weekend+august+family+rainstorms+soccer = perfection

I think we have needed a weekend like this for a while. I'm not sure what I loved most. The scattered rainstorms throughout the whole weekend was something we LOVED...but I think the constant family time came out on top.

Friday night we celebrated the opening of the Olympics with my sister and her family. We tried Feijoada (Black bean stew), Brigadeiros (cheese rolls), Pão de queijo (truffles), and Guarana (soda). It was all quite tasty and the ceremony was really long.

We headed south on Saturday to enjoy the party at daddy's work. The boys look forward to this all year long. They have a barbecue and as much pop as you can drink. Plus games and a zorb ball. We came home and watched some Olympics and then played a family soccer game.

Sunday morning we picked some produce. Then made some beef stew and rolls before heading to church. We got in our Fast Sunday picture but not before the boys broke their fast and grabbed a roll. :) We played a little soccer (again) and baseball and just soaked up the cool weather, rain, and gorgeous sunset. It felt good to be outside all evening. 

I want to got back to the weekend.

back from vacation

Last week we were sitting on the beach in 69 degree weather watching the waves crash against the rocks and seeing whales pop up to say hello. I won't lie, it was pretty fantastic. But this picture was also taken a week ago. Adeline was already getting sick of the car and we still had the 14+ hour drive ahead of us...

It was so great to get away. There was no cleaning schedule, meals to plan, chores to get done, and no obligations! We just soaked up family time in a very beautiful place. But the moment we walked in the door at 2:45 a.m., we all agreed that it was SOOOO good to be home! (especially Adeline!)

Can't wait to post some pics from the vacation...and every other post I have been meaning to do this summer :)

birthday for Corbin

 (I love this picture of all the brothers and daddy working on the poster for Corbin.)

It's been several MONTHS since Corbins turned twelve. But sometimes I still can't believe it. This is such a big event, especially within our church. He has the priesthood, passes the Sacrament, attends weekly young men activities, (luckily with his dad), and will be heading to Jr. High in a month.

I remember when Corbin turned ten, I thought his little childhood was over. It seemed like he was old enough to pack his bags and move away to college. Or that he no longer would think it was cool to hang out with his brothers and family. I had such little faith. In someways, he is the one that keeps family traditions alive. So even though he is two years older. I have a feeling things aren't going to change as much as I thought.

But you can bet we are soaking up this stage of his life as much as possible!!

the first week of summer

Usually it takes us a week of recovery from 9 months of school before we dive into summer break. But with each passing year I realize how fast summer really goes and I don't want to miss out on this time with these kids! Corbin decorated our summer bucket list and we talked about some ideas of what we want to do this year (unfortunately we still have not finished and hung up that poster to remind us of the fun, soooo we better get to that) But the theme for our summer is ADVENTURE! We are hoping that each day we enjoy some kind of an adventure - big or little. Picnics at the park, blowing bubbles, hikes in the mountains, bike rides, making new foods, swimming, and trying new things.

Every day hasn't necessarily been super magical, I still do some nagging to get chores done, and fighting happens :), but overall it has been a pretty awesome first week.

:: cousin day to celebrate aunt Mandi's birthday!! ::

 :: these two constantly say they are best buddies ::

 :: just bought some summer flip flops and gummy treats::

 :: picnic at the park - we didn't last super long because it was 2:00 and way too hot ::

 :: so we cooled off with some ice cream - favorite cones right now are from chic-fil-a ::

 :: they totally wanted to sleep here one night and we let them ::

 :: swim lessons everyday this week for Taylor and Levi ::

 :: muffin tin lunches in the backyard ::

 :: attempted making cookie ice cream sandwiches...next time I will make them when the cookies aren't still warm :) ::

 :: pizza and treat night with friends ::

 :: Saturday morning movie with grandpa packer and the granddaughters. Adeline was totally reaching for her cousin and I just had to get a picture of it! ::

:: waiting in the church parking lot while daddy and Corbin finalize things for scout camp. almost got Levi in there ::

:: happy Sunday and happy first week of summer!! :: 

memorial day flag rock hike

I love when Pinterest has things like - 10 of the best hikes for families in Utah, or 15 must see hikes with your kids, or hikes to do before you die...I am a sucker for those kinds of pins. The one that stood out the most for me was Flag Rock in Farmington. The hike represents the height of the twin towers. As Memorial Day was approaching I knew that was the right place to go. The information about the hike made it seem like we could be done in about 2-3 hours, plus there was a cool mine along the way.

The hike lasted 5+ hours. Mostly due to not knowing exactly where we were going. It was really hard, the kids were incredibly tired, and it was exhausting and steep in some areas. Justin is really good at hiking with kids. Not only does he carry half of them, but when they start complaining, he comes up with ways to distract them and lift the mood. Today he came up with a winner. We had to find a cool rock, pick it up, and keep walking and as soon as you see an even cooler rock, set the one down, and pick up the new rock. By the time we got to the top, we oohed and aahed over everyone's awesome rock. It worked like a charm!

The sight of seeing that flag was breathtaking. It made the whole trip worth it. I was left in amazement as I thought about this country and about those who give so much of themselves. They have provided a place for me to live such a happy life with some pretty awesome freedoms. I have been thinking about that a lot lately!! My life is simple and the rights that I have are amazing! There are times I know I take that forgranted and don't realize just how lucky we are to live here! My goal is to never forget that and teach our children to never forget.

This hike, as hard as it was, taught all of us some really good things. But most important, we can do hard things and there are amazing people who have done some of the hardest things of all so that we can be free. Pretty awesome!

I would say that 5+ hour hike was worth it. 
(however, the boys would probably disagree)

 :: I loved that Corbin suggested we put our hands on our hearts ::

(Taylor was just so thrilled we made it...and almost, Levi!)