Happy #5, Annie!

Five!  Annie is old enough to hold up her entire hand when people ask her her age.  Actually, she's old enough that she no longer holds up her hand at all anymore (which kind of makes me want to cry inside a little).

She is a firecracker!  Dallas and I talked just the other day about how Annie reminds us more of a cartoon than a real person.  She is full of spunk and attitude, but is as sweet is pie.  She loves her family with a fierceness and will fight tooth and nail to protect us.  I want to say she's a mommy's girl, but she loves her daddy so much, too.  Anytime she is stating a fact she finishes it by saying, "Right, Mom?"  I, of course, really like this.  I have a feeling that all too soon she will no longer think I am the be all, end all, of all knowledge. 

Annie had been telling us for months about what she wanted for her birthday-- a Hello Kitty suitcase!  For years Annie has been packing things away in whatever container she could find.  How novel to be able to pack something that is actually intended for it!  She got exactly what she deserved; a suitcase, pillow, shirt, and sleeping bag to boot!  We love our spunky kitty girl.  Happiest of birthdays, Annie Kate.

What unbridled joy looks like.

Notell'em Creek

Dallas' uncle Jim Jr. is a sportsman.  He shoots the big bucks, and catches the big fish.  For many years Jim has been talking to Dallas about a fishing trip to catch Chinook Salmon.  It seemed like one of those things that people talk about, but never really do.

Not so!  Things got serious, and one day after I got home from a shift at work, Dallas told me that he was headed to Idaho the next weekend to fish with Jim.  I was so excited for him!  He picked up his brother Beau and off they went.

As usual, I only got a few details of the trip:  the food was good, it rained, and Dallas caught the biggest fish of his life!

The kids were more than happy to help Dallas filet the fish.  I was..... not so happy.  I'm not a fish lover, and having my entire house smell like raw fish was not my favorite.  The things I do so my kids can make memories!

Wasatch Track Club

Guess what we have in the family?

A track star!!!

Will completed his first season as a part of the Wasatch Track Club.  Most meets were held in Utah County, and Will learned how to throw javelin, long jump, hand off a baton, and spring.  It was such a blast to cheer for him as a family.  He LOVED it.  It was awesome to see him thrive.  It was personal victory, as well as learning to work with a team.  We are going to be spending a lot of time at the track.

He loved spending a lot of time with his best buddy Julian Thomas.

Will's PR's for this season:
50M- 9.07 seconds
100M- 18.16
200M- 44.15
Long Jump- 5'3"
Javelin- 36'1"

Will got ribbons for the Javelin, 50M dash, and Long Jump at the final meet for placing within his age group.

She's on the move!

It's blurry because she's finally a walker!

Camping

Dallas and I think of so many fun things to do with the kids, but so often we decide to bag it because it sounds like work.  With three kids, it seems like we could bag just about everything!  This time we dug our heels in and decided to go camping.  We headed 20 minutes East of Heber into the national forest and found the perfect spot.  We set up our tent, and had the best time together-- for 15 hours :).  It was worth the hard work!