Grandma Video...hope it works!

This is our reminder for our Grandma Sweets of how much fun Gabe had with her and how much he...and all of us miss her!!!

My Favorite Little Brother

Keegan has been so fun to spend time with. Gabe loved the skyrise view of the hills too!



Grandma Blake and Keegan stayed up with us and stared at the fire with us late into the night. It was pretty relaxing once the kids fell asleep

Dedicated to Grandma Sweets

Kiah was so worried about it biting her. It is a really cute video if you can hear her over Gabe's squeals. We really love and miss you Grandma Sweets and Grandpa Guy.

Smores in the Evening

Daddy headed up stream with Aunt Randi and Keegan to catch some big fish while Grandma and I stayed behind. The girls ate their dutch oven stew and then started smores. Poor Kiah ate so much that she threw up all over our new air mattress. I guess that is one of the joys of camping.


This is Makiah's first time in jeans. We could not find any for Kenda before we left. It is one of those things we are going to have to invest in if we are going to take them again. The western shirts were mine from when I was a kid. I had them in the dress up bin and they had been using them for cowboy costumes. When we decided to go camping, Grandma suggested we pull them out for a more practical use. They worked great!


The girls had so much fun playing in the tent before bed. Even Gabe joined in when he realized how bouncy the air mattresses were.

Gabe's first camping experience

I took him fishing with me as he refused to take a nap in the tent. He made it about 15 minutes and then fell asleep in his pack.



He had a fun time playing in the tall grass and learning all the fun things about the mountains. He also came home with a tick in the back of his head. Louis got it out with a pair of tweezers.

Sunsets are great in the mountains. This was our view from our camp site

Just as he did not like napping in the tent, he also did not like going to sleep at night in the tent. This is 10 pm and he is watching the fire instead of sleeping.

Fishing at Miners Creek

Last night we took the kids camping for the first time. Grandma Blake took them to the stream and helped them each learn to fish. Makiah caught her fish within the first 5 minutes. Kenda caught a few but they jumped off the line before she could get them out and onto the ground.

Family Home Evening

For Family Home Evening, we headed to the Idaho Falls Temple. We went to the visitor center and walked around looking at the beautiful flowers. Afterwards, we took the girls to feed the geese across the river. We went through a loaf of bread before we were all too cold to do anything else.



These are the water falls near the temple that Idaho Falls is known for.

A Cold Father's Day

We planned a BBQ for Father's Day complete with salmon, steak, and Hot Fudge Sundae Cake with vanilla bean ice cream. About 5 min after Louis and Keegan took the steaks outside, a sudden hail storm set in and within minutes, the ground was covered with hail. The girls had never seen that before and wanted to throw snow balls at everyone. It was freezing cold out and they were running around the deck in bare feet through the slush. We had a wonderful Father's Day and I think Louis enjoyed the break from work.

Summer Fun Begins

The kids played in the pool out back with their cousin Hayley on a hot day. Gabe loved the grass, but especially playing naked in a pool of water. It was a glorified bath for him....much bigger than the sink he has been used to for bath time.

The girls would not give up their seat in the stroller when we went to the beach in San Clemente so we loaded Gabe up on Kenda's lap.


Not quite the calm, warm water we were used to, but fun just the same. The girls froze as they jumped the waves with Daddy. I really think there was frost on the water but no one would believe me.

Photogenic Little Girl

Kiah fell asleep on the couch yesterday during a movie. I took a few pictures and they turned out great! She has had such a long week getting adjusted from our California trip and then playing hard with cousins. Hopefully she gets back on schedule soon, though I rather like the additional naps and the things I get to get caught up on. If only I could get Gabe on the same schedule as she is on.

Princess Painting

The girls were so excited to get their faces painted and to sit in the princess makeup chairs. They looked cute and it lasted until Splash Mountain, when their faces got a bit wet.

Disneyland

Well, after 900 miles of driving, we made it to San Clemente CA for a family reunion. We decided we had better take the girls to Disneyland while we were that close. Grandma Blake watched Gabe and we took Uncle Keegan with us for a fun day. Aunt Randi and her fiance Uncle Phil joined us. Of course the favorite experience was the castle wtih the princesses. We bought princess hats at the entry of Fantasyland and went in to find us a princess. There was a 2 hour wait to see them and they could only guarantee that there were 3 princesses at a time but not which ones.

Daddy, Keegan and the girls wait in the line at one of the rides.

Kiah fell asleep on Daddy's shoulders waiting in the line for the princesses.

Finally, after 2 hours, we walked into the "enchanted forrest" and met Snow White, Pocahontis, and Arial. It took about 4 minutes to meet them, pose for a shot and exit the area where they were. The girls loved it and Louis and I thought it was a complete waste of time and definately not worth a 2 hour wait!!

Hard Earned Money

After several months of chores and special cleaning assignments, Kenda and Makiah finally saved up enough money for their much-anticipated bikes. Right after we got to Idaho Falls, we headed to Walmart to pick the perfect bike. After some deliberation, Kenda chose a Misty bike that was perfect in size and Makiah ended up with a Barbie bike that even has an attachable plastic bike for her Barbie doll to ride along on. Kiah is also sporting a Dora helmet. It is amazing how quickly commercialization fits back into life. All of a sudden we are surrounded by Hannah Montana, Dora, Barbie, Elmo etc. That is one thing that Louis and I will miss about the island!

New Experiences

The girls and Gabe crash after a long day with cousins

This is Makiah in a fairy outfit holding a worm...typical Kiah



This is Gabe's first experience with grass.


What a beautiful girl Kenda is becoming!