Summer Family Vacation

To warn you now, this post has a ton of pictures in it so be prepared. Around the middle of July we were invited to go on a little hunting trip with some good friends of ours. The boys hunted coyotes and us girls had fun hanging out around the time share. We were there for 4 days and it was fantastic to say the least. All of us had a great time and it was nice to be able to get away and do something fun. The guys would head out early each morning and hunt pretty much the whole day and they were quite successful as well which you'll see at the end of this post. Us girls had fun walking to the pond,

playing on the playground,

exploring,

swimming, swimming, and more swimming,

and just having fun.

We were able to see some horses while we were there and the girls couldn't have been happier,

Jacob also took the girls fishing one night.

This guy had a blast hunting and was beyond excited because he got three coyotes during the trip.

Overall we had a blast and felt so grateful our friends invited us and our energetic kids to come with them.

Swim Lessons

So where has the time gone?! Savannah will be 5 in September which I can't even believe, she has also grown up quite a bit over the last few months. She's such a little lady it just blows my mind sometimes. It also doesn't help that on Monday she started swim lessons, to say she was excited is quite an understatement! She woke up at 6:30 put on her swimsuit and told me she couldn't wait till it was time to get in the car. The poor thing had to wait till 10 for us to leave since her lessons don't start till 10:30. So far her lessons are going pretty good, she's happy with her progress and she's proud of herself. I've noticed that she's actually quite timid in class and I think she's a tad nervous, we'll see how she progresses over the 2 week session, she just might have to do one more session. It is so fun though to see how proud she is of her accomplishments and she really does have so much fun.

The Baker's

So this past week we were super lucky to have our good friends the Baker's come down for a visit. We've been friends for 3 years now I think and I couldn't ask for a better friend. Her kids are adorable and get along great with mine so its a perfect combination really. We were too busy having so much fun that I didn't get a lot of pictures taken during their visit but these ones of our squirt gun time are priceless.

(Poor Olivia was not a fan of how cold the water was when we first started.)

(Oren was content to stay on the porch with Olivia, also that nice scratch on his face happened the second day they were here. Poor thing ran into the corner of a door.)

(This picture cracks me up and is perfect for Donaven, he is hilarious!)

(So Savannah.)

(All done and time to dry off.)

Savannah cried on and off all day yesterday saying how much she missed Donaven, JaNeil, and baby Oren. I don't know when we'll get to see them again but I hope it isn't too long before our next visit cause we sure do love this family!

Family Time

So the first weekend of the month we made a quick trip down to Jacob's brothers. We always have a blast when we go visit and we've really enjoyed getting to know Jeff and Anne and their kids better. I also love watching all the kids play together, they typically play really well together which just makes me so happy.When we were visiting the temperature was around 108 so we definitely had some outdoor time of playing in the kid pool and making sand castles.

(Savannah and Kellan taking a time out to play in the shade.)

(My adorable niece.)

(Mia trying to be patient with Savannah as they built a sand city.)

Sprinklers

What happens when dad works on the sprinklers?The girls run inside to put on their swimsuits and have a fun time running around the yard that's what!

Hot Springs Pool Equals Lots of Fun!

We went swimming last night and it was a huge hit! We ended up going with two of my cousins and their families. We decided to get Savannah a life jacket even though it isn't really a life jacket. It helps her float as long as she's moving so we took that opportunity to teach her how to swim as best a almost 3 year old can. She did fantastic and Jacob and I were so proud of her. Olivia also had a fun time which we were not sure of when we set out for our pool time adventure. Olivia has proven time and time again that she does not like water unless she is in the bathtub. She kept sqwaking when we first got in the water but once her other cousin joined in the fun she was extremely happy to be in the water. It was a fun time to be had by all that's for sure.

Water Park Fun

Here are the girls when we were getting ready to leave.

