Oquirrh Mountain Temple Openhouse

On Friday, July 17th we picked Craig up from work and headed up to the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple Openhouse. The kids love going to the temple, and we are truly blessed to have so many close by. And to actually go into two in one year is awesome!

Hiking to the Cross

So I have lived in Spanish my entire life and never once have climbed to the cross on the mountain side. My neighbor had to tell me about it, who isn't from around here. She also told me of many other little hikes to go to in Spanish. I think I am the one who is suppose to be doing the telling, but not in this case. It was a fun hike.

Camping in the Backyard

A camping we will go, a camping we will go, hi ho the dairy oh a camping we will go...
Even if it is in the backyard. The kids have been wanting to go camping, and so we did. We set up the tents, had a camp fire, roasted marshmallows, and then set up a movie to watch. The night was perfect, except for the Spanish Fork wind that started around midnight. I thought the tent was going to fall over, but it didn't. The next morning we had to hurry and put everything away, because it started raining.

Our New Addition

So after months and months of begging Nicole and Sara talked us into getting a cat. They named the cat Jazz, then Ty changed it to Cougar. The cat was fun to play with, but was very lonely. He was missing his mom and we found out Craig is allergic to cats. So after a few days of having the cat, Nicole woke up one morning and informed me that she did not want the cat any more. This surprised me because everyday she would lay outside by it for hours and play with it. But I think it scratched her one to many times and she was finished. I don't think Craig minded because he was sneezing all the time, but he was a cute cat. Now Nicole wants a dog. If we get one of those maybe she will keep it for 3 days.

Let Freedom Ring!

Our July 4th started out early. We were up very very late the night before visiting with the Woodhouse's and therefore, slept through the alarm clock. For some reason Craig woke up at 5:50 a.m. and within 10 minutes the kids and I were out of the house. But we made it, and I am glad we did. Last year, Craig took the older three to see the balloons and I stayed home with Ben, so this was my first year experiencing the balloons. I never knew they blew up the balloons with a simple fan. It was so neat to watch. Ben however was scared to death. He knew the balloons were going to fall on him.


After seeing the balloons we went to the Ortiz' house and had breakfast. It was very yummy! Thanks Ryan for the yummy breakfast.

During the day the girls went back to Amy's to play in the water while the boys slept. Then everyone met at our house for dinner, and of course a backyard baseball game.
Craig set up a tent for the girls to play in. They had fun chatting and goofying around.
Ben eating Angie's yummy cup cakes. Ben decided to grow a frosting beard.
Ben's third cupcake. He was so cute eating them, so I just letting him eat and eat.
Uncle Ryan and Nicole were teasing each other, and he got some frosting on her face, so therefore, he got an entire cupcake in his.
Nicole is proud of her work. Thanks Ryan for having a good sense of humor and taking it like a man!
When it got dark it was time for Fireworks. The kids had a blast playing with the sparklers. It was such a windy night, so we did sparklers and snaps for a long time, but finally the wind died down enough so we could watch the big fireworks.

Yes, I can hardly believe my eyes as well. Yes, that is right Ben, is actually holding a sparkler. What a brave boy!!!

It was a crazy night. The Ortiz' van starter went out and the men tried for an hour or so to fix it, but nothing worked. So atleast the wind stopped blowing so that atleast we ended the night with some entertainment admist the frustrations.

Fun day with cousins and friends

I had to babysit my sisters kids on July 3rd and it was such a hot day that the boys wanted to play in the water. They found these water guns, and Ty was so nice because he just sat there and let them get him wet.

While the boys were in the water, the girls were inside making up funny skits. Everyone was laughing so hard. It is fun when cousins can do things together.
That night we took the older kids and the Woohouses and went to hike the Y. I haven't hiked the Y since I was 18. The kids were excited and ready for the challenge.
Craig and Nicole after a few hills.
Sara and Whitnee were exhausted after this hill. Unfortunately for them we were just beginning.
The boys were tough. They could have hiked it in a half hour or so. I told them that the BYU football team have to run it and so of course they had to as well.
The girls taking the a break.
The side view of the whole Y.
We all made it to the top!!! What a fun, hot day. While we were on the Y, we heard the Jonas Brothers practicing a song from the Stadium.
The view from the Y.



After the hike, we decided we needed to cool off with ice cream sundaes. Yum! Yum!

Lots and Lots of Dental Work

All I can say is this summer has been filled with many visits to the dentist. Tyler and Nicole have had a ton of work done. We have kept the dentist in business this year. Tyler had to have 3 teeth extracted. He had an extra tooth coming in between his two front teeth. It was shaped like a tear drop. It is crazy looking. Then he had to have a cap put on plus 8 cavities filled. Because of all the work he had to have they had to put him under. Which that costs 75.00 every 15 minutes he is under, with the first 15 minutes costing 150.00. Lets just say that bill alone was $750.00 and we had to pay up front. Hopefully the insurance will come through.
Then Nicole had to go 4 different times to get all of her work done. She is so brave. She didn't want the gas. She just sat their calm and watched a movie. She had a tooth pulled and a spacer put in. 2 root canals, 2 caps, and 11 cavities.
So when it was time for Sara and Ben to be seen they were expecting tons of problems, since the other two had so much. Ben had no cavities, and Sara had one small one. It is crazy, because we really do have the kids brush their teeth, and yet look at all that had to be done. All I can say is what if we didn't have them brush their teeth?

Dance Tryouts

Sara and Nicole tried out for Heart n' Souls dance competition teams this year. Sara made Junior Elites team, and Nicole made the Minis team. They did so good learning their dances and performing for the judges. Way to go! I am so proud of you!