Golden Birthday!

Eliza celebrated her Golden Birthday on July 8th! Highlights included getting her ears pierced, sparkly yellow chick earrings, chicken and waffle earrings, a mini A&W mug, and hot tub swimming. She decided to wait for her baptism until we got to Utah so all her cousins can attend. She's so excited! 

We love our little Eliza so much! She's strong, courageous, and so much fun. She loves to climb, knit, read, play with little kids, bead, cuddle her stuffies, and draw.

This summer Eliza discovered she loves brass instruments. There was a musical "petting zoo" at the library where the kids got to try different instruments. Eliza is a natural on the trumpet. When we visited my Grandpa this summer, he gave her his old bugle because he was so impressed she could blow it. He told us his teacher gave it to him and sent him to a room until he could learn to play "To the Colors" for the flag raising each morning. He has always been one to foster musical interests. Eliza LOVES that bugle.

Eliza was so sad to leave our chickens in Kentucky. But she had lots of fun with Alicia's birds while we were there. Eliza is so gentle and caring with all animals. 

Eliza's strength and love of climbing usually leads to her climbing all over playgrounds and trees with the ease of a monkey. Sadly sometimes she climbs higher than she can get down...

Poor little girl broke her arm the beginning of August when she fell about 6 feet off the climbing wall at the Rec Center. She is so strong she was able to climb all the way to the top of one of the harder courses. But once she tried to get down, she realized she couldn't reach one of the foot holds. She slipped and hit the ground hard. Little E didn't shed a single tear, but her arm was obviously broken. Luckily, it wasn't too far displaced and she didn't need it reset or surgically repaired. Now she's rocking her second pink cast.

Sweet Eliza! I love your bold, daring approach to life and the way way you balance that with your natural, nurturing abilities. You're going to be great - at eight and in life. Love you!

Double Digits

The beginning of July we celebrated Hazel and Eliza's birthdays. I cannot believe my first baby is now a double-digit tween. She's less little girl and more young lady everyday. I want to freeze time so she can't keep growing up, and yet, I love seeing the amazing girl she is becoming.

For her birthday she wanted to go on a hike - just the two of us. We hiked to a beautiful part of Pinnacles we've never done before because it's too far for the little kids. It was incredible! 

Michael got to take these two cuties for a lunch date...

And that night we enjoyed a yummy dinner and swimming in the hot tub with our dear friends the Phillips.

Here's more about 10-year-old Hazel in her own words:

What's the best part of being 10 years old?
Ummm..... (laughs) Double digits!

What are 5 things you love to do?
1. Read
2. Ride my bike
3. Go places with my family
4. Hike
5. Play with friends

What are you most excited for this year?
Moving in to our new house and finishing the basement.

What are some things you don't like?
Finishing one of my favorite books, shrimp, the smell of cold soup, and crashing on my bike (which I have done a few times).

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to home-school my kids.

What is your favorite book?
Harry Potter, Fabelhaven, Beauty, American Girl books.

If you were a Harry Potter character who would you be?
Probably Hermione seeing as all I do is read.

Kentucky Bucket List with Jamie!

Jamie came for a visit the end of June, and we were able to check off some big items on our Kentucky bucket list! Of course having Jamie here made them all even better. 

- Corvette Museum - 

Michael and Jamie really wanted to see the Corvette Museum, and I must admit, it was really fun! Conrad got to ride in this stroller car. He was in heaven! This boy loves cars so much and he had a blast the whole time. 

Besides a lot of really neat Corvettes, there was several hands on exhibits. The kids loved the children's area where they could create and race Lego cars, fix a car, ride in peddle cars, and in Hazel's case get her very own license.

There was also an area of the museum that was swallowed in a sink hole several years ago. They've since rebuilt it complete with a glass portion of the floor where you can see down in to the hole. Really neat but slightly creepy to see just how deep this sink hole was. 

We even got to sit in a Corvette! Conrad's face was priceless...

There was also a really neat exhibit about the space shuttle. We studied Astronomy this year for school so the kids and I really enjoyed this part. 

 - Mammoth Cave -

Our next stop was Mammoth Cave National Park. Hazel and I decided we want to visit as many National Parks as possible before she's 18 so we had to do this one before we moved. Mammoth Cave is the largest cave system in the world and covers over 400 miles of caves! 

The first day we took the "Historic Tour." It really gave you a sense of just how massive the caves are. The kids loved the "fat man's misery" section that was really windy and narrow.

Jamie booked the most adorable rustic cabins for the night. We cooked food with an electric kettle and crockpot and enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful evening. 

Side note: Jamie always lets the kids do fun things like take the picture that I often don't want to take the time to do. Did Orson's pictures turn out? I doubt it! But he had so much fun taking them.

The second day Michael had to head home to work on his dissertation. It was awful to see him go, but he was on a deadline to finish before starting at UVU in the fall. He worked so hard this summer to get it done!

We went on a second tour called "Domes and Dripstones." This one was amazing! It started with a decent down over 300 tight stairs designed and built by a submarine company. It was unbelievable (and slightly scary as I carried a wiggly Conrad down them).

It then led us through some of the most beautiful formations in the cave. I've never seen anything like them before. The pictures are terrible and don't capture even a fraction of how intricate they were. I'm so glad we choose that tour!

That day the kids completed the Jr. Ranger program and were sworn in as young protectors of the park. We also saw a few other sights in the park and rode the ferry across a river (which the kids thought was scary but secretly I think they had fun). 

That night we camped, made quesadillas on the fire, chased fireflies, and tried to sleep though a huge thunder storm. The kids loved every minute of it! Jamie and I were glad the storm wasn't worse. 

On our way out the next morning we did some wildlife watching at a small lake. We saw the biggest turtle I've ever seen in the wild. My phone was dead by that point, but Jamie caught some great pictures on her camera.

- One Last Pinnacles Hike -

We had to show Jamie Pinnacles. We haven't made it up every month like we wanted to, but I think we've gone about 10 times this year. This time we hiked a different trail than we have before and it ended up being close to 4 miles round-trip. The girls did so well! Conrad fell asleep in my arms though haha! I ended up sitting with him with the girls and Jamie explored. It was a great day!

Not on our bucket list, but just some fun with Jamie - sewing neck pillows for the move, going to church, playing lots of games, and touring Keenland.

Also, Eliza and I both got our ears pierced while Jamie was in town! I had my pierced when I was 8 but had lots of problems with them and let them close up. Eliza convinced me to get them re-pierced when she got hers done. I love them! Eliza was also thrilled we let her get hers done a week before her birthday so Jamie could be there with us.

Thanks Jamie for a wonderful visit and for helping us check off the last few Kentucky bucket list items!