Lindon Pool!

We found a fun place to cool off in the hot sun! The Lindon Pool has something for everyone!

Conner and Stockton rode the wave stimulator. It was almost like boogie boarding in Hawaii.... almost!

We all had a great time!

I {Heart} Faces - Beach Day

Spending an day on the beaches of Hawaii has got to be the best way to spend a day.

Conner enjoyed all the powerful waves. He would jump into the water and let the rough waves wash him up on shore.

Looking at this picture reminds me of all the fun we had together as a family. Also.... how much I want to go back!

Check out the other amazing entries for this week!!

Open House

We were able to attend the Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple!! We all had a very nice time! It was the first time the boys were able to tour the inside of the temple. It was an amazing experience!!

I feel so blessed to have so many temples so close to us. I think living in Utah we are spoiled. For most people outside of Utah, and especially outside of the United States.... their challenge is find ONE temple close to them. We face the challenge of choosing which one we would like to go to!! It was great to walk around inside and talk to the boys about different things. They each found it intriguing. Even Zander attention was focused on the beauty!

I {Heart} Faces - Feet

This week the category on I {Heart} Faces is Feet!

Zander loves to jump into the tub and relax. Peek -a-boo feet!

Check out some other incredible feet entries from this week...

Kallie - Miss InCreDibLe!

Summer is always filled with plenty of great stuff.... swimming, playing, soaking up the sun.... just being a kid! At our house, this summer has been EXTRA great! The EXTRA is because of an incredible friend, Kallie!

Kallie is our nanny! And might I add.... we absolutely LOVE her! Anyone who can handle 4 crazy kids, sometimes 5, and ends each day with a smile, is one InCreDibLe person! Today is Kallie's birthday! Happy Birthday Kallie!

Kallie doesn't just work 9 - 5.... she comes to family activities on weekends. It was so much fun to eat Strawberries and Cream together.

She cooks fun stuff with the boys. They have made banana bread, cookies, and even took an attempt at Rice Krispies.... they called them Pretty Rice Kristpie Klumps..... and they tasted marvelous!

The kids have done a varity of the things. Seven Peaks, Ragging Waters, Slip and Slide, building forts, riding bikes down to the store, going to the park, and many other incredible adventures.

She even took the boys over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick raspberries and mow the lawn.... Zander told me that everything is always more fun if Kallie is around.

Being a working mom can be difficult at times. With Kallie around for the summer, my life has been a lot better in many areas. I know the kids are safe and having a good time. I know I can work and not have to worry about anything!! I appreciate her so much!!!

Thanks for an incredible summer. Happy Birthday!

B.F.F.'s

Good friends are hard to come by. I believe long life friends are even harder to come by.... and guess what? I am so lucky to have long, life, GREAT friends!!!!

I have some of the greatest memories from High School. Each memory was made with at least one of these incredible ladies. Sun tanning on top of parents garage.... I had to wear sunscreen while the others got to turn the lovely bronze color. Drive by's (no more needs to be said). Toilet papering.... and getting caught. Sharing clothes, shopping, laughing, crying, Dairy Queen fights, Chick-fil-a everyday. Late nights and sleep overs. Even vacations together!! They laughed at my jokes, cheered me on when I wanted to give up, and a large part of the person I am today is because of the things I learned from them. I couldn't ask for a better group of friends growing up!!

And even though life moves on and time is spent with family, work, and everyday stuff..... I cherish the times we are all able to get together and reminisce about the good 'ol days!!!
I love you girls!

Stacy, Jen, Brooke, Shatie, Me and Becki

MUSTANG

Look what I got to do....

I would recommend it to everyone! Definitely something you should add to your bucket list.

Oh... and no, I didn't go out and buy a convertible Mustang.... it was a rental.
But yes.... I want one now!

I {Heart} Faces - Sports

This week on I {Heart} Faces the theme is Sports in Action. Since I have 5 kids, I have plenty of Sports photos.... it was hard to choose just one.

In the end I chose this one of Garrett. He is an amazing little football player. He is usually the smallest one on the field, but he has a real love for the game. He isn't afraid of anything... especially these 3 big giants.

His team went to the finals and WON! Garrett is counting down the day for football this year. We can't wait for another season!!

Mowing Grandma and Grandpa's Lawn

Summer is filled with fun, sun, water, and even some hard work. This summer we are missing some amazing people in our lives.... Grandma and Grandpa J. They are serving a mission in Russia. I suppose the closest we can get to being with them is helping out by mowing their lawn this summer and picking raspberries. The boys have been great helpers and most of the time they are eager to go over and be put to work. Niel is usually the one who leads the group over, but this past week he was out of town. Kallie (our incredible nanny) took the boys over this past week and they all got to work!

Conner mows and Stockton looks for sprinkler heads. It is a perfect match for the two!

Zander picked some raspberries. He got SO tired though. One bowl was about as much as his little hands could handle.

Kallie jumped right in and helped with the picking (did I tell you how awesome she is)!!! Garrett and Stockton helped pick some too.

They filled two bowls and still left a bunch more. Anyone interested in some raspberries?

After a hard day of work they got a special treat at Macey's. I am proud of the boys for being so willing to help out on a hard job!

