Straight From the Mouth of Babes...

Ryan gave tithing for the first time just recently. After counting out how much he would need to give he got a serious look on his face and asked, "Mom, does the Prophet give cash back?" This presented an opportunity to explain why we give tithing and he seemed to be okay with it, but did ask one more time if you get your money back at some point.

Just today I was talking with Tyler about how we always need to protect our sister because we would be so sad if something happened to her. To which he replied, "We can just go pick another one." If only it was that easy son. :)

Camping in the Redwoods Part 2

One of the days we took off with just our little family and drove the Avenue of the Giants. Part of the way through Daddy pulled over and decided to let the boys stand up and stick their heads out the sunroof. They thought this was the coolest thing ever. We drove extra slow and let them take in all the big beautiful trees.

A view of the boys in action.
Where was Kathryn you ask? Fast asleep in her car seat.
We stopped for lunch along a beautiful little stream and enjoyed the scenery. The boys then decided to hike up the stream with their Daddy and look for frogs. This is a picture of one of their little friends. Tyler was actually really good at catching them, much to his older brothers chagrin.
Kathryn loved splashing in the stream and licking the rocks...you seem to get to do a lot more when you are not the first child in a family. :)
Driving through the tunnel tree.
As you can see it was a very tight fit.
Driving up on one of the logs. One of my favorite parts about this picture is that Tyler is standing on the console with only his shirt and underwear. His pants got soaked in the stream so we drove with them hanging out the window to dry them off. I know...we are a classy group.
Kathryn, Tyler, and Ryan sitting on a wooden bear.Daddy with his boys.
The campground that we stayed at had this giant rope swing over the river. This is a picture of me right before letting go and swinging out over the river. It was quite deceiving how long you had to hold on before you got to deep water.
This is a shot of me in the air. I remember thinking I was absolutely crazy for doing this at the time. Of course I did it three more times after this.
A shot of me in mid air.
Our RyRy was brave enough to do it as well. He actually did it many times and had a ton of fun.
You can't see him in picture very well because he is so tiny, but this is Ryan mid air. Tyler did it twice as well, but not without a lot of coaxing. I actually never got a shot of him because I was so nervous both times he did it, I never thought to pick up the camera.
Here is Doug in one of the many many times he did the rope swing. There is no doubt I married a daredevil.
Tyler and Kathryn waiting on shore for all the rope swinging fun to be over.
I absolutely love that I captured this moment. Tyler is actually quite tender with his little sister and I turned just in time to catch him feeding her his granola bar. It melts my heart and reminds me just how lucky I am to have my cute kids.

Camping in the Redwoods Part 1

We had the opportunity to go camping this summer in the Redwoods with our friends the McCune's. Doug and I have been to the Redwood's one other time before and we loved it, so we were excited to take this trip.

Hugging one of the Redwood trees.
Mommy with her kids hiking through one of the beautiful groves of Redwood trees.
Ryan stacked on top of Daddy and they are still not as tall as the width of this fallen tree.
Our group
Tyler and his pal, Keegan. They loved getting to see each other.

The boys goofing around at Confusion Hill.
Daddy enjoying the hammock with his little girl.

Half Dome

This summer Doug and I had an opportunity to cross something off both of our life lists...hiking Half Dome in Yosemite. It was an amazing experience, one that I will not soon forget. My brother, Jeremy, has hiked it many times before and offered to take us on the hike( he's a seasoned pro by now). My other brother, Matt, decided to go as well, along with Doug's sister, Annalee, and our good friend Elizabeth Minnick and her son, Spencer.

This is a little shot from Glacier Point where we started the hike with the whole group. I loved beginning the hike with such beautiful panoramic views.
Doug and I as we are hiking closer towards Half Dome. It is the rock sticking up in the background.
Climbing the cables with Annalee. This picture does not really capture this experience totally. It is sooo steep and you are hanging on for dear life. In fact one of my favorite parts about the whole hike was Doug and I holding on and skiing down the mountain when we were descending Half Dome.
We look like ants, but this is our group out on the ledge over the whole Yosemite Valley. The views were amazing! I have never seen Yosemite from this vantage point before...incredible.
Doug and I at the end of our hike. We hiked 18.5 miles that day, so needless to say we were exhausted. It was a blast and I am so glad that Doug and I got to share this experience together. I am also very grateful that we had such a fun group to do it with. Jeremy was great guide. I feel like I also need to thank my sister-in-law, Jennifer, who watched my kids and allowed me to have this experience. Thank you, Jennifer!!!