bear lake 2012.

the week after we went to boise with danny's family, we packed up the car again and made the drive to beautiful bear lake for the george family reunion.  since danny wasn't quite so busy with school he was able to come with us (he did read in the car the entire time there & back!)  we arrived around 5 pm and played at a park with all of max's "cousins" (after all this time spent around extended family, he calls everyone his "cousin"...in fact, yesterday when we were at the grocery store he saw some kids and said, "mom! my cousins!"  he is silly :)  we had dinner, a talent show, and enjoyed catching up with everyone who was able to come.

the next morning we woke up bright & early and headed to rendezvous beach.  we spent the entire day there and had such a lovely day.  we got there early enough to stake out a large area (by the end of the day the beach was packed!!) and enjoyed a delicious breakfast.  we spent the rest of the morning & afternoon playing in the sand with cousins, finding hundreds of seashells, playing & swimming in the water, and danny & i each got to spend some time on my uncle's boat.  i tried surfing for the first time and stood up!!  i was pretty pumped :) 

at 4 we rounded everyone up and headed over to my cousin tim's wedding on the beach...in our swimsuits!  it wasn't what we are typically used to, but tim & leda looked so happy.  my grandma was able to make it for the ceremony so it was great to see her and after the wedding, cafe rio catered dinner.  delicious!!  the kids were exhausted after another long day at the beach (we were all very sun burned...) so we headed to the condo to put the kids to bed.

once they were sleeping, danny and i had some time to ourselves so we sat out on the balcony and enjoyed the gorgeous view while eating mini oreo's.  once it got dark, the rest of the family made it back and we played speed scrabble, ate popcorn & cherries and watched the olympics!  yay for the olympics!  and yay for bear lake.  talk about a perfect ending to a perfect day :)    i'd only been once before with my bff jenny and her family so it was so fun to go back.  i'm sure we'll be back again in the near future.

road trip to boise.

when danny was super swamped with school a few weeks ago (oh wait...he's been swamped this whole summer :) danny's parent's offered to take the kids + i up to boise with them for a little family reunion.  we took them up on the offer and had a great time!

the drive up was a little long since they were pulling their boat, but the kids did amazingly well and as long as they were eating constantly (or sleeping) we all survived.  we made it there just in time for tin foil dinners and then went to danny's grandma's house, where we stayed, to tuck the little one's into bed for the night.

the next morning we started out bright + early by heading to black canyon, a nearby lake.  it was an absolutely beautiful day and when we arrived there were only a few other boats in sight.  we spent the entire day at the lake with lots of the family.  we boated, tubed, played at the little beach, spotted a huge frog!  (can you find him on the tree trunk?), and ave took a monster nap in the pack & play (which totally saved us!)  it really was such a great day.

isn't the scenery gorgeous??  gotta love idaho.

max is totally pretending to be asleep in this picture :)

this was the first boat ride of the morning and avery was not having it.  this was right before her 3+ hour nap.  as you can see, she was ready!

max first said he wanted to go tubing with aunt missy...

then he changed his mind and wanted "pampa" to go with him...

(he is such a cutie in this picture :)

he was a little unsure a first...

but eventually warmed up to say hello...

and then ride the waves like a pro! :)

our little sleeping beauty.

i spy a gigantic frog!

max was so ready to hit the beach.  he's got his floatie, noodle, and kickboard.  what else does a little boy need??

i love my kiddos!!

i had to include both since only only child is smiling in each picture.  if i were better at photoshop i could have fooled you all :)

look at all those teeth!  and that curly, wispy hair!  she was much happier after her nap!

...but she still didn't love her life jacket...

avery can be such a little goofball.  she and max were making each other laugh through the window on the boat.  it was pretty darn cute :)

and after a day on the lake this little girl was ready for bed.  she snuggled up on this chair while we got the picnic area all cleaned up.  i don't think she moved once!

the next morning we headed to grandma's ward pioneer day activity at the church.  we got there just as they were packing up the horses but somehow grandma sweet talked the owners and max got the royal treatment :)  he was a little unsure at first but he was loving it by the end.  the horse's name was dan :)

and that night max perfected his jumping-from-the-side-of-the-pool skills.  he and grandpa frank are quite the pair.  max loves his grandpa!

check out that webbed foot :)

an attempt to get a little group shot...we'll take it!

