Ward Campout

This is Jessica and Seth hiking at our ward campout.  Notice Seth's rope on his belt loop: he likes to pretend he is a doggie, and insists on a leash.  We much prefer the rope on his belt loop to his original plan, which was a rope wrapped around  his neck!

Stopping to see the Flags

 

On the way to meet cousins at Thanksgiving Point, we passed a soccer field full of hundreds of flags.  We stopped for a fun photo shoot with the kids.

Hiking to Cecret Lake

Brian ended up carrying both Seth and Noah most of the way. This became a familiar sight, as we went on several hikes over the summer.

The Kids at Snowbird

At Snowbird

Waiting for the elevator.

Ivie Clan at the Point

This is ALL of the Ivie grandkids except little Adam. From the left, we have Hyrum Ivie, Melissa Ivie, Hannah Dixon, Arianna Harper, Jessica Ivie, Noah Ivie, Seth Ivie (front), Matthew Shaw, Kevin Dixon, Ryan Dixon, Ashley Shaw, Cassandra Ivie, Leslie Larson, Ethan Shaw, Katie Shaw (front), Sabrina Larson, Isaac Dixon, and Nathaniel Dixon.

Noah and Katie

Noah and Katie tried out the swing after the birthday party. We were amazed at how tolerant Katie was with Noah. He would take a toy away, and she would just go and find another one. She would coax him to follow her around and play with her.

Cassandra's Birthday Party

Before we arrived on the plane, Colleen and John had taken all of the kids to the dollar store to buy birthday presents for Cassey. She loved the things that her siblings and cousins picked out for her. John bought her a cake. She is still talking about the amazing birthday in Idaho.

At the Water Park

Hyrum, Ashley and Melissa playing at the waterpark. Because it was Cassandra's 7th birthday, Colleen told Cassandra that we needed to do seven fun things. These included a trip to the water park, birthday cake, bowling, presents, dinner at Golden Corral, playing with cousins, and one more I can't remember.

Visiting the Shaws

In July we had a chance to visit the ulitmate vacation spot: the Shaw home in Boise, Idaho. Our four oldest went back with Colleen and John after Snowbird, and we flew up to get them a week later. This is Brian and Noah on the flight to Boise.

The giant was no match for two Irish dancers! They are too quick on their feet!

Slaying a Giant

After dancing at the Scottish Festival in June, our kids had a chance to "fight a giant". He took them on two at a time. As you can see, the giant was no match for the kids!

Children's 26.2 Challenge

This spring our kids participated in the Children's 26.2 Challenge, where they ran a marathon, a quarter mile at a time. They had about two months to complete 26.2 miles. This picture is from the celebration at the zoo for those who completed the challenge. Melissa is with Big Buddah from Fox 13 News (you may also recognize him from the movie "The RM")

Cassey at the Cafeteria Campout

Cassandra's class had a cafeteria campout in May. They set up tents in the cafeteria, and kids are parents slept over. They watched a movie and did crafts. Have we mentioned what a great school our kids attend?

A visit to Temple Square

This spring we met Brian after work for a picture taking session at Temple Square. As we were finishing the kids walked around the edge of the reflection pond.

Jessica as a Pirate

One evening activity was done by a Salt Lake City actor. He dressed as a pirate, and talked to the kids about how to play a part. He chose Jessica to dress up also, and this is Jessica in her pirate disguise.

4-H Family Camp

One of the highlights of our summer was 4-H Family Camp. We spent three days up Provo canyon camping with a group of 4-H families. The theme was "A Pirate's Life for Me" . The kids were divided by age, and had camp counselors who did planned activities with them all day long. It was a delightful experience! The above picture is of telescopes being set up for skywatching. The Utah Astronomical Society came up with their huge telescopes one eveing. We saw star clusters, planets, and even red and blue stars. It was amazing.

Brotherly Love

The Picture Tree

We have a picture of our kids in this tree from every summer for the past several summers. IT is located in the picnic park at Capitol Reef. We couldn't resist the yearly photo shoot.

Our GPS Treasure Hunt

Armed with GPS units borrowed from Brian's dad, we went on a treasure hunt in Wayne County, Utah. We spent time searching for the graves of our ancestors. We marked their locations, and recorded them so that others could find the graves more easily. We are now putting together the information along with the ancestors' biographies for our family website. This has been a really neat project for us, and has really helped to "turn the hearts of the children" in our own family.

Noah crawling on the sandstone

The Boys on the Other Side of Hickman Bridge

Kids with Hickman Bridge in the Background

Brian and Debs on the way to Hickman Bridge

In July we went down to the farm for a week long visit. While we were there we hiked to Hickman Bridge in Capitol Reef. This is a picture of our family just before arriving at the bridge. Hickman Bridge is a nice hike for families, especially on an overcast day where it isn't too hot outside. There are crevices in the sandstone that make fun little "clubhouses" for the kids to play in.

Giving Up at an Early Age

Seth was carrying several of his toys up the stairs in our home. He had placed them in a box in order to carry more at the same time. "Mommy!" he exclaimed, "I wanna go home. It's too hard!"