Rocky Mountain National Park

We spent Friday and Saturday in Estes Park at the YMCA Conference Center - a few minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful and we had a great time. The weather was in the 60s, but sunny, so it made for great hiking weather. We went with the Bensons, Trithalls and Bitters. 

  

   

 

 

Teigan took this pictures of Austin snuggling me while in the hiking backpack. He screamed if Aaron held him so I'm glad Teigan got a pictures where Austin was actually happy. :) 

   

   

    

13 kids and 8 adults. The boys kept asking for their "friends." I love being with other families that are striving to raise righteous families. 

 

We left at 6:30 a.m. to make it back in time for church. It was a huge blessing that the boys slept for a bit so they were happy during church. :)

 

Summer Weather

The weather was extra hot this week and we spent a lot of time outside getting wet. 

On Monday we went to Denver and celebrated Alex's birthday a few days early!! We swam and enjoyed ice cream.

On Tuesday we went to the zoo with the Bensons. A deer was hanging out right at the entry way and we laughed as the deer through the gate. Free admission, I guess. :)

     

On Wednesday we went to a splash park and the boys were so happy getting soaked.

  

And here is a pic of little Alex when she was about 1. Ang and I loved these bear sweaters so much. My siblings truly have been a huge blessings in my life and living close to Alex right now has been a dream come true!!

 

Sports Camp, Father's Day

Eli had a little sports camp this week and while he was learning all about sports, Austin and I played at the park close by! 

  

Eli found a little caterpillar at the park and Austin took this picture of Eli. 

  

The boys love spending every second outside and it's extra fun when the neighbor kids are outside too. I love summer meals like this one.

  

Eli decided his favorite sport is football. He also did well at t-ball.

   

My parents surprised us on Thursday and stayed the night!

 

The boys heard the National Anthem while we were at the park and stopped playing to put their hand on their heart. I knew this would make Aaron proud. :)

 

I found this t-ball set at a garage sale and the boys have been playing t-ball all weekend. It's always a treat to have family visit! We were able to celebrate an early Father's Day with my dad at Texas Roadhouse! 

  

On Friday we went to Aaron's work for a BBQ and the boys get so excited to visit Aaron during the day. And Aaron's Father's Day gifts came just in time - a cast iron griddle, a lantern case and collapsible measuring spoons, all for camping. 

  

I'm now serving in nursery and I'm looking forward to it! We had nachos for Sunday dinner.

   

The boys made these cute cards for Aaron today. He's a GREAT dad and I love parenting beside him.

Summer Days

During family council last week we talked about having a goal to enjoy summer. Eli went to a morning kids camp with friends from church on Tuesday so Austin and I had a date to Target and found bubble guns for the boys. They were thrilled and play with them for hours at a time with lots of giggling.

  

I love when our lilac tree has bloomed!! 

     

  

Aaron picked up some sunflowers for me this week!

 

We spent Wednesday with the Davis fam and Alex gave us all haircuts. Then I watched my friends boys on Thursday and Eli set up a barber shop in the backyard. 

Every week when I go through the pictures on my phone, I find little surprises like this. :)

 

And Saturday night I went with friends to see Boys II Men. It was supposed to be with Paula Abdul, but they announced she wouldn't be performing and we could get a refund for our tickets if we wanted to leave. Ann and I didn't know a lot of New Kids on the Block songs (they were also performing, but they were a little ahead of our boy band times) so we left and got our money back. Haha so we saw Boys II Men for freeeeeeee and made it home by 9:30 p.m. so we weren't extremely exhausted for church on Sunday.

  

Today I taught Relief Society and the topic was "Home - the Basis of a Righteous Life." I got a text Saturday morning asking if I'd teach it and even though I didn't have a ton of time to prepare, I thought it went pretty well. This quote really stood out to me - "I speak to fathers and mothers everywhere with a plea to put harshness behind us, to bridle our anger, to lower our voices, and to deal with mercy and love and respect one toward another in our homes." President Hinckley. I'm continually praying for patience and the ability to remain calm in my parenting. I need help!

Aaron made us dinner tonight and then didn't even eat with us! He had a meeting at the church. He's a pretty amazing guy. And we've had three friends lose loved ones this week so we decided to make treats and take to them. I made this lemon bread and as I was printing out a card to attached with it, Austin ate the top of the bread. :) So I made blondies and Rice Krispy treats to deliver instead.