Birthday Parties

Milan absolutely LOVES birthday parties!  She loves getting the invitation, anticipating the theme of the party, picking out the present (and just visiting the toy section in general), wrapping the present, and then of course playing with friends while eating tons of junk food.  LOVES them!  She's been lucky to go to several parties this summer, but of course I'm usually too busy chatting to take any pictures.  Last week we went to Dayton's party and had a good time!  

Here's Milan and the birthday boy!

 Milan's favorite part was the pinata!

 Eden is always happy to tag along wherever there will be cake and treats!

Red Desert Round-Up

Saturday, Rock Springs kicked off the Red Desert Round-Up so we joined in the festivities.  Renee, Cammie, and I started off the morning with a 5K race.  It's always fun to do races with friends!  After we finished, I raced across town to grab my kids and made it back just in time for the parade.  We found the perfect spot to watch the parade, eat way too much candy, and suck down a couple cans of Pepsi (once Eden had some in her sippy cup, she couldn't be stopped!)

Before we started the race....stole this picture from my friend Cammie.

Parks with Dad

We got to spend Thursday together as a family so we decided to hit up a couple of parks.  We splashed around a bit at the Washington Park Wading Pool then decided to meet some friends at Century Park. 

Century Park was super fun!  We talked Milan into doing the big pool slide and she had fun even though she HATES water in her face.  She liked it best when Dave lifted her completely out of the water during the splash.  I thought I had Eden talked into trying the slide, but she just wanted to go up the stairs, wait in line until it was her turn, and then go back down the stairs.  

And it was slip n' slide day so we were set! 

Milan smoked us on the race down the slip n' slide then decided she was ready to go!  (I totally thought I could beat her due to weight, but she's an agile little thing and got a fast start.)

Fishing

This evening we went fishing at the golf course with some friends and had a great time (mostly playing but we did catch a couple of fish and several creepy Crawdads!)

Flaming Gorge

This morning we headed out to Flaming Gorge and it was wonderful!  We visited with friends, played in the water, ate lunch, and of course busted out the sand toys!  

Slip N Slide

We did our normal park thing today and then when we were getting ready to leave, Milan told me she wanted to try the gigantic slip and slide.  She hated it last year, but LOVED it this year.  She slipped and slid all afternoon.  

Eden ran up and down the hill all afternoon!

Have I mentioned that I absolutely love summer?  Because I do!

Summer Fun

Sometimes all you need is a little backyard pool and a sister to play with!

I am so in love with my little family and summer.....they make me happy.

Camping

We took a last minute camping trip this past weekend and our friends, the Lees, were able to meet up with us even though we gave them about 3 days notice.  We ended up finding a great little camping spot and we had an awesome time!  

The kids loved playing at the lake while the boys went off to find our camping spot (that's how unprepared we were :). 

After we got settled, the kids took off for some rock climbing.  They loved it!

We haven't camped since Milan was a baby so this was her first time roasting marshmallows.  It was even better with her new BFF Vivian.

 And then she had her first Smore.  She took one bite then decided that she liked plain chocolate better.  It worked out perfect because I got to finish off her Smore.

 Playing with glow sticks.  They laughed for hours then passed out.  We got to stay up with our friends and chat around the campfire....my favorite part of camping!

We all brought our 4-wheelers and found some fun trails.  Eden was all set to ride a 4-wheeler while holding her blankie.  Once we turned it on though, she didn't want anything to do with it.

 Milan was super excited about driving this little 4-wheeler.  Dave took her on a practice run then gave her a chance to go on her own.

She was NOT ready to go solo!  She just pushed down on the gas as hard as she could and forgot about the brake.  Here's Dave yelling at her to slow down before he had to chase her down and stop her from hurting someone.  Milan was a little scared after that experience so she had fun riding with daddy.

 I showed Eden some Dandelions and she got a little obsessed!

And this is what 4 days of playing in the dirt and foregoing baths looks like!  Yep, Eden has balloons stuck to the sweat/bug spray/sunscreen on her neck.  These girls had a GREAT time and have already asked to go camping again! 

Louis Lake + Lander

Dave has been working near Lander and wanted to show us some pretty places nearby so we took off on Sunday afternoon for a little adventure!

We literally stopped the truck and smelled the flowers (for about 2 minutes until we were all attacked by mosquitoes......we won't be forgetting the bug spray next time!)

After that we got out and did a little exploring around Louis Lake.  I thought it was kind of chilly, but the girls had a great time swimming in the ice cold lake! 

Lots of pretty places.

 We stopped and the girls fed these humongous fish.

 We also stopped in Lander for some yummy ice cream and spent some time at their cute little city park.  

Milan couldn't decide what her favorite part of the day was......good thing we're headed back for a camping trip this weekend :)

Ice Blocking

Saturday night we went ice blocking with some friends (we had a fun ice blocking date last year and decided to let our girls try it this year.)  Milan was braver than I thought....she had a great time speeding down the hill a couple of times then ran off to play with her friends.  Eden didn't want anything to do with the ice, but did enjoy eating treats! 

Here we are enjoying a fun summer night!

International Days

We kicked off Saturday with a visit to International Days.  There were fewer activities this year, but the girls LOVED listening to the different music and busting out their dance moves!  They were the only ones dancing, but they didn't seem to mind.

4th of July

This 4th of July was quite the schindig!  We kicked off the holiday with a bbq at our friend's house.....the weather was a little sketchy so we had fun inside the garage.  

Yep, that's Eden walking down the street snacking on a hot dog....pretty high class!  

After dinner we headed out to the golf course.  I wanted to take a picture of Milan and the rainbow and she really wanted to show her new 3-D glasses so this is what we got!

Maddie and Milan rocked the Limbo stick....the kids could pretty much go under anyway possible so the game lasted forever. 

 The boys.

Our family:).  Everything is more fun when Dave gets to come play with us!

Both girls loved fireworks!  Eden kept saying "big un" every time she saw one she liked.  They both made it to 10:30 then passed out on the way home.  What a fun holiday!!!

Arrowhead Springs

Dave has been working out of town quite a bit so we were excited to spend time together this weekend.  The girls love fishing with their dad (which is great because I have no interest in putting worms on hooks) so we headed out to Arrowhead Springs with some friends.  We played, ate dinner, and even caught a couple of fish....it was a fun time!

Eden likes to look at "ammals" and their holes so Dave took her exploring.

Milan liked fishing for a while, but her favorite part was throwing the extra worms in the water.

Kenady and Larissa. 

Olivia and Presley.