Swimming Lessons with the cousins

 Alisa and the kids were here for most of the month of June and we played hard the whole time! We started out with swim lessons for these 3 little cuties. Liam and Olive are just 6 weeks apart in age and Clara is just 6 months behind them! They all loved their lessons with Miss Cathy and learned a lot!

 And the following is what it looks like when you try to get 8 kids ages 9 and under to look at the camera at the same time!

Oh well, at least it is documented that they were all together!

We love Chick-fil-a!

Last week was the annual "Cow Appreciation Day" (aka dress like a cow and get free food) at Chick-fil-a. We have participated in this in the past and it was as fun as ever!

 Clara was a cute little cow.

 Nate had taken off his spots and ears at this point.

This little darling refused to dress up and was quite out of sorts from being surrounded by cows the whole time, not to mention being terrified of the Chick-fil-a mascot wandering the restaurant, but she was mostly a good sport. It was a fun time! It's amazing what a little construction paper and eye liner can get you! I can't wait until next year!

Idaho Aquarium

When the cousins were all here we all went to the Idaho Aquarium. It was lots of fun! Clara's favorite part was feeding the rays and pretending to be Ariel. Gracie's favorite part was hanging out with Papa!

Summer of Adventure: Week 4, biking the greenbelt

We got new bikes, helmets, and a bike trailer and were excited to put them to good use on this week's adventure! We rode along the Boise River greenbelt and it was fantastic! The river was beautiful, most of the path was shaded, the girls loved their sweet ride and didn't complain at all! We stopped halfway and had a picnic dinner by one of the lakes and we found another geocache along the way as well! Overall we rode around 9 miles. It was my favorite adventure yet!

 All ready to go!

 Nate with the geocache. This one was tiny. I am amazed that he found it at all!

 What we found when we got back to the car.

 I guess all that riding can wear a girl out!

Utah

We took a quick trip to Utah a couple of weeks ago. (Sorry to everyone we didn't see...which is practically everyone!) It was quick, but it was fun! Thanks to our friends the Doxeys for hosting!

 One place I knew we had to hit up was Slab Pizza...so, so good! I got the Thai Peanut Chicken. I dream about it nightly. It was that good.

 I think everyone was happy with their pizza selections.

 We visited the duck pond on campus. It is a lot nicer than it was when we were there. The girls loved it and I think the ducks appreciated our offering of goldfish crackers!

 This is at a cool new hangout on campus called The Wall. The place had a cool vibe and the menu looked good, but we were there just to get a photo with Cosmo.

 Can you spot my cute family?

 We happened to be there for Memorial Day so we took a trip out to the cemetery.

 We clearly weren't the only ones to make the trek that weekend!

 We loved showing our kids where their great-grandparents are buried.

 And we got to hang out with Nick and Julia too and they're pretty cool.

 The Doxeys had literally just moved into their new house. They were so nice to host us! We loved hanging out in their backyard and putting the firepit to good use!

 Teagan is cutie. She is right between our girls in age. It was fun to watch the three of them play.

 Nate and Devin were mission buddies turned room mates. Devin and Ashley also met at the BC and started dating about the same time we did!

 On the way home we stopped off in Bountiful to see the Paces!

 The kids had fun exploring the backyard and playing.

 Kristen was one of the first people I met at BYU, almost 10 years ago!

 And this is what Clara looks like after 3 days of going non-stop.

 Grace wasn't sure if she wanted her picture taken in her sweaty-headed state.

Nate, always the photogenic one, excited to get home.

Fourth of July!

While I still have a bit of catching up to do, I thought it would be best to continue on with the present. We had an awesome Fourth of July this year! Here are the pictures to prove it!

 We started out with a new tradition (we seem to have lots of "new" traditions, it's continuing them that is tricky) of fried scones and fruit for breakfast.

 We had powdered sugar with fresh lemon to squeeze on (my favorite), cinnamon and sugar (Nate's fave), and plain with butter and honey (a close second for me). They were deeee-licious!

 Then we went outside to put up the flag and do the Pledge of Allegiance.

 Next we headed downtown for the parade. We got a nice shady spot right up front!

 All Clara wanted was to see a clown. When she saw this one from across the street she started laughing and giggling hysterically. Well, the clown came right over to her and said, "I heard you from way over there! Mom, get out your camera!" Needless to say, it made Clara's day!

 The bagpipes were a highlight for me.

 And the stilt walkers were pretty cool.

 After the parade we went to the park for the chalk festival, but somehow I didn't get any pictures.

Later we BBQd at Nana and Papa's. The cousins always have too much fun when they are together!

 Patiently waiting for fireworks.

 Gracie's first sparkler.

And Clara's first sparkler that she wasn't afraid of.

Overall, I think it was a great holiday. I love America!