Bear Lake with the Tates

Last week we had the opportunity to spend 4 days in Bear Lake with the Tates! It was amazing! It was nice to escape the heat here in the valley and be in cooler weather. Even the cold water was great...when you got use to it (64-66 degrees). One of the kids favorite activities in Bear Lake is to minature golf each day! McKay even got a hole in one on the last hole and won a free game.

Yes! Hunter was very into the mini-golf!
Another favorite activity was Uncle Chris Ames bottle rockets. The kids all spent hour after hour filling up 2 liter bottles 1/3 full and hooking them up to the pipes. Then they would pump and pump air into them and watch them blast off into the sky! We definatly need one of them at home!

A fun tradition at Bear Lake is to go to Bear Lake Pizza Company! We ordered the biggest pizza they had! We were able to feed everyone there that day with it! After eating all the boys were lined up at the bathroom. I have never seen a line at the boys bathroom like that!!!


My favorite is just being on the boat and doing water sports!


Here are some fun ones of the kids on the boat and doing fun stuff!





Yes! McKay wakeboarded for the first time! Thank you Uncle Steve and Sam for getting him to do it! Hey, if you can snowboard, ripstick and skateboard...why not wakeboard! Another fun thing we do boating with Grandma and Grandpa Tate is doing the molecule! It is three giant balls with a flat surface inbetween! Grandpa makes "s-turns" which create huge waves, then whips you out of the wake into the waves. You definately go flying!!! I flew so high this trip that it looked like I was doing a handstand on the molecule! Uncle Chris discovered how to actually tip the molecule this year! McKay loved doing it!


Mom and Dad, thank you so much for such a fun and memorable trip! We love you so much!

Manti with the Brownings

Last weekend we headed down to Manti for the annual pageant! It was so amazing, cold, late and a blast. We stopped at the tabernacle for the turkey dinner. Here is a fun photo out front.

We waited a few hours before the show began and the actors had fun wandering around meeting everyone. The kids loved running around and seeing all the fun costumes.


What a wonderful experience and fun memory to have with the Hakansons and Grandma and Grandpa Browning! We love you guys!

Finally...The Yard Is Coming Together!

So...you have seen the pictures of the house before we moved in. The yard was totally dead and had thousands of weeds! We have been spending so much time turning dirt, having a bobcat tear out the dead grass and weeds and using a fortunes worth of round up! Most of the weeds that were in the front had roots that went 6 feet deep! Crazy! My trigger finger really got tired from the round up. So...here is a picture of the "almost" finished front yard.

I really don't know much about what to plant where so we hired the lady who desined our last yard again. Rachel Garvis from Glover Nursary is great! Of course we bought all the plants very small, but in the next couple of years it will look amazing. We still have about 11 plants and a few trees to plant. I have had a few people ask for a peak of what we have already done...Here it is! Here are a couple angled views.

Here is the view of the other side.

We still have a Japanese Maple to plant in the back corner by the front door.

It is coming along great and we are so excited to not be looking at dirt all the time. The back yard is going to have to wait until next spring. We will have to remove a bunch of dirt- get rid of the terraced level in the middle of the yard which makes it hard to run around and play. All in good time.

Well, you asked for it and there it is!

Tate Family Reunion

Last weekend we had a Tate family reunion! It has been years since we have seen some of our cousins! We had a great time chatting, eating and watching Sarah and Steve do amazing tricks off the diving board! We are sure sorry that some were unable to make it! You were missed! All the kids had a great time in the pool! Take a look at these kids and how they are growning up.


So, here is an amazing picture of our little Sydney! She has sure taken off with swimming this year. She loved her swimming lessons and now thinks she can do about anything in the pool. Out of the blue she decided to dive...look at this great swan dive!

Talk about great form! Go Girl! She sure takes after her Grandma Tate and her swan dives! My boys also love trying to do tricks off the board. Here are some of the boys.


McKay was just taking off, but I love his face expression. Hunter was mid air of a flip. Great form son!
We had this reunion on my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! You are one of the most amazing people I know. I admire your hard work and dedication to all you do. You are constantly loving and serving those around you...especially your children and grandchildren. I don't know how you have the strength to do it! You are constantly watching grandchildren, keeping updated with your kids and making each and every one of us feel like the most important person in the world! You have the qualities that I desire to better incorporate into my life. I remember growing up that I always knew I could talk to you about anything...we would plant or go on walks and just talk about life and what was going on. I miss having that time with you! I am grateful for the relationship we have to this day! You are the greatest mom! Happy Birthday!

Hunters Grandparents Day and Program

A little over a month ago Hunter had a Grandparents Day Program! It was amazing and he was so excited. The morning of the program he woke up extra early and put on his cute suit and was ready before 7am. He had worked so hard for a few months! Hunter loves all his grandparents so much and is grateful to have them in our lives. As one of the prophets said...Besides parents, grandparents are the biggest influence on a child. At the program he showed pictures of his grandparents, sang songs, told stories and danced the waltz with his grandmas!

Naughty Kids!

What a fun way to teach the kids to be good!!!jk

St. George and Days of Camelot

With how crazy things have been with the house and sick kids while off track we decided to head down to St. George for Memorial Day! It was a much needed get away! We had a blast watching joust tournaments at the Days of Camelot, swimming, playing, eating out and swimming again. It is also fun feeding the gold fish and creating a boil! Amazing weather!