Y Mountain

On Monday, Labor Day, we decided to hike Y mountain. As a little girl, this was a tradition in my family. Matt and my kids have never done it so we joined up with my mom and dad, Jessica and Devin, Jessica's mom, sister and brother-in-law and headed up the trail. I thought this would be a good little hike for my boys and it sure was. The twins zoomed up the mountain like it was nothing. They were so excited to get to the Y. Matt (with Aubriella on his back) and my dad got far ahead of us to keep up with the Austin and Bradin who didn't need to rest along the way like the rest of us and were first to make it. Dax and Kota stayed with uncle Devin and made it up next. The rest of us trickled in behind. I think the mountain got a lot steeper than the last time I hiked it! It was a tough hike! The view of the valley was incredible but I have to admit it made me a little nervous with all my little boys sitting on the side of that steep mountain.

Labor Day Weekend

We again spent the weekend down at the property for the weekend. Matt and my dad worked on setting up a swing set that our neighbors gave us. The boys are really excited about this new addition to the property. My mom, Laura, Jessica, and I worked on some curtains for one of the little cabins. Everything is looking so great down there as things are added little by little. The river was down so low that we decided to to float this time but of course it was still fun and relaxing. It is nice that the nights are starting to get a little cooler and we didn't see any mosquitos! Kota was excited to come away with NO bites (or bubbles in his case).

More smiles from my Baby Girl!

Aubriella and Dakota

School Begins!

So, here were at the beginning of another school year! I hope it is okay that I am a little excited. The summer was fun, but I am already enjoying the decrease in volume and energy level during the day. I am definitely enjoying getting back into routines. The boys have been loving school so far and have great teachers! Daxton started Second Grade and his teacher is so darling. This is her first year teaching and her older sister is one of my best friends from high school! How crazy is that! Dakota has been so thrilled to be in Kindergarten. He enjoys every minute of it and has made many new friends. Austin and Bradin started Preschool and the now think they are so old. I can't believe how fast they are growing up. They are even excited about the new job chart I made for them (especially Austin - he is my little cleaner and begs to use the vacuum and when ever I will let him).

I was expecting to be running around to and from the schools all week long but I lucked out and was able to work out a carpool for each of my boys. 3 boys in Daxton's carpool, 5 kindergartners in Dakota's, and 1 friend with the twins. It sounds crazy but this means I only take and pick up once on Monday's and once on Tuesday's. What a lifesaver. I have such great friends and neighbors!

Austin and Bradin on their first day of Preschool

with their friend Rex. How cute is that?

Little Princess with a Big Grin

Aubriella joined my mom and I on a little girls night out shopping trip. I couldn't resist this Disney Princess nightgown!

Ready or Not, Here We Go!

Ok, so I don't know if I am ready for this, but yesterday morning Aubriella rolled over for the first time! It wasn't like she did it once and we had to beg her to do it again. She did it once and she is on a roll! The moment I lay her down on her back, she flips over to her belly and grabs a the carpet like she is wanting to move forward. I think I am in for it! She no longer stays on the blanket I lay out to put her on. Last night I put her down in the middle of the family room and left to help Austin and Bradin get their PJs on. Within about 30 seconds she started screaming so I rushed out to find her clear across the room up on the tile floor. I guess it kind of hurts to role up onto the tile. Well, lets just say that in one day, my life has taken a big turn. So, ready or not, here we go!

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She did it!

4 Months and Loving It!

Aubriella is just loving her world. She loves chewing on her toes, her blankets, and anything else she can get her little hands on. She is almost always smiling and we love to hear her giggles. She is so strong and really likes to stand on her feet. Aubriella loves her Bumbo chair because she can see what is going on around her; we even put her in the middle of the table for our centerpiece as we eat dinner as a family. She really likes that and her brothers all fight over who gets to have her face them.

She also loves watching her crazy brothers and is interested in what they are doing. Matt said I better hurry up and buy her a "Barbie" or something before she gets to used to the "boy dolls."

As you can see, she loves being with her mom and

watching me play on my favorite toy.

24th of July Weekend

After Matt got off work on Thursday, we packed up and headed down to the property again. Matt's parents, Ashley, and Tyler arrived shortly after us and the weekend began. It was very hot that first night in our cabin and I listened to my boys roll around bugging each other and complaining that they we hot and thirsty until midnight. But they next morning they were ready to have some fun.

It is so nice to have the big lodge down there to get out of the heat. We did a lot of relaxing, riding four-wheelers, and the kids played games and read books. My parents and my grandpa came down Friday morning and played with us. My dad took the twins on a really long canoe ride up the river and when they got back we all grabbed some tubes and floated the river. Aubriella didn't seem to mind the life jacket but hated the cold water. I held her on my lap and she feel asleep within minutes. It was such a peaceful float. Daxton is the only one of the boys who would float away from his tube with just his life-jacket. We need to get them in the water more so they are not so scared of it. Dakota held on to Matt for dear life when he tried to get him to float on his own. We had a wonderful dutch oven dinner and then set up a movie in the lodge with the projector, Matt's iPod, and a big white wall. We spread the mats out, watched "Bedtime Stories" and had a big slumber party in the lodge. It was sure a lot cooler that night. Thank goodness!

