These are my friends Emily and Andree sitting outside the awesome French restaurant we ate at. I didn't get a picture of all of us together, so this pic is missing Leslie, Kellie, and Andrea who also came up.
Everything we ordered was amazingly delicious and looked so delectable.
Annalise came along as my companion because she is still so little.
Ryan and I got to go to Stadium of Fire this year. We had such a great time. There were performances by Jenny Oaks Baker, The Osmonds Second Generation, The 5 Browns, and of course the amazing Carrie Underwood. 
Here's a pic of the Stadium of Fire dancers. I think this part is pretty neat because they are all volunteers and their formations look so cool.
Ryan took this picture of Carrie Underwood from the projection screen. I wish we could say we were this close to the stage. I was completely blown away by her. I've heard her on American Idol and of course the radio, but I still had no idea how powerful her voice was. After the first song, I thought, "No way is she going to be able to keep this up." But each song she just gave everything she had and sang with all her heart. It was truly incredible.
A little sample of the awesome fireworks. I love how they choreograph the music so well with the fireworks display. It is such an amazing celebration of our freedoms and this wonderful nation that we live in.
Ryan and Preston waiting for the bird show to start.
Adelyn decided she was about the same size as the mommy orangutans, except her arms are a bit too short.
Ryan and I.
Baby Zuri with her mother. She is such a darling little elephant to watch.
My girls are always willing to give me a big smile, especially this little one.
Swinging.
Playing at the park near our house.
Ryan got fishing stuff for Father's Day. He 's taken the kids out a couple of times to test out the new fishing pole. Well, the pole works fine, but the fish still aren't biting. The kids had fun anyway, although Adelyn was a little disappointed.
But this little guy was just happy to be spending time with Dad and couldn't care less if they caught anything.
The kids built this log house with Ryan's help. Pretty impressive architecture, I'd say.
We have always enjoyed going to see the local parades with our kids and this year was no exception. So far, we've gone to the Lehi Roundup, the Provo Freedom Festival, and American Fork Steele Days parades. The kids mostly go for the candy they throw out. It sort of becomes a competition of who can get the most candy. My main jobs are keeping the kids sunscreened, hydrated, and happy. Ryan takes all the pictures and helps the kids catch the candy.
I think Adelyn took this one of Ryan and I. Not bad for a five-year old.
Just a sweet picture of Addie lounging around in the shade during the Lehi Round-up parade.
Preston with a big red fire truck.
The challenge course at the carnival after the Lehi Parade was really fun for the kids (Ryan included in that statement).
Addie enjoying the swings at the carnival. I would've posted a picture of Preston on the swings, but he was sad and crying in all of them. You know how I said a few posts ago that he finally likes the swings, well apparently I lied.
I love that Annalise and I have the same squinting smile in this picture.
This is a very common expression for our little P-man. He ALWAYS looks like he is up to something and, not surprisingly, he usually is.
The Polynesian choir and dancers did a great job as always.
The Boy Scouts with all their Freedom Festival flags.
I was finally able to get a picture of Ryan; he's hard to catch since he's always taking pictures with his camera.
I can't help it, I love these little rascals!
She was so darling at the performance. She held her head high and did such a great job performing the dance she had practiced over and over. Ryan and I were so proud of her. My parents were able to come too, and they loved it. I totally cried as the ballet started, just realizing that my little girl was part of this big production. It was pretty overwhelming.
We finished off the evening with dinner at this Asian buffet by our house (Ryan and Addie's favorite) to celebrate Adelyn's performance and Father's Day, which was the following day. Then we relaxed in the front yard for awhile and let the kids play. Adelyn was so excited that we gave her these flowers; she wouldn't put them down.
We got a little blow-up pool from Costco that we've put to great use to this summer. It has a built-in seat, slide, and sprinklers. We've found that there's nothing better than some cool water and an otter pop on a hot sunny day!
Preston is especially pleased with the otter pop...
But he wouldn't ever pass up the opportunity to play and have fun with Daddy.
And a new development is that Preston finally loves the swings! It has taken awhile because I think he gets motion sickness pretty easily. But now he tells me to push him "really high!"
Once a princess, always a princess. Adelyn did her own nails, lip gloss and hair in this picture. She is such an independent little girl.
Then I went up to my mom's house to see my family because my sister from Seattle was in town. We hung out and went shopping, and my mom even made me a cake. The above picture is me with my girls just before I blew out the matches (my mom didn't have any candles :).
I came home to a big surprise. Apparently Ryan had spent his entire day shampooing the carpets (something I had been procrastinating, but totally wanted done), then scouring the stores looking for a perfect birthday present for me. I had been trying to save up for a bike for a long time, unsuccessfully, so this was so perfect! And look, he even wrapped it!
Then, Ryan's mom watched our kids so we could go out on a date. We went to this little place in Provo and got authentic Italian pizza. Then we went for a long, enjoyable bike ride along the Provo River trail up through Provo Canyon. Ryan did such a great job planning everything! I absolutely love doing active things for dates. We had a great time.
And to cap it all off, Ryan and I finished the day with these yummy treats after the kids went to bed. Growing up with so many siblings, I've never been one to expect too much from a birthday. But I have to say, it sure is nice when you get a day like this one at least once in while.
Preston loves being outside. He had been anticipating this camp out for several weeks. His favorite pass times included playing soccer and baseball with the boys and "borrowing" all of his cousins' toys. These two dinosaurs were a few of Preston's favorite loans, as well as a large Lightning McQueen car, a John Deer tracker collection, and a Star Wars ship. Good thing his birthday is coming up; we know exactly what to get him--LOTS OF TOYS!!
Ryan with the kids at the water front. They had a great time out on a canoe together. Oh, and don't you just love Adelyn's hair? She won't let me touch it anymore and she's recently gotten very creative with it. It's a little crazy, but I love to see what she comes up with and it makes her very happy to do it herself.
Addie with her cousins Eliza and Halayna. These girls were nearly inseparable and had such a great time together. For some reason this rock has become a favorite hang out spot for them. They also played Barbies and Pollies on the top bunks in the cabins.
I was very happy that I remembered to bring up Annalise's little eating seat. It is nearly impossible to feed her without it. She is almost 10 months now and is eating all kinds of food, crawling and cruising around everywhere, and getting into everything. She is so much fun.
The kids did some really fun art projects while we were up there. This is Adelyn making her first sand art picture. She loved doing them and made SIX! The kids also did tie-dye shirts and lots of sidewalk chalk drawings.
Three of my beautiful sisters and my mother. I really don't think it's fair that they always look like super models, even while we're camping, but oh well.
Ryan holding my niece Kaitlin. I love Preston's little face in this picture. He sure loves his daddy. Well, we had a great time. My favorite part is always being able to just see everyone and talk for hours about whatever. I learn so much from all of my sisters especially and I feel very fortunate to have such an amazing family.
