End of Summer and Start of School and Other Happenings

This past week we officially ended our summer and started up school. We did a couple fun things to end out the summer. I took the girls to the Boulder County Fair. They are always bummed I don't let them ride any rides, but I also don't feel too bad because we take them to Lakeside which is like the same thing and they ride a ton of rides. So, we pretty much go see all the animals and hit up the vendor booths. This year we did however go and 'catch' butterflies. We got paint brushes that have sugar water on them and then go into a room full of plants and butterflies and convince (it isn't very hard) them to come onto our paintbrush. The girls loved it. If they have it again next year I would totally pay the $1.00 a piece again because it was pretty cool. They were actually quite a few really cool hands on things this year. They had a STEM area were kids could mess around with different science stuff, they had a place where they could 'milk' a cow, they had a petting zoo of sorts, and then the butterfly thing. The girls also really enjoy the 4-H animals. Tia's favorite I think was chickens and Kylee's was the pigs. After we went to the fair, we went to Chic-Fil-A. The girls had some kids meal coupons there and so we decided to go. Neither of them really like the food there, but they enjoyed the ice cream, applesauce, lemonade, and the giant play place. I let them play for about an hour, but then I was so bored and tired I made them go home. I felt a little bad, because I should have brought a book or a word search or something to do, so they could play longer. Oh well, I am learning as the tables are turning that sometimes I need stuff to entertain me instead of stuff for my kids. Its a weird concept.

Cleaning off'dinosaur bones.

Tia 'milking' the cow.

Kylee's turn.

Kylee and Tia with the butterflies. (I don't know why Tia made this face)

Another fun adventure we had was going to Golden Ponds. Golden Ponds is a great little spot that makes you feel like you are not really in the city. It is right next to the St. Vrain River. Anyway, we rode our bikes on the path to the river and had some lunch. Then we played in the river. Kylee and Tia are so funny. They will jump of the medium diving board, go down watersides, ride small roller coasters, ride super fast down hill on a bike and not blink and eye, but I put them in about 4-6 inches of moving water with rocks at the bottom and they suddenly need my help. It cracked me up. They got used to it and learned out how to get where they wanted to go, but honestly it never occurred to me this could be a strange thing. Anyway, they ended up really liking it and I am glad we went. We did end up cutting it a bit short because Gaupo had a job interview I wanted to hear about and our friends invited us to go swimming. So, we hurried home and talked to Gaupo for a bit. Then we all crashed out for about 30-45 minutes and then headed to the pool so we could play with our friends. It  was a busy but good day.

Playing in the River.

Another one.

Kylee and Tia started school on August 15th. Tia technically only had an orientation, but we still took first day of school pictures and let her wear all her new school stuff. Kylee is loving first grade. It totally wears her out and by last Friday she was quite the grouch, but she still loves it. She seems to be finding people to play with and enjoying the things she does at school, so I am pleased. Tia has had two days of preschool now and is really enjoying it. This year will be kind of interesting because her original teacher moved to Wisconsin, so they are trying to find a new teacher and currently have a long term sub. However, I think Tia like hanging with her friends and being away from home, so it is working out great. When it is just the two of us we usually drop Kylee off at school and then play at the park for awhile. Then take a long ride home. If I have a bike lock, then we will go get a free cookie (or whatever they have) at the grocery store and eat it and hangout and go home. If I don't have a lock then we just go home. The first day we were alone we didn't quite know what to do, but so far we have managed just fine all the other days. I think Tia really likes having some extra attention from me.

Tia's First Day of School.

Kylee's First Day of School.

These two sisters.

In other news, Gaupo got a new position at the library. He is now a supervisor with the job title of Head of Technical Services. He technically starts Monday, but has already moved into his office and started some of the new responsibilities. He and I are both excited for this opportunity. I think he will love the added growth and range of this new position.

This is Gaupo because we never have enough pictures of him.

Gaupo and I have also attended the Self-Reliance Fireside put on by the church and are going to take the personal finance class. I am really excited for this opportunity. Because all that plus twins (who at the 16 week appt were doing great) is not enough new stuff in our life, we are also thinking about improving our home. We have thought about adding on, finishing the basement, doing little projects etc. It has been quite a process trying to figure out what we can do within the laws of the city. Then what we can do based on our budget. Then finally what will be the best value and what do we actually NEED to accomplish from these projects. My favorite part of this whole thing is having something to talk about with Gaupo that isn't work or kids. It is something we can dream about and work on together. There are times we disagree, but we are learning all the time how to deal with that and to give each other time. That even though we want things, it doesn't have to be decided right then or even overnight, we can think about it and give the other person time and space too. We think we finally know what we want to do--finish our basement and fix our bathroom. However, now we have to figure out how to make the rubber hit the road. It will be quite the experience I am sure.

One last thing we did was make our annual family temple trip. This is where Guapo and I take the girls to the temple. We trade doing inititories and taking care of the girls. The girls and Gaupo played at the temple while I went in first. Then I took the girls to a really cool nearby park while Gaupo was in the temple. It was such a fun day.

Me, Kylee, Gaupo, and Tia at the temple.

Letting the girls touch the temple.

The girls climbing up to go down a huge slide. Kylee is the body and Tia is the little head you see.

More Summer Vacation Ramblings

I love summer. I know I probably say this on every post, but I really do and I feel like almost every time I write, I love summer for a different reason. This week I have loved summer because I sleep till 6:40ish. Stay in my jammies and read my scriptures and pray. Then I pray with Gaupo and head downstairs where I read my kids books until Gaupo is ready for work. Then we send him off and the kids play for a bit and I make breakfast and/or get ready. We have breakfast between 8:00 and 8:30. Then the kids play while I clean up and finish getting ready. Then we play some more. Sometimes we go on adventures, but lately the magic time for my kids to play is right after breakfast and as much as I want to go adventure and enjoy the cool of the day, I just can't bring myself to kill the magic, just so I can have fun, so I try to find things to do. I could try harder, but I like to be close-ish so I can hear them because its fun and funny. Then when they are kind of getting done playing we either play together, change up the game they are play or something and get to lunch time. Then we have lunch, books, naps, sometimes there is some play before naps. Then we wake up, have a snack, play until dad gets home. Sometimes we run an errand or something, but our dad gets home we enjoy his company, maybe work on 'homework' or just make dinner. Then we have dinner and do whatever is left 'homework' and/or family time. We just enjoy. Often times the kids will play outside because our evenings are cool and Gaupo and I will watch them. Sometimes we play games. Summer is just bare bones of a schedule and I am not sick of it.

