4th of July

This 4th of July was pretty low key. We spent the afternoon at my parents house like we do almost every Sunday. Sterling and Katie came for the weekend. They are living in the Bay Area for the summer while Sterling is doing an internship at Apple and Katie is working on her thesis and doing research at UC Santa Cruz. It was fun to have them here. The kids LOVE Uncle Sterling!

And of course, Jen and Jeff were there with their family. (They live just down the street from my mom.)

Ashlyn and Brynne

We had dinner and my mom made this yummy and oh so cute treat!I'm loving this cutesy side of her that has been slowly leaking out! My mom is honestly the toughest woman I have ever met. She would have been a great pioneer! She isn't afraid of much and will try just about anything. There isn't much she can't fix and if she can't, it isn't because she didn't try. She is just a get it done kind of person. She loves to backpack and hike and she doesn't need a man to go along to protect her. In fact, when she leaves, I worry that she will get into a physical altercation with the bears out there and I wouldn't be surprised if she won. She once chased a bear about a half mile because it stole her backpack! Seriously. That's just what kind of woman she is.

Before she went to girls camp, I stopped by her house for something and she was making aprons for her certification staff and even ironing on a cute logo! Okay, the the aprons were camouflage and the logo was army print, but still! I love it. Maybe by the end of the summer she will be painting her toenails! :-)

Anyway, back to the 4th...

In the evening, we walked over to Buchanan to watch the fireworks.
I think that Ashlyn is so darn cute!!

My dad, my mom, me, Wes, Sterling and Drew

When I was a kid, we spent every 4th of July in Davis, swimming and barbecuing at my grandparents Country Club. (We just called it "The Club") In the evening, we would go to a huge park in Davis (that I can't remember the name of) to watch the fireworks at night. We would lay on our blankets and "ooh" and "ahh" as the fireworks exploded in the sky.

It just wouldn't feel quite right to sit on bleachers in a stadium to watch 4th of July fireworks. So, we found a perfect spot on the grass to spread out our blankets and watch the fireworks right over our heads!

Sterling and Katie with Brynne and Ashlyn and Drew in the back.

The Bohn's. What a beautiful family!

DaNae and Bill (Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa)

My dad is such a good sport! One of the girls put glow in the dark necklaces on his head. Cute.

See the red tape in background? The fireworks were set up on the other side!

Just look at Ashlyn's long curly hair... Sigh. So sad, but I just might have to cut it all off! She has the craziest knot in her air that I can't get out! I've tried EVERYTHING!!!

We passed the time playing Words with Friends with each other until it got dark. I love that game!

Ashlyn jumped into Jason's lap when the first firework boomed!

About half way through, she ran back to my parents blanket behind us to snuggle in between my mom and dad. She love to watch the fireworks, but the loud noise made her nervous. We missed having the older kids there with us, but it sounds like they had a great time in San Francisco with Travis.

Happy 4th of July!

Lauren's Baptism

Lauren was baptized on July 3rd. She was so excited to be getting baptized on the same day as one of her best friends! Jen took some darling pictures of the two of them together and Janelle put together a cute little invitation for them. I am so lucky to have such talented sisters!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the photo shoot

I love how cute these two girls are together. (I can't believe they are moving next week...)

I think she took around 150 pictures! They were all so cute and I had such a hard time deciding which ones I liked the best. I uploaded more of my favorites to my Picasa album. Which one is your favorite?

Baptism Day

Lauren was beaming when she got to the church. We all wanted to get a picture with her.

Travis baptized her and Travis and Jason and our family and friends confirmed her a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.Abby, Maryn and Lauren

Maryn was so cute and wore her baptism dress so she could get a picture with her friends, all in their baptism dresses.

The boys saw the camera come out and decided it was time to look cool. :-) Garrett, Tyler, Wes, Austin, Zack

I know I should be writing about the baptism, but I can't really think in clear thoughts. Looking at these pictures, my heart is so heavy. The Poulsen's have been so much a part of our lives the last few years and they are moving next week-to South Dakota!! That's not really a quick trip to visit... Okay, the lump is back in my throat so I'll just show you more pictures from the rest of the day.

The kids left shortly after the baptism to go to San Francisco with Travis and his new girlfriend for the 4th of July weekend. The Poulsen's had family in town and Sterling and Katie were here, so we had everyone (friends and family) back to our house for a barbecue and swimming.

Me, Talli's mom, Haley, my mom (DaNae) Jeff and Jason

Ashlyn has been AMAZING with how well she is swimming!

Ashlyn going down the slide all by herself!And off the diving board (Yes, that's me waiting in the water)Ashlyn (my little fish!) and Me

The kids were only out of the pool for a little while to play at the playground and then they were right back in the pool!

Melissa, Clara, Elle and Ashlyn hangin' out pool side

left to right: Jeff, Bill (my dad), DaNae (my mom), Katie, Sterling and Dave

enjoying our friends

Megan, Ashlyn and Brynne

We swam until well after dark. By the time everyone had gone home and we had things all picked up, it was after 11:30pm. We checked on Ashlyn who was sound asleep in bed and snuck off to the hot tub to finish off the night. Another good end to a great day.

So Far This Summer...

We've gone out on the boat with the McCauley's and the Bohn's

Wes, Drew, Garrett and Austin Ashlyn, Jessica, Peyton and MarenLauren and MarenDrew and AustinJasonTara
Austin

We've spent some more time getting the house set up. (More pictures in our Picasa album)

We've played on the slip n' slide from Shaun Austin, Allison and Garrett (and Ashlyn running behind them)
Ashlyn, Jessica and Kylie

Had Grandma and Grandpa over to watch Up and friends over for movie night.

Roasted marshmallows in the fire pit just for fun
Lauren

Ashlyn

We've had friends over for sleepovers

Maren, Ashlyn, Abby and Lauren

We've had the other McCauley's over for family night and a barbecue

TysonMeMargaret Austin Jason and Matt brought over loungers from the pool to enjoy the lesson on.

The boys played a little pool in the game room over the garage.Braiden, Tyson and Austin

We played a "friendly" game of basketball in the pool
Margaret, Tyler, Jason

The little kids had frog races!

Mason, Ashlyn and Kimberlynn

And we had the family over to celebrate Jessica's birthday and spent more time in the pool. (birthday party with friends to come as soon as the work is done on the outbuildings)

Lauren, Jessica and AustinNotice Ashlyn at the bottom of the slide? "I'll catch you daddy!" Summer is in full swing and I'm lovin' it!