Jackson Hole, Wyoming

We started our vacation by staying in Jackson Hole, WY for a couple of nights.
We happened to be here for the 4th of July. Jackson sure knows how to do a fireworks show! The fireworks show was called "Fire in the Hole" and it was amazing! We could see it from our hotel window.

Downtown Jackson, WY

We went to the Bar-T-5 Covered Wagon Cookout and show while we were in Jackson. It was really fun. Here is a picture of Jon, Leah, and Alex posing as cowboys and mountain men:

We rode up the canyon in a covered wagon

These were the horses pulling the wagon behind us:

Getting ready to eat the yummy dutch oven dinner!

We had BBQ chicken, roast beef with gravy, baked beans, corn on the cob, salad, a roll, and a blondie for dessert.

The show was pretty funny as well.

Leah got a chance to sing part of the song "She'll be comin' 'round the mountain"

Jon and Leah

Mountain Man, BuckskinLeah, Alex, and Caleb all got a chance to drive the wagon!

We were attacked by Indians on our way up the canyon

We had a really fun time at the Bar-T-5. I would highly recommend it!

Alex and Caleb bought sling-shots and were anxious to try them out in the field behind our hotel:

We're on the road again and headed toward Yellowstone next!

Family Vacation Time!

We packed up the kids July 4th early in the morning and started driving! They were entertained with their own DVD players, pillows and blankets.

We passed through Logan, UT and stopped to see the temple there

Next, we stopped near Bear Lake to see the Minnetonka Cave.

Admiring the plants
This was a VERY hurried picture! I was going to set up the camera to get a family shot, but the swarm of mosquitoes was starting to bite! They were awful! There were literally millions of them! Thank goodness the caves are too cool for them to survive.

I think this one is "The Seven Dwarfs"

Kermit's Castle

I think this one is the "Bride and Groom"

Very nice cave. It's similar to the Timpanogos caves, but without the hike to get there! You just drive up and walk in. That was nice. We weren't very prepared though and had no jackets at all with us. So, we carried in a blanket to keep warm from the cool 40 degree temperature inside the cave.

Manti Pageant and Camping

We went to the Manti Pageant this year with Trine and Larry Krueger
We didn't get any pictures before the sun went down,
so this is the best picture of our family that we got.

The beautiful Manti temple!

Alex being silly.

We camped at the fair grounds in Manti and
we all went fishing at Palisade State Park in Sterling.
Alex and Caleb couldn't get enough of the sticks laying around.
Leah, Leyna, and Kayla were more interested in fishing than the boys were.

Here Leyna is getting a lesson in how to cast the fishing pole.

Alex

Larry teaching Landon how to fish!

Caleb and mom

After a few hours of fishing we stopped by our old stomping ground for a picnic lunch.
A lot has changed round Snow College campus since Jon and I were there 11 years ago!

We had a fun weekend and enjoyed our little getaway

Cake Decorating Contests

After I won the Art City Days Cake Decorating Contest my kids really wanted to decorate their own cakes. So, we decided to have a cake decorating contest of our own! They used the left over cake, frosting, decorations, and fondant from the Art City Days contest and came up with their own creations.

Here is the front of Leah's cake

A picture of the back

Leah posing with her cake

This is Caleb's "Beat Box" cake

Caleb with his cake

Alex went with a volcano and dinosaur design

Alex with his cake
(I like how the little orange sign says "RUN!")

The cakes on display for judging

Waiting patiently for the results!

Nanny and Papa were the judges for the contest.
Caleb won the "most creative award"
for having the most creative way to stack and decorate a cake.
He won a box of play dough!

Alex won the "best theme" award
for having the best use of a prehistoric theme.
He won a dinosaur set!

Leah won the "most colorful award"
for using the most colors to decorate a cake.
She won a box of crayons!

They all had a lot of fun.
I'm a little caked-out for now...

Out with the old...in with the new

Fluffy-head, the rabbit, has been a good pet for Leah for the past year or so...But, he's just not as friendly with her as she would like.

She likes to love her pets and hold them.
Fluffy-head would rather be left alone.
So, we sold Fluffy-head so she could buy a new bunny.

Meet "Fuzzy"Fuzzy is 3 weeks old and Leah LOVES him!
He is a special needs rabbit.
His mommy chewed on his ear when he was born,
leaving him with only half of an ear on one side.
Leah knew she could give this special bunny the love he needed,
so she chose him out of 10 other baby bunnies (who were not deformed)

Since we will be raising Fuzzy from a baby, he will be more used to being held and played with than Fluffy-head was. I think Leah will like this bunny a lot more.
In other news...our pigeons (one pictured here with Jon)...hatched two babies!

They're not much to look at right now, in fact they are UGLY.

Hopefully they will start looking cute soon

Leah's 1st Dance Recital

Leah was so excited to get to wear make up for her dance recital
She is so beautiful!

Dressed for "Ballerina Girl"

Her costume for "Hard Knock Life"

She did such a great job! I was so impressed!
She'll be doing dance again because she loved it so much.

April Fools

Taco Salad for dinner...

...or is it dessert?