FYI our 'homework' consists of getting Kylee to read a book to us. She is not a huge fan, but she can do it and she needs to. Really, we came up with this for Kylee, because we really have to do Tia's vision therapy exercises and we couldn't just let Kylee get all the rewards without doing any work. So, usually Gaupo will take Kylee because he is way more patient with her and she is better at doing it with him. I take Tia because she just works better with me most times. So far it works, and everybody gets what they need to done, but sometimes it is super painful, while other times it goes just fine. It totally depends on the mood and the day.

So, yeah we haven't done a whole lot. We just kind of pick what we want to do and do it. The girls wish we would go swimming more often, but the weather hasn't been warm enough for me to want to go outside very often and swimming inside seems like a waste since it is still summer. Also, my girls want to ride the waterslides and do the diving boards and while I can do the waterslides I have to be careful so it isn't very fun because I do a lot of watching. Partly I watch because I am worried that no one else is watching out for my kid and they might not make it out of the splash area and I also watch because my kids think they need me to watch their every move. Oh well. I wish we would go bike riding and or hiking more, but I such a pansy when its warm and like I said above, the girls play the best in the morning that it just kind of doesn't happen. I tell myself that's okay we will do it when its cooler in the fall, but guess what we have school ALL DAY! and that totally messes everything up because school usually means homework and it doesn't get out till late and it means we have a schedule. So, I just try to console myself with the fact that my girls are playing and being friends and that isn't going to have as much time either once school starts and as much as I love bikes and the outdoors their friendship and play is probably just as important if not more. So, we roll with. it.

That is probably enough rambling, but I do love summer and I am loving just being around my kids and enjoying them. They are special little spirits that I have been given. Although, we have our moments where things don't go quite well, I am so glad I have them and am so grateful for how they bless my life everyday.

Kylee, Tia, and I. I got a new phone so we were trying out the camera.

Kylee wanted a picture by herself.

Tia of course wanted one too.

Random bumps that Tia got. It never itched, but sure made her pores all stick out. Weird.

We had "Mormon Enchiladas for dinner."

The family enjoying free rootbeer floats on national rootbeer float day.

Kylee's lunch bag. I made it. Its not perfect, but it is cute and will do the job. Plus, Kylee is excited.

Oh What Do You Do In The Summer Time

Well, what we do in the summer besides travel is not a whole lot. We do somethings, but the thing I love most about summer is that you just kind of run your own schedule, so even when you do things it doesn't feel like your doing a ton of things. Most of what we do when we are home is play, swim, read, clean, eat, sleep, visit the library, and play.

So, this last week that is pretty much what we did. I got the house all cleaned up. It takes a lot more energy when you are pregnant. I think I might be teaching my two girls how to scrub the lower parts of the bathroom a little sooner than I expected too. However, Gaupo talked about working together as a family and wanted the girls to try helping the first time we asked instead of complaining. If they could do it than he would get them a treat. Well it worked for many days in a row. I wish it would become permanent because it was so nice to just have them say, "Okay, Mom." Anyway, we dusted, vacuumed, swept, mopped, scrubbed bathrooms, and got a few other miscellaneous things taken care of. Normally, I try to do all the cleaning in one day, but for one I needed naps, and for 2 I intended to give my kids attention in the afternoon. What actually happened with idea two is that I ended up reading two really great books. I really do love reading, but I also really do feel bad for my family when I get into a good one. Anyway, I would clean until close to 11:30 then we would go to free lunch, then come home play and take naps. Then the girls would play when they woke up and I would read. It worked great for a couple days, but by day four they were kind of ready for some actual Mom attention not just Mom presence.

Also this last week was Gaupo's Friday/Saturday switch, so after much debate we decided to go to Lakeside Amusement park on Thrusday night. I know that doesn't really make sense, but it does a little because we could stay out late and Gaupo could take a nap the next day. Last year was our first time at Lakeside and the girls loved this year too. We paid for Gaupo and I to do the train with the kids, but other than that, we took them to kiddie land and let them ride all the rides. The girls sum it up by saying they went on a roller coaster and in lots of circles. These are true statements. I don't think next year kiddie land is going to cut it as well, so we will have to see how it goes. However, this year it was still fun. The roller coaster was a blast and the girls enjoyed staying up late and riding rides. On our way home, we got nudged by someone who didn't have their lights on, and they didn't pull over to exchange info or make sure we were okay. We reported it to the police, but since the car and everybody is alright they aren't really going to do anything about it. Still it was crazy and kind of but a damper on the night.

Kylee in her car.

Tia in her car.

Ti and Kylee on the roller coaster.

Me and Kylee on the train.

Tia on the carousel.

Kylee on the carousel.

Tia and Gaupo on the train.

Getting of the roller coaster one of the many times they went on it.

