Summer Fun

I have so many pictures to post ~ I hope you don't get bored looking at them all. There are just so many that I love, and we have had an exciting past couple weeks.We decided to take the kids camping the day before the 4th. We had an awesome campsite up at Granite Flats, and the kids were GREAT and loved being outside, in the dirt as you can see. Kenzie laughed while watching Jake throw dirt all over. All was well until about 1am when I thought we might all suffer from hypothermia. To make the REALLY long story short, since many of you have heard it, at 3:30am Mike took the stakes and poles out of the tent, and pretty much threw everything into the back of the minivan(yes, we have a minivan) and we drove home, both kids screaming. By 5am we were in our own beds and laughing so hard that it was hard to go to sleep.

On the 4th, we had a neighborhood BBQ and fireworks party. There were tons of kids and lots of food. Jake was getting fussy until the fireworks started and then he was jumping around screaming, MORE! after every one. I thought he would not like the noise, but he was out there with Mike wanting to help light them, then he would go sit in his chair and watch each one. Even baby girl was enjoying the lights and noise. In the end, the kids lit sparklers. Here is Mike and Jake right at the end with a sparkler ~ way past bedtime as you can tell, but he had so much fun!
The weekend after the 4th, we left in the minivan for California. We spent the weekend with Mike's family, then spent the next week in Bucks Lake at my parents cabin. We had been counting down the days for like 6 months now, we were so excited for a vacation. I have decided over the years, that I know if I traveled the world, I would never find a place I enjoy more then Bucks Lake. My family has been vacationing there since 1941, and it was my second home growing up. It is an enchanting place, really. You would just have to spend some time there to know. So here is Jake in front of the campfire, shoving his face with s'mores and enjoying all the attention. He loved every minute of being in the forest ~ playing in the dirt, at the beach, counting trees and just running wherever he could go. His "T-Ora" (that is Auntie Laura) taught him during the week to count to 10 in Spanish, so everything he counted was in Spanish. And for all you who know my son, you know he LOVES to count! Makenzie loved all the attention and being outdoors, and Mike and I loved having some time to go play on the quads and on the lake and taking lots of naps. Here are a few more pics of our fun week.

Makenzie taking a bath in our Nana's sink. This has been tradition with the babies at her cabin since we were little.

This last picture is my favorite. The kids have really started interacting with each other in the last few weeks. Here they are inspecting a register. Must be fun to them! Jake now hides behind the curtains in the kitchen when sister is eating, and jumps out at her stating "BOO!" over and over while she roars with laughter. It is quite funny and gives me some time to clean up the kitchen. Last but not least, there is Mike and I. Our lives seem to be in complete chaos lately with neverending projects ranging from the basement, to the yard, to church, to the kids and trying to remember the house does need to be cleaned even if it is midnight. I sometimes think we have taken on too much, but look forward to the rewards each project will bring. Mike has also started a new project at work that we are really excited about. And I have started a part time job at Macy's just to get out of the house a few nights a week and fulfill my need to work. I am actually really liking it ~ it is mindless, fun, I love the people and I love the discount! So we'll see if I can keep up with everything else and still keep the job.

So, here is Mike, my hardworking husband after a day priming the basement. I know he will be really excited I posted this awesome picture of him. Thanks Mike!