Curtis made some Bristle Bots (toothbrush robots) for Avery and Mikaya. They loved watching them twist and move. They look so serious here!!

Random Summer Pictures

Coral out boogie boarding with some friends.

The little girls had fun hanging out with their big sister, Coral, and dressing up in her t-shirts and their ballet tutus.

Family, Fun, Swings, Ponies, Boxes & Bubbles

The 4th of July! I appreciated the 4th even more this year, since I recently finished the book "1776" by David McCullough.






The swing my dad made.





Swimming with grandma is fun!










Chasing bubbles with grandpa is fun!




Avery, Mikaya, and I took Coral up to EFY at BYU, in Provo. (She had an even better time than she had last year, which I didn't think was possible!) We dropped her off at her dorm, which was in Heritage Halls(where I lived while at BYU). Then we headed up to stay with my parents who live in Idaho Falls. We were able to see my sister, Anna, which was so fun! She is headed up to Spokane to continue her studies in the medical profession. The girls had so much fun swinging on a swing my dad made, swimming in the Ammon pool, and chasing bubbles. My dad, mom, the girls, and I then drove down to Provo to pick up Coral and to stay for a couple of days. We had fun shopping for school clothes, swimming at the water park/pool, eating at the Creamery, and watching the fireworks. The only thing was that we wish we could have had Curtis with us! .....I love the simple things that make summertime so fun!

World Famous Camp Pendleton Mud Run

This was a blast! We woke up at 5:45, waited in a long line of cars, took a shuttle, and ran this World Famous 10K Mud Run with 4,000 other crazy people! It had hills, river crossings (up to our necks), two five foot walls with mud on each side, a tunnel crawl, a slippery hill climb, and a 30 foot mud pit (that we had to crawl through on our hands and knees). The other thing they forget to mention is that the mud smells horrible. Nothing glamorous about that! Amazingly, it was so much fun and I'm so glad we could all help each other through the mess!

Avery's 4th Birthday

The teddy bears I made for Avery and Mikaya for their B-days. The little one is Avery's.







Goo goo goggles is what Avery calls swim goggles. She has been asking for some for a long time. (so she can see under the water when she swims)





An afghan my mom made for Avery. It will definitely get a lot of use!








Avery is 4 now!! A long time ago I told Avery that she could chew gum when she was four. It seemed like a good number that was pretty far away at the time. She of course remembered and it was one of the first things she asked to do, after she woke up, on her birthday. We had a family party, but before that one of Avery's friends(Ryan) brought over a picture he had made and a flower for the b-day girl. He's got the right idea and at such a young age!

Avery also got to talk to her grandmas and grandpas on her b-day. While talking to Grandpa Paul she said, "I wish I could play with you because I haven't seen you for a long time!" Thank you for the cute dresses, shoes, Go-Fish game, afghan, cards, hair accessories from Grandma & Grandpa Minton, Grandma Sandi & Grandpa Paul, Grandma Montelius, and G&G Rands.

Happy Birthday Avery! We love you so much! You are so spunky and sweet!

Sympathy Straight to Selfishness

The other day Avery said, "Daddy, I'm sorry you got sick........because I don't want to get sick from you."
But, in her defense she does regularly say to other people, "I'm sorry you got hurt. I know how you feel." So sweet.