Friday was probably the craziest day of the weekend. It started early by us all getting up to help with Food Truck. This is where the bishop's storehouse drops off the orders for the stake and we set it up kind of like the store and those who order go through and pick up their orders. So, we did that. Normally there are a lot of orders and not too many people, but this time it was just the opposite, so it was not quite as fun as normal, but still good and I like taking my kids to do service. On the way home, Gaupo took us to the store and we bought donuts and I bought some whipped cream cheese to go on bagels we already had. Then we home and had breakfast. After breakfast, Gaupo took a nap while I worked on a couple things and the girls played. Then I took them to the park till I and they couldn't handle it any more. Normally they can play at the park forever, but they were just so tired they couldn't figure out how to get along. They wanted to play together, but couldn't quite get it figured out. Anyway, we came home and had a 'snacky' lunch and then read books and tried to go down for naps. I think everyone got a small one, I know I did. They had to sleep fast because our friends Jensen and Calvin Blaine were coming over to play while their parents finished packing up because they moved to Atlanta. It is a pretty big bummer we love the Blaines, but I am excited for them and this new adventure. They played here for almost 3 hours. It was fun, but it kind of showed what I have been worrying about which is that my living room may not be big enough for my family to all play together in. It was fun and eveyone managed, but boy was there toys all over the floor. While they were here I got ready for the temple. Then Gaupo got ready, and once the boys left we took our kids over to the Jacobson's house, so we could go to the temple. We made it to the 5:30 session. It was so great to be in the temple. Then we stopped for dinner at Wendy's. It might start becoming a temple tradition. Anyway, we ate dinner together and then got the kids came home and went to bed.

Needless to say, it was pretty hard to get up and get Gaupo to work on Saturday, but we did it. Once he was off though, we kind of eased into the day. That is until I could tell Tia was going to explode if she stayed in the house. So, we biked to the bank and the grocery store. We made it home to have lunch with Dad and enjoy naps. After naps we went to the library for a short bit and then hit another grocery store before coming home and having dinner and getting ready for bed. I made the mistake of checking out the next book in my series and Gaupo made the mistake of telling me I could start it. Three hours later we decided to go to bed, his new phone fully setup and my book about another hour away from being done. Probably not the best use of a Saturday night, but not terrible.

Sunday was pretty normal with church and naps. I also finished my book. We had granola and smoothies for dinner. Sunday's right now are pretty chill and its awesome. Sometimes its a little long because I go to primary, so I don't get a chance to chat with adults, but my team teacher is an adult and it is nice to be with her and luckily I have great kids and husband, so it nice to just be.

Monday, I decided that my kids needed to get out. We needed to be dirty. Seriously, Tia's bath on Saturday wasn't hardly dirty at all. I totally felt like a failure. I know dirtiness doesn't mean happiness, but it usually means you at least went and did something. Anyway, I decided that with the 'cool' weather we would go hiking. Well, my kids started out good, but before the first half mile was over Tia was ready to go home. By the time we made it 3/4 of a mile Kylee was ready to go home. I then thought we made it to the start of the loop, but apparently we didn't take the right place, so we made it to part of the actual loop we were trying to hike and sadly the girls chose to take the direction to go home instead of to keep hiking. We did hike for about and hour and half maybe a little longer, but our average hiking speed is literally probably 1 mile per hour. I think my kids could go faster and longer if they didn't find huge rocks at the beginning that they wanted to carry the entire hike. Seriously, Tia had at least one rock in her hands the entire hike. Luckily the big rocks didn't get found till we had about 3/4 of a mile left, but I still don't understand carrying rocks.

Kylee and Tia on the trail.

Kylee and Tia trading around rocks so they carried the ones they wanted.

Carrying them.

A group shot to prove I was on this hike.

Anyway, we came home and had lunch. Then got ready for naps and apparently the kids were tired because they took good ones. I made rolls which we had for dinner and also delivered to a few families for FHE. It was a good day, but I think that because we spend so much time riding bikes my kids have kind of forgotten how to walk. Oh well, at least they don't hate both.

I love the laziness of summer. I love the time it gives me with my kids and them with each other. I love the warm days and cool nights. I just love summer and it is speeding past so fast. But, oh what a wonderful season it is. 

The Last Vacation (at least for a great while)

My blog is much neglected these days, which is so sad because my camera has also not been used. So unlike my awesomely documented last summer this one is a lot more spotty for both stories and pictures. However, it has been really good. We have had a lot of good trips, and visits, but by far my favorite part of this summer is watching my two girls play the way I always hoped and prayed they would. They actually play together. Not just with each other, but that really fun imaginative play. They are each other's best friend, especially when it is just the two of them. It is really interesting to watch/hear them. I honestly try not to watch too often because they play so much better when they think I am not watching them. I just love it and I am so grateful that it happened and that we have time to let them just play and play and play. It makes the times with friends special and the times we are together special it is so great.

We took our last trip for what might be a very long time from June 30th to July 9th. We went to Idaho to enjoy family and catch the annual Allen Brady family reunion. This year we went to the Merrill's first. We took off a little later in the day and we actually went partially around Bear Lake and then through Logan Canyon and stopped to visit Grandma Hammond. We spent two almost three hours visiting there. The girls played in the basement, and at Sarah and Gif's with there really cool pool. While they played us adults just talked and talked. It was a really good visit. We also got to stay for dinner of pizza. They all laugh at how grateful I was, but you know what we rarely get store bought pizza and, so it was so good. I just loved being there with just us and having time to just visit and not feel rushed to get back or to do anything. We could just visit and enjoy. After our visit there, we headed to Swanlake and got to the farm and played a bit and then sent everyone to bed. We were all pretty tired from traveling so it was good to just get cleaned up and go to bed.

Sunday through Tuesday was just us at the farm. Which was also kind of fun. I apparently love watching kids play, because that was one of my favorite parts was watching Kylee, Tia, James, and Blaine all play together. They got in trouble, they got dirty, and they played and played and played. They had so much fun. They painted rocks, got real rides and pretend rides on the four-wheelers, pushed and pulled things, searched for cats, went and bugged the milker's wife Amelia (by the way she loves them coming over), jumped on the tramp, swung, and looked at cows. They did everything and they rarely did it alone. Sometimes someone would go off on there own, but they all had a great time playing it was super cute. I was pretty tired by the end of most days, but I snuck a couple of days with naps and, so managed to play at least a night or two of games while visiting. It was a pretty chill time just full of playing and visiting.

