Wow, the rest of our summer was fun-filled and incredibly busy. I looked through all of these pictures and I am so glad we have had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities. There are certainly a lot of great things to do in this life.
While the cousins were visiting we visited the Iris Festival. It was a really nice day and it was fun to visit such a pretty place. And speaking of pretty, look at these girls!
We took a lot of hikes while we resided in the Northwest. The girls loved to ride along with us and we saw some pretty country.
This was one of the sites we saw on one of our weekend hikes. What an incredible mansion! Inside that big picture window is a very elegant music room, complete with a carved, antique grand piano, harp to match, and a view of both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. The tour guide asked if anyone played the piano so we could picture the former resident playing, and I was volunteered (thanks Logan). It was actually a really neat experience and those on the tour were really nice about it, even though our children (the only ones on the tour) detracted a little from the quiet ambiance in the house.
All of the "birthday princesses".
Getting ready to dig in...
Yum!
We had the great chance to go on a 75-mile bike trip with family on the Coeur d'Alene bike trail. It was so fun, even with the intense soreness. The weather was perfect, the scenery gorgeous, and the company unbeatable. Aunt Aubrey and her little Snappy.
Sisters!
These cousins had so much fun riding together in the bike trailers and hanging out in our lodge at night. Aren't they a cute bunch?
I sure love this guy and I've been so blessed with a man who loves to try new things and is just plain excited about life! What a joy my life is with him!
The trail went right by a reservoir where a swimming area was sectioned off, complete with a diving board. The water was probably Carli and Janie's favorite part of the trip.
These four, plus Dad C., were the ones to finish off the entire trail. Way to go guys!
Here's the whole family when we picked the bikers up at the end of the trail. We all had a great experience and can't wait to try something like this again in the near future.
To celebrate our 6th anniversary, we left the kids with Grammy and Papa Tommy and headed to the coast to stay at a cute bed and breakfast. We love bed and breakfasts (and hope to have one of our own someday) and this one was great. Then we headed to the beach to see a few sights. Did I mention that I love him?
These seals were just hanging out near the tidal pool we were walking around.
We got to go in this beautiful lighthouse, after waiting in line where the flies (or some other flying insect that resides on the beach) swarmed. It was cool to learn the history and see the architecture. I thought it was really interesting how the lighthouse keepers, assistants and their families were expected to live in order to keep their jobs. They surely had a lot of integrity to be able to keep such high standards without knowing when they would be thoroughly inspected.
We also went on a great hike in the forest nearby. It was absolutely beautiful! At the end of the hike was a suspension bridge over a waterfall. I was a little nervous because it is 100 ft up and 240 ft across. I'm not one for heights, but I thought this was totally worth it. (Pay no attention to the white knuckles...)
For Labor Day weekend we were able to go down to Cedar City with Kera to our extended family reunion. It was so fun to see cousins I haven't seen in awhile and see how all the families have grown. This is my Grandma and Grandpa J.'s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (with several families missing). We make a pretty big bunch!
After the family reunion we were able to go to my parents cabin up in the mountains and spend some amazingly quiet, peaceful, relaxing time there. It is beautiful and is especially meaningful because all of the land around it has been in my family for several generations now. I hope we get to go there a lot.
Carli and Janie enjoying the table Grandpa made them and the chairs he bought to go with. I asked my dad to make Carli a table to go in our new apartment and when I told Carli about it she said, "Oh, I hope it has fairies on it!" So, as always, Grandma and Grandpa made sure to please! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!
All of us at the top of the world. We could see Brian Head, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyon from this spot. It was breath-taking! Wish I would have taken a picture of the view too.
We found TONS of big and little horny toads up on the mountain. Even before we met any, Carli had already planned to name one Gilbert. This is the lucky one who got that name.
Janie, of course, wanted to find out what all the fuss was about.
Grandpa and Daddy also helped Carli find a frog at the pond.
A peaceful canoe ride around the pond just past the cabin's porch.
Man, I am one lucky mama to have these two beautiful girls!
Well, life is different now, but still so good. We moved yet again, making that our 7th move in 6 years. We're back where we met, and it's fun to go down memory lane and make new memories with our girls. Logan just started his Master's in Public Health, which he is loving. This has been a long time coming, so we're really grateful it has all gone so smoothly. Carli is thoroughly enjoying living in such close proximity to so many friends (there are over 70 kids in our quad!) and is such a great friend to them all. I wish I had her ability to remember names and people since I was called to the Relief Society presidency two weeks after we got here, when I knew very few people. Janie is a pure joy right now in her age of discovery. She is running all over the place, jabbering away, and just as social as her big sister. The two of them make my days so happy (although I could do with them letting the days start a little later). In short, life is good and we are happy!
They had just put up their Christmas displays, so there were a bunch of snowmen to look at (and climb on). Here's Carli on the Longhorn snowman.
There were Sesame Street characters along all the fences. Carli insisted that I take her picture by every single one. I chose to post her with the Count.
Blurry, but still funny. Somehow Carli has never been afraid of giant moving stuffed animals that give hugs. She wasn't even afraid of Santa Clause! Here she is with a beluga whale. Carli loved the animal shows. She was nervous about getting wet at first, but got over that when she figured out that wouldn't happen. She especially loved watching the trainers do the arm movements to get the whales to do tricks. She has added those movements to her dance repertoire now.
