Utah Visit

We had a great trip to Utah and we were able to see lots of family/friends. Our schedule was full, as always, but we did manage to sneek in a few relaxing afternoons. The kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins and all of their new little friends in Copperton. A few highlights of our trip included:

• Celebrating 4 birthdays!! Madison (Bug) ~ Mark ~ Tim ~ Todd
• Making a trip to the farm where the kids fed cows and rode a horse.
• Having dinner with the Bailey family (and met their newest addition for the first time).
• Bryce playing golf at six different courses.
• Going to the beach at Daybreak Lake.
• Going swimming and taking several trips to the park.

We have more photos - I just need to upload them so keep checking back :)

Colin's Visit

Colin drove up from La Jolla to spend a few days with us. He and Bryce played golf the first night and went out for a second round early the next morning. Beau, Brookie and Cassius were so excited to have him here, they didn't let him out of their sight. It was a quick trip but we enjoyed having him at our house and can't wait for his next visit.

Our little fish

Beau loves to swim. He will climb out of the pool just so he can jump back in. We had originally thought that Brookie would take to swimming more but he proved us wrong. Everytime we go to Grandma Vera's he goes out to inspect the pool, even if he knows that we are not there to swim.

Bye Bye Buddy!

It's official ... Buddy is gone!

For those of you who were not fortunate enough to meet Buddy, he was a very very large stuffed dog. Beau had Buddy since he was about a year old and took him everywhere. Buddy even traveled with us when we would fly to Utah.

To our surprise, Beau told us that it was time for him to go. We explained that once he decided that he didn't want Buddy anymore he couldn't change his mind. He said, "Mom, it's a perfect time for him to go." That was all the convincing I needed. Beau was such a big boy and took Buddy outside to the trash himself.

We are so proud of you Beau!!!

Room with a view!

Bryce and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary on the 5th of August. We were able to get away by ourselves for the weekend. My dad set us up with a room in San Diego on Harbor Island while Jack and Vera watched the kids for us. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that sits on the very end of the harbor then we took a drive down to Seaport Village. Our hotel room looked directly at downtown San Diego and we were able to see the fireworks they set off to celebrate the 40th birthday of the Coronado Bridge. The following morning we went to La Jolla and enjoyed a Kayak tour of the 7 caves. It was fun to see new things and it gave us ideas of things to do the next time we go back.

Thanks Dad, Jack, and Vera!!

1st Camping Trip

We took the kids camping (in a tent) for the very first time. We decided to go to Lake Parris. It's only an hour and a half drive from our house so if things went wrong we could just pack up and head home. We got to the campsite and set up our digs then headed down to the lake. It wasn't so great. The beach was crowded and the sand they brought in had broken seashells so it hurt to walk on. We didn't stay long, dogs were not allowed on the beach and we had Cassius with us. I was glad because it gave me an excuse to leave so quickly.

To our surprise the kids prefered hanging out in their camp chairs watching the fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. They loved the smores, Bryce cooked them just right! Brookie asked if she could help me clean up, I agreed. Not to long into the clean up I found her with the left over chocolate, it had melted all over her fingers. She said that she didn't want to put it into the fire so she was hanging on to it ... that's my girl ~ she LOVES chocolate.

For their first time they both did really good and we are excited to do it again, we just need to find a different place to go!

La Jolla

My dad, brother, niece, and nephews drove down from Utah to spend the weekend with us. They could only handle one day in the heat so we decided to go to La Jolla. It was the first time Logan, Bronson, and Tag had been to the beach. We played in the water, both ocean and hotel pool, and had fun taking in the sites. Tag and Brookie were attached at the hip from the morning they got here until it was time for them to leave. They were so cute together, she made sure he always had everything he needed. She is such a great friend and sister!!

4th of July

The 4th of July in the desert is a lot different than back home. Maybe it's because of the soaring temps or maybe because it's not a close community like Tooele was back in the day. I remember the fun block parties that we had in Overlake, closing down the street and having tables full of food the front yard. We use to sit on our front porch and watch the Desert Peak fireworks then Bryce would get called out on a fire, it never failed :)

This year we still had a lot of fun. Jack and Vera had us over for a BBQ and swimming. Polly and Sierra also spent the day with us. The Indian Wells Country Club is just around the corner and we were able to see all of their fireworks from the front yard. Brookie kept pointing out the purple and pink (actually red) ones. For the next week Beau would ask if we were going to watch fireworks at Grandmas again, it took him awhile to understand that it won't be like that for another year.

Summer Party

Every year the local twins club puts on a summer party. This year we headed out to the La Quinta resort. There is a great kiddie pool that is about a foot and a half deep throughout and they also have a few little water features spraying about. Beau and Brookie love to swim in the little pool. Beau spent most of the day under the water looking for "sharks". He can actually hold his breath for a very long time, I was impressed. Brookie took some time out and relaxed under the shade of our cabana. It was a great day and we look forward to going back again.

Beau is a little lover boy!

We better keep an eye on him.