It's Over!!!

School is out for the summer! Samantha is sad, Tyler is ecstatic, and Veronica is undecided.
And the best news of all is this last week Joe graduated college with his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing! I am so proud of him. I know it has been hard on him trying to juggle work, school, family and church but he has done an excellent job and always made time to spend with me and the kids, family and friends.

Sun, Sand and Swim

Some friends of ours, the Morrows, invited us to spend the day Saturday with them at a timeshare that they rented for the weekend. We had such a fun day playing and visiting. We started out the day by driving through Snow Canyon State Park and then hiked up this beautiful canyon to a little sandy area to let the kids play. Rachael and I decided, in an effort to counteract the extra calories that we knew we would eat that day, to race Tyler to the top of a huge sand hill. We were quite proud of ourselves for making it to the top!
We then had a picnic before heading back to the condo for a few hours of swimming at the pool then topped it off with a barbecue. We all had a ton of fun. Thanks Mike and Rachael!

Two Terrific Twos

Brenna and Braelynn turned two today. Some people say that it is the terrible twos but I love this stage. It definitely has its challenges but there are so many fun things that kids learn and do at this age.
For their birthday they received tricycles from mom and dad and some toys for the sand box that came in a wagon from Veronica, Tyler and Samantha that they had fun giving each other rides in. I think their favorite, though were the dress-up shoes from Grandma and Grandpa Haley.
I made their cake to look like a pair of flip-flops in honor of Samantha and the fact that she has to fight Brenna and Braelynn off every time she wants to wear any of her shoes.
I am also happy to report that the potty training is well under way. Braelynn hasn't had an accident for three days! Brenna is still working on it, though.

Cathedral Gorge State Park

Because the kids have been begging for a long time and we finally had a free weekend, the kids and I (Joe was working) decided to head to Caliente Nevada to visit Grandma and Grandpa Smith for the weekend.
The weather was beautiful so we decided it would be fun to see Cathedral Gorge State park again. It is a quick 20 minute drive from Caliente and is just beautiful. It is full of cave-like formations where erosion has carved patterns in the soft clay. I am always amazed at the beauty that can be found anywhere on this earth. Even in Nevada, with its stinky, ugly sagebrush is this beautiful little valley that has been created for us to enjoy.
We (well, my mom and dad, I just eat it!) made their traditional best-ever dutch oven chicken and potatoes, roasted marshmallows, explored the caves, and played with cousins Hafen and Hudson. The whole weekend was just wonderful. It was nice to attend the ward that I grew up in and see those people that have known me since I was little, who taught me in primary and Young Women's.
Beautiful, huh?


Brenna making...dirt angels.

Inside a cave, looking up