Colorado/Utah 2014

The Summer Road Trip of 5,000 + miles continued from San Francisco, to Lake Tahoe, to Salt Lake City, a visit in Logan, and finally, Denver Colorado.  Phew!  Quite a ride, but we made it and everyone did alright in the car.

 Every time we are near the mountains we remember how much we love and miss the rockies, it is so beautiful.  I'm glad we can visit each year and breathe some mountain air.  

Lake Tahoe was breathtaking.  We just wish we would have had more time to explore and hike.  It was so crowded that we ended up just driving around the lake then having to head home.  The view we saw were beautiful.  We hope to return there someday.  

Breakfast at Heidi's was a good time, especially with a very entertaining waitress that freely shared her whole life story with us.

Drove through the Salt Flats on the way to Salt Lake City and it was pretty cool against the beautiful sunset.

Hotel party.  The girls slept with Sippy which was very nice of her considering the pictures.  I don't think she slept much that night, but the girls had the time of their lives.  Thanks Sip!

UTAH

While in Utah, we made our traditional trip to City Creek where the girls loved the water fountains, make-up with Sippy and a caramel apple from Nani. 

 And…we completed our visit to Utah with a trip to the ER.  Abby ran into a pole at the park with friends and had to get stitches.  Never a dull moment.  Primary Children's Hospital was AWESOME and she wouldn't let go of the hospital doll they gave her.  She slept with that doll for months after getting her stitches…it's the little things that make all the difference. 

(Brett got to remove Abby's stitches a few days later since we were then in another state.)

Kate had a blast at the ER with free slushes, she seized the opportunity to milk the system.

 We celebrated Abby and Shano's Birthdays.

LOGAN

A great reunion with family in Logan, complete with a little hometown parade.

COLORADO

We decided to take the scenic route to Colorado from Salt Lake and it was well with the extra hour.  The views through the canyons were beautiful.  We made extra stops along the way to enjoy nature and play in the creek. One of the advantages of driving is making fun stops to places you would normally never see otherwise.  

Once in Denver we had more fun reunions with friends and family and enjoyed the zoo, and Children's Museum.

Pit stops along the way.

Lots of fun at the Children's Museum with the Sanders.  

Our girls ADORE these Sanders kiddos!

Lots of fun at Chuckie Cheese with Grandma, Cousin Hailey and the Andersons.

Abby's 6th Birthday

We were able to celebrate Abby's 6th Birthday in Logan, Utah this year.  She had fun spending the day with family and she chose to go to the parade and a movie night for her birthday fun.  It's always great to see family and celebrate with them.

Annual Birthday letter:

Dear Abby,

Another year has flown by.  This last year has been a big year of changes for you.  Not only did you finish your first year in Kindergarten, but you learned to read, write and sit still for longer than you ever have before. Phew!

Kindergarten was a big change because you had to learn to wake up really early every morning to catch the bus at 6:50 a.m. (Way too early for your Momma too.)  We got our exercise lots of mornings running to catch the bus in time.  The first couple months of school was an adventure because you were exhausted when you came home in the afternoon, (which we don't blame you).  Many of those days involved tears because you were so tired at the end of a day.  But, you LOVED school and never wanted to miss a day.  In fact, you loved school so much that when we had vacation days you would beg to go to school instead of stay home.  (We hope that enthusiasm for learning stays with you…especially in your teenage years. ;) )  You love to learn and read.  There are many nights we catch you reading up in your bed waaay past bedtime.

You also had a big year with learning new skills like swimming and playing the piano.  You started swimming in March with a fear of the water and then by June you were taking off across the pool like a fish.  We were proud of you for facing your fears and sticking through the hard beginnings of learning something new.  You started piano in April and though we had many a 'tough practice,' you never gave up and loved to play songs for the family.  Hopefully this year can be another year to keep developing your talents.

This year we have also seen how you are so good at including others.  You have a good, kind heart and that is one of the many qualities we love about you.  Kindness goes a long way and will help you and others your whole life, so don't ever lose that.

Happy 6th Birthday Abbers!  We love you so much and are very proud of you!

Love,
Dad and Mom

Independence 2014

This year we headed to the Round Rock Parade for our 4th of July fun.  The girls loved seeing all the cool cars and cheering for the military. That night we parked by the lake near our house and watched fireworks as a family from the trunk of our van.  The girls loved giggling with daddy and running around with their glow sticks.  We kept the day pretty simple since we were leaving for our road trip the next day.