Wednesday was the 4th of July and we went down to the church for the scout breakfast. I thought they did a really good job with it this year. When we left we stopped by the cemetery to visit Derek's grave and then we went home and met Jeff and Heidi. Then all of us worked at getting ready to go to the pond and enjoying the morning/afternoon there. Grandma and Grandpa have purchased a great shade cover, and some new toys to play with up at the pond, so we or at least I should say me and the kids had a great time. I was kind of a paddle board hog, but no one else seemed interested, so I took quite a few kid for ride on that. It was so fun and so nice to be out there. It was a warm and sunny day. We had hoggie sandwiches for lunch and the boys got out the shotguns and did skeet shooting for a bit and I took some kids back out on the pond before I snuck in a few shots. It really was a good time with everyone just hanging out and enjoying the beauty up there. We went back down to the house and had a giant water balloon fight. It started with just the kids, but as always some adults got involved too after the kids had a fair amount of time to get it on their own. Let me tell you those quick fill water balloons make water balloon fights way more practical and fun because you didn't have to spend a whole day filling and tying them. Anyway, we had a great time and we pretty well soaked. Then Heidi and Jeff got there kids all cleaned up and then we went on a four-wheeler ride. It went a lot long than I expected and I buy the time I got back I was exhausted, but it was beautiful ride. Then we said good-bye to the Anderson's and had dinner and got our kiddo's cleaned up and sent to bed. Then I was so tired I didn't stay up too long after and went to bed to. It was the perfect kind of 4th of July, spent with family having a great time.

Thursday, I did laundry and then we headed to Grandpa-Great's house. We got there in time to make him a sandwich and Macaroni and Cheese for lunch. My kids were in heaven and to be honest on those warm days, sandwiches are so fine with me. Then after we had a great lunch with him, we all went and crashed out for naps in his basement. I felt kind of bad, but I was getting sick and was tired and really I don't think he minded too much. After naps, the other family started to arrive. We got them all unloaded and our tent setup with the stuff in it and then took my family to the Merrill's pond. Once again we got out the water toys and had a great time. However, my family like water a lot more, so I had to share the paddle board. It worked out though because I also tried a couple of the kayaks and smaller paddle board. As far as I know everyone had a great time. I know I really enjoyed it and everyone else said they did too. It really was the best thing for our family to do with the short amount of time we had to spend with just the Michael Bryces'. I think we ended up leaving around 8:00 and heading back. I rinsed the kids off, Gaupo got a shower, and they went to bed. I followed as soon as I got a bath. Yes, I took a bath and it was wonderful. It was so what my body needed. We spent the night in our tent and it was actually great.

Friday didn't start to early. It gets light pretty early in Idaho in the summer, but the girls didn't get up until about 7:00 or maybe a little later and that was awesome. We got up and got ready. Then we helped with a few thing and got breakfast underway. We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Then we just kind of hung around and visited with each other until the Allen Brady reunion started. It started off with hoggie sandwiches for lunch, lots of visiting, and people setting up tents and rooms as they arrived. Around 2:30 we started water kickball. Then about 3:45/4:00 we started some competition water games. I kind of got in my bossy mode, and forgot to let Klaire help me, but I think she has forgiven me and I will definately work on that next time. I was just so focused on what I was doing and that I kept moving, so I wouldn't fall asleep that I just totally blew threw everything. However, I think it turned out well and that everyone had a good time. We finished up water games, got changed and got thing cleaned up and headed to the church for a dinner of wiener roast. That is the only downside to having the reunion after the 4th of July is that you have a hot dogs a lot by that time, but its okay. Really I love fire roasted hotdogs and somores, so its all good. After the weiner roast was a talent show. We sang our Spanish colors song. Kara told a super cute story about when The Bryce's Go To Grandma's House. I really should get a copy of that story because it is true for what is was like when went to Grandma's. There were lots of other cute talents and it is fun to hear and or see what everyone came up with. Kitt and Matthew did a lip sync to a High School Musical song and it was great. Klaire played the piano and it sounded wonderful and Jack and his kids told jokes. After the talent show we got things cleaned up and then we went to bed, but there was an option to watch a movie on Grandpa-Great's lawn if you wanted. They watched Coco. I heard about the first 20 minutes and then I was gone.

Saturday, dawn busy. It was a great morning, but our family (meaning the Bryces') were in charge of breakfast and bless Gaupo's heart he is always ready to help with whatever meal we are in charge of. So, he got up early and went with my parents to the church to cook. I let the girls sleep and when they woke up we got ready and then we down to the church to take the things that were forgotten and to help cook up some eggs. For breakfast we did sausage, eggs, muffins, and cereal. I think it turned out just great. After breakfast, we all went to Arimo park to play at the park or a great game of Ultimate frisbee. Gaupo played frisbee and I am trying to be really good and not do things that will get me hurt and, so just visited and hung out with cousins and kids at the park. Then we went back to the church for Grandpa-Great's 90th B-day party. They had a carnival where we played games and got tickets and then went to the fishing pond and got prizes with our tickets. It was fun and the kids really like the games and fun. I thought it was a fun celebration.

Grandpa-Great with his birthday cake.

Then we had lunch. After lunch, was family history time. Each family unit made a 'flat' version of the 'recent' ancestor they were assigned and then we showed them and talked about what we knew about them and any memories we had of them. Plus each of the big four (John, Kathleen, Gaylynn, and Shara) took one Grandma-Great's relatives and told us about them, so that was cool. Then Grandpa-Great got up and talked briefly and then gave us his life story. It is actually called "Collections and Memories of Allen and Betty Brady." I love that book, I can't read it straight through just yet, because I love reading things that I haven't known about or didn't have the details on. My kids love hearing the stories in the book especially Kylee. She always wants me to read her some of it. It really is such a great gift. I can't believe he finally got together, and so I feel so lucky to have it especially because we can read the stories while my kids still know him and that is cool too.

