Celebrating July Fourth

I love the 4th of July. We had a great time celebrating. We started our weekend by heading to West Yellowstone to see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." It was fabulous.

Friday night the adults went to the temple and then back to Natalie's for pizza and root beer floats.
Saturday was the parade. It was freezing - I guess that is how Idaho weather is. The parade was pretty uneventful this year. The only highlight was watching Haylie with the drill team.

After lunch we headed out for some fun - go carts, rock climbing and bounce houses. Everyone had a great time.

McKell

Braxton

Derek

McKell

Braxton

Then off to the fireworks. We found a great place to sit - we could see, smell, hear and feel the fireworks as they went off.
Our weekend ended with an extended family reunion. It was great catching up with cousins I haven't seen in a while. McKell got to run the pop toss and help with the raffle.


I love being a part of this wonderful family.

Summer Bucket List

McKell is a list maker (she takes after me.) I told her to write a few things down that she wanted to do this summer. So here it is - AND we have already done some of them.

Things to do in the

SUMMER!!!!!!

1. Try sub zero ice cream - DONE 06/18/10

2. Visit Discovery Gateway Kids - DONE 07/13/10

3. Jackson Hole swimming pool - DONE 08/06/10

4. Have ice cream at Arctic Circle - DONE 06/14/10

5. Go to Hogle Zoo - DONE 07/14/10

6. American Girl Doll store

7. Go to the school library - DONE June-July:-)

8. See Toy Story 3 - DONE 06/18/10

9. See Karate Kid - DONE 07/16/10

10. Go to the drive in movie - DONE 08/07/10

11. Go to the Playmill - DONE 07/01/10

12. Go to Ross Park - DONE 06/24/10

13. Go to the Rock Haus

14. Go to Bear Lake

15. Go to Summerfest - DONE 06/17/10

16. Shop at Gateway - DONE 07/13/10

17. Ride bikes to Aggie Ice Cream - DONE 06/30/10

18. Swim at Cowabunga Bay - DONE 06/29/10

Ross Park

We had such a fun day yesterday meeting my sisters and lots of cousins at Ross Park. It is probably about half-way between my house and all of theirs. Adults, big kids, medium-sized kids, little kids, and babies all had a great time.

Dance, Dance, Dance

We just finished up the end of dance this year. As always, it was 3 nights of recitals. The first 2 nights are the same show and this year it was, "The Greatest Show on Earth."

This cute (and crazy) dancer got to be a clown and was great. It was a really cute circus-themed night.She loved all the clown makeup and the big star around her left eye. The last night is a completely different show and showcases all the competitive numbers of the studio. It really is a fabulous night of dance. Grandma, Tasha, Payton, Halle, Lauren and Allison all joined us to watch McKell. (Thanks, it means so much.)

McKell was in 3 competitive dances this year.

"Rockin' Robin" - Here she is with Meg before the show.

"Move, Shake, Drop"

And "Party Time" - Here she is in action on the front right doing a toe touch.

Fun times, I love watching this little dancer!

Young Men's Trip to Idaho

Last week I took some of the boys from our Young Mens to Idaho for little trip.

Monday we drove to Rexburg and cleaned out a shed (a whole dump truck of junk) for a lady in my parents ward. It was great to have my Dad there and the boys really did a good job. After we went to the sand hills and had a great time.

A friend of our family growing up came and scared us to death on his dune buggy. I think I found what I want for Father's Day.

We were supposed to climb Table Rock on Tuesday but we found out Tuesday morning at 8 AM that the trail was closed due to snow and mud - suddenly my plans were out the window. We improvised with a visit to the Craters of the Moon Park. We explored the lava tube caves and enjoyed the 'beautiful' scenery.

After we toured a decommissioned nuclear power plant by the Idaho National Laboratory. We spent the evening having a barbecue, making smores, and watching a movie.

Wednesday morning we had a big breakfast and then had a devotional at the temple. My brother-in-law, Greg, joined us - we talked to the boys about missions and saw some pictures taken by the Hubble telescope on display at the Idaho Falls visitor center.

Most young mens groups would have called this their summer high adventure - but since we slept in beds, hiked on paved trails, watched movies, and had Jen make and clean up our meals, I hesitate - but we sure had a great time.

School Is Out

Finally, school is over. The last few weeks seemed to drag on.

McKell got this bucket full of bubblegum from her teacher. She was the only person in her class that turned in all 100 + homework assignments and got 100% on all of them. She is a great student.

She had such fun on the last day of 4th grade. Our school had an "UP" day where they gave the kids a card with their new teacher on it and they were able to go and meet and talk with their teacher for next year. McKell was very excited because she got the teacher she wanted (pictured above.) Braxton had this teacher and still says she is his favorite. Honestly, she is fabulous.

I just love this group of girls. They had a blast on the last day of school - running through the sprinkler with the principal, dancing, and of course, posing for pictures.


When the final bell rang the whole class ran to say one last goodbye to their teacher. I'm so glad I had my camera and got this shot. When I asked McKell what she will miss most about 4th grade she said her teacher and math. It was a great year. I can't believe she only has one more year of elementary school and then off to middle school.

Memorial Day

We always go the same places and do the same things on Memorial Day, but it is always an enjoyable time.

We visited the cemetery.

We watched the Veterans do the flag ceremony.

The little kids played.



And so did the big kids.

These guys waited patiently while we cooked breakfast.

We ate a yummy breakfast.

It was a great weekend. I love that my family has traditions that we look forward to year after year. Can't wait until next year.