Happy Birthday to Me

On July 4, I woke up super tired, and Brian was going to let me sleep, but I was just too excited. I guess I'm still a kid a heart. After feeding Rachel, Brian and Michael brought in my presents. Brian surprised me with tickets to Stadium of Fire. He played it down so well too!

Since we had planned to go on a date to see a movie, we just decided to take the whole family to see a movie. We went to see Monsters University. It was fun, no where near as good as the original, but still fun. It was also Rachel's first movie, and she did great. The only problem we had was that her happy noises were too loud. Thankfully, she didn't cry at all.

 After the movie, we did a little shopping at Target, which made me happy. Then, we went out for frozen yogurt. Then, we dropped the kiddos off at Lea's and headed to Orem for dinner at Outback. Amazing! Then, we made our way to Provo for Stadium of Fire.

 Our seats were clear up in the nosebleeds--one row from the top--but they were awesome, especially for the fireworks.

Here's our view. We got to see three skydivers enter the stadium, participate with the dancers by waving a bandana, sing along with Carly Rae Jepson, stand in awe of Cirque de Soleil, be impressed by Kelly Clarkson, and then grin uncontrollably through the fireworks--which we had the best seat in the house for. It was an amazing way to celebrate our Independence Day. It took us forever to get out of the parking lot and we got to bed around two, but it was SO worth it. Best. Birthday. Ever! It definitely made up for last year, which I spent enjoying 1st trimester nausea. Thanks Brian for such an awesome day!

More fun with Ben and Jenny in Town

On Saturday, June 29, everyone came over to our house for grilling. We had fabulous steaks cooked by Ben and Brian, veggies, watermelon, fruit, salad, and potatoes. It was yummy! And, we had a July birthday party. Julie bought a yummy chocolate cake, and we put 5 sparklers in it to celebrate our July birthdays, Ethan, Me, Kirt, Danny, and Jenny. And then we pretended to blow them out. 

 We have the earliest church time on Sunday, so while we were waiting to go down to Mapleton, we passed the time reading and working on some Family History. I walked into the living room to see this:

 I love watching them read together side-by-side like this.

We headed to Mapleton for an informal dinner, and then we all went to Provo to watch Kirt conduct the Utah Premier Brass in their Concert in the Park.

 It's tradition at these Concerts in the Park for the conductor to lead a children's march around the park and have a guest conductor lead the band. The guest conductors for this concert's Children's march were the conductor's grand-kids. Here's Maiya's turn:

Michael sort of chickened out on his turn:

Baby Tucker even took a turn:

 Here's Kirt leading the march:

 And the Saville grandkids joined in at the end. 

 Tucker and Rachel played together on a blanket for the final numbers. 

On Monday, Ben and Jenny came over to our house for games and relaxing. It was fun having them, but it was a short visit. We figured we'd take what we could get. We had dinner at Cafe Rio with all the Savillians in the state.

The next day, we got a call from Ben saying that they might come and stay the night with us since Jenny's mom's house wasn't quite ready for guests. Long story short, they came! We also had Skyler with us that night, so we had quite the crew. Michael and Tyler had a sleep over in Michael's room, and he was just loving having Tyler all to himself. Skyler slept in the laundry room, and Rachel slept in our closet. Tucker slept in Rachel's bed and Ben and Jenny took the guest bed in Rachel's room. Brian and I stayed up too late playing Dominion with Ben, but it was totally worth it. And Tucker slept through the night--the first time their entire trip! I guess our house is the lucky house :). That or cribs are better than pack-n-plays.

We met up with Kirt, Julie, and Lea for lunch at Olive Garden, and then we bid farewell to Ben, Jenny, Tyler, and Tucker. We were so glad that they came for a visit. We wish that they lived closer---or that someone would actually invent tele-transportation. Thanks for coming to see us!

Fishing

On June 28, we went fishing! Papa wanted to take his grandkids fishing, so we caravanned down past Fairview and up a canyon to a little pond area. Within two minutes of the first cast, the first fish was caught. It was awesome! Everyone caught several fish. We ended up coming home with 34, and that's not counting all the little ones we threw back!

Rachel and Nana were probably the only ones who didn't catch a fish. 

  Here's Michael's first fish--ever!

 When we weren't fishing, we had plenty of snacks!

 My first fish in about 17 years! (I stopped fishing when they made me start paying to fish. I don't like how fish tastes, so it seemed pointless to buy a license--until now). There was still some worm left on my hook after we got this one, so I cast it back in the water. Not even a minute later, I caught another fish. It was a lucky worm--or a really good fishing spot. One of the two. 

 Yeah Brian!! 

