Cabin Vacation

I remember spending a full week up at the cabin as a teenager & I've been wanting to do it again ever since so this year we did just that!

We started the 1st weekend off with our friends, the Durtchis. Their boys loved the jetski & did mostly that the whole time!

 We tried to get out & walk around the island every morning.

 And we played on the lake non stop!

 Tommy is quite proud of his new swimming skill & exhausted himself showing it off!

 We paddles across the lake a few times for an "adventure" & would hike around once we got across.

 Whitney finally dared ride the tube by herself. She is always the dare devil in our family!

 Tommy did not want to be out done so he tried it & I'm so glad he did because he loved it too.

 Tucker tried it out with Tommy instead of Vic or I...

 ... and then did it all by himself!  He is a daredevil too!

 This is Matt, Vic's best friend he made while we were in England.  They hopped across the pond for a visit.  We were so happy to see them, it has been years!

 My mom insisted we take the kids up to see her nature lodge where she teaches the boy scouts all summer. She had lots of animal parts to show us.

 Tommy has been so proud of building our fires.  They are usually quite large at first as you can see!

 s'mores!

 We took our friends to tour the bottom loop of Yellowstone. This is our only picture with all 10 of us in it!

 Tommy insisted on climbing anything he could.

 This was a new one we haven't seen go off before. Castle Geyser, I think.

 Old Faithful

 While waiting for Old Faithful to go off the kids got to earn a junior ranger badge by passing off 10 tests.

 I loved the layers of clay by the lake.

 Our most exciting thing of the day was seeing a bear right by the mud pots!  I've never been this close to a wild bear!! Normally you have to look through binoculars.

 Right after we got past the bear traffic jam we had another visitor come say hello!  It was an exciting 20 minutes!

 We also viewed the Grand Canyon from a different side this time so that was nice!

After our friends left we spent a few more days relaxing on the lake. Our week flew by!

July Happenings

July was crazy busy for us!  I hate having it so packed, but I also want to make the most of the best month of the year!  The kids did the summer reading program at the library & earned treats around town.

 We visited the zoo 1-2 times each month during the summer.

 The kids are obsessed with this egg. They beg to go play on it right when we get to the zoo so it is how I bribe them to walk & be good... it is the prize at the end!

 They love the rides right next to the zoo even though they are pretty sad!

 The kids, especially Whitney, could hardly wait for the Minions movie to come out.  They loved Despicable Me 1 & 2. Now they want to be them for Halloween as well which I think is perfect because there is 3 main ones & I have 3 kids!

 Tommy got to bring a few friends along too.

 I was a bit pessimistic about growing a garden, but Vic did a great job & the kids loved it.  We had a really good patch of raspberries & strawberries all summer long for them to pick.

 We went to Rigby Lake a few times.  The kids love it. They could spend all day there.

Vic got a Brave trip for his birthday so he went to Denver with his mission buddy Brytton, Jesse, & Mom & Dad. They went to 3 games in a row. He, of course, loved it!

 We went to my cousin Meg's wedding.  Everything was beautiful & tasty. We had a fun day, but I didn't take enough pictures ;/

 We had my Aunt Jill & all 3 of her kids come over for a BBQ & games. I was tickled pink. I LOVE this family & had so much fun! (sadly they are all the cousins that live the farthest away)

Mix this all in with going to the cabin every weekend & for a week vacation... and we were BUSY!

4th of July weekend

Before we went up to the cabin we did a few fireworks at home.

 ...and then at the cabin.

 Vic of course wanted to be pulled around on water skis & the knee board until after the sun went down.

 HAPPY 4th! Here is our family all decked out to be in the parade.

 Our parade truck & bikes.

 Whitney didn't last very long, but Tommy did the whole parade & got lots of compliments on how cute & little he was.  Also, people kept shouting good job for making it the full 3 1/2 miles.  He was quite proud. :)

 Afterwards they sat by the side & got some of their own candy.  There was way too much. People were just leaving it on the road & not picking it up! Here they are with their cousins Will & Sam.

 After the parade we swam in the lake. We bought a big raft this year & it has a little kiddie pool in the middle that the kids loved jumping into.

 We met up with some neighbors & they pulled Vic behind their boat so he got to wake board. He loved that.

 We played a few games on the deck & then did a pot luck dinner BBQ with a bunch of people from the island.

 After dinner there was a boat parade. The kids liked this minion one the best.  All the girls were dancing to one of the songs from the movie.

 Here is our group watching the fireworks: Mom & Mark, Abby (behind the orange ball), Great Grandma, & Amber's family. We had a full house!

The fireworks had a great back ground with the mountains back there.

 ...and I loved the rainbows of colors it put on the lake!