We met at Los Hermanos for lunch.  It was one of our favorite places to eat in High School.  Even though we hadn't seen each other in a couple of years we had the best time.  We can always just pick up from where we last saw each other.  I also brought the time capsule letter that I wrote Kenna in 1998.  They all loved reading the letter.  Lisa remembers well my obsession with being taller and Mar remembered the shirt I was wearing in the polaroid.

Lis decided it would be fun to introduce us all to the Marco Polo app.  We had the best time sending each other messages.  Jan and Mar were laughing so hard. It is a fun way to keep in touch since we don't see each other very often.

We walked over to the Provo City Center temple to take some pictures.

I took a selfie with each of my cute friends!

I love every one of these girls and their fun personalities

I am grateful we have been friends all these years.  Marilee and I were talking about our 20 year high school reunion which is coming up next Summer.  It is crazy that it has been that long.  I love being around these cute girls!   They help me feel young again.

Hayden's 9th birthday!

Hayden turned nine years old on Tuesday July 17th!  I had fun taking him to get his birthday balloons.  He chose out some Star Wars ones since that will be the theme of his friends party.

We took some selfies while we waited for his waffle.  I love my brown eyed boy!

Hayden was extra happy because I let him have some Nutella.  He doesn't eat it very often because of his allergy.

This was his after picture with Nutella all over his face.  I think he even licked the platter clean.

He had fun playing that afternoon with his friends Mason Castagno and Brody Frost.  

Hayden ended up getting two water balloon gifts.  Which gave him 420 water balloons total!  They kept him happy the rest of the Summer.  He was nice and shared with his friends. My favorite water balloon moment happened on a hot Saturday.  Mckenna and her friends just happened to be laying out in the neighbors yard.  Kev gave Hayden and his friends the fun idea to go throw some water balloons at the girls.  The boys attacked and the girls were good sports about it. Kev said, "it's just something that little brothers ought to do!"

I made Hayden a camping themed cake.  I made this same cake before for Parker.  It is fun to decorate.  It was Hayden's suggestion to add the blue lake. We made it out of blue airheads candy.

It was fun to have my cousin Peter, Marilee, and their kids come to the party.  They just happened to be visiting that week from Illinois.  

We gave Hayden a remote control car for one of his presents.  He drove it around until it got dark.

Mckenna took Hayden to a movie a few days later.  They went and saw Jurassic World 2.  Hayden loved having all that attention from his big sister!  We love all the excitement and adventure Hayden brings to our family.  It has been a memorable year for him.  He started taking piano lessons, learned to shoot a gun, and is swimming like a pro.

Reid Ranch

We went up to Reid Ranch from July 12-14th.  The kids looks forward to the Grant family reunion every year.  Kev does not look forward to driving on the dusty roads.  It rained as we were driving there and the car looked like this when we arrived.

My favorite thing to do at the reunion is sit and talk with the cousins and Aunts.  Alisha was telling some of her crazy stories from being a delivery nurse.

Kev even managed to squeeze in a few naps here and there.

Spence and Kev had an arm wrestling competition after lunch one day.  I am proud to say that my husband won!

The kids had fun swimming with their cousins.

I caught this fun shot of Parker in mid air before he landed in the pool.

Addy enjoyed the "calf roping" while we waited our turn to ride the horses.

Hayden got to go shooting with the men one morning. It was his first time and definitely a rite of passage. 

It was fun to have both Spence and Megan working up there this year.  They lived in this awesome camper for the Summer.  They gave us a tour of the place.  The a.c. worked great and they weren't roughing it.

The kids loved tagging along with Megan while she did her work.  Hayden and Addy even happily helped her fold laundry.  I wish they would do this at home more often!

Addy went on a canoe ride with her Grandpa Ken.  He even let her use the paddle for awhile.

Halle and cousin Halle had a great time together this year!

Grandma Grant shared some family history and her testimony with all of us.  We are thankful every year that she and Grandpa come to the ranch.

Cooper just loved hanging out with Halle.  It was so cute that he followed her around.  Halle even came to his rescue.  Cooper, Lexi, and Alice had been playing around with the golf cart.  They took the emergency brake off and it started rolling backwards down the hill.  I saw it happening from up above on the deck. It was one of those moments where everything seems to happen in slow motion.  Then to my surprise, Halle ran over and stopped the golf cart before it hit a car.  We were glad she was there and no one got hurt. Halle was the hero at the ranch that week!

One of the highlights for our kids was the mountain bikes.  Kev and Ken even went for a ride with the kids.

We have this funny inside joke with Lindsay and Aunt Tracey about "creepy clowns".  We thought it only fitting that Lindsay and I take our picture by this clown face.

Hayden was happy when Kev let him help drive to the lodge for lunch.

It was another memorable year at Reid Ranch.  I am very grateful to have married into such a strong, loving, and supportive family. It makes me happy to see the kids having fun with their cousins.

Pioneer ancestors

We drove up to Morgan Utah on Saturday July 7th.  Morgan is where some of our pioneer ancestors settled.  It was great to see my Aunt Jane, Uncle Ted, and some of my Dads cousins I hadn't seen in years.

My Dad gave a presentation in the Daughters of Utah Pioneer Museum.  He spoke about our ancestor Jesse Carter Little.  He was a part of the Mormon Battalion.  He also shared the miracle of the white shirt box.  There was an old white shirt box that sat in my Great Grandma's closet under the stairs.  My Dad remembered it from his childhood and recently started searching for it.  My Grandpa had given it to a BYU professor to look over and it had been in his office for years.  My Dad and Stepmom were able to track it down.  It contained a journal from Jesse C. Little, photographs, and other important artifacts.  They are of great value to our family and also the church.  They even did an article in the Church news about it.  

My boys got to hold these huge guns that belonged to another one of our ancestors.  We also got to take a tour of a historic pioneer home.  It was a memorable day with family.