Summer Fun

The summer has been a good one for us- the only problem is how fast it's going!! We visited Utah a few weeks ago for my brother Tyson's last weekend before his mission. He's going to Guatemala and although I was very sad to say goodbye to him, he's doing so well in the MTC and he'll be a great missionary. He has such a positive attitude and is so excited to share the gospel with others because he knows how true it is and has felt the happiness it brings in his life.

While we were down there we hiked to the Timp caves with my family. It's a hike i've always wanted to do and we had fun together despite the heat and the steep trail. Lyla was such a good hiker and Paul was a good sport to carry her the whole way!! The caves were so interesting and a nice place to cool down!!

For our last family night together Tyson wanted to go bowling. We all used bumpers except for Jared and Ty- and they still got the highest scores! :) Lyla was a trooper even though she stayed up past 10 that night! (Don't tell daddy...)
The day before Ty left we drove to Salt Lake and did a session. Alyssa and Cass were so sweet to watch Lyla. It was so perfect to be inside the beautiful temple with my mom and brothers and to feel so much love for them. I'm so grateful for my family and for the amazing plan which will allow us to be together forever!
We also watched the Joseph Smith movie. What a perfect thing to do right before leaving on a mission- after seeing the sacrifices of Joseph and the saints Tyson said that a two year mission seems like the least he can do to build the church. I definitely need to find more ways to do my part as well!
Here are some random pics of Lyla- Alyssa had fun taking pictures of her with big glasses on. She kept trying to rip them off so it was a game to try to snap a picture before they came off.


Little missy has become so active and full of energy. She's not quite crawling yet but is getting close. She's been kinda fussy lately about only wanting to be held, and usually it has to be by me. She then crawls all over me and doesn't stop moving- little monkey! most days after playing with her for awhile I end up like this because she wears me out!

Paul and I decided to make an apple pie for our new neighbors. It was my first time so he did most of the work but it was fun to cook together! We've gotten several new neighbors this summer and they are in the process of building a house next door. It will be fun once someone moves in, but right now it's annoying because the big machines frequently wake Lyla up from naps or keep her up at night. A few times they've even worked until 10 at night and I've come close to marching over there with a screaming baby to ask them to stop!

Sweet angel...Allison gave me the best onesie that finally fits Lyla- it says "when I grow up I want to be a tax accountant like mommy." I actually hope she doesn't decide to do that, but I love having her wear it.

One day Paul was playing with Lyla and she kept just staring up at him- so precious!
We took Alyssa to EFY in Logan and we all had to try the Aggie ice cream while we were there- so yummy!

My mom and Cassidy then came to stay which us for a few days which was so fun! We walked around the falls and took some pictures. Then we painted our toe nails- even Lyla's!
We went to the Idaho Falls museum and enjoyed dressing up there.

Playing in a teepee

It was so much fun to have them stay with us and I miss them already! Luckily we have a few more summer plans for the next few months! :)