while in utah we also headed to the hogle zoo.  i had actually never been to this zoo, so this was a new experience for me as well as for my kids. the zoo was a great outing.  the kids loved seeing the animals and tanner especially loved the fake dinsoaurs that were dispersed throughout the zoo.

grandma hedin bought the kids these cute animal hats. they loved wearing them.

of course the carousel ride.  katelyn's favorite animal right now is the kangaroo, so imagine her delight when she realized there was a kangaroo available for her to ride. 

tanner wanted to measure his arms to a gorillas just like everybody did.

i just love this picture of tanner with his great grandpa hedin.

our little goof. he was suprisingly willing to sit in the stroller the whole time.  i loved it and hope he continues to act like that on other outings.

we also had a chance one morning to pop over and visit with my grandpa mayfield and diane.  it was so, so nice to sit down with them and visit for a bit.  i sure don't get to see them as often as i would like now that we're in wisconsin.

the garden is my favorite.  one day i want a really big garden.

katelyn was fascinated with the peas and wanted to keep finding more just so she could open them.  then she'd have me eat what was inside.  fine by me.  i love fresh peas from the garden.

and of course tanner found the water and couldn't help himself.  he ran in it a couple of times.

and he ran around in the back of the garden where grandpa had just watered until his feet got stuck in the mud.  he wasn't too pleased.

the muddy shoes.  i thought it was funny.

but tanner was happy once again when i got the hose out and let him rinse his feet off.

and that is where my utah pictures end.  i didn't take anymore!  it was so fun to see everyone on our trip.  we had a great time and saw so. many. people!  because it was andy's wedding we pretty much saw all of tyler's side of the family.  and i had a four hour layover in dallas, so i was able to see many members of my family.  it was so fun!   although we had a ton of fun visiting, ten days without the hubsters was just too long.  we were so happy to be back with tyler again, and he was so happy to not be lonely anymore.

utah trip-part three

i'm really not sure how many posts i'm doing for this utah trip.  it gets a little daunting when there's too many posts, so hopefully i'm done soon.
of course while in utah we had to go visit my sister and her family who live close to the hedins.  we packed up our stuff for the night and made ourselves at home.  it was so fun to visit with erin again, especially because i got to meet  my new niece, ellie for the first time.  ellie is a petite little doll.  when she's outside her hair looks red, when she's inside it looks brown. 

and can you tell that she loves to stick her tongue out?

we thought it would be fun to get out some colored bubbles for the kids, but that turned out to be messy.  let jacob attest to that.  he got some on his fingers and started rubbing his face, and i'm pretty sure it ended up on the ground, on clothes, etc.  we quickly put those away.

later on that day we got out the blow-up pool which was a huge hit with the kids.  the hose with running water was a huge hit as well.  you can see from these pictures who dominated the hose.

i just love tanner's face in this picture.  the ice cream truck was driving by, and i think he was really confused as to what it was.

by the end of our visit with erin, tanner was worn out.  he actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch, the poor kid. 

i should also add that erin and thomas treated me to my all time favorite restaurant, brick oven.  it was delicious, and i can't wait until i can go back again.

we had a great time visiting with the grover family although it ended much too quickly!

utah trip-part two

while in utah we kept our schedule full of fun activities.  one of the night we were there we headed up the canyon to cook some hot dogs and roast some marshmallows.

we had to a a keep an eye out for this little man while we were there.  he is nicknamed our little runaway for a reason.

i'm always the annoying one at family functions and get-togethers with friends who takes way too many pictures.  but afterwards, i'm always glad that i do because i love looking back at the pictures later. 

tan wanted to try his hand at cooking a hot dog.  it landed in the ashes only about six times, but he still had fun.

both kiddos roasting their own marshmallow a safe distance away from the fire on their kid-sized chairs.

being up the in the canyon, it cools off quite a bit as it gets later into the evening.  katelyn snuggled right up to the fire to get warm.

and miss reagan was there as well.

the fam together.

and look at me.  always looking cool.  one thing i hate is being cold.  i am more than happy to sacrifice looks over my comfort. 

also while we were there we headed out to the children's museum in ogden.  such a great place to take the kids. katelyn spent her time discovering each section while tanner ran around as fast as as his little legs could carry him.

two very good students listening to their teacher.

this cow was a favorite of tanners.  when you squeezed the udders water came out, so he actually stopped for a minute to try it out for himself.

a cute cowgirl.

my kids wouldn't stop to dress up for this picture, so i made emily and lori do it.

katelyn the future doctor.

utah trip-part one

towards the end of june we headed out to utah to attend a wedding. tyler's brother was getting sealed in the bountiful temple to his beautiful bride, jessica. it had been so long since both tyler and i had been to a live sealing, and it was absolutely beautiful. we are both so grateful for these holy and sacred temples that dot the earth and are so grateful we were able to come to utah to be a part of their day.

the kids looked cute in their outfits that grandma found for them.

this was the first time we got to meet our new niece, reagan.  she is adorable.

katelyn and her uncle parker.  she adores parker.

emily and her family.  it was fun to see all of them again.

my cute little family.  it's a little blurry, but it's all of us together.  i sure feel lucky to have these three in my life.

katelyn got to hold this sign as the bride and groom were coming out of the temple.

don't be fooled by this little grin.  tanner was not a happy camper that morning at the temple.  we flew in from wisconsin the night before, so he didn't go to bed until 1:00 in the morning.  needless to say, he was very, very tired, and everyone at the temple knew it.  he threw a monstrous tantrum during pictures.  it was so bad we had to leave so we could put him down for a nap.

and the lovely bride and groom, jessica and andy.

four year pictures

these took me so much longer to get up than i originally planned.  i think i have really bad timing when it comes to scheduling pictures and weather.  thankfully, i have a husband who is helpful whenever i need him and a daughter who was excited no matter when we took the pictures.  although the excitement certainly wore off around picture number 2 when she kept asking if we were done yet.

i think i have a major problem with over and under editing.  i'm sure i'll look at these tomorrow and wonder why i posted them already.

anyway, we love this girl.  she sure is a joy to have in our home with her sweet smile and her happy, bubbly personality.