Bitter Sweet

Many of you know we sold our house in Washington...bitter sweet. Nice not to have to pay a house payment and rent. But missing the familiarity and comfort of home. Our rental house is nice but lacks that homey feeling.

Come on in! I just wanted to say goodbye to our house and all our great memories we have had. I really wanted our kids to be able to look back at and see where we used to live. This is our front entry.

Living Room

dinning

Living again.

Family Room

Kitchen

Study.

Laundry Room

Girls Room

Maxwell's Room

One of Three Decks that Daryl built with his own hands.

Main deck.

Our lovely views...this is what I miss the most.

Master bedroom

Master bath
(look at the sweet tile job my cousin Riley did)

Basement bedroom

Basement
I guess it is time to move on. Our new house will be done sometime this winter. Right now there is just a big hole in the middle of our property. Daryl and I love making a house a home. Daryl goes out to the property everyday and takes pictures of the progress and walks around in the hole. It is pretty funny.

Hiking and Bear Lake

For family night we went on a really fun hike. The kids did great! Ruby made us laugh all the way down the trail!

Bear Lake
Max and his new friend digging a hole.

Building a wall.

Ruby doing her thing.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 9th Birthday Max!

This was Maxwell's pick for his birthday dinner! Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, candy corn with chocolate milk.

Followed by a ice cream sundae with jelly beans and more candy corns!

Max received two DS games he has been asking for and a fishing pole and fishing gear.

We love you Max!

Birthday interview with Max:

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite food? Cheeseburger, pizza, chicken nuggets and Ranch dressing.

What is your favorite subject in school? Math and Reading.

Why? I'm just really good at it.

What is your favorite video game? Mario and Luigi Bowsers Inside Story (for right now)

What is your favorite movie? The 5th Harry Potter "The Order of the Phoenix"

What is your favorite scripture story? Daniel in the Lion's Den. Why? because when the lions are hungry Heavenly Father closes the lions mouth and they don't eat Daniel.

Max we really love you and love watching you grow!

Camping?

We drove down to Manti for the Pageant in June. We had such a wonderful time! We can't wait to go back. We have never been to Manti it was a really unique experience for us. Just the sight of the Temple as you drive into town was beautiful! We camped at a local park that they open up for campers during the Pageant. It was $5 per family. I was very grateful that Brittyn who was not walking at the time had lush green grass to play in during our stay. I have taken babies her age camping in regular camp grounds. Let me tell ya, it is very hard to keep them clean. You basically hold them the entire 48 hours.

Not this camping trip! Daryl and Cameron took Max, Ruby & Ike fishing. Bayley and Breanna took a nap in one of the tents. Leah and I set up the baby pool and relaxed and watched Brittyn and Tyler play. One of the most relaxing camping trips I have been on!

Ruby! So cute!

Brittyn's first S'more! She loved it!

Bayley and Breanna getting comfy at the Pageant. All the kids were really good during the Pageant except Brittyn and Tyler. Leah and I had to tend them a bit. It was like 11pm before the play was over. So the babies were very tired. Josh and Sharsti joined us that evening. I wished I would have snapped a few pictures of them. Thanks to Leah and Cameron for the invite and going down a day earlier to set things up for us!

Way to go Max!

We are so happy for Max! He earned his Wolf badge last month. He worked hard all year. Max is becoming a very responsible young man! We love the Cub Scout program! Maxwell's favorite requirements were the ones were he had to plan a healthy menu and help Mom cook in the Kitchen. Thanks to all his den leaders who helped him reach his goals.

The Running of the Bulls!

So the beach we went to is on an island that is a state park and somewhat of a wildlife refuge. We were relaxing on the beach when we noticed two buffalo making their way through the beach. There were quite a few people making their way towards the beach. The buffalo must have freaked because they starting charging toward the crowd of people going really fast. We watched helplessly as people ran and screamed and scattered. I just kept thinking please please nobody get trampled! Especially in front of my children. Luckily nobody got hurt. I am guessing that is why Northwest Trek makes us stay in the trams while touring the park. Just a little reminder we are not in Washington any more.