So, funny story. Michael and Brian were fishing, and the hooked a fish. When they were reeling it in, it looked like the fish had strange, bulging belly. About the time we got the fish to shore, we realized that there was something else caught on the line. It turned out to be another fish! So, with one hook, one line, and one worm, they somehow caught two fish. Someone else lost his line and bobber, which then hooked a fish, and somehow, Michael & Brian's line hooked the stray line. Both fish were alive and well when they came out of the water. In fact, the fish on Michael's line died first. I've never heard of such a thing happening before! 

Papa loves to fish. He had to bait all the grandkids' poles and get them set, and he let me borrow his pole. Finally, when the kids got bored, he got to have his fishing time. Thanks for being patient with all of us!

 We forgot warm clothes for Rachel, so Tucker was kind enough to share his. Don't let the blue fool you, that's Rachel under that cow hat!

 Sometimes, Nature calls. 

 My beautiful, cute pregnant Sister-in-law, Alisa. 

 Only a few of us were brave enough to take the fish off the line, kill it, and put it with the rest. I was not one of the brave ones, but Ben was. 

 And there was plenty of space to play tag. 

 Tucker wanted to eat the fish. Yum!

 Ben, Tucker, Jenny, and Tyler

 Ella and Alisa

 34 fish!

 Papa and Ben gutted and cleaned all the fish in the stream in front of a live audience. 

We all had lots of fun fishing. We'll have to do it again soon. Thanks so much, Papa and Ben, for making it happen!

Seven Peaks with the Savillians

On June 27, we met up with all of the Saville crew (minus the Dahls, Julie, and Shayne) at Seven Peaks. It was a great day to be in the water since it was super hot. We got to meet Baby Tucker for the first time. He is ADORABLE! I mostly hung out in the shade tents that Lea and Alisa brought. Rachel didn't like the water as much this time, and somewhere in there, she wanted a nap. Seriously, she was asleep before I laid her on the floor of the tent!

So, I read on my phone while she slept. Brian got to take Michael on some slides. I think they both had a lot of fun together. It's nice that he could take the day off to play. Lea's boys dropped in for a snack, and the extra excitement woke Rachel up, which was just fine. 

 It was a fun day with cousins, but we were all ready to leave when it was time. We went to Mom and Dad Saville's house for dinner and chatting, and then headed home to get ready for another day of fun with Ben and Jenny in town.

Swimming Lessons

This year, we decided to sign Michael up for swimming lessons. We went to a local family who taught lessons in their backyard pool. His teacher was great, and Michael loved it.

  First Day

Can't get enough!

He had eight lessons over the course of two weeks. It was fun, but we were glad to not have to go over there every morning first thing.

For Aunty Em

 All growing up, I would tease Emily by saying that I was going to name a daughter Dorothy so that she would call Emily  Aunty Em. I said, "Hey, it's a family name. I'll name her after our great-grandma!" And Emily would protest and threaten and whatever. So, when I had Rachel, Emily gave her these "Ruby Slippers" that she had made.

Michael was kind enough to let Rachel use his lion, Leo Aslan.

Another Trip to Idaho!

On Friday, June 14, we headed up to Idaho to spend the weekend with my family and to be there for Henry's blessing. We got in late, completely exhausted from our drive and the stressful night prior (aka the fire scare.) Everyone was great. They helped us get beds ready and our babies in them, and they even had hot rolls ready. Such an awesome welcome!

The next day was the day of the most fun:

And it wouldn't be a trip to Idaho without some relaxation:

And a little yard work:

And with Rachel, a little snuggle time:

This trip, I convinced everyone to hike Cress Creek Nature Trail. It had been about ten years since I hiked it, and I had forgotten how little shade there was. We hiked until the pavement ran out near the creek.

After the hike, we had a fabulous BBQ/picnic on my parents' lawn, 

and then I took family pictures for Emily:

Henry

A family of Vandals

Jack

Sir Henry

Wyatt

The next morning, the dads opened presents, and then we went to church for Henry's blessing, offered by my dad. After church, we took more pictures:

The whole crew who came, minus Rachel who was sleeping

 This year, Chelsea texted me and told me about matching father/son ties at Seagull Book. Since she was getting them, and Taryn was getting them, I decided to get them. I knew Chelsea and Taryn were getting this green set, so I bought one for Michael, Brian, and my dad, so we had to get matching tie pictures.

 Happy Father's Day!

My fabulous grandparents

My wonderful parents

After dinner, we headed for home. Since it was Fathers' Day, I drove so Brian wouldn't have to. We were so happy to finally get home by the end and get our kids to bed. We had a great trip. We'll have to do it again in a couple of weeks!