Lake Powell

In July we went to Lake Powell with the Hendrickson's for a few days.

for boating:

a trip to the marina:

eating:

water fun:

and it was exhausting:

Bryce Canyon

We went down south on June 11 to camp near Escalante with a couple families in our ward. The forecast called for rain, but being familiar with Utah summer thunderstorms I figured it would pass quickly--not rain like it does in the northwest. I was wrong. It rained all afternoon, night and into the next morning. And it was cold. Soon after we got the kids settled into bed, the tent collapsed. In the dark and mud, thanks to Don's stakes, Jeremy got it back up. Our friends' tent leaked so they slept in the tent trailer with our other friends. Oh, and Audrey was sick. It was a rather long and miserable night. In the morning, still raining, we decided not to hike the slot canyons as we had planned. Instead we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park and the sun came out just in time. We looked awful, but the views were spectacular. We enjoyed some mild hiking and then headed home. Needless to say, it was a very disappointing adventure.

us with grumpy boys

Jer, Paul and Audrey

me and Sam-man

the whole gang

my three sons: Paul, Sam and Hunter

Paul's Television Debut

I took the kids to Liberty Park yesterday. Soon after we got there and were eating lunch at a picnic table a guy with a large video camera introduced himself and asked, "Are these yours?"I wittingly responded with, "The kids? Um, yes they are."He asked if he could interview the boys for a story about the Odd Fellows Hall auction. At first they refused, but he said they would only have to answer a couple questions. Pretty soon Paul was looking into the camera with a microphone clipped on his shirt. I was proud of him for being brave--he has a tendency to be very shy. The interview went like this:
Matt: Do you call ever call people names?
Paul: Sometimes.
Matt: Is it nice to call people names?
Paul: No.
Matt: Why not?
Paul: Because it's mean.
Here's the video for your viewing pleasure. We popped popcorn and had several neighborhood kids over for his 6:00 news premiere.

4th of July

Saturday we went to the Granite community breakfast and parade--the kids loved it so much that they had their own parade with the neighborhood kids a few days later. We enjoyed perfect weather with temperatures in the upper 70s. For dinner we celebrated our niece Addison's birthday. Then it was home for baths, pop-its, sparklers, a fire, and fireworks shows from afar. We had great fun with my brother Carl in town and mostly just enjoyed time as a family, except that Jer had three emergency calls over the long weekend. It's then that I wish we lived closer. The highlight of the weekend for the kids was candy for sure.

at the parade

audrey's first sucker

with their friend Taylor

Happy 4th of July!

The End

The end of preschool, t-ball and Audrey's newborn stage. Oh and spring. We're ready for summer and overdue for an update.
Paul officially graduated from preschool. He had a great year and learned a lot and especially improved (or finally gained) his drawing and writing skills. His teacher didn't re-test him at the end of the year since he already surpassed all the requirements in February. He was more social this year and had an easy time making friends (mostly with the girls, so I hear). He's very ready for Kindergarten.

(sorry for the pictures of pictures--the scanner is not working)

Paul finished T-Ball with his cousin (or 2nd cousin) Isaac. I think he got a little bored of it toward the end. Usually he tried to bat last so he could run the bases without stopping. He can hit pretty well without the tee though. He's excited to do soccer next.

Audrey is crawling and pulling herself up onto everything. She loves to stand, but gets stuck often. She's eating lots of solid foods and sleeping through the night. She can say "dada" but only says "mama" when she's sad. She can clap and wave on command. She's becoming much more opinionated and likes to scream. She also does an adorable fake laugh that hopefully I can get on video soon. I can't believe she'll be 9 months old next week--she's growing up too fast!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

won't you buy some lemonade and watermelon?

In Memorial

For Memorial day we visited the Salt Lake City cemetery.

"Erected to the memory of Daniel, Hyrum, and Orson Spencer sons of Daniel and Chloe Wilson Spencer--by their children and grandchildren this eighth day of October nineteen hundred six"

The kids at great, great, great, great Grandpa Spencer's grave.

"Daniel Spencer born in West Stockbridge Berkshire Co. Mass. July 20, 1794. Died in Salt Lake City Dec. 8 1868. He was president of the Salt Lake Stake of Zion from Feb. 13 1849 until the time of his death"

Audrey at great, great, great, great Grandma Spencer's grave (whom she is named after).

"Elizabeth F. Spencer May 24, 1836--Sept. 21 1920"

"Henry W. Spencer Sr. May 14 1858--Jan. 9 1924"

"Vennetta Naylor Spencer Aug. 12 1865--Apr. 27 1902"

Audrey's opinion of sitting on the grass.

"Jacobus Gerritsen Apr. 2 1862--Apr. 12 1940
Adriana Gerritsen Mar. 11 1862--Jan. 7 1930"

"Adrian Gerritsen Sr. Sept. 2 1894--May13 1967"

apronstrings and me

So I haven't been blogging much lately. I've been focusing more on doing things for myself. Last week I picked up some new books at the library--a long overdue indulgence. This weekend I got my hair cut--like a real haircut, at a salon--and I ordered new makeup We did some spring cleaning--always therapeutic--and all the closets are cleaned out. I've also been working on my cooking blog--apronstrings--check it out. I'm making attempts at exercising--not my forte, but feels good to be taking better care of me.