Lake Powell

We got to Powell on Thursday night- I skipped class, 1st time the whole year & so worth it. I love how the lake looks at night, so peaceful.

Clayton got a quick start into the fishing-

Love these smiling faces…

and Jared’s massive grin:

I think Powell brings the smile out of all of us…

When we got to our camping spot Porter was quick to catch a lizard & it provided great entertainment for the kiddos:

Porter had that lizard on his shoulder for so long-see below:

2 Kallie’s……………………………………………………………………Lisa & Grant

Marlee loving on baby Ragean:

When the kids got cold they laid out on the warm rocks. Grant is adorable.

Marlee joined right in with the older girls, she felt so big:)

Lots of swimming went on. Love Laun & Marlee’s face in this pic.

This is one of my fav parts about going to the lake…

Jared with another overly happy face-love it.

Aye there mayte- I love how Lucy looks like a pirate with her hat blowing in the wind.

Gracie has her thumb up in this picture-meaning go faster. She almost always had her thumb up:)

Here is Marlee & Laun with Marlee’s first catch. I think Laun was more happy about her catching a fish than she was- I love his huge, happy grin.

that’s a boat load of kids:

Baby Ragean enjoying the water. ………………………………Marlee with the look of content.

Ryan was showing off his skills that day.

Notice the difference between the girls faces verse Porters. Can we say scared? He got over it though.

I love how happy Clayton & Marlee were.

get ready….

and fly (holy cow Marlee flew-thankfully Laun had a hold of her. The best part-she loved every second.

snuggles

Kami is an amazing boat driver. Wide eyed Ragean.

Boat rides seem to be calming to my children:

I spot mommy (me) & Porter- do you?

Why are scared faces so funny to me?

What does it look like when I attempt to wake board?

Unsuccessful- I never fully got up even though I tried over & over again.

I was still happy because this was my 1st time trying to wake board-at least I tried. Maybe someday I will get mad skills like Laun & get up with ease every time rather than falling face first, maybe:)

There was cliff jumping (I’m personally a wimp when it comes to jumping from high heights, so I just watch & take photos)-here’s Laun (love the shadows):

Marlee & Grandma Lucy as happy as can be with the face in their wind from the fast boat ride:

Porter made Marlee laugh over & over again.

Holy cow- I love Port’s crazy grins:

The others (Ryan & Jared both had boats & we all took turns riding in both):

The boys had so much fun catching fish:

Marlee tried out this cute float:

The girls:

So long Lake Powell…until nest time.

Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day early since we are leaving for Lake Powell this weekend. I was lazy & didn't want to wrap up his gift, so I just shoved it in a suitcase instead.

I got him a new back pack for his lap top (which isn't big enough, so I will go back & get him flip-flops instead). I filled the backpack with some of his favorite treats:
We love you Laun-Happy Father's Day!!!

Clayton’s 1st swim meet

This is my first time to have a child on the swim team & I am so excited! I might be just as excited as Clayton:) This is one of my favorite parts of being a mom-watching my children learn & experience new things. Swim meet only started a week ago & I have already seen Clayton’s skills improving.

This was pretty funny…notice that Clayton has on his goggles, but not over his eyes? When the bell rang for the swimmers to start, Clayton realized his goggles weren’t on, so he hurried & pulled them over his eyes. He got a late start off diving in because of this mishap & the goggles slipped off right away anyways. I was so proud of him though because even when the goggles fell off he just kept on going. He also didn’t get mad about what happened & had such a good attitude. He did pretty well considering & his coach told him that the other swimmers needed a head start:) I like the photo where his coach has her hands by her face, after realizing his goggles weren’t on.

Clayton finished the freestyle race in 34 seconds. I think he will have a great season. Go Clayton!!!

How do you drink a thirstbuster?

These 3 can accomplish anything when they put their heads together...

Mr. K’s BarBQ

Laun & I have decided that when we eat out we want to start going to restaurants we have never been to before. We found this small little bbq place & decided to try it out.

I like this picture outside of the place because Port is loving on Marlee a little too much. Those 2 have been fighting like crazy lately, but it was it is reassuring to know that they still love each other:)

Their food is very authentic & smothered in bbq sauce. I liked their sweet yams the most. And they also have this small Heritage Museum-the kids loved looking at all the super old antiques.

We finished the night out by going to the movie theater-it was a great family night.

swim lessons

One of my favorite parts about summer is swim lessons. This is something I have done with my boys for many summers & this is Marlee’s first time. Marlee & I are in a parent-tot class & she is loving it! Porter is also in swim lessons & Clayton is on the swim team (a first for him).

Clayton snapped some pictures for me:

Marlee with her swim teacher-love Marlee’s grin.

sweet potatoes

One of Laun’s birthday gifts was a potato cooker for the grill. I had never even seen one of these before. All you do is stick 4 potato’s on this rack & set it on the grill. They turned out awesome & it is so easy to cook & cleanup.

Laun’s birthday

I picked up these beauties from Cupcakes-they might look delicious, but they actually weren’t that great unfortunately. I will now be in search of a good cupcake place. I was trying to surprise Laun with these treats when Marlee walked in the front door and yelled, “We got cupcakes!” It was so funny and I guess we can longer try keeping secrets when she’s around.

3 candles on each cupcake = 33 years old

Each of the kids got him a present & Laun let them open them-they were excited:

A bike helmet, a chicken roaster for the grill (you put a can of pop in the center & place a chicken on top), and a potato grilling rack were the gifts the kids go him.

Then I surprised Laun with a date night. We dropped the kids off at a friend's house & headed out to dinner. We went out for Indian food- it was fun because we tried so many new foods. Then we went to Costco and Laun picked out some clothes.

Happy birthday Laun-we love you!!!

good bye's are no fun

We went out to dinner with our friends the Allen's & the Horner's. The Allen's are moving & we will miss them. Between the three of us we have four 2 year olds- that can get rowdy.



Gabe & Marlee were so funny together-they can each hold their own.


Me, Rachel & Carrie
I will miss Rachel so much. She is so fun to hang out with & was a great babysitter for my kids. Our husbands were both in grad school together & we both had 4 children around the same ages, except she had 3 girls & 1 boy. We will miss the Allen's.

dinner on Clayton

We ate some of the fish that Clayton caught & it was so good. I like this new hobby of his.


Marlee told all of us that she caught the fish & it was really bugging Clayton:)

pink lightning

Marlee is the happy owner of her very own bike. When I put it in the shopping cart she was so excited and said, “My bike?” Then as we were checking out she was letting everyone know that it was her bike. She was even more excited when Daddy came home and put it together.

Watch out everybody-here comes Marlee.

The boys and their tricks-

Clayton riding with only one hand and Porter standing up while riding.

 

I love that we live in the center of a cul-de-sac, it is perfect for the kids to ride their bikes.