July - Half One

I feel like I need to break up July since we took a ton of pictures and it's a lot for just one post so here is Half One.  We were so busy having fun this summer that blogging took a back seat.  Now I'm hoping I can catch up and QUICK!!  4th of July was spent camping in Southern Utah with Rick's extended family.  They do this trip every year and since we were actually home, we were not going to miss out again!  Rick was especially excited to put his ATV to use since they went riding EVERY DAY!  Can you believe it?  I just enjoy camping in general so I didn't mind hanging back with the kiddos.  We hope to be able to go on this trip each year.  It was so fun.

The girls got a chance to ride on cousin's ATVs with and without them.  Lexi wasn't very happy when her turn was over...

The girls each had turns riding with Daddy while I followed in my car.  I wasn't the only pregnant momma so I had company :)

At the end of this trail, we ate lunch and hiked down to some Indian ruins.  The girls are completely fascinated with rocks right now so it doesn't get much better than this!

We made time for some other favorite activities...yummy hot cocoa, the hammock was a hit with kids and adults, decorating cookies with Aunt Leslie, and scavenger hunts with Grandma Lyman.

On our way home, we made sure to stop and remember to appreciate God's creations.  It is so beautiful there!

We cut back on one day of this trip because we had the chance to see Rick's oldest sister, her family, and Grampa Craig.  What a treat!  Amber and family live in Minnesota so we haven't seen them for 3 years.  We were so excited to have them so we tried to fit in a lot of fun in a little bit of time.  First off, of course, was the Dino Museum.  The cousins were asking non-stop about this so we made it a priority.  We started in the Discovery Room which changed recently to the discovery of sound.

On to the rest of the museum...

I had to get the youngest of the Blas kids because she is the squishiest thing on the planet right now!  Alessa a.k.a. "Dooney" is so stinkin' cute!

 It was so hot that we busted out our water toys and let the kids go at it.  Lexi was more interested in posing for pictures than the water toys.  Benji was so cute to play games with Lexi.  He is such a great big brother which makes him a great cousin, too.  He says our baby boy is going to be named "Benji Jr."  Not a bad choice :)

Wish we could have had you longer cousins and Grampa!