Day trip to Dayton

Recently we took a little road trip to Dayton, Ohio.  "What is in Dayton Ohio?" you might ask.  Well.........not much.  The main reason we went was to check out the Air Force museum and I've got to say it was much much better than I thought it would be. Yes, totally worth a trip to Dayton!!


So these pictures are kinda boring but I jut loved everything there was to see there.  You'll notice I seem especially fascinated by propellers for some reason????  Anyway, we had a great time!

Cameron and Connor are both in there, you just have to look carefully....

Kate was the only one who didn't love it here. She asked me to take her to the bathroom at  least three times, because apparently going potty is more interesting than looking at planes.

Owen was incredibly patient and had a good time as well.  

We are so grateful for all the awesome places we've been able to see in the 6 years we have been in the midwest :)

It's Kate's party and she'll cry if she wants to

Kate turned 4 this week!  She had a very eventful birthday - first a party at preschool, then a party at the house with friends, then a family party in the evening.  


I was very nervous that morning because Kate has been unsure how she feels about preschool and has been dragging her heels a little about going (ok actually kicking and screaming each day I drop her off.)  But on her birthday she didn't give me any trouble at all. Whew!  Things didn't turn weird until we got home and I told her 4 of her good friends would be coming over for lunch and cupcakes.  When they showed up she locked herself in her room and said NO ONE could come in and she was NOT coming out.  That lasted about 20 minutes then I coaxed her out with some food.  She ate and then locked herself back in her room. I was kind of embarrassed.  What do I do?  If it's her party and she wants to hide in her room then I guess she can.  Luckily she eventually let her friends in and then presents and cupcakes made everything all better :)  Man kids really keep you on your toes!


Some Kate quotes for the day I don't want to forget:  


"Everyone eyes at me!" (when she was opening her presents and Cameron and Connor weren't paying attention.)


"Besides Mom I don't even care" (when I told her I would be visiting her class to celebrate her birthday.)   Not sure if I should grateful for her independence or sad that she really doesn't care about her mother being there.  But I'm sure she actually does.  I hope.


"I-can-do-what-ever-I-want-because-it's-MY-birthday" (with hands on hips shaking back and forth for each syllable.)  Thank goodness birthdays are only once a year, I think I will need the next 12 months to recover!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!!!!

Hanging out with her cute friends :)

Say cheese!

We had a really fun picture-taking day at the park recently. Several of us got together to take pictures of our kids and it was a blast. My super talented friend Lillian gave me a few tips for the settings on my camera, and my pictures instantly improved. Imagine that!

Owen in a rare moment where he is actually looking at the camera. Usually my shots of him end up more like this:

I tried to get a cute picture of the kids while they were sitting on this bench, but apparently I need to work on a sneakier approach because they all saw my camera and ran, except for this cutie. This is why I have no pictures of Cameron and Connor. They are such stinkers!

Kate pushing Owen on the swing. He loves getting attention from his big sister!

I love this one!

Kate with one of her little friends :)

Some of the pics Lillian took. I love them!

Owen had a birthday :)

So Owen was totally ripped off this year for this birthday. Friday was such a busy day with other things going on that we didn't actually celebrate until Sunday. Oops! But anyway, a few thoughts on this little guy.....

-He has the most gorgeous gray/blue eyes and his eyelashes are ridiculous. It's amazing he can hold his eyelids open.

-Owen loves his siblings, particularly Kate. When he sees her first thing in the morning his face lights up and he starts squealing (see below)

-Lately he has taken to shrieking/squealing/screaming all the time. He screams if he wants to be picked up, wants to be set down, needs a toy, needs something to eat or drink, if he's happy, scared, sad, angry, tired (get the picture?)

-He is very cuddly, like a little koala bear (my nickname for him)

-He is generally a pretty happy kid but also sort of demanding. He is quick to let us know if things aren't going just the way he wants :)

-Owen is very social and he will reward anyone who gives him attention with a gorgeous dimpled smile.

I really just can't believe Owen is 1. The time goes WAY TOO FAST.

Owen with his birthday cupcake. He wasn't too excited about it.....

I adore this boy!!!

4th of July

I love the 4th of July in Provo!!!!

We went to see the hot air balloons launch that morning.

The coolest part was the Darth Vader balloon. It was creepy to see the mask slowly inflate and rise from the ground.

But then there was a wind gust that left the balloons looking like this:

And so all the hot air balloon people packed up and left. That was a bummer. So we decided to console ourselves by hiking the Y. Connor was actually our little mountain goat who was dying to do it (although you can't tell from this picture.)

Connor on the Y.

Overlooking Happy Valley....

Aspen Grove, Cameron's Big Day, and Scott's Big Day

We spent 2 1/2 weeks in Utah for a family reunion, baptism, and a wedding. We capped it off with everyone getting the stomach flu for the 4th of July weekend. Good times! But really everything was wonderful (minus the sickness.)

We went to Aspen Grove for the Johns family reunion. It was so gorgeous there and we all had a wonderful time! But apparently I was so busy having a good time that I forgot to pull out my camera much. I did get some pictures from the day Keith and I hiked to Stewart Falls with Owen.

On June 25th Cameron turned 8. I can't believe it!!!!! It worked out that we were able to have him baptized that day as well. He was able to have all his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins there. It meant so much to me since we live away from our families to be able to have everyone together for Cameron's baptism. He had a huge smile on his face the entire day.

Keith's youngest brother Scott got married on June 30th in the Provo temple.

Scott and Kristi - they are so cute together!

The nieces and nephews sang a couple of primary songs at a dinner for Scott and Kristi after the wedding. Cameron and Kate unfortunately were not there because they were sick (that nasty stomach bug I was talking about.)

All the Johns brothers. Who is that guy in the bright yellow shirt?!?

Scott with his sisters :)

Wow this post is getting long. More later :)