BYU

We love spending a day in Provo and going to BYU. We started out by taking the kids on a little hike up Rock Canyon, then meeting Barry, Krissie and Lucy for a picnic in the park. This time our trip included a trip to the Special Collections (thanks to Nate's sister Emily) to see some really cool and really old stuff. Like manuscripts of the Book of Mormon! That was my favorite. Then Emily showed us her fancy office. We also went bowling, of course, what is a trip to BYU without bowling at the Wilk? We had dinner at the Pizza Factory (delish!) and then stopped by to see Emily and Tyler's cute house. They are a cute newly wed couple and their house is just as cute. They are so creative and Tyler has a set of drums which he let my kids play! That stressed me out, because I just knew any minute one of them was going to go all animal on us and kick through one of the drums, but my kids LOVED it. And on the way home when I asked Olivia her favorite part of this full day? Riding in the elevator. Keep it simple.

Camping in Logan

My kids enjoy camping and keep asking us when we are going again. Mostly this is Owen asking us. Olivia could probably take it or leave it. Since camping in Georgia is quite sticky with humidity and buggy (yuck!) I was grateful to have an opportunity to camp in Utah. Becky, Nate's sister, and road trip/camping/house remodeling/play house building genius that she is, she whipped us all into shape and got a camp site and organized a delicious menu. It was amazing and from my perspective it looked like she did it all in about an hour. Becky needs to write a book, but like all good mothers of four children, she is too busy to have time. Our loss! Our day actually started out with the 24th of July parade in Logan, which is why there are sparklers in the pictures below. It was a great way to celebrate pioneers...sleep like one! :)

This picture was taken by Owen, while we were camping in Logan. Apparently if you jump around with the camera just so, you get a fun image. I like how it turned out. See more of his technique below. :)

The Cabin

No trip to Utah is complete without a visit to the family cabin. We were able to go twice while we were there. We went with Nate's immediate family the second time and it was fun to see the kids run around and explore outside. It is beautiful up there and the air actually smells wonderful. Like pine trees. We slept with the windows open at night and it was wonderful!  I miss it already. We played games, watched movies, went for walks and played tennis. A good time was had by all!

Princess Party

Olivia has a cousin, Ella, who is close to her age. It was fun to watch the two of them play together. They both love princesses and Aunt Sammy, Ella's mom, had a little princess tea for them at their house one day. The girls had fun dressing up, eating cupcakes and playing. We had fun relaxing and chatting while the princesses played. It was a perfect afternoon.

Lake Mary at Brighton

Nana took us up to Brighton to hike up to Lake Mary. It was a beautiful hike and a beautiful lake! The kids did great and it was nice and cool up the canyon. And yes, Olivia is hiking in a tutu. That's how she rolls.

They love to see the Temple

We spent one Sunday morning walking around Temple Square. It was a fun way to spend the morning when church doesn't start until 1pm. We walked through the visitor's centers, watched about 20 minutes of the Joseph Smith movie (we got a little bit rowdy and had to leave), went in the tabernacle and the conference center and just enjoyed the beauty of it all. We love to see the temple!

Thanksgiving Point

In all of our years of coming and going and living and visiting in Utah, we have NEVER been to Thanksgiving Point. Ever. So this time we decided to put an end to that and when Sarah invited us to tag along for a few summer play dates, we happily said yes! And we are so glad we did. It was so cute and fun. First we went to the Children's Garden and this was my personal favorite. There is a Noah's Ark splash area, mini Timp caves to explore, a little river to float discs down, a pond with fish to feed, a play house, a jungle gym...endless fun. The kids loved the water and I loved catching up with Sarah and Kelsey, all while trying to wrangle our collective 6 kids... we had a great time!

The second trip was to the farm, which was also very fun. The kids had a PONY RIDE! Which was, of course, the highlight!

Richards Reunion

Nate's mom has 5 wonderful sisters and they had a reunion with all the kids and grandkids again this year. Jill was in charge of the fun this time and we had a lot of fun helping her. The reunion was at a park up in Wood's Cross, Utah and there were many fun games. We were able to practice all these games one night in the back yard and it was fun! I snapped a few pictures from the back yard and some from the reunion as well. It is always so fun to catch up with everyone, we miss them so!