Gone for a month and a reunion!

David flew back into the St. George airport on July 3rd. On the 4th we went to the St. George party at the park and let the kids eat snowcones and jump on all the bounce houses. Scotty really took a shining to my parents by the 2nd week. He would go everywhere with them which is a big deal because he is in the middle of  the serious separation anxiety stage.

Then I was also there for my parents to get a phone call and then a real fed ex call to be the South Africa MTC president. It was so fun to learn all the details day by day as they learned about their mission!

 And we swam a LOT!  Lucy was going off the slide and swimming to the side without any floaties or help. We decided driving to St. George for swimming twice a day everyday is a way better to use of funds than swimming lessons!

Even Scotty by the end of it was jumping in on his own.

Then we headed to Pine Valley for the Ashton family reunion. There was a beautiful lodge up there with 8 bedrooms and a million bunk beds and the kitchen of my dreams. Shockingly enough it was barely big enough to fit our bunch of 50+ people.

It was gorgeous up there and nice and cool. At night time we had to wear jackets!

We let the kids hike like crazy around the rocks and stream, And lots of them ended up drenched and by the time we got home. Nothing better than dirt and cousins!

One day after swimming we all went down to a stream where you could catch craw dads. Between all the Asthon cousins we must have caught at least 20. It was so much fun.

The last night of the reunion we played Ashton family feud. It was hilarious and so much fun. We were just a little competitive.

One afternoon we couldn't find any of our kids inside and we caught this on the side yard. My parents had giant pixie sticks and were making the kids do sommersaults and tricks to earn sugar. It was hilarious.

Abe brought up his electronic skateboard thing that scared the daylights out of me the minute I got on. But everyone else managed to pull it off.

Here is part of the dream kitchen with enough barstools for 10 and two islands. I loved it. A lot of time was spent here eating and talking. If you look at all the adults I think we were all ripping up pancakes on the first morning.

After the reunion we had two more days in St. George so we took the kids to Menchie's our favorite FroYo place.

As always we took the kids to the St. George visitor center on a Sunday afternoon.

I love this picture.

So grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and temples!

And this one is fuzzy but this was what our car looked like as we took off from St. George to Vegas sunburned and not being able to see our the back. We took advantage of one more layover with Mandy and J for a day and a half. Then we made it from Vegas to Texas over the next two days. We hate being in the car for two days but you do what you have to do to get to see family! Plus the kids really are getting obscenely good at these car trips.

Gone for a month and a wedding!

When planning this summer's vacation it involved a lot of checking prices for flights and scheduling around family events. We knew to spend almost 4 entire days in the car we were going to spend a fair amount of time in Utah. David was kind enough to fly up and back two separate times to drop me off and make it up for a wedding. So here's how the summer trip looked...

Friday, June 19th David got off work at noon and we headed all smiles on our journey.

On Saturday 4 hours from Vegas (our stopping point) we stopped in Phoenix at In N Out. As we turned the car back on after a late lunch it made the loudest sounds every time David would hit the gas pedal. Thankfully there was a car shop right around the corner. They took a look even though they were swamped with business when I walked in there and desperately told them we had 5 kids in the car. We just wanted to know what we were dealing with. After an hour of waiting they told us we had a cracked exhaust pipe and we needed to get the car to a muffler shop... and by the way it could be over a thousand dollars to fix but we would probably be safe to drive 4 hours. The minute we got on the freeway we knew there was no way we were going anywhere so I called a few muffler shops and one let us walk right in. It was such a blessing they welded the pipe for $45 and 45 minutes we were back on the road. The kids handled it like troopers.

Then we made it to Vegas Saturday night around 7. Mandy and Jason spoiled us with food and we all stayed up way too late talking. David hopped on a 7am flight out of Vegas back to Texas for work. Sunday after church I headed up to St. George. The kids swam hard for 3 days and Thursday I loaded up the kids in the car and headed up to Midway for the wedding weekend.

 On Thursday I stopped by and saw Abbey's new house in Provo, drove the kids by David and I's houses in Provo where we were neighbors, and then stopped and saw dear friends from our Dallas newly wed years. It was jam packed day!On Friday afternoon as I was waiting to pick David up from the airport our dear friends the Norris' met us at the mall for a quick hi and play! Ashton and Parker were BFF in Missouri which was a perfect match because his mom, Jeni, and I were inseparable as well.

Here are the Ashton, Norris and Jacobson kids all together. Many a Sunday afternoons were spent with all these kids together!

Then David flew in Friday night we headed up to Midway to stay at Abe and Kim's and Saturday morning bright and early we headed down the mountain to see these two get married. 

I love Cody a lot. When I say he's like a real brother to me it's 100% true so I was hoping I would love Miranda just as much. I'm so glad to say she is perfect! These two make me happy just to know and be apart of their lives!

Here is the whole Jacobson crew.

Oh these outfits were just about the cutest thing ever. Miranda's mom made these darling skirts that my girls beg to wear daily.

Cody and Miranda had a beautiful reception that night. Oh boy do I love these matching little girls.

 And they were spoiled with attention like crazy by Nana and Poppy that night as always.

