Movie in the Park

We got free tickets from our ward to go see a movie in the park at the Scera theatre. So we gathered blankets and treats, got pajamas on kids and settled down on the hill to wait for sunset. The movie was "Moana", which kids have already seen but loved it enough that watching it again, experiencing it outside, past their bedtime was so exciting and so cool. I think they all loved it, even though the boys both fell asleep during. :)

fourth fun

our family fun continued the next day as we all caught the train and made the trip up to salt lake. i love trains. we had lunch up there and then made the tour of temple square with the mandatory Christus photo.

we headed home then were back to the fun early the next day, which was independence day! we headed down to my brother ken's house for the day. the highlight of the day (even more so than the fireworks) was me winning our epic ladder-ball tournament. it was the greatest win in the history of sports. :) the kids spent the day playing with their cousins and eating lots of yummy food. we made some s'mores then headed to the park to light off some fireworks. it was magical. we sadly had to say our goodbyes to my family before heading home. it was a wonderful week and it was so good to spend time with family. can't wait til next time!

weekend with the brysons

it's getting harder and harder to get the family together, but thankfully big events keep happening so we are forced to make it happen. this event was a combination of a nephew's endowment, a sister's sealing, and a niece's baby blessing. friday we made the hour trip up north to bountiful to meet with family coming from all over, including the parents from texas. we dropped the kids off to be babysat by cousins and headed to the bountiful temple. my nephew sam, along with my brother-in-law mat were both taking their endowments out. i couldn't help but think about my first time and how strange it all seemed. but as the years have passed, i have been struck time and time again by the powerful symbolism of the temple and the love our Heavenly Father and Savior have for us. it was a beautiful moment to be surrounded by family in the temple of the Lord.

we headed to the hotel to get some sleep. the next morning, the bryson boys headed off to play some football for a few hours before getting back for the sealing that afternoon. in all the rush, i ended up forgetting my recommend in the hotel. unfortunately we didn't realize this til we were standing at the front desk. thankfully the temple workers went in the back and were able to contact someone (or i just have a very trusting face) and they came back out and said we were good to go in. we rushed in and barely made it. my sister mandie was then sealed to her husband mat for all time and eternity. they then were able to be sealed to their newest baby. afterwards amber did her thing and took some beautiful family pictures outside the temple for my sis and new bro. from there we picked up the kids and all headed out to eat and enjoyed some yummy food together. 

the next day we had to pack our things and make it up north to ogden for 9:00 church. it was a rush, but we made it just in time. my brother kyle then blessed the newest addition to our family, his beautiful baby girl. from there we headed to kyle and courtney's house for some good food and some more picture taking. after playing for a while, we headed over to my aunt's house for dinner before having to say goodbye for the night and head home. we love these moments so much and are so grateful to be making such sweet memories. family really is everything. well the fun times continued, but in another blog.

Mommy's Birthday

I had a nice birthday filled with yummy sweets. Donuts for breakfast, a store bought ice cream cake from visiting teachers and a Pinterest ice cream cake made by Scott. I wish I had gotten a photo of it, it was delicious with ice cream sandwiches, and ice cream layers and a whipped cream oreo frosting on top. Yum! :) Kids and Scott gave me their presents that evening and one of the cutest gifts I got was a certificate from Claire for a mother/daughter haircut. Scott and Claire had put together a certificate with a scratch off heart that showed my gift underneath. So, a couple days later we went to the salon together and both got haircuts. I was able to get a before picture, but missed the after one. It was a fun little outing though with my daughter. :)

Indoor Camping

Scott and I are not huge camping people. Especially when I'm pregnant and uncomfortable, I really don't want to be outside sleeping on the ground or anything. So what do we do when our kids really want to and ask to go camping sometime? Well, we decided to set up the tent at home and let them camp inside. They were thrilled and didn't mind the differences from real camping. We bundled up their bedding like sleeping bags and we set up the ipad with a video of a fire and outdoor sounds on it. And then my favorite part, we made mini delicious s'mores. We used teddy graham crackers, mini marshmallows and chocolate chips and cooked them in the microwave all at the same time. Easy and yummy! And I got to sleep in my own bed. :)

Summer Fun

Near the beginning of summer I set up a play date with our friend Breanna and her kids. We went to the park and had a picnic and it was so fun seeing our kids play together. I especially loved seeing them all holding hands as we walked to our cars afterwards.

Summer time means splash pads! Being pregnant this summer has definitely made it harder to make it to the splash pad often but we did go a few times. Seth was not a fan at first but the older kids tried to teach him how cool it was and he slowly warmed up.

Play dates with friends are so fun. It happens less and less often with our old single ward and young married friends, especially when we have more kids and we're getting farther and farther apart, but we still make it happen occasionally. We met up at the splash pad and had a picnic and had lots of fun. :)

Scott's Birthday

Our kids love birthdays. And I love the fact that they start from oldest to youngest. Scott's birthday comes first at the beginning of June. We don't do a lot, but we did go take him shopping and went out for pizza at one of our favorite pizza places, Two Jacks. We came home for presents and cake. We celebrated another year with our favorite father and husband. He is the best and we're so grateful to have him in our lives.