Battle Creek Falls

It was a beautiful day for a hike.  We invited some of Adey's friends (our neighbors) and headed up for a hike that is about .5 miles up hill to a waterfall and .5 miles back down to the van.  I just love unplugging from life and enjoying nature.  Our girls did get a little tired but they did so good!  One of my favorite things is being and out doors family!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Honestly...i am so blessed as my life has been changed in many ways over the years when i thought i had it all figured out...i couldnt nor would i want my happily ever after written any different! This guy right here came into my life at the PERFECT time and IS my best friend. Each day truly gets better (maybe not necessarily easier) as we tackle this life together with its many bumps and hard times to the memorable and beautiful moments. Family is everything to us and our girls are more than we could have ever asked for. We have been blessed with an amazing career path that keeps getting better and i love staying home being a mom (it is hard but beyond worth it). We have made too many memories so far and hope for many more to come! Love you babe! Here is to another amazing year to fulfill and goals to attain! No one better for me to spend eternity with than you!

We started our day going out to lunch at mi rancheritos, then a hike to stewart falls, followed by seeing a movie: despicable me 3 at the cheap theater, and lastly did some grocery shopping at Costco and ate some pizza there. It was a great way to spend our anniversary and i loved honestly not doing gifts!!!

Springville Splash Pad with cousins

We loades up while Adey was at gymnastics camp and played at the Springville splash pad with some of our favorite people:

Adelynn's tribute

Happy 8th birthday babygirl!!

Name: Adelynn, Adey, Bug

If you could change your name what would it be? McKenna

Age: 8

What is your favorite color? Pastel turquoise

What is your favorite book? India the Moonstone Fairy

What is your favorite animal? Cheetah

What food do you like best? Angel Hair Pasta Roni

What is your favorite treat? Cold Stone ice cream

The best show on TV is what? Just Add Water, Lab Rats, Liv and Maddie, Bizardvark

What is your favorite movie? Passport to Paris, Parent Trap

What is one thing you are really good at? Gymnastics, taking care of others

Who is your best friend? Sophia, Chloe, Lydia, Kaylie S, Jenna, Amee, Valerie

What is your favorite toy? Mermaid tail, Tablet

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas and Halloween

What do you like to do with mom? Cook and do crafts 

What do you like to do with dad? Wrestle and goof around and go on dates

What is your favorite thing you did this year? Gymnastic competitions, going to Washington DC

What do you like about school? Learn History

At night time what do you like to take to bed with you? Bandit the Raccoon

What do you want to do when you grow up? a psychologist

Do you want to get married? to whom? yes; Gionni (boy from Odyssey)

How many kids do you want to have? 2-3

If you had 1,000, what would you do with it? buy toys and art kits, jewelry, clothes, and movies

What do you love most about yourself? my talents and 6 pack abs

What is one thing you hope to do this next year? go to Florida (seashells, dolphins, disney world) and have a good competition season for gymnastic

I can't believe she is 8 now and is getting baptized in our church in just a few short weeks!  This girl is our first born and growing up so quickly...and I literally mean that.  She starts 3rd grade in a month and is finishing up her hard working summer of gymnastics getting ready to start her second year of competitions.  I think she will compete bronze one more year and just blow us away at her talent with this sport!  In all areas she is getting better and better.  This year she has learned back handsprings, back step outs, back walk overs, made her leaps beautiful and high, jumped to high bar, did a turn on high bar, gotten almost a straight hand stand on the beam, can do a cartwheel on the beam with mats on both sides, perfecting the bronze vault and started practicing the silver vault where they actually use the real vault and land on flat back, and so much more!  This girl loves gymnastics and is always outside on our trampoline doing flips and ariels.  She has started reading chapter books and reads a grade level ahead according to school testings.  Also she is doing a math level ahead in school (ie last year in 2nd grade she was in the highest math level doing 3rd grade math).  She also finished the year with all outstanding grades!  She loves school and works hard.  We find out in 1.5 weeks who is in her class next year and who her teacher is.  She can't wait! Aside from the academics and gymnastics, this year girl is such a sweet heart always trying to put others needs ahead of others.  She is quite a social butterfly and loves having friends.  She does best playing with just 1 other...more than 1 often overwhelms her.  She loves being creative and anything artsy (wood, beads, puppets, painting, glitter, art kits, etc.).  She is learning how to cook and can make chocolate chip cookies, macaroni and cheese, chicken noodle soup, pancakes, grilled cheese, nachos, deviled eggs, peanut butter cookies, yogurt bites, pudding, ramen noodles, and a few other things.  This next year I hope she learns how to cook more and more and we plan to have her cook one meal a week (it will be so helpful!). She enjoys writing poems, short stories, and plays.  A few chores around the house she has learned this year is finally hanging her own clothes, starting laundry and putting it in the dryer, loading and unloading the dish washer, cleaning bathrooms, taking the dog for a walk, watching emery for me (I can't wait until she is old enough to really babysit...probably 2 more years), vacuuming and mopping ( i go over it after she is done to get what she missed).  But it has been nice having her help a little more around the house and she gets paid for it.  She is learning the value of money and buying things she wants and saving it for bigger items (unlike her sisters who just wanna buy everything).  This girl loves to make things for others.  She loves to wrestle and get in tickle fights...she even begged for spankings this year for her birthday.  One of her favorite things is getting on play make up and dressing up and putting on shows or plays for us!  Also she enjoys building forts and tents or club houses. She still has no cavities since her one major visit when she was like 4 (8 cavities between teeth and was put to sleep to have them filled) but we do know braces are in her near future!  I don't know what else to say except we are having so much fun getting to older kid stuff with her: staying up late to watch movies, watching actually movies that aren't cartoons, sewing, and cooking. Our little girl really isn't so little more and we are excited to see where her kindness, compassion, hardwork, and talents take her this next year.

We haven't had her party yet but we will have one in August after she goes back to school so she can invite some of those friends. For now,  her cousin stayed the night and we had pizza and watched the new Descendants movie on disney and the girls stayed up late playimg the tablet and laughing and hatching fun.  Then the next morning they had cinnamon toast crunch per request of the birthday girl,  then opened presents,  had lunch at home, went swimming at the AF pool, took Abby home, got ready and then went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I hoe Adey had a fun birthday and felt loved and spoiled! Until next year: