Painting Megan's room

We painted Megan's room "Tropical Holiday" blue and "gemstone" green. The girls were not as careful with the paint as I had wanted them to be, hence the blue feet and paint covered clothes, but the room looks great. A friend from church came and helped, too.

Oklahoma Fun

We spent a few days in Oklahoma while Amber and Megan were at EFY and Kelly was working hard at the office. We had a great time with cousins and aunts and uncles. Here are some pictures of our favorite things!!

Riding the 4 wheeler with Uncle Larry!

Riding the Jet Ski with Uncle Larry!

Marissa jumping off the dock!

Aunt Leslie made homemade root beer with dry ice!

Steven on the 4 wheeler (my film wasn't fast enough!)

David jumping off the dock!

Steven diving off the dock!

David and Sophie on the little 4 wheeler!

Everyone on the pontoon boat to swim in the middle of the lake!

Visiting the Cemetery

Worn out!

David fell asleep while I played 42.

Especially for Youth

Amber and Megan were able to spend a wonderful week full of fun, cousins and the spirit at EFY. They stayed with 6 other cousins and one good friend at Uncle Bryce's house. They made new friends and came home with happy memories!

Seven of the nine gathered for EFY.

Loren, Marinda, Mackenzie, Nicole, Amber, Spencer and Megan

Jared and Jordan were still getting ready for the day.

Nicole, Megan and Mackenzie

Nicole, Megan, Marinda and Amber with two of their teachers:

John Bytheway and Brother Sharp

Megan and Marinda

Amber and Mackenzie

Hanging with the McKenzies on Saturday!

Aaronic Priesthood Encampment

Steven spent a week at the Aaronic Priesthood Encampment.

Steven's emergency shelter that he had to sleep in and his friend Matthew.

Doesn't look like he got enough sleep!

Farewell

Our good friends have moved and we are sad. We tried to spend as much time as possible with them before they moved.

David, Zachary and Heber on the trampoline.

Marissa and Sicily

Marissa and Sicily enjoying the Mall of America together.

David, Zachary and Heber loved to find frogs in our backyard!

We had a going away gathering for them and had fun hanging out in our backyard.

The kids went on a frog hunt during the party. If you look closely you can count at least 8 frogs here.

Summer fun

Here is a glimpse of some of the fun we are having this summer.

Family bike ride

Marissa playing goalie in her soccer game

Eating popsicles on the trampoline in the pouring rain!

Happy Father's Day Hammock

(can you tell it was early in the morning before Kelly's meetings?)

Taking the girls on a five mile hike.

Trampoline Fun

Our kids love the trampoline.  I am so glad we got it put back together.  Now if I can just get the kids to keep it in a good spot and not move it to the play structure or the tree to jump down onto from up above!

Helpful lesson

David was playing outside the other day when our neighbor, Dave, asked if he could help him. (David loves saying "Hi Dave!") So David went across the street and helped Dave carry landscaping bricks from his car to his back yard one by one.  Now Dave could have used a wheel barrow and had the job done in 2 trips, but he saw an opportunity to teach a helpful lesson.  David loved it and talked non-stop the entire time.  Dave said he would probably know a lot about our family if he could just understand what David was saying!  He is a great neighbor.

Birthdays

Megan and Steven both celebrated birthdays in April. Here are some pictures from all of the fun.

"Why are  you giving me a Wii game? We don't have a Wii." You can see that Steven understands what the gift means!

Happy 14th Birthday Megan!

Steven is all outfitted for scouts!

Happy 12th Birthday Steven!