Well, we're back from our epic summer vacation and ready to catch up on the blog! First of all, I'll finish up the last little bit of summer here in Texas before our big road trip. Just another cute little picture from when Mimi and Poppy came to visit. Capri loved giving Poppy snuggles. I don't think he minded. :)
Brody did his first little golf camp. I'm trying to sign him up for golf lessons this fall, so we'll see if he continues to enjoy it. We're going to give it a shot! I thought he looked cute anyway...
Just another picture from this girl's first birthday. It's one of my favorite candids. She was coming around the corner and happy to see her mom.
Just a little glimpse as to why Jared can't work from home very successfully. His shadow stands at the glass doors and knocks on them saying, "Dada, dada!" He says he has a hard time resisting that cute voice/face.
A little overview of our upcoming summer adventure:
My sweet Dad drove with me from Texas to Idaho so I could sit in the back with Capri. She doesn't love the car and I didn't think there was any way I could do that by myself for such a long drive. This was my beautiful view all the way there:
Getting the wiggles out at every rest stop. I made them do jumping jacks, squat jumps, running in place, etc. They actually started looking forward to every stop!
Can't forget the silliness involved:
Capri loved playing with her little baby doll:
We saw some of the most beautiful sunsets along the way. This one was in Colorado south of Colorado Springs:
At a rest stop just outside of Vail, Colorado. The freeway between Denver and Utah is one of my favorites in the whole country. It is breathtakingly beautiful!
Funny little side story. This picture was taken in front of a Subway where we had stopped for lunch. The man working was so taken by Capri (who was cheeseball grinning and waving at him) that he gave her a free sandwich and cookie. The funny part was he felt bad 10 minutes later that he'd given her a free cookie and not the boys that he came and gave the boys free cookies too. The boys are capitalizing on their sister's good looks/friendliness already. ha!
I just love the change in landscape between Colorado and Utah.
Watch Out!
At the end of a very long day of driving we stopped in Provo and saw Sammy and Lexi. Capri was all done and not too happy about it, but we sure liked getting to see Sam and Lexi.
In the hotel was the first time the boys had taken a bath with Capri in quite a while. She was her normal crazy self splashing, standing up and falling down, etc. Parker made the comment at one point, "Is she always like this?!" It rivaled his craziness! ha! These three make me smile:
While in Orem we checked out the Krispy Kreme. That may have been the highlight of the day for the boys. They talked about how the donuts were made the rest of the day!
Clearly they enjoyed eating them also :)
One of the reasons we went through Utah was to stop and see some of our wonderful friends. The Stanworths were our best friends in Boise and now they live in Utah. What was 4 kids between the two of us back then has turned into 7 kids (Malia is not pictured). It was so fun to pick right back up where we left off. The boys had a great time together and boy did I miss my friend Lisa! It was so nice meeting her sweet baby. I hope our girls get to be friends someday too.
Off to a great start. Ha!
Forever friends:
I also got to see one of my best, best friends from BYU. We shared a bathroom at BYU and lived together or around each other the next two years. It was her first day as a new nurse on the labor and delivery floor and it was crazy for her. I loved seeing her and meeting her fiancee. Can't wait for her wedding in January!
It was so nice to get to Idaho. I love Idaho. It really has such a charm to it. It's quiet, laid back, down to earth, and beautiful. I don't get views like this on my runs in Texas that's for sure. I loved getting to go back to where Jared and I got engaged--right in front of the Idaho Falls temple. Beautiful place!
My sister took these pictures and then we both got a good laugh out of them. The difference of 5 minutes during scripture study time:
...at least I was trying! ha! A few days after we got there my Dad and my sister Ashley turned around and drove back to Texas. My sister Ashley has been a counselor for the last 10 years at the cancer camp we went to as kids. She talked my dad into joining her this year. I'm willing to bet they were the most fun counselors there. They take themselves super serious. One thing we learned while going through my sister being sick was that laughter really is the best medicine. What better way to make a bunch of 8 and 9 year olds laugh then like this?! I love my family's sense of humor. We get a good kick out of each other.
Capri wasn't really sure what to think:
Some of their neighbors are some of my parents' best friends and boy did we ever make their night. I'm not kidding when I say that when he struck this pose, someone just so happened to set off fireworks in the background. You couldn't have timed them that well on purpose. My stomach hurt I was laughing so hard. Love this guy:
Thankfully we were also able to celebrate my Mom's birthday while we were there! It was so nice to be able to spoil her a little. These boys sure love their Grammy!
Many more adventures to come. Stay tuned!
