back to school...

Off to first grade!!!

Last week of summer:(

Wow we are going to miss this girl when she is at school all day!Ward camp out! mommy stayed home with James after our Jackson Hole adventure:) My long time, life long honeys. GNO at Cheesecake factory.

Jackson Hole/ Yellowstone

Our family trip this summer was with cousins, cousins and more cousins as we gathered together for a family reunion with the Sloans, Ayres and Frei families. This reunion was very outdoorsy and so scenic. The kids loved getting down in the dirt, seeing wildlife, chasing squirls, having campfires, running mad with their endless cousins, staying up way too late, swimming in the lake, hikes and just being out in nature. I tried to smile through it all while keeping mosquitoes off James, sunscreen on James, keeping James from crawling in the dirt, waking up several times in the middle of the night, pushing his stroller over dirt paths and over boulders, etc. Needless to say it was kindof a hard trip for a baby:) However, it was SO fun to see all of our cousins from back east...some who drove for 2 days to join us. Ya gotta love all the "reunion games", meals and activities that kept us very entertained and never missing a beat.

Here is a picture of us carivaning through Yellowstone. No bear sightings this trip, but we did see some moose, bison and dear and breathtaking views of the Teton Mountains.

Good Old Faithful... kids loved the explosion!

Halle and cousin Owen with their missing front teeth
Aunt Allie and James

Yes we were roughing it...no heated public pools for swimming

Nothing can quite compare to the Yellowstone geysers Attempting to skip rocks. Uncle Dan was the best by far...

Jackson lake Lodge The whole gang

Pancake breakfast in a teepee, a highlight of the trip

Another highlight of the trip...adult time on the Snake river. Such an adventure...however I must say that in my old age I have become a wimp!!! I held on to Amanda and Nick (who is 10) for dear life and screamed the entire time.

Today's Paycheck

a little glimpse of summer

Is it really July??? Wow how the summer flies when your a kid and when your a mommy! We have kept our days busy with morning cartoons, staying cool, lots and lots of popsicles, hunting down lemonade stands, swim and tennis lessons, weekend getaways, running around the neighborhood with friends, eating junk food, doing yard work, boredom and laziness, trips to the library and making family memories.

our first swim of the season in St George over Memorial Day weekendWalking the Farmington trail with our cousins, Brady and Olivia and Aunt Christina,

Aunt Nicole and Grandma Noakes 4th of July

Our BFFs, Parke and Preslee BlaserJames, moving all around and SO close to crawling

{cousins}

James is 7 months old. He is cuddly, smooshy, soft, yummy, slobbery, happy, calm and perfect. Can't they stay like this forever? He has recently learned how to sit up and is getting his first tooth. He loves to laugh and loves his big sis and bro. He loves to be naked and gets so excited for his baths. He is starting to get in a bunch of blond fuzzy hair and also has amazing eyelashes like Cohen (why my boys to get the good lashes?) Needless to say we luv him!