Trip to Utah and Las Vegas

We spent the first part of our summer vacation going to Utah and Las Vegas.  We started in Utah for my nephew Jake's baptism and my cousin's mission homecoming. It was fun being able to visit with family.   Ryan had to leave during the week for work, but before he left we were able to visit with more family!! The kids really like playing with all their cousins!  After he left, we drove down to Las Vegas to visit my Grandma Hicks, go swimming and go to Lake Mead.  While we were at Lake Mead a military helicopter flew right over the boat.  It was SO COOL!!! We also ate at a couple buffets and did LOTS of swimming.  One night I crashed Alisa & Kurts date night and we went down to the strip. We saw the new Kardashian store in the Mirage and went and saw the Billagio water show. And went shopping at Cesears. Thanks Alisa for letting me crash - you're the BEST sister ever!!! The night before we left to go home, Brady got really sick and spent the night throwing up.  It was a long drive home from Vegas with a really sick toddler.  On Monday we ended up going to the Urgent Care in Utah to find out that he had the Rotavirus. He was sick a few more days before he snapped out of it.  Poor Brady!! Ryan was able to fly back and spend some more time with us.  We were so excited to have him around to enjoy our vacation. We spent the fourth playing games in the backyard and just enjoying each other.  It was a perfect fourth of July.  

The next Friday we went to Seven Peaks.  The kids had a blast doing the slides and spending more time in the water.  We stole Hudson for the day and Jake and Josh came down.  It was super crowded, but fun being able to be in the sun at a water park. That night they had a sleepover at Katies.  She was a trooper to let them spend the night.  They had a blast!

 It is always hard leaving family, but we had a great long trip! Thanks to everyone (Grandma, Grandpa, Alisa, Kurt, Jake, Josh, Katie, Brendon, Shay, Hudson, Rob, Aubrey, Jeff, Grandma Hicks, and Grandma Carol) for putting up with us! We had a blast!

 Brady loved playing with Jeff

 Glitter Toes!

 Movie Time!

 Hudson & Brady were best buds!

 Aunt Katie was so good to play with the kids!

 Sydney loved showing us her wrinkled hands. Lots of pool time!

 Captain Tyler and Captain Grandpa.

 Brady loved the wind in his hair.

 The cute Didenhover family.

 Sleepy Brady!

 We wore the kids out and they took naps! AMAZING!!

 Here's a picture of the military helicopter.  It was so low!

 Swimming buds.

 Oh yea, the Kardashian store!

 Date night with Lindsey?

 Sick Brady.  This is right before I took him to Instacare.

 Feeding the ducks and geese.  The swarmed the kids.

 Grandma Camille and Grandma Carol too Jake and Sydney to The Sound of Music.  They loved it.  It's Sydney's current favorite movie.

 Playing kick croquet.  We had a blast!

 Daddy and Tyler loved playing horseshoes. I think Daddy won.

 Here's a picture of the kids with their mater teeth. So funny!

 Water Park fun!

Say cheese!

Happy Fathers Day!!

 Happy Fathers day Daddy!! We had a great Fathers Day. I had Church meetings in the morning which meant that Ryan got the kids ready for church.  Sydney gave a talk in primary about fathers and how much she loved her Daddy.  It was so sweet.  For dinner Ryan wanted to bbq, so he did and then we made him chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I took the kids to the mall the week before and they made presents for Ryan for Fathers Day.  They colored on hats and frisbees and made some key chains.  They were so excited to give them to him. They even helped him open his present.  It was fun relaxing and so great to be able to spend time with Daddy!! Thanks for all you do for our family. You're the best Dad in the world!!

Visiting the Zoo

My sister Alisa and her kids sent us this great list of things to do over the summer.  We have been working on it and one of the items is to visit the zoo.  It is so much fun!

This spring I was able to go to the Oregon Zoo with Sydney's class. We had a great time, but I wasn't able to get any pictures because it was so crazy busy with hundreds of school kids.  I was in charge of three girls and they loved the zoo.

Since the boys weren't able to go with me, I decided to take them a couple weeks later.  It wasn't the best weather - overcast and a little cool.  But I heard that means the animals are more active.  The favorite animal was the polar bears.  The boys LOVED the polar bears.  They were playing with their toys and trying to get carrots out of them.  Brady especially  loved seeing them move around.  They also liked seeing the black bears.  They were wrestling around and trying to climb trees.  Tyler said that was is most favorite.  We were able to feed some birds.  It is fun to see the animals through little boys eyes.  My favorite is always the hippos.  They are fat and lazy and amaze me every time I see them. With both trips we were able to see all the animals and had so much fun.  

Sydney's Piano Recital

 Sydney had her 2nd piano recital. I was able to do a joint recital with her teacher again. It was a great experience for her. She played 2 songs.  Ode to Joy and My Canoe. She did a fabulous job and I was so proud of her!!

Sydney with Candace - her piano teacher.

Tyler's Preschool Graduation

Tyler has graduated from preschool and is ready for Kindergarten.  To celebrate - we had a class party/graduation that family was able to attend. So Brady, Grammy and I went and had a party with Tyler.  His school had a different station to build or play with.  He loved playing with the sand and building with the legos. Tyler has had a great year.  He loved going to preschool and loved going to see his teachers and friends.  He got an award for, "being everybody's friend." I'm glad Tyler is so nice to everyone.  He is such a sweetheart. He is eager to learn and ready to read.  He knows all his letters and their sounds.  He can count to 100. He loves building with legos. He loves superheros and is ALWAYS laughing about something.  It's fun as Brady gets older to see them play together.   

This is Tyler's favorite teacher (and I think first crush) Skylene.  We were in the car dropping him off and I had Sydney with me and Tyler told her which teacher was Skylene.  Sydney said, "she's cute Tyler." And Tyler said, "I told you she was pretty.  I couldn't stop laughing.  So funny!

Brady loved building the ramps to push the cars down.

This is Tyler with his teacher Ms. Ackerman.  

Sydney's End of Year Open House

 This year Sydney joined a Polynesian Dancing club after school on Wednesdays from 3 - 4. She loves to dance, so of course she loves Polynesian Dancing.  She would even teach Tyler how to do the moves. For the open house she was able to show us her art and school assignments she has been working on.  Part of her butterfly fell off, which she was sad about.  But she did a great job!! She is definitely ready for 2nd grade!  On the paper plate she wrote about what she is most excited to do this summer.  She wrote, "This summer break is going to be busy.  My family is going on a big trip to my grandmas house. I will see my cousins new house. I haven't seen his house before. My summer break will be awesome."  I am so excited for summer break and having all the kids home!

This is Sydney's "I'm tired of smiling for a picture" smile.  She's still cute!

This is Sydney's 1st grade teacher Miss Woods.  Sydney loved her as a teacher.