We went to Newport Beach for an evening while Damon had a luau. It was right on the beach. We watched the sunset and visited 1212 Oceanfront. Noah is the only one who really remembers going there, but so many memories. It was a fun night.I can't even say that we have been busy. I just haven't been blogging. With working crazy hours, to doing crazy things, the summer is quickly coming to a close and I feel like it just began. Time just needs to slow down for a little bit so I can enjoy this stage of my kids lives.
We have been having fun, although Noah will tell you it is not enough fun. The kids have played with the neighbors, we had movie night and watched "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" with the tree kids, we have gone swimming, to the beach, to museums, bowling, out to lunch with dad and even went to one of Damon's luaus. We have spent a lot of time with family. We have also worked hard. The boys read over 30 hours in a month and Lily read over 30 books. They have had math work to do in hopes that they will retain some until school starts. They took swim lessons and are much stronger swimmers. They have also been doing more chores and have set an example to the neighborhood kids who started doing chores because they do chores (the kids parents all love that).
We went to Seaport Village while Julie was here for a visit. It was a beautiful day!
We only have 1 week more and I have no idea how I am going to squeeze everything in that I want to do into that week. So sad.
Paris May 2010
The festivities started on August 7th. Damon and I took just Adam out on a date. We went to Chevy's and then to the bookstore where Adam got to pick out books. He had such a hard time choosing because there were just so many things he wanted to read (love it!!). 
Friday night was Adam's baptism. It was a very special event. There were lots of friends and family there to share this occasion. We had lots of yummy desserts afterwards. Nana, Papa and Auntie Dara came down from UT and we loved seeing them again.
WOW! So long with no post. For a while there wasn't anything interesting going on. Then all of a sudden lots of fun things happened. So we have been around, just enjoying the summer laziness/business. 
We came back in time for our cousin's luau reception. Damon and Dara both danced in it and the kids loved being there. I gave the camera to the kids for a little bit and we got some interesting shots. 
Saturday was a fun and busy day. We went on two hikes. Damon and I were able to go on one hike without the kids. It was a little bit tougher and took us to the bottom of the canyon. We went with my aunt and my cousin. There were fascinating rock formations and spectacular views. It was amazing.
The second hike we went up to Mossy Caves and hiked to a waterfall. The kids wore their swim suits and had a blast sliding down rocks and stomping through the water. It really was pretty. Adam was jumping from rock to rock just absolutely loving it. I found out that I do have children who enjoy the wilderness.
We went back to the campsight and had lunch with the family and played games. We had a water balloon contest, played water volleyball, jello slurping contest and just pure silliness. The kids had a lot of fun with all their new found cousins. I enjoyed catching up with all the ones I haven't seen in forever.
We left around 4pm and drove back to St. George. Damon has to leave on Sunday, but the kids and I are hanging out for a few extra days. 
Our drive from St. George to Bryce Canyon was great. There were amazing views and endless forests. It was a beautiful drive and not to windy or narrow roads. Part of the drive we were on Highway 89 which takes me back to the days that we drove between Phoenix and Provo.
We checked into our room at one of the lodges at Ruby's Inn. It was near the lake so we had some nice views. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were in rooms right around ours. It reminded me of the old days when we would do family reunions when we were younger. We loved being up in the woods with the smell of pines. We even had a monsoon go by. We stopped by Old Bryce Canyon Town which was across the street from the hotel. So cute.
Friday morning we drove around the park and hit the visitor's center. We learned a lot of interesting facts in this film that we watched. Later that day as we were hiking Inspiration Trail with the rest of my family my kids were able to ramble off all these facts and my relatives thought they were all so smart. That was funny. It was a great hike though. Lily made a great friend in my cousin Cari who carried her most of the hike on her back.
Friday night after dinner we had a softball game, played with sparklers and then we sat around the campfire and made smores and heard stories from the aunts and uncles about our family. The kids loved it. It has been fun seeing my cousins and getting to know some that I don't really know. We started to set off fireworks until security came by and told us that we couldn't do fireworks there. Fun killer.
Bryce Canyon is beautiful. We really do live in a unique country. I get angry when people say America is boring and dull.
