Family Hike and BBQ in Provo Canyon

June was an exciting month!  We celebrated John's 37th birthday and Father's Day!  We went on a family hike, swimming at the pool, John and big sis went to ward youth conference at Camp Williams and Heber Valley Girl's Camp while Little Sis and I went to a local Strawberry Days parade with some friends!  Lastly, our dog Jagger got a cute haircut!
I was playing around with Instagram while waiting for the parade to start.

On June 9, 2012, We went on the annual local family day breakfast and hike! Our nephews (Malcolm and Justin), nieces (Keli and Lauren) and grandnephew Tristan came along with us. The breakfast included fruit, donuts, scones, and juice.  They did a Smurf theme.  Little sis  made some blue play dough and played several games on the way up to the falls.   We won gift certificates to Chubby's and a Cookie Shop as well as got many coupons from many local food and entertainment sponsors! 

While John's parents were in town, we went up to South Fork Canyon during the evening of June 9, 2012.  We invited several family members!  South Fork has always been our favorite spot that is perfect for grilling meats, lounging under shade, watching the children play in the cold stream, and playing either football or Frisbee. During this trip to the canyon, we celebrated John's 37th birthday!  We had everyone bring their own meats and a side dish to share.  I made potato salad, snickers apple salad, and marinated a couple different chickens.  Then I made an incredible Texas Ranch Cake for the birthday guy!  We had a wonderful time visiting all our family members!

 Jagger got a groovy haircut!  We took him to a local groomer and requested it short. She did a poodle/bichon frise style and tied a purple bandanna around his neck. When we picked him up, we could hardly recognize him!  He is very happy and cool with a new summer hair do!  

Mother and Daughter Girls Night!

Last month during May, little sis and I had a lovely girls night together. It is a rare occasion for just the two of us to do something fun together without big sis or daddy tagging along.  We decided to go to the local mall since she had some birthday money.  Our first stop was at Payless Shoes!  We both bought some darling sandals.  I got some black ones then picked up some fun bohemian styled from Famous Footwear.  Little sis of course had to break the new white sandals in while shopping!

 Next, I bought some clothes at DownEast Basics and Papaypa, jewelry at Icing (Clairs) which are my favorite stores.

Then we went to Build a Bear!  Little Sister had a blast picking out the perfect rainbow teddy bear, pink clothes, and pink accessories (sunglasses, bag and flowers)!  Afterwards, we stopped near Macy's to eat a snack and make wishes in the water fountain.  Little Sis threw in ten pennies! 

 Lastly, she and I checked out the game store and then she played at the indoor park in the mall.  We were very exhausted from shopping and walking around!

Happy May Memories 2012

Lately I've enjoyed the perfect spring weather! Oh, how I love smelling blossoms while jogging, and seeing the beautiful flowers and trees!  During the month of May, we went hiking, celebrated Mother's Day, big sis got braces, and little sis participated in a school dance festival.

After the kids were dropped off to school a couple weeks ago, John and I went hiking up Grovecreek trail.  We saw many wild flowers, butterflies, and a humming bird.  It was partly sunny on the way up the trail, but within an hour it got extremely dark and cloudy.  It started to rain a few minutes after we were safely in the car.

On Mother's Day, I wore a fun bohemian styled outfit and sandals. My family spoiled me by making me breakfast (waffles, eggs, and bacon) and dinner (shrimp and chicken Alfredo)!  I got some lovely flowers (yellow, white, and purple) to hang near the back porch. John spoke in church about mothers and I got a king size bar of chocolate from the ward, which I shared with everyone!

Big Sis got her top braces on!  She looks very pretty and happy in this picture!

Little Sis had a dance festival.  The third grade performed to the song Summer Belongs to You from the cartoon Phineas and Ferb.

We are looking forward to fun SUMMER adventures!  Hopefully I can knock out some things from last years summer bucket list that I didn't get to accomplish.  May was simply marvelous!