Summer Vacation

This Summer we decided that we would drive to Utah as a family. We got there on the morning of July 4th at about 6 am. We (kind of) surprised my parents by driving all night, instead of stopping at a hotel and arrived about 8 hours earlier than they were anticipating.

The kids pretty good for a 20 hour car ride. This is Brynlee about 6 hours in, but it didn't last long. (thank heavens!)

 I think it safe to say that that is the best wake up call they have ever gotten at 6 am.

They were pretty surprised and were pretty cute answering the door in their robes. :) We spent our first morning there going to the church 4th of July breakfast while Geoff stayed at the house and napped for a few hours. July 4th was spent hanging out as a family and having a big bbq that night with extended family. We then went to a point in the mountain that you could see the fireworks for the entire valley. It was very cool. There were so many fireworks shows going on you almost didn't know where to look.

On July 5th we baptized Macie and Mia. It was another special day and one filled again with tons of family and friends.

This is Camden after the baptism. We didn't even try and put him down for a nap, lucky for us he decided on his way down the stairs to take a break. haha

 

By the time Sunday hit, all of the adrenalin that I had been using for everything else finally was gone and I felt like a walking zombie. Geoff flew home on this day, so while mom and dad took the girls to church with them, the babies and I took Geoff to the airport and then came home and took a much needed nap by all of us...if you have ever driven all night you know what I am talking about!

Once Geoff flew home, the kids and I stayed in Utah for the rest of July without him. It was a party! It was definitely the fastest summer ever. While we were in Utah partying it up, poor Geoff was back in Texas working and spending time at home all alone. He was so bored! But we had such a good time we might just make it a tradition!!

 Uncle Ty Ty is basically the best. He spent so much time on the trampoline with all of the kids bouncing them and playing with them. He is awesome!

 We also played a lot of dodge ball...kids vs adults! It was so fun!

 Grandpa took some time with his brother and Geoff and had an outdoor theatre installed. It was used quite a but while we were there. He even went all out and bought a real popcorn machine. To say the kids loved this is an understatement.

 Say Cheese...loved the beautiful Utah nights.

 Grandma and Grandpa had a lady in their ward who needed to practice face painting on some little kids, so she called up grandma and asked her if she could come over and try a few new things on the kids. They had so much fun choosing what they wanted and she did a great job. Camden has  hard time with new things, so he refused to let her touch him. Silly guy.

 Little Bryn Bryn wouldn't sit for the picture, so I had to try and catch one of her on the go.

 Uncle Ty Ty loving on sweet Brynlee. Love this picture!

 On the 24th of July, we once again pulled out the fireworks. Grandpa brought out some sparklers for the kids and even Brynlee got in on the act.

 Everyone trying out their sparklers.

 Ari doing her best wave.

 Camden actually wanted to do one to the shock of us all.

Awesome uncles Beau Beau and Ty Ty

Cute little Brynlee in the back yard playing with the extra large badminton. She loved to wear this as a hat.

everyone getting situated for the bigger fireworks

 Say cheese. All of the grandkids except for Brynlee who is inside asleep

 Camden does NOT like fireworks, so he sat a little ways back and this is pretty good for him not to be screaming. Love this picture of him with Grandma and Grandpa

 Our first week there was full of fun. Here are the kids at the Dinosaur Museum.

 Water Dino build: Hailey, Camden, Addie

 Checking out the scary shark: Mia, Kayleb, Hailey, Macie, Brynlee, Jayce, Addie

 Brynlee in the dino dig

 The rest of the kids in the dino dig

 Camden in the dino dig

While at Grandma and Grandpa's house we were able to go and feed the ducks...a lot! The kids loved it. It was super fun and the lake close by was extra nice, except for when the kids were in their clothes.

We also had an ER visit while there. The little man fell down on a metal measuring cup while running around the kitchen table and it got him just right. Sliced his nose right open. We were all ready for church and had about 5 minutes until it was time to leave. I picked him up and ran him over to the sink, knowing it was a good fall, as I watched it happen. Mom came running over and held his nose while I ran and changed. We went straight out to the car where I thought I would have to hold him, but he is so particular that he refused to go anywhere until he was buckled in his car seat, so I took him in by myself while mom took the girls to church. Dad was on his way to the airport to pick up Uncle Beau and Aunt Mindy when it happened. Luckily Uncle Beau met us there right as they were getting ready to stitch him up for some moral support. He got 5 stitches in it and was quite the fighter. He knew the second I got him in the car that something bad was happening. We got into the hospital and all he did was cry for Grandma. So sad. Things like this are so hard to watch your kids go through as there is nothing you can do to help them. It is extra hard when you don't have a husband, and haven't seen him for 3 weeks. We were the only ones in the ER though, so it was nice and fast. We were in and out in about 1 1/2 hours.

 Here is the poor little guy all drugged up and ready to go home.

A couple days later we headed out to Thanksgiving Point to their farm land. The kids had a blast and enjoyed seeing the farm animals, riding a horse, and playing around.

 Here is Bryn's first horse ride. She loved it. Camden would not get one...surprise, surprise.

 Checking out the ducks in the water.

 Grandpa riding the tractor and pretending to be an old farmer...what a cute guy.

 At the botanical gardens part of Thanksgiving Point.

A couple of nights before Geoff flew in mom and dad surprised all of us adults (who would like it) to go and see the musical Wicked!!! It was amazing! They were super nice and even bought Macie a ticket knowing that music is her love. It was so amazing and such a fun experience!!