Saturday night David and I headed back up to Midway late and on Sunday morning we headed back down to SLC to the airport where I dropped David off to fly back home.

Luckily every time I drove the kids back up to Midway I knew it was worth the 50 minute drive because these cousins were up there just waiting to play. After a year away from Missouri the friendship and love for Bemily and their kids still hasn't lessened an ounce. The kids picked right up where they left off. We hiked them up to Memorial Hill on a REALLY hot afternoon and let them play in the dirt. Ellie is the proof of just how messy they got! I stayed just long enough on Monday to see Ben and Emily's new house in Springville and then the kids and I headed back south to St. George. Part 2 of the summer coming soon.

Mallie Turns 5

We've started a new tradition this year that the birthday boy/girl gets to help make their own cake. They absolutely love it.

I let her pick out her own color frosting too. It was a good idea until the kids actually tried to eat it. Even Ashton, my biggest junk food eater, wouldn't finish his piece.

She asked to go to the Children's Museum in New Braunfels for her birthday. It was perfect and the kids had a blast.

She actually told her primary teachers that she wanted the Elsa doll that sings "Let it Go" and they got it for her! Imagine our shock when she was opening up presents and she got two! Bless those amazing primary teachers!!

I love the excitement of birthdays at this age.

We have always thought Mallie acted a good 9 months older than she is. It's so weird that she is just barely turning 5 because in my mind she's been 5 since January. I love this little girl. She is so unique and independent. I love that she is crazy and wild at home but in a class setting she becomes quiet and shy. She loves to take care of Scotty and Lucy and never lets anything hold her back. I can't wait to see her thrive in Kindergarten!

Sea World Passes Expired

We went to Sea World one last time to mark the end of our annual passes expiring. I think we've gone over 20 times this past year and it was a blast. It was also fun to reflect that when we first bought our season passes we were in temporary lodging on post waiting to close on our house. Oh how the year flew by!

And this is how we all feel on the 40 minute drive home. Every single time!

Last Day of School

The end of the year at Sippel was awesome. The kids each had little award ceremonies and were so proud of all they had learned.

 Hannah had pajama day for the very last day.

 Ashton looked so much older by the end of the year.

 For the first few months of school these two rode plasma cars to school and Lucy and I would ride them home. Then they started bike riding and never stopped. The bike riders got let out a few minutes before the walkers so they made a great choice.

Mallie's preschool program landed smack in the middle of Hannah's. So she went with her best buddies and I went to Hannah's and I got wonderful pictures. These two boys are Mallie's best buds and their Moms are some of my best friends.

 She picks her own outfits these days. She's nervous for kindergarten but I'll be so relieved they'll all be at one school.

Her last day on the preschool bus that came to pick her up and drop her off at our front door every single day. She had the funniest stories about who was going to marry who each day on the preschool bus.

This school year was amazing and we are looking forward to the next!

Birthdays!

Hannah turned 6! It was a mellow birthday party with just our family. She wanted roller blades and art supplies. We took her to Chuck E Cheese and she proclaimed it the best day ever. She's so easy to please!

This little girl was my hardest toddler. She screamed at everyone from 6 months - 3 years. I wondered if she would ever like people. She has turned out to be our biggest extrovert and most fun little girl. Her kindergarten teacher adores her and she never gets in trouble. She is the best helper and such a people pleaser.

Another fun surprise we didn't expect with her is that she has turned into be quite the little athlete. She spent an hour trying to catch waves on the boogie board and actually did pretty great and she can has a better batting average than Ashton. She loves sports and can hit the ball we pitch about 80% of the time. It's impressive. She's obsessed with building muscles and getting strong. Once Ashton even asked her, "Would you rather have big muscles or go to Heaven?" she was so devastated by the question because she couldn't choose that she just yelled at him, "I can have both!!" She's going to be the girliest little sports girl ever.

My other favorite thing about her is she is the most complimentary little person. She's super articulate so she is always telling me what she thinks about everything. She is not afraid to express the positive about ever little thing that crosses her mind.

 

 The week before I turned 30. I wasn't really too concerned about the decade jump so David asked me if we could do anything what did I want... I took full advantage and asked him to take me to the beach. So he did!

We had two days and perfect weather.

Ashton dug holes for days.

David buried all the kids in the sand so in turn they helped bury him. He got really nervous when Mallie stood over his face and some saliva escaped. It was hilarious!

So the thing about the Texas gulf is that the water is green. Not pretty to look at but always super warm!

 Oh my goodness these two girls lately have been bosom buddies. They love each other and have the funniest conversations.

 I love this guy. I don't care if something is a surprise or not so I love that he knew to ask me what I wanted and then he made it happen. He then let me go out on the boogie board by myself and catch waves for 40 minutes and it was heaven.

 On our way home from the beach we stopped at Chili's so I could call the molten chocolate lava cake my official birthday cake. I never smile with my mouth closed but I was just positive that I had chocolate cake all over my braces. Scotty is my favorite in this picture.

So here's to year 6 and 30 both of which I'm sure will be awesome!

#6

The kids are thrilled. We are thrilled. That's all!