Lorna's Visit Part VI

We decided to do the festivities at Worthen park like we did last year. We were going to do stuff around Hurricane but Emma was just too excited about going into town. Here's a glimpse...

The choo-choo. If you look closely, you will see all kids except the nut in the caboose. Yeah, that's me riding with Lydia.







Mmmm ... Snow Cones













The kids favorite, the swings!















Larry, Mo, and Curly... not necessarily in that order.

Later that night we watched the Hurricane fireworks from our front yard, and did our own. Then we had to say good-bye... :( It was a wonderful week. It filled my cup for sure. I just hope I don't have to go another three years before I get to see them again.

To Lorna, Jossy, Bubba, and Derrick, Thank you for coming to visit us and letting us get to know you better. Thank you for spending the little time you have as a break to come and play with us. We love you and will miss until we can see you again!

Lorna's Visit Part V

Our second to last day we decided to take the kids for a drive to let them rest. We ended up in Pipe Springs. Previously, when I had visited the tour was not available. This time we got to do the whole thing. It was incredible and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and educational activity for their kids about pioneer history.

It was really fun for the kids because they got to be made into Junior Rangers. Here they are taking the oath and then the Ranger pinned little badges on them.

This is the end of Pipe Springs. This is the pond that the irrigated water dumps into.

Lorna's Visit Part IV

After a day inside, we figured the kids were going to revolt if we didn't get them busy so we took them to the Wildlife Museum. The kids LOVE this. They each receive binoculars and they get to play in a treehouse where they can dress up like zoologists. We had fun asking them if they could see certain animals and having them point them out to us. Here Joslyn has found a giraffe.

Lorna's Visit Part III

We took the opportunity to take the Madsen's to the St. George Temple for FHE. This was fun for us because it was something we had always wanted to do. We visited the visitor's center and did some of the presentations on eternal families and also saw the Cristus.















We took advantage of the Kodak moment that presented itself...

















And we let the kids climb the stairs and touch the temple doors. It was such a special day, that allowed us to teach our kids about eternal families, reverence for the temple, and strengthen family bonds.










Another really beautiful picture moment!

Lorna's Visit Part II

We had a neat surprise come our way. Marti and Alex stopped by on their way down to Vegas. We were excited when they agreed to come have Golden Corral with us. Joslyn was funny because she just accepted Aunt Marti as her own. She had to ride with the "other aunt" the entire time Marti was here.

Here is Saxon with his cone!




















The girls all together!














On one of the days, I sent Lorna and Derrick away to go have some time alone and I took on all 5 kids by myself. We had a blast playing playdough. You can see Saxon with his brick of Playdough. That is about the extent of his playing. Really funny ...







We just had to hit our favorite eating spots. After playing at the water park with had icecream at Judd's General Store and then went to have lunch at Marv's. It was sooo yummy!

The Madsen Family Came to Visit!!!

My best friend in the whole wide world chose to spend their one vacation this year with us! It was a wonderful week. I especially enjoyed taking them to see all of our favorite places and do our favorite things. Her kids were just so sweet, and I love that they call me Aunt Sue.

One of the days they were here we went to the water park. This is not something they get in Carson City, NV so this was truly a treat. The kids loved it and had so much fun. Here is Joslyn with such a sweet grin on her face. I don't think she even stopped for a minute!









My kids usually don't play at the fountain but this day, Joslyn was able to show them the fun of it. They especially loved waiting for the water to turn on and spray them all!
















Saxon had a good time too. He and Lydia just puttered around and splashed in the water.

















This is a bit out of order but the first day we ran in the sprinklers. Lydia was not going to be left out. She got drenched and she was fully dressed!

Happy 3-0!

My birthday was an absolute blast! We did a 50's style murder mystery. Here is Nate in full scale costume!
We have always had a good time doing murder mystery's and we are so excited that we have finally found a group of people who are excited about it. We even got Grandma and Grandpa Zollinger in on it as well. The memory of Grandma playing the town huzzy (her words) and Grandpa calling the bad guys out on the carpet will always live fondly in my mind!











Here are the kids having cake and icecream at the kiddie table. They were such troopers. We didn't end until past 11:00 and they were just happy little campers!
















Ambur and Eric in their costumes, eating her fabulous cake!










And here's the birthday girl. I vow next time I will have a costume that looks a little less of a marm. This is the cake that Ambur made for me. Isn't it awesome?


Sadly, we don't have any pictures of Gavin and Brooke, we will rectify that situation next time if we haven't scared them away. Thanks again to everyone that came! It was a fun night and I hope we can do it again!

June Waterpark #1 with the Jones Family

June began with our favorite spot. I know that I have a lot of pictures from the waterpark but seriously, there is nothing cuter than these kids having fun playing in the water.

Here is Lila and Isaac eating cowboy cookies. They are the best of buddies!

Lydia began the summer VERY timid about the water. Now it is all I can do to keep her from climbing all the rocks. She won't even hold my hand anymore. She loves the waterfalls!

Emma loves playing with the Jones' girls. They always seem to have a good time every time they get together!