Bear Lake

First off a big ol' THANKS to my mom and my dad for putting this little family trip together! My mom decided that we had better start doing family reunions. We have them all the time with her side of the family and they are fun. As the families are getting bigger and bigger it is harder and harder to get us all together. So we all took some time off and headed for Bear Lake. Cassie and her family live in Ohio so it isn't easy for them to load it up and head on over! We missed them a lot and wished they could have come!

We got there and the boys were mostly excited to be OUT of the car! We played a little bit before everyone else arrived.

Then more peeps showed up and found a cool little wagon deal that Gma was so cool to give rides! I pretended to be busy so I didn't have to take a turn!

Cole took Jayce on a little tour of the area and made sure he made it back to the cabins safely!

Once more of the cousins showed up they helped themselves to a little playtime on the little swing set that the poles moved when they swung....they didn't notice though.



He had been eyeing down the sand, buckets, and shovels all day... the inner kid couldn't hold back!

Mr. build it (well more create it) man came along to help the kids build a sand castle... they are taking notes.

Here is a picture of the work in progress...

Hey Beach Babes! (notice i did not attach one of me... and if anyone that went on this trip does... you will wake up tomorrow with NO eyebrows, i promise!)

Hey Daws! Taking a little break from the water fun? Didn't last more than a minute laying there!


Back in action... sooo many shells to collect! (oh crap i need to get the little smelly baggy of them out of my trunk!

He did get up twice.... once to eat lunch and once to take my mom for a crazy jet ski ride!

Cole was going strong all day long with all his cousins.

That is a mighty big hole for 2 little fella's.... I think they were diggen for treasures aka smelly shells!

Rookie and Zoey digging their own hole and filling it with water!

Heya boys! Anyone up for some relaxing?

Cole and Rook made sure the back net was nice and secure before we loaded everything back up!

Did I mention that it was kinda chilly at times during the day at the beach? This is when we were rapping things up to head on out.

What a COOL Gma! She rode in the back of the truck to and from the beach! Even after her hair looked so nice... what a champ!

We got back, showered, had dinner and played a little baseball with everyone.

We got up early the next morning and went to church. It was a big ol ward, but I did wonder how many of them were like us and were only visiting. (oh yeah, i forgot my bag with my shampoo, conditioner, face wash, brushes, blow dryer, flat iron, etc. that is why I look like I have been at the beach instead of church.)
Here is a family shot of us in front of #9. This was a great place to stay. Every fam got their own cabin and they are all by each other!

This is Tilly. She was waiting for us on our front porch. She welcomed us immediately and followed us around the whole time. Rook loved her the most!
We then went down to Garden City for lunch. We went to Bear Lake Pizza and got the biggest pizza we had ever seen! Sorry no pics. I think Becky got one or my mom though. It was 28inches round! We got it for all of us and still had enough left over for 3 of us to take some home! It was quite tasty too!

The end.

Random Update

Remember us? Yeah, it has been awhile! I have been going through a blog break I guess. We have been pretty busy around here, just not blog posting type of stuff... unless you wanna see my latest haircuts and colors I have done or the many paper clippings from the boys art projects or a million pictures of them riding their bikes. I have been keeping super busy with hair which is nice. I like the social interaction and I have a passion for doing it I guess. Oh and the extra money sure is nice to have! (esp. when you are wanting to put in a yard, a sprinkler system, the tree's, and everything that it involves.)
We really have had quite a fun summer. It makes me sorta sad that it is all coming to an end. With all these kids going back to school (even though i only have a preschooler) I just think ALREADY?!?! Seems like it soared by.
Dawson is so very excited for school. We went to register him and he was all smiles. I wondered if I shouldn't put him in because he went to one last year and one this summer but he just begs! I enjoy him being around and wouldn't mind him just being little for a little while longer!
Cole is in such a funny stage. He thinks he is a full on comedian! If he isn't saying something that "he" thinks is funny he is pulling crazy faces or doing weird little flips on the floor to get a laugh out of ya.
Lane is getting SO very excited about BYU football beginning! I have a feeling we will be traveling up to Utah a WHOLE lot starting the end of this month fI or the home games. He went to every single game last year and I guess didn't think it was too big of a hassle...we shall see. BYUI has been out on their 7 week break for the students and faculty. Lane and his office still work through it but I think it has been a nice break to have a quiet office and not a whole lot of students needing his assistance.
Me, hmmm I am good. Just doing hair and trying to keep my house somewhat clean during the days. We are getting ready to go to our little "Simmons" family reunion at Bear Lake and I (and Becky) just finished up making 6 pounds of ground beef into Polynesian meatballs for our night of dinner! They smell and look delish!
This is turning into such a boring post I am going to just leave ya with a few pictures to excite things up!

Feeling pretty big! I am surprised that Daws let Cole have a turn driving but he did a great job!
Good thing it doesn't go very fast or I mighta been a little nervous!

Mr. Coley Man

Daws Man

I must have done a little too much hair this day. I came up and found Coley looking for a snack.

