our little swimmer!

Maylee completed her first year in swim lessons!  The first few days there was a lot of anxiety, but then she did AMAZING!  We are so proud of our little lady.  She was so brave and can pretty much swim in the water.  Yay, for Maylee!  By the last day, she went all the way across the width of the pool!!! :)  Mrs. Erin was a great teacher.

And, seriously- how cute is she in goggles and flippers!!  LOVE IT!

Greer

This summer has been all about little vacations- it is the only way to survive the summers in AZ!  The beginning of June we went to California, the beginning of July we went to Jeff's cabin, and to keep up with the tradition of going somewhere the beginning of each month- the beginning of August we went to Greer, AZ!

My family bought the BuyWithMe before the fire, but I am SO happy we still went!  It was beautiful!  We stayed at the Greer Lodge Resort and it had all the amenities- fly fishing ponds, bikes and bike trailers, horseshoes, frisbees, balls,.. pretty much anything to play with outside.  

We arrived on Wednesday night, August 10 (on April and Robert's birthday!) and played Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and came home on Sunday.  Here are some pics from the trip:

The river was quite cold, but it didn't stop the kiddos from getting their feet in!  Robert and Cailin even floated a little section of the river in a tube.

The meadow area was absolutely beautiful!  It was especially nice with the kids.  They could run around as much as they wanted without any obstacles in the way.  We threw the frisbee around, flew some kites, and tackled grandpa on the blanket! :)

The bike trailers were perfect.  We were ALL able to go on a bike ride... somehow the passengers got worn out...

We also went for a hike, had a treasure hunt for the kiddos, soaked in the hot tub, did a little fishing in the ponds, and shot the BB gun.  

I am so grateful we were able to make the trip!  With kids, this was the perfect place.

Cabin Trip

Okay, it seriously has been FOREVER since I have posted on this blog, so instead of trying to catch up on all that I have missed- I am moving on.  

Over the Fourth of July weekend we had the chance to go up to Jeff's familiy cabin.  We drove up on Thursday, June 30 and then went to St. George on Monday, July 4 and came home on Tuesday.  It was good to be out of town for the fourth- Jeff always gets a little depressed... can't say I blame him.  It is too hot to do anything, so it worked out great to be up in the mountains!  

The days at the cabin were spent by...

fishing (both with the kids and without), 

(They caught lots of fish from the boat on Monday- Debbie won for catching the most fish.  Yay, Debbie!)

(waiting for the fish to bite... unfortunately, only a few bites and none reeled in)

(Jeff fly fishing the river.  We tagged along to watch and play.)

golfing (yes- Jeff even made a trip down to Cedar City to play a round of golf with his dad- I love that they enjoy that time together), 

four-wheeling,

(First real time on four-wheeler for Brooklyn: she LOVED it!)

swinging... a whole LOT of swinging, 

playing in the creek, 

(We actually only went over to the creek a couple of times.  We should have gone more, the girls had a blast throwing rocks into the water.  Next time...)

watching fireworks,

(The little resort by the lake put on an AMAZING fireworks show on Saturday night.  Not only was the show great, but you could watch it across the lake and see the reflection.  Jeff enjoyed taking pics to capture them.  Maylee lasted only for about the first 2 minutes of the show- that is what happens when they start at 10 PM and you are snuggling with Grammie!)

shooting BB guns, 

and lastly, having a picnic in the most beautiful spot E.V.E.R, 

(good job on scouting for a picnic spot, Kim!)

(Seriously.  Seriously!  I gotta say- I always thought Panguitch Lake was beautiful, but this year it truely was amazing.  How surreal!  The river, the trees, the yellow wildflowers!  Oh, and two cute girlies make it even more beautiful.)

We had a great time at the cabin. I needed a vacation from the vacation when we got home because Brooklyn is FAST  and EVERYWHERE these days, but it was so nice to get out of town and enjoy time with family.   

California

The beginning of June we headed to California.  Maylee was going to turn 3 in a few days, so you guessed it... we headed to Disneyland!  We had to take advantage of her being free.  What a great trip.  We arrived at Scott and Annette's on Wednesday night and stayed until Saturday.  We visited the greatest place on earth on Thursday and this picture proves it!!

Is that not hilarious?!  Cute little girl was actually afraid of the castle.  She didn't want to go in.  After a little pep talk, she cheered up and was good to go... until the scary pirate ride... Peter Pan!

(You can't go to Disneyland without a Dumbo pic!)

(Maylee loved the Jungle Cruise!)

I've decided some people live and breathe Disneyland.  It must be in their blood.  Don't get me wrong- we had a good time at Disneyland.  It was a lot of fun!  Maylee had fun, especially with her cousins: Anna, Aimee, Nathan, and Ryan- but we probably won't go back for a couple more years.  We'll let her be a little older to enjoy it more (and not be scared of the pirates and the dark rides, which most rides are!) because it costs a pretty penny to go.

On Friday, we went to the beach.  Talk about fun, relaxing, and FREE!  Can't beat that!  Yay!  Maylee enjoyed the beach more than Disneyland... we will remember that next time. :)

I'm so happy we made the trip!  Thanks Scott and Annette for letting us crash your house.  We had a great time! 

Princess on Ice

The beginning of April, Disney's Princess on Ice came to AZ.  With so many little girlies in the family we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get all dressed up and hit the town.  It was such a fun night.  We saw a lot of princesses and a lot of pink!  Perfect combo.

We started our girls night out at Pei Wei for some dinner.  After we grabbed a bite to eat, off we went for the show.  Us women are spoiled... our sweet husbands normally drive to the events we go to downtown so driving to this was a little bit of an adventure.  Not only was the ice show going on but the D-backs opening game as well.  It was crazy, but we survived.

I must say, I was quite impressed with the show.  Definitely entertaining.  Maylee even lasted until the end (but by the end she was ready to go home), although she did have a few snacks to help keep her entertained.  :)

Thanks Jeff for watching Brooklyn.  We had a great time chillin' with the girls!

The month of March...

I have been horrible about blogging lately.  I have started a new approach- Project Life.  Love it.  I've been taking pictures EVERY SINGLE DAY (for the most part) and have been so busy keeping up on it, that this blog has been neglected.  So it is time to get a recap for the month of March.  

We spent a lot of time-

-going to Toddler Time at the library.  So much fun.  A little crazy with all the kiddos, but Maylee liked hearing the stories and doing the songs.  I occasionally knew some of the songs from my teaching days.  :)

-playing OUTSIDE!  Our friends on the street would come over to play outside in the afternoon, right after naps and right before dinner.  Talk about PERFECT WEATHER!  You know, there is something about chillin' in the front yard that is just not the same as chillin' in the backyard- I love that I see neighbors come and go, some friends, some only acquaintances, and some I'm sorry to say I don't even know.  So it was so nice to get outside and see them, even if all I did was wave.

-taking trips to the zoo.

-playing, playing, and playing some more in the playhouse (which I have a new love for- it has provided hours upon hours of entertainment for these two!)

-oh- and more playing outside!

-letting the imagination soar.  Does it get any better than this???? :)

bring on the ice cream!

Maylee has slowly been trying more and more dairy.  We started with cheese crackers- check.  Then to cheese- check.  The next step was ice cream... not the soy stuff, but the real deal- um... I think we can say check!!

I don't think there was a drop left!