The Zoo with Laters

We love & miss you Candice and Doug!

About a month ago, we were lucky to go to the zoo with Aunt Candice and Uncle Doug.  It was a great way to spend time with them before they left.  They now live in Kansas City, Missouri for medical school {sad for us, good for them}.  We already miss them!!!

Even worse,  Aunt "Bee" is expecting a little guy and we will have to miss it.  They better come home for Christmas!

Cute little baby elephant

Will loved the White Rhinos

The giraffes are always a hit

Very up close to the leopard

There were real looking dinosaurs all over the park
for "Zoorassic"

Sambo's most favorite animal...the gray wolf

Millie loved the gorillas and orangutangs...they were hilarious!

What is Q going to do without Uncle Doug?

I remember drinking out of this very fountain when I was little

What will we do without Aunt Bee?

We always end the day on the choo choo

Lake Powell

"The Getaway" houseboat camped in Iceberg Canyon; Millie wakeboarding

We had the pleasure of going to one of our favorite places a few weeks ago...Lake Powell!
We are lucky that we get to go here a couple of times every summer for as long as I can remember.  There is no such thing as a bad trip to Lake Powell and this was no exception.
Every year it's the same - wake up, waterski, eat, tube, eat, swim, cliff jump, eat, water slide, hike, eat, wake board, knee board, eat, play games, laugh, eat, sleep, fun!
This time we stayed up Iceberg Canyon and also Bullfrog Bay.  Both were great spots with land to explore and mostly clean water.
Memories that stick out most from this trip:
-Quincy going down the houseboat waterslide for the first time.  She didn't hesitate going down but decided one time was enough.  She totally underestimated the drop at the bottom.  She also went knee-boarding with BS on the back...until he dropped off and she kept going.  The look on her face was priceless when she turned around and realized he wasn't there anymore.
-Playing LCR with Skittles and Snorta {in which Jim had a hilarious animal sound for his rooster}
-Watching the kids enjoy waterskiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding.  They get better each time and I can see their confidence building.  We even got Karlee and Rylee up too!
-The cousins playing and having so much fun together.
-Trying to play games and ignoring the really bad stink in the boat {there was a brief gray water mishap}
-Relaxing on the top of the houseboat late at night with Jim and Judy in the hardest rain I've seen there.  It was cool and refreshing.  The foot massages were a plus!
-Sam saving the day by fixing the starter on the Maxum.
-Quin constantly wanting to be swimming in the lake.
Thanks Clarks for a fantastic trip!  Look forward to next year!

Lots of braids in Mill's hair so we wouldn't have to comb it so much!

Rylee, Will, Karlee, Sam, Mills

My Little MerNaid

Spencer & Quincy

These girls love boat rides

Bathing {twinner} Beauties

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Kars & Rys

Millie tearing it up

Sambo tearing it up

Will Wakeboarding

Quinny knee-boarding solo - not realizing her Dad dropped off the back

I love these boys

Tubing!

Q

M waterskiing

The smokin hot boat driver

Sam showing off.  They all like to do as many tricks they can think of

Not bad for 7 years old!

Fishing with Grandpa!  Caught a "ratfish"

Sassy Pants

Double knee-boarding is always a hit

The Great Man

Sam getting splashed by Uncle Jake

Back at the slip...goodbye houseboat!

Ride like a Girl

This little girl can ride!  The other night we were all hanging outside and our cute little neighbor Connor (Quincy's buddy) learned to ride his bike.  Quincy took one look at him, got out her bike and jumped on.  With a little help from Dad she was riding solo in about 20 seconds!  Well that was easy!
She has spent literally hours on that bike in the last 3 days since!  Other than her just being awesome, we credit her little "boot scoot" bike that she has been riding for the past couple summers.  It is a bike without wheels.  She learned how to balance and so when it came time to pedal - the hard part was easy.  She loves it!
Chalk up another trait she got from her Dad.  Other than her dark brown eyes, I've yet to see one bit of me in her.   She looks so much like BS.  And I love it.

All-Star

For summer, we like to take a break from everything and just enjoy not having a schedule or running the kids to different activities. The exception is piano, because that is something that should be consistent.
But one week into June, Sambo decided he wanted to try-out for the All-Star baseball team in our area. BS took him and when they came back, he told me that Sambo had done amazingly well at the try-outs. Soon we received an email congratulating him for making the team! All of his practice during regular season had paid off! BS thought he should be part of this too and volunteered to help coach.

Coach Sam and Coach Buck

He played for the Lone Peak Knights and for the next 3 weeks they had practice and/or tournament games everyday. Coach Buck (Mendenhall) was very serious about his All-Star team. They practiced at his house because he had not only a huge grassy field, but also 2 batting cages. Even on the days they had a game they would meet a few hours before and have batting practice. Sambo played catcher, 2nd base, center field, and pitcher. He really likes pitching and is really good at catching. He also found his swing. He made it to base all but one time he was up to bat. He learned so much and we are very grateful to Coach Buck for teaching him so much about baseball and some of life's lessons.

His tournaments were in West Valley and Tooele - wow. We were back and forth from Snowbird one of the weeks. This was definitely a commitment we weren't planning on this summer but we are soooooo glad we decided to support Sambo in this. I'm extra glad and happy that BS wanted and was able to manage his schedule so that he could help coach the team. I know it means a lot to Sambo. We look forward to next baseball season for sure!

Playing Catcher

Love a man in uniform :)

Fan Club

Go Knights!