In his shirt and undies.

Daws NEVER naps and Cole does occasionally these days. We had played outside and got all dirty and so I tossed them in the shower and they scrubbed up and enjoyed themselves for about 20 minutes. When I wrapped them up in their towels and layed them down on my bed while I went to get them some clean clothes (I was seriously gone no more than 5 minutes) this is what I came back to! It was amazing to have them both asleep and the house to myself so I had to snap a picture!

6 years of Bliss

6 things I have learned in the last 6 years....
1. It is so important to be married to someone who makes you laugh everyday.

2. It is important to go on dates! (we don't do that enough)

3. It is so nice to have a helpful husband.

4. Your valuables soon become toys. (this is after the kids arrive)

5. You have a choice, you can either be happy or not. I chose HAPPY!

6. Pretend to listen to everything they say, even if you have heard it all before!

6 things we have done together in the last 6 years....
1. We have moved 10 times!

2. We went to Hawaii with a 4 month old!

3. We have had two little bundles of joy!

4. We have gone to at least 8 major league baseball games together!

5. We have built our home together!

6. Drove across the U.S. and back twice! (well Wisconsin and back)

6 of my favorite things about the Mr....

1. I love his humor

2. I love how he plays with our kids.

3. He has a very creative mind and is very smart.

4. He comes from a GREAT family.

5. He tells me I look good, even though I know he is lying.

6. His brown eyes, his black hair, and his perfect teeth!

Summer Lovin (or) Lovin Summer

Lots of swimming... Hayrides in Jackson Hole.... Skidster rides.... Parks.... Wedding receptions... and soooo much more fun!

a couple more

So Lisa came on our fun little adventures while in Utah and she sent me a bundle more pictures. I wanted to post a few of the ones I didn't get posted last time. I will refrain from the ones that are similar to the ones I already did... don't want to bore you all. (thanks Lisa!)


Inside a Alligator's mouth... YIKES


What a little Paleontologist! (aka Ross)


They loved the fruit by the foots that Auntie Lisa brought to share!


Another highlight was feeding Les and Mel's Koi and other fish! They eat right out of your hand!


cousins. Daws, Coley, Laya (what a cutie she is!)


Two little buddies braving the volcano!

Lil' trip to The Valley

We are kinda getting back to our old routine around here. It is hard to be gone for a week and then get back to reality. It was a fun trip and the boys thought that it was a dream come true.

We stayed with LeAnn (thanks leann) for the first two nights up in Salt Lake. One of our favorite family spots is the Dino park in Ogden so we hit that first off!

oley was asleep for the first half (or more) of our little adventure so that is why there aren't very many pictures of him. When he finally did decide to join us, THIS is what he woke up to! Even the dino man himself (daws) is a little nervous of this big character! It is so life like and growls and blinks and moves just like what you would imagine a trex would....

The next day Lane, Lisa, LeAnn, and Todd ripped apart LeAnn's kitchen. She is remodeling the WHOLE thing so they needed it ALL down...fun stuff! Can't wait to see it all put back together!

We then went to the Anniversary Sale which I thoroughly enjoyed! Lane got some work shoes and I got a few items myself!
The next day we cruised around Orem and did lots of errands. We went to J Dawgs for our hot dog fix. We then took the boys to the Scera pool and it was a real HOT day! We swam for a little over 3 hours in a warm pool cuz the sun was heaten it up! Like an IDIOT I sprayed down my kids and rubbed in the sunscreen BUT only got a little on my arms before I was running towards the water to make sure they didn't dive in! I got a major burn! I mean SCORCHED! It is to the peeling stage now and quite itchy but I did learn my lesson ONCE again! You would think after 31 years of multiple sunburns I would learn my lesson....nope! (sorry no pictures) When my Aunt Jen saw me her eyes got big and she said "Why you so dumb?!" I don't know why, I just am!

We also went to Kangaroo Zoo which was a SUPER fun place! We went pretty close to closing time so we didn't get to enjoy it as long as we would have liked but it was still a nice way to wear out the boys! (they both fell asleep from 3:30 to 7:70) So we needed something to suck out some energy if ya know what I mean.

We had a family dinner at Les and Mel's house on Sunday which was delish and fun. I was 2nd runner up on the Wii Fitness! (next to les) I was 26! Can I getta Woot Woot!?!

Monday morning we packed it up and did said our goodbye's and took Coley to his Dr. apt. at Primary Children's. Can I just say what a GREAT hospital that is? I honestly thought to myself, "if i lived closer, wasn't a mom of 2 boys, and didn't love doing hair so much, I would totally wanna work there!" Maybe I shoulda went to Medical School. HA Can you just see me, in Med School?? Yeah, neither can I! Maybe I could be a nurse or a administrator or something. I just liked the people there and the kids were SO dang cute too!

Ok well that wasn't every detail if you can believe it. We were their a whole week and while it was fun it was NICE to get home! There is no place like home....... right?!

(sorry for the picture overload. i am wishing i would have done them small so this post didn't seem sooo ginormous..... ah well!)