After family history, the girls and I participated in a bake-off. We all got a bag of ingredients and then got to pick some items to go with it and then took off to Karen's house or Grandpa-Great's house to get it done. Those who stayed at the church visited or did a nerf war. The bake-off was fun my team didn't win, but it was a close to the other's team. They won because of the snickers frosting they made to go in the middle of there cookies. Oh well, it was a fun activity. Then it was time to clean up and say good-bye. Actually, we kind of just cleaned up because everyone wanted a Fatboy and Grandpa-Great was handing those out at his house. So, most people went up there and we visited and said our good-byes. There really is never enough time for all the visiting and playing I want to do, but really at the same time the reunion really is a perfect length because no one feels like it was too long.

After everyone left, my family just visited together, got showers and baths, and had some dinner. Idaho nights are long and beautiful, so it makes it easy to stay-up. However, I was so tired, so once I got my kids and Gaupo out to the tent to go to sleep, I practiced with my siblings the special number we were going to do in church the next day--Have I Done Any Good. But, then I started falling asleep, so I was kindly ordered to go take a shower and go to bed. It a good thing I did because I didn't really even make it to the shower before I started having a breakdown over dumb things. Oh well, I got the shower, went to bed and the next day was much better. We actually slept in the tent for the last time that night and slept pretty well.

The next day was Sunday and we got up and got ready for church and had breakfast. Then we enjoyed meetings in Virginia Ward. Whenever, I got back its a little bit like visiting home because everyone knows me and I know them and we have a history together. It is just kind of comforting. After church, we got dinner ready. Our family was joined by John and Karen, the Studley's, Randy and Erica, and Michelle and Kaymi. It was a great visit, but man it was so hot and I was tired. Finally at about 3:30PM maybe a little later I rounded up my kids and we crashed on the office floor for a little while. Then I woke up and went and visited for bit. Then the girls got up and played for a bit. It was fun to visit and watch the kids play. However, as with most things it got time to tell everyone good-bye. The Brady's left first. But, they were shortly followed by Papa, Oma, Kara, Ross, and Levi. Who were followed by Jack, Lindsay, Betty Jane, Allen and Roxy. Finally, even Kitt and Matthew left. Then it was just us plus Klaire. We enjoyed outside and an ice cream treat. We also enjoyed a light dinner of sandwiches. Then we put the kids to bed. Then we played a great game of Sorry before Gaupo and I headed to bed.

Monday was our departure day. We didn't leave till after a good breakfast of waffles and some tidying up of Grandpa-Great's house. Plus, we weren't really flying around trying to get it done fast, so we didn't leave probably till almost 10:00. We then drove to Soda Springs and decided to see the Geyser, train, and a couple other cool things in the area. We do still need to go back and get a drink of soda water from the spring, but we needed to get on the road. So, we left Soda after about an hour/hour and half of looking around and headed home. Gaupo wanted to take Klaire the scenic way. So, we add some extra time going around Bear Lake, but it was worth it to show Klaire the side of the lake that honestly as kids we heard about by never knew really existed. We stopped in Rock Springs for lunch and then got home around 9:00. It was a long day, but a good. We had fun and despite the fact I wasn't feeling the best it was a good drive and day.

Kylee and Tia checking out the sulfur spring.

Tia before the Geyser went off.

Kylee before the Geryser went off.

Gaupo, Tia, and Kylee watching the Geyser.

Gaupo, Tia, Me, Kylee, and Klaire with the Geyser.

Me out where the Geyser cap is.

Klaire and I walked out together to see exactly how this Geyser might work.

Tia on the gunner.

Kylee.

Kylee, Tia, and Gaupo walking away.

Tia and Kylee with the 'bus' that took people to work in the mine.

Sometimes I worry that we are kind of lame for not taking family vacations to location other family, but then I remember what my memories are and then I remember that this is what it is really all about. It is about family. Its about making memories and friends with your cousins. It is totally worth it to know your family and know what they stand for. There is always time to see more places, but I really do feel like childhood is a special place to build cousinships and memories that lay the foundation for the future. Like I said sometimes I worry, but I never ever regret our decisions to spend our time and money with family. If my kids know there cousins and have good relationship with there extend family and have good memories of all of that then it is worth every trip to an 'exciting' place we never went on because they will have what matters most.

Arizona Vacation

The girls and I went on our annual Arizona vacation. There are definite perks to traveling with a 4 and 6 year-old. For one, they are not so thrown off by wacky schedules and they are really pretty independent.  Also escalators, and moving sidewalks are fun and not scary and that helps considerably especially at DIA where that is the majority of ways you get to place. Anyway, our trip started dark and early on June 6th. We headed for the airport about 3:00AM and left at about 5:30AM. We fly on Southwest and to be honest if you can afford the tickets go with Southwest. Free bags, snacks, and drinks is awesome! Plus, their flight staff is really nice and their pilots seem good. If you can't tell I loved flying Southwest. My girls have never gotten in flight snacks and drinks before, so they thought that was AMAZING! Kylee even stayed up till about 11:00PM on our flight home just so she could get one. Anyway, the trip there was great. Tia for some reason got a little scared about being in the air, but other than that we pretty much had snacks and slept until we got to Arizona.