Savannah had goosebumps all over her when she finally got out of the water, she stole all our towels trying to warm up.
Savannah and her friend Donaven, they're just to cute!

Today we got to go to the water park with the Baker's and it was oh so fun! They've invited us tons but for one reason or another it never worked out till now and I'm so sad it took us so long to get to go. Savannah had a blast! She LOVED the wave pool and would just lay on her back riding each wave. She had fun in the kiddie section exploring the toys and running in and out of sprinklers. She was so obedient and stayed near me the whole time which made the experience even more fun. The only time she was a stinker was in the parking lot when she realized we were leaving. The whole ride home she kept asking me to go swimming again. Olivia on the other hand does not like being in the water unless she's in the bathtub. Every time her toes would get wet from a wave or if she got a bit wet from some spraying water the child would start whimpering or just flat out crying. I find it a bit confusing but whatever she'll get over it one day. All in all it was just a fantastic way to spend our day and I hope we'll get to go again before the season's over. Thanks again JaNeil for letting us tag along with you it was totally a blast.

Best Week Ever!

This past week has been fantastic! My youngest brother Mark came out for a visit, his first time back to Idaho in 4 years. We were so excited that he got to come especially Savannah! When we went to pick Mark up at the airport last Monday Savannah just ran to him and wouldn't let go until she had to get in the car. That is something she's only done with Jacob so Mark felt pretty special. We did a few fun things but most of the trip was spent running errands and going out to lunch. It was just fun to have him around, to see how our family is and for him to spend time with the girls. Saturday was our big day of fun, we started out the day going to Black Canyon for some more swimming and playing in the sand. The water was warmer then it was last week but it was still pretty cold. We went earlier in the day too so there weren't as many people there and it was just way fun. We all took turns going in the water with Savannah, her phrase of the day was, "you want to go swimming me?" If she was walking towards you, you could bet that's what she was going to say. Olivia once again hated the water with a capital H, I really think that's funny to because Olivia loves taking a bath. As soon as I started walking towards the water with her I could tell she was getting nervous and sure enough when I put her feet in the water she started screaming! She did have fun playing with the sand and kept trying to eat it. Overall it was a really fun morning.

In the afternoon the boys went shooting, Jacob was so excited to take Mark he had been talking about it since I told him Mark was coming. Two of my brother in laws went too and they all had a good time. Mark even shot a few things, Jacob was proud of him and Mark said he had a lot of fun. When they got home we had dinner and then headed down to play some mini-golf and to let the boys drive go carts. This was also Savannah's fist time playing mini-golf. We'd help her hit the ball and then once she was near the hole she'd pick up her ball, put it right on the edge of the hole and then hit it in. It was pretty funny, her favorite part was actually looking at the water. She's also really been into her butterfly/fairy wings so she had to wear them while we were there too. About halfway through golfing she decided she didn't want to wear them anymore but I didn't feel like carrying them so we put them on Olivia. When we took them off to get her in the car at the end of the night she kept trying to find them and was pretty sad we took them off her. After golfing the boys rode go-carts while the girls and I cheered them on. Savannah was spitting out a constant stream of, "woo-hoo's, "that's my dad!", "its Mark", and "yeah!" the whole race. Even though she didn't get to ride she still had a blast.

Tomorrow we take Mark to the airport and I'm not looking forward to it. Whenever I have family visit its so bitter sweet. I love seeing them but the time always goes by so fast and then they have to leave. I won't have time to be sad though cause Tuesday night I have 3 of my nieces and their dog coming to stay with me for 4 days. This will be an adventure not because of my nieces (they're fantasticly wonderful!) its the dog...Olivia is terrified of dogs so this will be her time to get over her fear. Plus its a little wiener dog, how can you be scared of that? It is probably the same size as her though, she's pretty little. Then after the girls leave I have my mom coming the next week for Olivia's first birthday. Like I mentioned before July is the best month ever! Stay tuned for all our adventures this month cause we're going to have lots.