all in all we had a great time!  we definitely missed our daddy but he was able to get a lot done while we were away.  thanks so much mom + dad for taking us with you!!

oh...the master's degree.

raise your hand if you knew how incredibly crazy, hard, and stressful our lives would become when danny started his masters.  if your hand is up...i sure wish you could have given us some type of warning :)

we really did try to imagine what it would be like to have him in class monday through thursday every week, but things like that are tricky to really envision.  whatever we thought, we were wrong.

it has been hard.  i think it's been especially hard because neither of us were exceptional students.  now that danny actually wants to be a good student we've come to realize what it actually takes.  whew!!  it's been exhausting to say the least. 

BUT next week is final's week!!!!!  so the end is in sight :)

even though our lives have been stressful lately we have managed to squeeze in some fun here and there (danny joins us when he can...)

...

a few weeks ago we celebrated the ute stampede!  that is a BIG deal around these parts :)  we had a good time.  danny's parent's came down and they joined us for the "mammoth" parade.  besides the horrible timing of the storm at the end, we had a great time and the kids ate enough salt water taffy to make anyone sick :)  max got his wave down and made sure to wave at every float that passed by...especially the one's with royalty :)  the kids hung out with grandma + grandpa that night while danny and i helped out at the stampede.  danny sold drinks + candy to the attendee's and i helped out in the hamburger stand.  it was fun to be with our ward + help out a good cause.

these pictures have nothing to do with the ute stampede, but our kid's definitely take full advantage of our huge front porch.  on this particular day max stripped down to his underwear (which is a common occurrence lately...) and had a blast playing in a random puddle of water.  

stay tuned for posts on our trips to boise + bear lake!

ps. we are so grateful that danny got into the religious education master's at byu.  i hope i don't ever sound ungrateful.  however, we do hope to implement better time management skills in the semesters to come to minimize the stress we've had this semester!

day trip.

you know those days when all you can think to do is get in the car and drive???

last week i had one of those days.  

max was screaming.  

that blessed child woke up avery who was napping.  

then i had two grumpy kids on my hands.

i called danny and he gave me some great advice:

"drive up the canyon"

so that is just what i did!

we ended up having a fabulous time.  

it's amazing what some fresh air can do to you!

max was able to take a nice long nap on the drive (something that is a rarity these days...any tips?!?) 

and we enjoyed some snacks up at payson lake.

the kids had fun wading in the water...until avery fell in!!  she is my little dare devil!  she wasn't sure about it at first, but a few minutes later she was ready to dive back in :)  max was so worried about her though.  the entire drive home he kept saying, "avery fell in the water.  i so sorry.  avery got wet.  that was so scary."  not only that but he still talks about it.  he loves her so much and is darling with her (most of the time!)  such a sweet boy.  (notice is shirt is on backwards?  he is becoming very independent these days...)

all in all, the trip was a little longer than expected but i think it was just what we all needed.

thank goodness for the great outdoors!

while they were eating.

i'm pretty sure i only take pictures of my kids when they are eating.  we must eat a lot.  or that is the only time that they sit still for more than ten seconds :)  either way, here are lots of recent pictures of these two crazy kids eating.

first group of pictures // string cheese on the front lawn while daddy was mowing.  

notice how reddish-orange the lighting is??  these were taken during the horrible fires surrounding our little town.  for about 3 days we had ashes floating down from the sky.  craziness.  so glad we've had some rain recently!  we need it so badly.  

but, back to the kids.  they are obsessed with string cheese (basically any cheese in general).  avery usually just chomps it down in a few bites unless she sees someone else peeling it (max) then she has to eat it that way too.  however, that sometimes causes her to gag :) you'll see what i mean in a minute...

second group of pictures // cherry cheeks

max thought it was pretty hilarious that he could stuff a cherry in each cheek:

third group of pictures // avery = our messy eater

max has always been pretty particular about staying clean while he eats.  avery is an entirely different story.  it doesn't phase her at all to be covered in food from head to toe.  i actually think she kind of likes it :)  notice in the last picture how tall she is getting!!  where is my baby going??

fourth group of pictures // squinty eyes

i'm not sure where avery picked up this little talent but she does it all the time.  she is such a goof ball.  lately, she and max seem to egg each other on and they both think they're so funny :)