My dad picked us up at the airport and took us to Tolleson which is where Jack and Lindsay now live. Klaire was there visiting for a bit too, so it was fun to see her a little early. Lindsay had made some really good pumpkin muffins and we had those and eggs for breakfast. Then the kids played and Lindsay went to a workout class and Klaire and I stayed home. I wasn't sure my body could handle all the jumping around because I am expecting twins and well it seems that jumping makes me not feel so good. Not usually the day I do it but for about a day or two after. Anyway, so Klaire and I stayed home we visited for a bit and then I needed a nap, so Klaire was a saint and manned the four kids for a bit. I eventually woke and visited some more and just enjoyed watching the kids play. Then Linsday got home and talked and visited some more and then had lunch. After lunch I made the kids take a nap because we all needed one. Once we woke up from that the rest of the day was spent having the kids play, getting dinner ready, visiting with Jack when he got home, and just being there. I was at Jack and Linsday's house from Wednesday to Saturday. The kids mainly just played and played and played. Kylee and Betty get a long really well and Tia kind of floated between those girls, Allen, Roxy and herself, but she seemed to enjoy. We went to the spash pad one day, and swimming another. Lindsay humored us and let us do a piggy party. She has all the really cool fun stuff for getting awesome looking piggies, so it was really fun and we loved our nails. I had a really good time there and it was fun to be with Jack when he wasn't at work. I enjoyed being with Lindsay and the kids. I feel bad that I didn't feel real awesome all the time, so although I would normal play games and help with lots of stuff, I just couldn't. So, that was a bummer and I hope I wasn't too much of a drag.

Saturday Lindsay had arranged to have a BBQ at my cousin Lafe's house. He has a pool and cool backyard, so we went over there and swam and played and enjoyed some more family and fun. Kara and Seth came with their boys, Ian and his wife Michelle came and then all of Lafe's family was there, so it was a party. We had good food and good company. My kids loved the slide and jumping of the rocks and learning from Vivian how to dive. My kids were wiped by the end but they played hard and had a good time. We had grilled chicken and hotdogs with fruit and salad for lunch. Then Kara made summer slush for dessert. It was a fantastic meal, with great company and fun. After the BBQ, Jack and Lindsay dropped me and the girls off at Kara's house were we rested, played, and had dinner. Oma's flight got delayed, so we ended up driving to the airport to get her and then leaving directly from there for home. We got to Pima around 9:30 and me and my girls pretty much went right to bed.

Sunday was a pretty typical day, except it is so much hard to keep kids clean and ready for church when there are so many cool things to do in the backyard and church doesn't start until one. However, we made it. Tia totally crashed in church. She laid down between Oma and Papa and before the opening song was done she was out and stayed out all the way through church. It was crazy, she never ever  did that last year when we had 1:00 church. Church was fun and it is amazing how quickly you lose track of what RS is doing when you don't go. So, it was kind of fun to get to have a lesson from General Conference and to be with the sister. When we got home we got ready for dinner. We had Papa Ross over (as usual which is awesome!) and it was great to visit with him and tell him about the twins. We had a great dinner and visited for a bit. Then he left and we cleaned up. I let the girls stay up that night and go down to his house to visit with who was there. There weren't many there just Uncle Mark and Bryan, but it was still fun and my girls enjoyed all of the cool old toys. When we got back I got the girls to bed stayed up a little and then went to bed too.

Monday we just chilled with Oma. We went swimming, and relaxed at her house. Sometimes it is just good to be home and not really have anything you have to do. Oma even did the FHE lesson. I did help Klaire do an FHE treat, but it was nice to not worry about the lesson and I think the girls really enjoyed hearing from someone else. That night between dinner and FHE Papa took us on a four-wheeler ride. The girls loved it and it turned out to be a really good thing because we discovered there was probably a break in the main water line up to the house.

Tuesday was pretty chill too. Klaire left early-ish to get Kara, Ross, and Levi to come play with us. So, after quiet time they were here. It was fun to go swimming with them and enjoy having cousins around again. The girls and I went up to Papa's office and had lunch with him. We got done a little early, so we went to the park across the street and played. It was a little weird because there were some teenagers causing dumb teen drama over the phone, but for the most part they were respectful of my kids playing and so it was okay. We had a good lunch with Papa and ran a couple of errands and then went home for quiet time. The rest of the day was pretty chill for us. After dinner Papa had to go dig up the main line and see what was wrong. While he was doing that and after we got the kids to bed Klaire, Kara, and I went and did initiatories for a little bit before the temple closed for the night. It was short, but it was good to go and fun to do it together.

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with cousin play, visiting, and enjoying. Kara, Klaire, and I went for a run that morning and enjoyed a rather cool morning. The kids played outside and it was great. After breakfast Kara pulled out the plans my dad had given us to draw on the back of and started the creative juices flowing by making a giant paper airplane. Then Kara made a vest and Kylee made her own purse. It was quite clever and they had a lot of fun doing it. We went swimming after quiet time and enjoyed just being around each other. Thursday our 'activity' was going to the splash pad in Thatcher. My kids are really enjoying splash pads now and it is really fun. They had a great time, but we did a little to close to lunch time, so everyone got hungry. However, we still had a good time and got everyone some lunch when we got home. That night Jack and Lindsay arrived and so their was more cousin play and fun and the finally bedtime.

Friday was a day full of play for my kids. They played outside, and inside. They played and played. My dad worked on sealing of the basement, so when it rained it wouldn't flood the storage room, but most everyone else just visited and played. That afternoon we went swimming and had a wiener roast. It was actually kind of cloudy, so the weather was perfect for being outside. Papa Ross joined our fun again and it was a fun family night. That night my brother was ordained to be a High Priest so he could serve as second councilor in the bishopric. It was cool to be there and witness my Dad and Papa Ross participate in that. So, I think I have probably witnessed all my brother's priesthood ordinations. I don't know for sure, but I can't think of why I would have missed any I was around for all of them. I feel really blessed to have been home when that happened.

Saturday was another day of fun. There was some outdoor fun, but we got a beautiful summer storm almost all day. So, we hung out under the porch and watched the rain and chatted. My dad got out his pellet gun and let everyone shoot that. We visited and enjoyed each other's company. During naptime I took a nap, but my Dad, Kitt, Jack, and Lindsay played Cover Your Assets. I got to play for my dad while he did something, but luckily he came back because I didn't cover to well for him. It was fun to see all my family play and enjoy each other. That night around 7:00 Jack and Lindsay took their family back home and the rest of us got our kids bathed and in bed. Then we finished watching The Happiest Millionaire.