We miss you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

I {heart} Holidays

I absolutely LOVE holidays. The reason I love them so much is because it means I get to spend time with the ones I love...... and sometimes, if I am lucky..... I get to spend time with the ones I love that I don't get to see very often.

This past Fourth of July holiday brought many cute faces that I rarely see!

Alayna, Arianna, Patrick and Ang were all here from California. Aren't my niece growing up to be so beautiful?!
Bry and Brooke were here too. Even though I see them more often, it still seems like I don't see them enough!

We all got a special treat because Jen, Spencer and family were in from Oregon. We all got together for a BBQ. Andy and Tysa came too. Even though they live down the hill from me, I had yet to see their new baby Meikel.... adorable! Kam and Steve, Elanie and Russ are always great company to be around. I just love my family!!

And here I am.... holding Jen's newest addition.... Elliott. I think she kind of looks like me! Maybe I should just keep her!

Happy 4th

I think we managed to squeeze just about everything in this year for the Fourth of July!

Ward Breakfast bright and early
Parade with all the family

Seven Peaks

Family BBQ

We went to the Provo Temple/MTC field to watch the fireworks!

The field was nice and big to play around and then we played cards and lite sparklers while we waited for the big Stadium of Fire show!

It was a perfect way to spend the holiday! The only difficult part was trying to get out of traffic. I guess everyone else had the same brilliant idea as we did!

Happy 4th!

Lacrosse

Conner added another sport to his list of favorites to play..... Lacrosse.

He spent the entire month of June with a lacrosse stick in his hands.... practicing his cradling.

I had never seen a lacrosse game before, so it was very entertaining and fun to learn a new sport.

The game is pretty intense. Conner uses his strong body to push people out of his way and get the ball.

Conner called it Hockey on grass!

He had a great time playing and we had a great time watching. Can't wait until next season!

I {Heart} Faces - Weddings

Kristy and Nate - 2009

It has been a really long time since I have taken wedding pictures.... too long actually. I am really out of practice.

This week on I {Heart} Faces the theme is weddings. I just had to post this beautiful picture of Kristy and Nate. She asked me to take their pictures the day they got married, which was a few month back. It was fun to get out and try it again. She made a beautiful bride. They looked so very happy! I had a great time spending the evening with them.

Be sure to check out the other amazing entries

Another one - Just for fun!

I {Heart} Faces is all about face. I really think this is funny picture but couldn't enter it into the contest because you can't see Kristy and Nate's faces. But it is so fun, I thought I would share. This horse kept chasing us around while we were out near the barn. I think the horse was just mesmerized by Kristy's beauty!

Family Photo Fun!

I LOVE pictures! I LOVE my family!! So you can guess I was pretty excited about taking family pictures. It has been over 3 years since we hired a photographer to attempt our family pictures. The reason I say attempt is because it is nearly impossible to capture all seven us in a good pose. And even though taking pictures might be one of my favorite things, it is probably on the bottom of the list for everyone else in our family.

I will have to say.... the pictures turned out amazing! There were so many good pictures of us all I had a hard time choosing just one I liked. I know an amazing talented photographer. Didn't she do a great job? Oh... and she has the most amazing, incredible, perfect name ..... Amy! :)

You can check out her site here.

We went to the Star Mill. It is located in American Fork.... and it is an incredible place to take pictures. Here are a few I took after Amy finished up with us. I could stay at this place forever!!!

It is crazy to me how quickly the kids are growing up! I just can't believe it!!

Strawberry Days

Strawberry Days is always a favorite at our house!!! Niel and Conner were at Scout Camp for part of the Strawberry Day festivities. Garrett, Zander, Megan, Stockton and I all bundled up and headed to the carnival. Wednesday nights is the most crowded night, but it is also the night each ride is only 1 ticket.... which means I can actually afford to take ALL the kids to the carnival. We had a blast!

The rain didn't keep us away. Zander kept saying to me "What is a little rain going to do to us?" I think he was trying to say things so we wouldn't have to go home.

Megan and Stocks were little dare devils this year. They went on some really big rides!

I was so proud of them!

Hold on tight! This ride squashes the person closed to the exit of the ride. Poor Stocks!

I was the one who got squashed on this ride. Thank goodness Megan and Zander don't weigh too much.

I didn't take any pictures of the 5K this year. Probably because I really didn't want any evidence showing I got my worst time ever! Boo-hoo! My knee was killing me. But Niel ran his guts out and took 2nd in his age group. Way to go Niel!

According to the Pleasant Grove Police.... "The Rodeo happens no matter what!"
The weather had been crazy rainy all during the day. But that didn't matter to the folks in the rodeo production. They kept riding and roping.... even in the mud. Even the guys who participated in the Wild Cow Milking didn't let the mud get in their way. These guys were bound and determined to get their cow milked. It was crazy funny! Look how muddy they are!

It stopped raining just as we arrived to watch the Rodeo. It made for a perfect rodeo night!

Gordan and his family came along. They came last year too!!! We love to have people come and "Yee-haw" with us.

Kallie, Garrett, and Zander love the strawberries and cream (me too.... it is my favorite part)!

Niel was WAY excited about his strawberries and cream this year!

Alas, all the fun had to come to an end. Can't wait until next year!! Hope to see you there!