I made a slide show to highlight some of the many photos from our three week vacation. It was so much fun and I wanted to show as many pictures as I could without taking up so much space.

For our vacation we went to visit Nicki and her family in Washington, we spent a few days in Idaho with my mom and dad, and we finished out the vacation in Utah-first at our family reunion on Mount Timpanogos, and then with Anna and Boyd at Boyd's family cabin in Mount Pleasant. On our way home we spent the 4th of July at Rychael's house and we traveled through Grand Canyon National Park and made many stops there on our drive home.

On our trip to Washington we were able to hang out with the cousins and play. Nicki got me into the aweful habit of starting a movie at ten o'clock or so and then sleeping in the next morning. A habit I still have. She showed me the views from her town which include the Columbia River.

At the family reunion we hiked up Mt. Timpanogos to the caves. We really had no idea what we were in for when we took Jaylyn with us. She started to struggle about half way up. We took turns carrying her as much as we could, but she had to walk most of the way. Nathan even had a hard time. Anthony on the other hand cruised. We made it up and went through the caves which were pretty amazing. On the way down, Jaylyn sat down on the path and gave up. She refused to go any further. Nathan then joined her, sobbing that his feet didn't work anymore. We had to carry them the remainder of the way. Thank goodness we only had 1/4 of the way left.

After the reunion we went to Matt's sister's house (Anna) and they took us to Boyd's family cabin. It was really nice with a loft that had rows of beds. It was in a nice area with great scenery. It was the kind of camping I like to do with a microwave and running water. They brought their four wheeler and plenty of games. It was very fun.

On the way home we stayed at Rychaels on the fourth and watched the fireworks from the comfort of his backyard. The next day we drove home via the Grand Canyon. The boys really enjoyed the views. It was nice for us as well since it broke up the monotony of our regular drive home.

I hesitated taking such a long trip this year, but I don't know when I will be able to make another trip like it again. I have been trying to get to Nicki's for a couple of years now and was so glad we were able to do it this year. We had a good time, and the kids had a chance to get to know her kids better.

It was a fun vacation. The kids traveled well and enjoyed seeing all of their cousins. We love you all and enjoyed being with you. See you again next year, if not sooner!

Nathan's Birthday

We had Nathan's birthday party while we were in Washington (we traveled back to Idaho on his actual birthday). He had a great time opening presents.

Nathan requested a Diego birthday cake. I don't have any clue why he wanted Diego since we never watch it or have anything Diego around the house. Nicki, Mom, and I looked all around for some kind of Diego toys to put on a cake so that we could call it a Diego cake. We finally found some at Toys R Us. We laughed when we found the Diego candies at Walmart right down the street. Oh well, the toys made it cuter.

Happy birthday Nathan. Here is a little information about you. You are such a joy. You have the most endearing smile and contagious laugh. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. You are happy most of the time, but when you are not, everyone knows it. I think you are going to be our little entertainer since you love to sing and you aren't afraid to show everyone your haka (it's a polynesian war dance). We love you!