Cousin Gingerbread Party 2015!

I've got some pretty awesome cousins...and my kids have awesome cousins too!

We had our annual cousin gingerbread party and this year we extended it to the boys too.

There were several cousins we missed, but we had lots of fun with the cousins that came!

Last Swim of the Summer

Every Thursday we do a "Sisters Swim Day."

We decided to do our last one and go out with a BANG!

Unfortunately for us, (and lucky for them) Hez went on a cruise and Heather went on an Anniversary getaway trip!  So, Kristy, mom, and I did our last one with a BANG!

I sure love watching my kids play with their cousins.

I have spent EVERY summer of my life at this pool, and I have SO many wonderful memories of this pool with MY cousins.  Playing "bumper bums" with Heidi and Andrea.  Playing Mario, Lugi, and Princess Peach and pretending the handles on the side of the pool were Yoshis with Stephen and Blake.  My first time EVER doing photography was taking pictures of Maddie jumping off the diving board.  I remember doing different style dives (ballerina and frog were the favorite) with Chandler, Krista, and more.  Other games like Marco Polo, Categories, Sharks, and more with all the rest of my cousins.

I'm so glad that my kids can continue those same traditions at the pool with their cousins.

COUSINS ARE THE BEST!!

Bean Museum

My darling cousin, Katie, invited us down to Provo for a play-date.

It was fun to be down at BYU.  I couldn't believe how many things had changed!

We went to the Bean Musuem and it was nearly unrecognizable.

Katie put together some cute scavengar hunt papers.  The kids loved it!

My other cousins, Jeff, Reesa, and Sarah joined us too!  It was so good to see them!
I feel so lucky to have such fun, cute cousins!!

After the museum, Katie made us a delicious picnic lunch.
Then, we headed to the MOA and a few other places around campus.

It was such a fun day!  

I spent so much time studying these birds in college for one of my classes.
I could only name a handful now.

Lindsay and Elizabeth were inseparable! 

The elevator there is HUGE!  Jeff, jokingly told some people to wait for the next elevator because he didn't think there was enough room.  They didn't get on.  He's so funny!!

 (But, I'm pretty sure they were wanting to go to the basement).

The kids loved running down the ramp!

Andrew loved looking at the ducks!

And after a minute, he was in WITH the ducks!

This was my favorite display at the art museum.

The whole thing is made out of hangers!

People are so clever and talented!

We also went to the WILK.  The kids had fun climbing on the railing.
When we left, we got a few steps outside of the building, and I couldn't find Andrew.

When I realized he never came out, and went back in to find this...

He was trying to be a big kid, and got stuck on the railing!

Don't I have the cutest cousins!!?  And they have the CUTEST kids too!!
LOVE this group!!

Thanks for inviting me down for such a fun day, Katie!

And I'm so glad the other cousins got to join us too!

Thanks again!!

Bountiful Handcart Days

We had a fantastic 23rd of July!

One of my favorites of the year!  

We did the parade then fireworks at Heather's

Mom got an ice-cream cone for her birthday.

I'm pretty sure Lindsay ate the majority of it.

This guy waved RIGHT to us!  Matt thought that was pretty neat!

I am still a Brave at heart, but we have been listening to the Woods Cross Band play everyday and so we couldn't help cheer for them!  

Lindsay LOVED getting to see her cute babysitter in the parade!

This was my favorite float!

Book of Mormon heroes on one side, and future missionaries on the other side.

We got so much "stuff" at the parade.  Matt was pretty proud of his Ute stuff.

Especially showing it to his cougar mother.

My favorite part of the parade was right after this picture was taken of Lindsay.

There was something she didn't get that they were throwing out, and she got really sad.

I showed her the kids way in the back, and told her they probably didn't get anything at all.

After that, she took all of her candy, necklaces, fans, and any other "stuff" and walked to the kids sitting way in the back, and handed out all of her things to kids that didn't get anything.  She was so much happier to share and give her things away.  I was really proud of her.

After the parade we headed up to Heather's.

She always hosts the most amazing pre-firework show.

Really, it is so much fun!

Greg loads up his potato gun with glowsticks, candy, and toys, then shoots it off and the kids run and get everything!  It is a hoot!  Here is a video I took from last year, HERE.

Lindsay loved getting candy (especially after she gave all of hers away at the parade).

BJ is always the hit of the party!

Kids getting ready for more candy!

The 23rd is also my favorite mama's birthday!

We sang happy birthday and had some cake!

And, as always, the fireworks did not disappoint.

I think it was the best year of fireworks yet!