Sunday again was pretty typical, but this time Kara, Seth, Ross, and Levi were there, so that actually helped with keeping my kids entertained inside. Tia and Kylee both crashed out after the sacrament was passed and it was fun to be sisters in RS. We had dinner after church with Papa Ross and then after visiting it was time to help get Kara and Seth back to their home. Also, my dad needed to get to Phoenix that night too.That night my mom and I got to have a really good visit, just the two of us. Then Klaire came home and we visited some more and then went to bed.

Monday and Tuesday were just chill days again. Playing and swimming. The house seemed really quiet without all the extra people, but it was a little nice to have it be just us again. We watched Coco for FHE on Monday. Klaire and I went to the 8:00AM session at the temple on Tuesday. My mom watched my girls for me and even though I could not stay awake for anything during the session, I was really glad I could go to the temple. On Tuesday night, Oma spoiled us by taking us out for snowcones. They were really good and it was fun to enjoy a warm night with a cool treat.

Wednesday it was time to go home. I got our stuff gathered, and helped get some things cleaned up and then it was time to go to Kara's house. We got to Kara's in  time for lunch and naps. My mom and Klaire headed back home about 2:45. So, we enjoyed being at Kara's and playing with Ross and terrorizing Levi one last time. Kara helped my girls make cookies and we had a scrumptious dinner with them too. It was fun to be in their home and enjoy them and what they do. My dad came and picked us up and took us to the airport. We made a really good time, plus our plane was delayed, so we were at the airport for awhile. Luckily for me they had moving sidewalks, and free shuttle cars. The car took us for a ride and showed us a game we could play and then took us back. I then made the girls walk to the game and they had fun playing for a bit. Then we walked back and we video chatted Kitt and finally boared about 10:20. It was a long late flight. I would rather fly really early than really late, but we survived. Gaupo met us at DIA and we got our bags. I slept almost the whole way home and barely managed to get ready before crashing again.

The next morning I had my first offical pre-natal exam at 8:15. I made it to that. It was fun to see those two babies and listen to their heartbeats. It was fun to see them wiggle too. One was super wiggly and the other was only a little wiggly, but it was still cool. Then I came home and had a second breakfast with my family and sent Gaupo to work. I wasn't sure I would make it till naptime, but I did, but then I slept for a long time. The rest of the day was pretty much just spent chilling and recovering from travel.

I have an awesome family. I am so glad I got to visit with them and play with them both in their own homes and at my mom's house. It was great to be home. It was great to be hot and in the desert. I am really glad my parents have an A/C and a pool, but I still love to have the heat. It really was a great visit and I feel so lucky to have been able to go. I don't have many pictures but here are a couple.

Tia rolling the bag at 3:30AM. Sorry so blurry.

Kylee ready to go to AZ.

The cool Father's Day sign that Kara and Kylee made. Tia, Ross, and I added stuff to it but those two are the ones that really made it.

Tia in the sand box.

We all got haircuts from Aunt Klaire.

Dad helping me get to security.

Our twins.

Memorial Day Weekend

It was a super fun weekend. We started out for Idaho early (5AM) on Saturday morning. We made really good time. We had breakfast in the car and got to my Grandpa's around 1:45PM. Kitt and Matthew were already there and they were making greasy tacos. We added out pizza to some taco's and enjoyed lunch with them. After lunch, Gaupo worked on setting up a new TV for Grandpa-great while the rest of play outside. Kylee and I played catch for awhile. Then we picked up pine cones in the lawn to help out. Then Matthew and Kylee played catch for probably over an hour. He was such a good sport. While they were doing that, Tia was moving chairs, telling people where to sit, going in and out of the house and all kinds of things. At around 4:30 I took Kitt, Matthew, Kylee, and Tia to the greenhouses, so we could see Uncle John and Aunt Karen for a few minutes. They were having a great day at the greenhouses, and it was fun to see them and the greenhouses. We came back home and picked up Gaupo and headed to Swanlake.

The party in Swanlake was already gearing up when we got there. Grandma had made dinner for our bunch, plus a few other extend family members who were already there for the weekend. We had dinner outside. After the kids scarfed theirs down they played and played and played. Blaine and James were of course there, but there were some extra cousins too and so that was fun for them. Once we had all finished dinner and gotten cleaned up we went to the pond and joined the Moyle's (more of Grandpa's side of the family) for visiting and fishing. It was really fun to be up there and to visit, but I was also pretty tired, so I was kind of glad when it was time to come down and get the kids showered and to bed. We didn't play games, because I didn't feel up for it especially with tomorrow being Sunday.

Sunday was really fun too. It started off with the traditional pancakes for breakfast and everyone getting ready for church. We were actually ready early for church, so we watch some church videos and then headed to church early, so we could walk up to the cemetery. It was kind of nice to visit the cemetery and be just us. The girls always enjoy seeing Derek's headstone and asking all kind of questions about him and what happened. I know it might sound kind of weird, but I love those time  because I feel like I get to bear my testimony about the plan of salvation and how I really do trust in the Lord and His plan for me and our family. After our walk, it was time for church. It was fun to see all the Merrill's at church. We had quite a bit of extended family at church, and so did others, so they actually had to open the overflow. I love it when the church is full. I think Grandpa was especially pleased to have so many of his family members there. During church I got to go to RS and it was a really good discussion on ministering. I asked some questions and got some answers, so I thought it was well worth going to. After church we had a big dinner. We had about 30 or so people for it. Grandma had made a great spread of turkey, ham, potatoes, and veggies. It was all delicious and no one went away hungry. As the afternoon progressed we were joined by more and more family. By 'dinner' that night we probably had about 50 people. We made homemade pizza. The kids were all 'starving,' and so they were actually really good help with making the pizza and we got 7 homemade pizzas made. It was supplemented by chips, drinks, and veggies. It was really, really good. After we had finished dinner, several of us played frisbee golf around the house. The adults in the group were Melanie, Aaron, Gary, Scott, Nate, Carley, Jared, and I. We played that for awhile and then it was kind of winding down and Carley wanted to play wiffle ball. Well, actually she probably would have loved to play softball, but we didn't have room for that so we played wiffle ball. I actually had to help get the kids down for the first part, so Gaupo went and played for a bit and I think he actually kind of enjoyed it. It was fun game. My team go pretty creamed, but it was actually still really fun. After games it was pretty late, so Nate and Carley and Aaron and Melanie went to put their kids to bed and then we all met back up at the house for games. We were going to play normal quiet games, or night games, but instead we played a game called "Up Chickens." It is really fun, or at least it was that night. We played until about 12:15 and then I called it quits, so did everyone else, but you know how it goes with the visiting after games. So, I didn't actually get to bed until about 1:00, so that made 6:00 come real early, but it was really fun and I am glad I got to know Nate and Carley a little better.

