Andy's Birthday

Time for another fun summer birthday party.  It was Andy's 6th birthday and the kids got to play some fun games and play in the pool.  Holly is a fantastic host and always makes things fun for the kids.  Here they are setting up for a hula hoop game.

Good throw, Karlee!  Each balloon had a number value.  The kids threw the hula hoops to try to get the most points.

Abbs hanging out in the pool

Kayci getting ready to jump in

Karlee taking a spin on her tube

Holly and I bought these great umbrellas to have for the yard or at the beach.  Jake hung out in the shade and ate cookies most of the time.

It was my job to keep the babies happy.  Here's me and Livie just relaxing.

Camping at Palisades

Kayci, Andy, Abby, and Karlee posing in front of the stream at our camp

The girls had fun wading in the stream, looking for cool rocks for their rock necklaces.

Karlee rolling up her shorts so she can go in a little deeper

Kayci's all smiles while she's wading until . . . .

She loses her footing and goes under!

Lexie's taking a little nap while the kids played

Jake could have played in the stream all day

Kayci, Taryn, Trey, Abby, Karlee, Andy, and Jake enjoying the water and the beach at Palisades Resevoir

Jake loved playing in the sand and crushing everyone else's creations

Jared brought his fishing gear for the kids which they love.  He is always so patient with them.  Thanks, Jared!

Sorry, Abbs.  No fish this time!

We have been looking forward to this summer and getting to use our camper, A LOT!  Well, at least as much as possible.  My mom and Don also got a camper so the weekend of July 17th we decided they needed to break it in before taking it to Bear Lake for our family reunion.  Holly and Jared, us, my mom, and Brittany and her crew all went up to Palisades overnight and had a blast.  We found a great spot to camp with a little stream and only a few tired boy scouts nearby (Layne really prefers not to camp in a busy, crazy campground, so this was right up his alley).  The kids played in the stream and rode their bikes and most of all looked forward to a campfire that night.  The next day we all went down to the beach and played in the water and sand.  Jared even set up the fishing poles for the kids to try to fish.  They didn't have any luck this time, but they sure love trying.  It was a quick trip, but so much fun to be with family and just get away from the responsibilities of home!