Bear Lake '17

We were lucky enough to be able to spend a weekend at Bear Lake with Lance's family again this year. We love that place!

This year we spent two days out on a boat, which was awesome. 

Maddie got to try tubing for the first time! She took it very seriously but loved it (I think). 

And the big girls got to try their hand at driving the boat!

This year we even got Gigi and Granddad out on the tube. They rocked it!

Day 2 on the boat; Maddie was killing it. 

We also got a wakeboard the second day and Meagan and Lance did an impressive job. 

I think most of the kids liked just hanging out on the tube more than actually tubing...

We love the boats!

Lots of time spent riding bikes. 

And a hike in the rain!

The beach was crowded but eventually we found the perfect spot. 

Just hanging out at the campground in between- a slumber party for Reagan.

Mini-golf!

And souvenirs- Reagan has been saving her allowance money up and found the exact thing she wanted- glo-stick mouse ears. 

Can't wait till next year!

Madelyn at 15 months

Oh this sweet silly girl! She is full of pint-sized shenanigans. She is always up to something silly!

And always finds herself in sizes not meant for her- like a doll high chair and her sister's nightgown. 

Or a size 6 month cow costume! (There's not a lot we wont do for free Chickfila).

Turns out, she loves Chickfila sauce as much as me. Maybe even a little more. I swear, you turn your back for a second!

Madelyn brings such joy to our family. The girls absolutely adore her and she tolerates most of their games. Maddie walks and climbs everywhere and is starting to run. She doesn't speak yet but is learning to follow commands like "get your shoe", "throw the diaper away", and "go show Dada". It's so cute when she does what I tell her! She is becoming more independent and likes to try to do things herself, including putting her clothes on (she needs a little more practice...) and feeding herself. She loves green beans and meat and fruit the most. She wears mostly size 18 month clothes and size 4 shoes. She just started to learn how to color. She taught herself to turn on the stereo and turns the Moana soundtrack on and starts dancing almost every day. She loves the water and swimming and splashing. She drinks 4 cups of milk a day, eats like crazy, and takes 2 2-hr naps and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. She loves to be chased. She loves exciting things- I think she's a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. She enjoys looking and and chewing on books. At her doctors appointment this morning she was 31.5 inches (85th %) and 24 lbs 5 oz (90th%). She is really chunking up and finally slowing down a little on height. She started throwing tantrums recently. When you do something she doesn't like, she just throws herself down and lays there. It's pretty cute, actually. Occasionally she adds crying. 

We love this little snuggle bug so much!

Independence Day

We had such a great 4th this year! Since the girls have recently learned how to ride their bikes well, we decided to try out the kids bike parade that Layton City does before the official parade. I think Lance was a little skeptical about how it would go, but he helped the girls decorate their bikes and the wagon so cutely. The girls were so excited!

I was extremely impressed- Reagan took off and was at the front the whole way. We didn't see her until the end of the parade route. The rest of us hung back a little slower at the back. Daryn was such a trooper and rode her little heart out, completing a good chunk of the route before cutting across the top of a u-shape with Lance to meet Reagan at the end. 

Then we found seats to watch the official parade! It was so hot, but Smiths passed out free popsicles so that helped. 

 The girls were basically only invested in the candy. 

After we came home for some naps, we drove up to Park City to spend the rest of the day with Meagan and Grace. We swam at the pool near her house for a bit, then enjoyed these beauties. 

We relaxed a little and the girls smashed open a piñata that I made for the occasion! 

Then we drove over to Meagan's now-former work, Promontory, for their big celebration. They had tons of fun for the kids and a yummy dinner. 

Bouncy houses are always a good time. 

And they had some animals! The girls really enjoyed the snakes. I kept my distance. 

And they had face painting! 

Maddie's first time- she sat very still on my lap to get her tiny firework.

 As it started to get dark we skipped the fireworks display and made the long drive home. We caught Layton City's as we were driving past and shot off a few little ones of our own at home before crashing. We didn't feel bad because our friends set off a HUGE nearly 2 hour display the night before in our neighborhood. We sat on their driveway and it literally felt like we were inside the fireworks. We all came home covered in ash and debris. Pretty cool!

We had a few other pre-holiday festivities. We hit up the Oakley Rodeo on Friday night with Meagan and Grace and it was really fun but also pretty cold once the sun went down and we spent most of the  night huddling and trying to keep the kids warm. 

Monday evening, on the 3rd, we decided on a quick hike before the neighbor's fireworks. We completed it in record time!

We love getting out in nature and blowing things up and celebrating this great county of ours!