Monday started early. I got up read scriptures and then got ready, so I could help get everything ready for the day. We needed to be to the cemetery by 9:00, but before that we needed to have breakfast, potatoes and onions slices and ready for dutch oven potatoes, punch made, and make sure everything was ready to be packed in the truck to take to the pond as soon as we got back. We made and we actually made it a little early. The girls loved setting out their pinwheels and flags for Derek and then we watch the veteran's play the rights and do a gun salute. It was actually really pretty neat. Then we went back home, loaded everything into the truck, and everyone on four-wheelers and headed to the pond. When we first got there it was a lot of cleaning up and getting the girls fishing. Tia also really wanted to go in a paddle boat, so once I had helped out a little Gaupo's cousin Laura and I took her 3 kids, my 2 and another cousin out on the boat. It was really nice. The boat was kind of hard to steer, but we eventually got were we wanted to go and enjoyed being out on the pond. When we got back more family had arrived and they had brought buckets, kayaks, and a paddle board. So, the girls had fun playing with cousins in the water. I got to visit with people for a while and it was fun to see everyone just enjoying being together. Actually I told Gaupo, it was kind of like watching my Bryce family get together. We all really enjoy being together, but we definitely tend to hang around certain cousins, but it is still really fun. Shortly before lunch was ready I finally agreed to take Tia out on one of the kayaks. These kayaks are made for small people--like max weight 130. Well lets say I am more than 130 and Tia is around 35 so we were sitting pretty low in the water, but we weren't under water, so we still went out. However, not too far from shore we rocked and got thrown into the water. Tia was a champ. She started crying, but she also started swimming toward the side. I was so proud that she didn't even hesitate. She knew exactly what to do. Yes, she was crying, but I think it was more because she was cold and wet than that she was scared. Once we were back, I convinced her to go out again for just a short ride and then we went back out and got the paddle board and that was probably my favorite. It was so easy to use, it was stable, and it was so peaceful out there on the pond. After that ride, Tia and I went and got some lunch. The Merrill's have a cold salad making gene that runs in them. Seriously, they make the best salads and they are all different and good. So, I ate a lot of those and then had a burger. Once, I was done eating Kylee and I went out on the paddle board and enjoyed being together. After being out on that for a bit, we visited some more, but people had to start getting packed up and leaving. So, we got everything picked up and put away and came down to the house. There we visited some more and had some dinner and played ticket to ride and then went to bed. It was a crazy busy day, but it was so fun. There really is a special joy the accompanies good family get togethers.

Tuesday was a lot calmer. We all kind of slept in and had breakfast. We then took the kids up fishing while we waited for Jeff and Heidi to come up. It was really muddy up at the pond from the rain the night before, but it was good fishing. We caught about 4 fish. We also took a ride out in the paddle boats and played for a bit with Jeff and Heidi and their kids up there and then we came back to the house. The kids enjoyed playing together outside for a bit. We had hoggies for lunch and then Aaron and Jeff went shooting while the rest of us just hung out and visited and let the kids play. It was fun to have a smaller group and just enjoy visiting. When the boys came back they were going to take the other boys and go shoot clay pigeons, but it started to sprinkle, so they put that off and let the kids shoot a bow and arrow and BB guns. Then we had a 'heavy snack' which is code for dinner  at the wrong time. After that it had stopped sprinkling, so it was time to go shot gun shooting. I somehow got to tag along. So, Gary, Aaron, Jeff, Grandpa, Gaupo, and I went shot gun shooting. It was actually really fun and I actually hit some, so that was fun too. After we spent a little longer than Jeff was suppose to doing that we came home and took the kids for a four-wheeler ride. We took them on a ride to a new road they made and showed them the new bulldozer. Then we said good-bye to Jeff and Heidi. Then my girls convinced us to take them on another ride. They wanted to go see where Gaupo got in his wreck when he was younger. We invited Melanie and Aaron to come and then did. So, we had a great ride out and then Gaupo wanted to go up on top of one of the hills and Aaron knew the way, so he lead us up. It really was a beautiful area. I have to agree with Gaupo's choices and say that is the second most beautiful place on the farm. Well when we were coming back from that my phone slip out of my pocket and I didn't realize it. Luckily-ish we found it on our way back but only after it got run over. So, yeah it doesn't work. Luckily Aaron and Melanie had a phone I could have, so I didn't lose everything, but I consequently don't have any pictures of this great weekend. Well, I haven't actually hooked up my phone to the computer yet to check, but I will but it might be later. Anyway, after we got from our ride we just enjoyed the night played some games and called it a night.

We left Wednesday morning to come home. The trip home is always super long, but we made it. It was such a great trip. I thought it was the perfect length. I was satisfied with the time I had, but would have liked more. They kids were still getting along and it was awesome. So, it was actually sad to leave while we were still having fun, but my mom always said that is when its the best time to go. In this case, I think she was right. We had so much fun playing and being with family. We were pretty exhausted, but it was totally fun and worth it.