On Saturday Aaron, Bonnie, and their kids joined us. After floating the river again, we took turns riding the wave runners up and down the river. What a blast. The kids loved it! We will definitely have to do that again!

Here are just a few pictures I took over the weekend:

Open House for the Newly Weds

On July 10th we had an open house for Barrett and Brooke. It was a Hawaiian style party (luau) and we had a wonderful time. Lots of family and close friends came to visit and eat some really good food. Here are just a few snapshots of the fun!

4th of July Fun

The four boys continued tradition by sleeping over at Grandpa and Grandma's house the night before the 4th of July. They sleep outside in a tent and had a great time. Matt, I, and Aubriella joined them around noon on the 4th for the annual BBQ. Randy and Carol were there with all their kids. It was so fun to see them all. After the BBQ there were water balloon, water volleyball, homemade ice cream, and lots of other fun and activity. I love these get togethers!

Austin, Dakota, Daxton, Porter, and Bradin ready for a water fight!

Proud Daddies! Matt and Aubriella - Chris and Peyton

Aubriella and Peyton -

Aren't they so cute! Abriella is about a month older.

That night we lit fireworks in front of our house. Uncle Brandon joined us while Sabina attended the Stadium of Fire with her family. The boys always love the fire!

It's Growing!!!

Our garden is growing great! We are so excited and have been enjoying the leaf lettuce, spinach, broccoli, basil, chives, and cilantro. Everything else is still growing and we can't wait to try it all. I am mostly excited that most of the raspberry starts have taken and maybe next year we will get some berries!

While Parents are Away, the Children will Play!

While we were in Hawaii, Jess and Hayden stayed at our house to watch our boys. They sure had fun so I wanted to share some pictures Jess gave me of some of the fun they had while we were away. Thanks so much Jess and Hayden! We couldn't have gone without you!

The Big Island of Hawaii

I can't believe it has already come and gone. We had such a great time on the Big Island of Hawaii and Barrett and Brooke's wedding was wonderful.  It was really nice and relaxing with just our little crowd.  Brooke's parents, two brother's and her sister in-law were there along with Matt and I, my parents, Dallin, and my Grandparents (It was so special to have Grandpa there to seal them in the Kona Hawaii Temple.) The small temple was so beautiful and it is always an amazing experience to witness a sealing in the House of the Lord. Barrett and Brooke looked so happy. They were sealed around 11:00 AM and after taking pictures outside of the temple, we headed over to a nearby beach to take some more. The setting was beautiful. We then headed down to the pier in Kona to grab a bite to eat and brows through a few shops. They had just a few hours before hopping on a plane to Maui for their honeymoon.  We had arrived in Hawaii on Wednesday the 24th, the wedding was on Saturday, and we stayed until the next Wednesday to do a little more exploring of the Big Island.  

Here are some of the pictures from their wedding day...

Hawaii Adventures

There were so many things to see and do on the Big Island.  We stayed in the Fairway Villas at the Waikoloa Beach Resort.  We started our vacation by sleeping in our clothes and chewing gum in the morning because our luggage did not arrive when we did around 11:00 PM.  It finally arrived in the Kona airport around 2:30 in the afternoon the next day.  After doing some grocery shopping and we stopped by a beach near our condo to relax and do a little snorkeling. That night we had a big BBQ down by the pool with Brooke's family. On Thursday we set off toward Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  On the way we stopped by the black sand beach that was so amazing!  It took about 3 hours to get to the volcano were we hiked through lava tubes, watched the smoke at the crater and hiked through a lava field to view the lava flowing into the ocean.  We hiked this as the sun set so we could see the steam glow and had to use flashlights to make our way back to the car.  We could also see some lava flow off in the distance up on the mountain.  (Matt was a little disappointed that we were not close enough to throw a stick in the lava.)  We continued a complete circle around the island by heading back through Hilo.  It was a late night but we sure experienced a lot.

- The Black  Sand Beach and Turtles- 

- Lava Tubes and the Crater -

- Lava field hike to the ocean's edge and the glowing steam -

The next day was the wedding. What a great day. Then, on Sunday we found a ward in Waimea to attend and then took a drive across the north side of the island to see some sights. It was beautiful. We stopped off at the Botanical Gardens which was one of my favorite adventures and I got some amazing pictures. For the next three days we visited more beaches, snorkeled, found lots a sea turtles, ate lots of chocolate covered macadamia nuts, shopped, tried a few recommended eating joints, attended a Luau, did some more BBQs, and tried some new foods (shark, swordfish, spam and eggs, dragon fruit and lychee). Aubriella was so fun to have with us.  She was the subject of most of our photos and she sure got a lot of attention. (Boy is she spoiled!)    

- Aubriella playing at the beach with Daddy -

Is that a Giggle?

Aubriella has been smiling like crazy.  It is so cute.  Each morning when I get her out of bed she just smiles and smiles.  I think she is really enjoying all the sleep she is getting at night.  She sleeps from about 10:00 PM to about 8:30 AM.  It has been heavenly!  

She is really close to being able to giggle.  Matt is so cute with her and she grins at her daddy a lot.  This is a clip of him playing with her and almost getting a few giggles.  Enjoy!

Bradin's Song

Austin's Song

Aubriella

I was in the mood again to play around with my camera.  Aubriella was looking at me like "mom, what are you doing?"  Well, I thought she still looked cute so I had to share.