Summer Is Here

And we are really excited!  I love the freedom from rigid schedules, warm weather, spending time outside, children who are exhausted at the end of the day from playing hard, and the slower pace of life.  We have planned some really fun things for our family this summer and are looking forward to many adventures.

Eric and I kicked summer off in fashion by heading to youth conference with the 14 to 18-year-old youth from our ward this week.  We stayed at Aspen Grove which was wonderful because all of the activities were planned and carried out for us, as were the meals.  We basically hung out with the kids and had a great time.  It doesn't get much easier than that!  The conference wrapped up on a really high note with a special evening presentation by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  He spoke on our conference theme "I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" {2 Nephi 1:15}.  It was a really wonderful experience to spend the evening with an Apostle.

After a day to recover from all the fun at Youth Conference, I took my kids to one of their favorite summer destinations, the Tracy Aviary.  It was the perfect day to go there.  The weather was warm and it wasn't crowded.  I was really amazed to reflect back on our trip there last year and realize how much my little guy has changed.  He really enjoyed seeing the birds and different exhibits this year.  Last year all he wanted to do was run.

Allie reminds me of my Grandpa Hudson.  She loves to really study things thoroughly.  She wanted to read every last detail about every animal in each of the exhibits.  Landon would look around, check things out, run around a bit, and then he was ready to move on.  In the picture above he was showing the little birds in this exhibit how to fly. 

Landon and I had to exercise a lot of patience today as we waited for Allie to absorb everything she wanted to read. 

Landon doesn't go anywhere these days without his favorite thing in the whole world, his beloved "puppy dog".  He named it all by himself. 

When he needed both hands to explore he would bring puppy dog to me and tell me "watch puppy dog mom".  It's a miracle this little puppy dog has managed to not be lost {for too long} yet. 

Summer Field Trips

This summer has been busy, busy, busy...just the way we like it. It's hard to believe that school, soccer, and cooler weather are just a few short weeks away! Allie is excited to go back to school because this year her cousin Amber is finally in her class. We are lucky to have cousins who live in our ward and attend the same school. Actually being in the same class is cause for serious celebration around here.

Just like every other summer we have been busy having weekly "field trips". We enjoy the time we spend each week with cousins and occasionally friends too! These are things we have seen and done this summer:

*Fed the ducks and studied the turtles at the BYU Duck Pond
*Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden
*Bridal Veil Falls
*24th of July Float Preview Party
*Lehi Pioneer Museum
*BYU Museum of Art

Today we went to the Tracy Aviary. It was a lot of fun. We took cousin Isaac along with us for today's field trip. Isaac and Allie loved learning all about all of the different birds. They especially enjoyed the gift shop. Landon was pretty content to sit in the stroller and study the map. Another highlight of the day was the bird show. Landon and I had to excuse ourselves early when he wasn't selected to go up and help the bird trainer. He kept yelling "my bird" over and over and over until it became apparent that the only way to change his mind was a change of scenery. In the end it worked out okay because we had fun chasing peacocks around the lawn while we waited for Allie and Isaac to finish up the bird show.

Summer Field Trip Week 2--BYU Duck Pond

Disclaimer: I know that I tend to post a lot and that when I do post, I often include a lot of pictures. I thought that I might mention why. This blog is intended to serve multiple purposes, one of the most important being a place where we can keep a record of events and activities. So with that in mind, here it goes...

Last week for our first Summer field trip, we were supposed to go and feed the ducks at the BYU Duck Pond. It rained really hard that day and we were in our winter gear to keep warm inside the house so we decided an outdoor activity was not a good idea. We opted instead to visit some local pet stores and try the Duck Pond this week. Thankfully the weather seems to finally be turning around! We had a fun time at the Duck Pond with the Hakes and the Monte & Shannon Swain family.

LANDON HAD AN OBSESSION WITH THIS YOUNG LITTLE DUCK. HE CHASED IT ALL OVER.

ALLIE FOUND A TURTLE.

AND THEN WE FOUND A BUNCH OF TURTLES.

LANDON LOVED TAKING ISAAC & JOSEPH'S HATS. THEY WERE KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE!



AUNT SHAN WATCHED LANDON SO I COULD WATCH ALLIE & LARKIN'S DANCE MOVES.


ISAAC LOVES TO HOLD LANDON. LANDON LOVES BEING HELD LESS AND LESS ALL THE TIME.

Friday Fieldtrip Fun

This week we had fun bowling at BYU. Allie did a great job and took 2nd place. I think it's a good thing we decided to use the bumpers.