Powell 2013

We had a very relaxing trip to Lake Powell this year. I kept waiting for something crazy to happen, but the worst we had was a couple of wind gusts which we handled pretty well. 

I did lots of laying around, sitting on the beach, reading and playing games.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves :)

Hubby wanted to try out paddle boarding so he rented one from campus.  It was fun for everyone to use.

Our little beach babe.  It made me a little sad that we don't live by the ocean.  She had so much fun; I hated to have to leave.

Good Hope Bay

Hubby had some good fishing!  He caught a bunch of stripers and we brought a cooler of fillets home.

Hubby and his little helper catching the fish pictured below.

How many cousins can you fit on a paddle board?  At least three!

I asked brother to take some picture for me since I didn't ride in the speed boat this year.  Brother rode in the tube a lot, but I don't have any pictures of that on my camera.

Brother is 7!

We celebrated his birthday in a few segments. This was on his actual birthday. Aunt M made him a cake and we opened presents from grandma and Aunt A.

He really wanted to have a friend birthday party.  This is not something that comes naturally to me so I took advantage of the fact that it was summer.  He chose a lego theme.

We played pin the face on the lego man.  Had to put my drawing skills to the test....

They did a scavenger hunt for lego men and when they brought them back to me they got a bag of "lego man poop"  :)

Opening presents, during which it started to rain (didn't hardly rain all month, but it did during the party).

We moved cake and ice cream inside and packed lots of kids on our new fancy smancy benches.  Aunt J helped with the cake, thanks!

Then we moved the fun outside where it had stopped raining so we could play in the water :P

One of the things I continue to be very grateful for is having family close by.  This bunch of cars is a common sight :)

The timing worked out perfectly that some of our favorite people could come visit that weekend.  Uncle J had lots of fun with the kids!

Brother is a cute boy (but I am only slightly biased).  He has his issues just like every person and child.  He is very bright and has started coming out of his shell a bit more.  The older he gets the more I am convinced that I just need to aim him in the right direction and stay out of the way to not mess him up to much.

South Dakota 2013

We made the long drive up to South Dakota and had a fun time, other than the car malfunction on the way home.  Thankfully a good samaritan stopped so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Hubby's newest skill is balloon making.  This is a princess for sister.

 Sparkler fun

 Mt Rushmore

 We had a minor tantrum because she needed to have a jacket tied around her waist like mommy.

 It rained a fair bit, which was a nice break from the heat we have been experiencing at home.  

She had fun playing in the rain.

Having so much fun is hard work!

We went swimming before we went to see fireworks and they had lots of fun!

Phew, I think we are mostly caught up.  Now I just need to get brother's birthday pictures off the camera... hopefully it won't take months.

Sealing

My baby brother, his wife and baby were sealed the end of June.  It was a beautiful ceremony.  Braxton was seriously an angel baby during the ceremony!

 With all his nieces and nephews (the sun was really bright!)