The Rest of the Summer

Week 6 - Brynnley got the chance to go up to Montana with her cousin Megan and stay with Blake's sister Melissa. The left on the 14th of July and were gone until the 22nd. They were spoiled little girls while they were gone. They got to spend time at Glacier National Park, tube the Blackfoot River, visit Missoula Girls Camp, swim at the pool, pick huckleberries and spend some time with their cousins and Aunt and Uncle. I think it will be a summer they will remember! They loved spending time with the boys, Jack, Sam, Luke & Blaise and Melissa has to be the coolest Aunt ever!


Cliff jumping into the river! No Fear!!


Tubing the Blackfoot River



Fun hikes to Falls in Glacier!
While Brynnley was gone we had the Godfrey Reunion in Riverdale. It is always fun to see cousins we haven't seen for a while. We had a good time playing games and eating lunch.

Camden is always up for a foot race!






The Outlaws vs the Inlaws!









After the reunion we tried something new, floating the Weber River. I was a little nervous at first but it ended up being so fun, we even brought some friends back for a date that night. Good times!






































Seriously, one of the funnest date nights! The camera had some issues focusing, but it was still a great time with great friends!!







Week 7 For the 24th of July we went to Colter Bay in Teton Village. This is where we meet up with Brynnley and got to hear all about her fun time in Montana. As they were just leaving Yellowstone coming to Jackson they saw a grizzly right off the road. Pretty cool!
We spent 3 days camping with the Watkins family. We visited Yellowstone (with about a million other people), played in Jackson Lake, floated the Snake, saw buffalo, and of course roasted marshmellows (lots of them). Great family trips! The kids love to hang with their cousins and will have many great memories from this vacation.






Week 8 - This week is girls camp and scout camp! Brynnley and I got to go up to Camp Piuta for Camp ER (Examples or Righteousness). We had a great time, even though it was much cooler than we had planned on. The same weekend ended up being 11 year old scout camp for Blake. Brooke and Camden got to hang out with friends and at Grandma's house. Camden even got to go up to scout camp for a day. I think both camps were a success and the kids at home had a good time too!
Week 9 - We have some great neighbors who planned an outing at their family estate in Providence, Utah. Along with this outing we planned to do some boating on Cutler Reservior and go to the Martin Harris Pagaent. The boating didn't turn out to great, since we got a little adventurous and tried to make it to the road at Cache Junction. Not a great idea in a very shallow lake. We got totally stuck and had to call for reinforcements. Thanks to good friends and a lot of pushing and pulling we got out of the mud!
Once we were free from the mud the kids decided to do some bridge jumping.
Love it!!
Then we went over to visit my dad in Clarkston where he was doing some farming. The kids road and drove the tractor with my dad as they stacked hay, which my dad loved! From there we went and enjoyed the Pageant dinner before seeing the infamous Martin Harris Pagaent. The pageant always brings back great childhood memories. Some of our freinds even came and joined us for the pageant and hopefully enjoyed their evening.

After the pageant we headed back over to Providence to spend the evening and next day. We all stayed up way to late, but of course the kids were raring to go first thing in the morning. The kids loved the pool, the fish pond, the paddle boats and the big swing in the barn. What a great time with many great friends and neighbors!

Week 10 Well summer is about to end, so we better pack in some more fun!! We snuck a quick weekend in at Bear Lake with the Godfrey's at the Kotter's cabin. The weather was unseasonably cool, so we didn't spend a ton of time at the lake. But the kids loved the four wheeler rides, and just hanging out at the cabin and the beach. I feel so lucky to have such great family that we are able to have such fun times with. From Bear Lake we headed home to get ready to leave for Lake Powell the next day! The long awaited Lake Powell trip with the Mattson's! Totally loved it! The trips just keep getting better. This year the Mattson girls brought a couple friends, Amber and Christina. What cute girls!




Some cliff jumping fun!

Brooke up on the wakeboard for the first time! WAHOO!

Brooke totally ruled the kneeboard!

I think we took over this little mountain goats home when we parked the houseboat, oops!

Brynnley totally ruling that wakeboard!

CRAZY BLAKE!

I am going to figure out this surfing thing, one day!
Blake not really loving the air chair!
Once we got back from Powell the kids headed right back to school, so our summer has officially ended. As you can tell we had an eventful summer! Whew, now I can finally take a breath and get some laundry done!

The Ten Weeks of Summer

Well, now that life has a little more of a schedule, I thought I should feel you in on what we did all summer. So here is a brief summer of our ten weeks of Summer (this could be a long post)!

Week 1. It was due time at our house to do some house cleaning. What a way to start the summer. Kids rooms and closets were cleaned out, that always feels so good! Saturday we made a trip to the lake for some fun with the Tattons. All the kids had fun playing behind the boat and trying new things. Michelle got up on the slalom ski (it had been a few years), Kelsi and Morgan wakeboarded and Rylee loved the tube rides.





Week 2. We tackled a paint job of the family room this week. Thanks to my good friend Jessica, it turned out great. This week Brynnley also attended the volleyball camp at Weber State. Great camp, (yes I am biased). She is learning lots and improving her skills.
The updated family room still needs a few things, but getting there!
This weekend was also youth conference. I got to attend a few of the activities, which turned out great. Our youth conference was held locally this year, which gave the leaders and the kids a lot of flexibility on what activities they attended. The meeting with Elder Bednar was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
Week 3. We snuck away for a quick trip to Lake Powell this weekend. We meet up with our fun neighbors the Hills, who have the coolest boat (yacht) on the lake! It was my birthday this weekend and I even got nice warm brownies (thanks Julie)! We camped this trip, which we had never done before. I think I still prefer the houseboat trips, although I can't complain too much since we did have access to a full kitchen and a bathroom!

Kids & the dog had some fun on the tube!

Rainbow Bridge

Our boat, next to the Cruiser, Yacht!

Playing some guitar hero on the yacht!


Jeff, Becca & Blake tried out their surfing behind the yacht! Best surfing they will do on any lake, that is for sure!

Week 4. This week all 3 kids had golf lessons for a couple hours each day. I am hoping they learned something, we haven't been able to get out and do much golfing since the lessons, so who knows. This weekend is the 4th of July, which is always fun. Our neighbors, the Browns, have a great neighborhood party on the 3rd. We swim, eat good food, socialize and watch the fireworks for North Salt Lake. We have a great view of the fireworks and don't have to deal with the crowds. Everyone always has a great time. On the 4th we headed up to the valley and watched the kids parade through the Huntsville parade, then over to Liberty to enjoy the festivities with my sisters family. It's always fun to enjoy the small town festivities on the 4th. The kids caught fish in the fish catch, which was a highlight of the day. Later in the afternoon we headed up to the North Fork area for a fun hike. I think it is called the Cutler Flats trail, but it is always a fun one, especially on a hot day when their is water to play in!





Week 5. On Sunday the 5th of July, we headed up to Pineview and Anderson Cove to spend a few days camping and boating with some friends and neighbors. Way too many pictures of kids and adults playing behind the boat. We taught lots of kids to jimmie jam and adults to surf or wakeboard. Overall I think the kids enjoyed the tube rides the most. It is always a good laugh! We had lots of families come join us, whether it was for a day, an evening or the whole time. We feel so lucky to have so many great people as friends and neighbors!

Weeks 6-10 will be coming soon!