 Morgan and Tyson, Mindy and Amber on the trax to downtown Salt Lake

 Cute Macie on the tracks down to SLC.   Macie and I at the show. Love this girl.

When Geoff FINALLY flew in we drove down to St. George to be with his family for a little reunion. While there we took the girls to go and see The Little Mermaid at Touacon. It was an amazing show. The special effects that they were able to do were amazing. It was so fun and the girls loved it!

 We spent our time in St. George relaxing by the pool, or swimming in the pool, letting the cousins hang out and just being together. It was a lot of fun and such a great weekend!

 Here are all of the cousins that were there. Garret, Brock, Macie, Ty, Addie, Camden, Brynlee

 The 3 siblings that were able to come. Troy, Heather, Geoff.

Those are just a few of our adventures over the summer. We also did a lot of swimming and beach time, and feeding the ducks, and going for walks, and playing outside with cousins, and redoing moms toy room, and many other very fun things. It was a blast and we can't wait to do it again!

Addie's 6th Birthday

Addie had her birthday this year at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was crazy and I am sad because I don't have very many pictures. We spent the day at a splash pad and hanging out. She asked for an ice cream cake, so Amber and decided that it would the perfect opportunity to try making one ourselves....haha. If you have never tried making one, I suggest you do. It was pretty comical. Try frosting a cake in about 5 minutes as it is melting before your eyes....I actually think it looks pretty good for how hard and how messy it was. The best part is that everyone loved it and it was gone. Addie still talks about how good that cake was months later. Success. :)

 The cake. Notice all of the melted ice cream coming out of the bottom...

 Happy Birthday to you

 Blow!

 Addie, you are such a darling girl who brings so much love and laughter into our home. You are crazy and we love that about you. You are so caring of those around you and are a great big sister.

Because Geoff wasn't there we skyped him when she opened all of her presents. So I only have a few of her opening presents that I took on my phone.

 Opening her Easy Bake Oven

Checking it out with Bryn by her side.

Happy birthday Addie. We love you!

Macie's Baptism

Macie was able to get baptized this year. What a special day it was. We were able to do it in Utah with lots of family present. She got baptized on July 5, 2014.

Macie and her cousin Mia decided to do their baptism together. Mia turned 8 in January and had been waiting a long time for this. It was such a neat experience and so fun. The program was beautiful and went very well. The spirit was so strong in the room. Grandpa Bradley and Morgan Bradley were the ones who gave the talks. Mia was baptized first by her dad, and then it was Macie's turn. Geoff baptized her and did a great job.  Macie was also lucky enough to have a few friends from Texas show up. They happen to be in Utah at the time of her baptism and took the time away from their families and vacation to come and show their love for her. It was so nice of them and meant a lot to Macie. The friends were: Emma Thomas and her family and Cole Welch (friends from dental school) and his family. It really was a beautiful and perfect day.

 Here is one of Macie's baptism pictures in her dress. What a beautiful young lady. We are so proud of her.

Here is Mia and Macie the morning of the baptism. This is right before everything started.

 Camden really wanted in on a picture and it just wasn't worth trying to stop him. He is so cute!!

 Geoff and Macie all ready to go.

 Seriously love these 2 so much!!!!

 Our little family.

Macie and Mia with Grandma and Grandpa Bradley. We did not know that they had chosen the exact same color to accent their dresses with. It was pretty funny when we showed up and they had the same trim and bows. I love these girls so much. It was a great day with family and friends.

Freddy the Frog

I April the kids went to the backyard to play. Geoff was mowing the lawn. In the middle of his mowing, he stopped, yelled at the kids to come here, and then showed them the frog that he had just found. The kids loved it. Everyday since then, they have been able to go outside to the side of the house and Freddy the Frog is there almost every time. He is our little pet. (and when I say our, I mean the kids). He is the best pet ever, as I have to do nothing to take care of him, but he is always there for the kids to play with. It is so fun to watch them pick him up and put him on the trampoline and scream in delight as he jumps around. Freddy has provided hours of entertainment for these kids. Again, best pet ever. :)

There was a morning in June, when the kids were out playing that I thought, I should take some pics of them with Freddy so they can remember him. So, for memory sake...

 Here is Freddy on Addie's shoulder.

 Camden chasing Freddy around the trampoline. He will never hold Freddy, just likes to watch him jump around.

 Brynlee, on the other hand LOVES Freddy and loves to hold him whenever she can. We have to watch her pretty closely though so she doesn't squeeze to hard.

 Macie letting Freddy jump around and loving it.

 Addie and Freddy

 The girls showing Bryn Bryn the cute frog

And Freddy just relaxing on Macie's foot. How the kids love Freddy and are so excited every time he decided to show up to say hi.

Father's Day 2014

Father's Day this year was a nice relaxed day. We all hung out and grabbed some pictures with dad. These pictures crack me up. The first I told everyone to look nice and happy.

 The next one I said, ok, now act how you always do when dad is on the couch... and this is what I got. So funny. Poor guy.

 And then this one, where everyone is acting like their true selves. I can't help but laugh.

Really though, our family is sooo very blessed to have such an amazing guy in our lives. He is the best father and dad and husband anyone could ever ask for. He is always so willing to go along with whatever crazy idea I might have, and whatever crazy idea the kids might have. He is always so willing and helpful and kind. The kids adore their dad, and everyday when he comes home, they come running to greet him. We love this man so much and are so grateful he is in our lives.
For Father's Day from the kids, we decided to take a picture of each kid with something they love about dad. Here is what they said: