First Day of School

I can't believe we're to another school year! Summer flew by! Adam is now in 2nd grade, and Logan in 1st! The first day of school is always exciting!

Blue Lake

Some may call us crazy, but we took our family on a little backpacking trip when Mayzie was only a few weeks old! It was a great experience- although I know Greg was wondering why in the world we would put ourselves through that, but we were so glad we did it! We went with Justin and his family and Jeff and ShaRee and their family. The kids were just thrilled! They were singing and having a ball with everyone! So it was a mile hike down to the lake with all our gear. Greg and I feel in the way back since I had to feed Mayzie. Greg was superman - carrying a huge backpack load, plus Mayzie in the snugglie on his front! Lincoln was cracking us up the whole way down. He would trip and fall a couple times, and would just start laughing! He was a treat to have with us! We were moving a little slower than everyone, and didn't quite know which way to turn when we got down to the lake, but luckily the campsite they chose was right in the middle, so we found everyone. How can you lose 15 kids anyway? So we set up camp and enjoyed our little snacks and a fire. We all slept so well! Mayzie looked like a little snuggle bunny - she actually slept better than ever that night! The next day, we had our granola bar breakfasts, and then we literally climbed the mountain! All those little ones did it too! I was so impressed! Greg even did it with Mayzie - I'm glad we got some pictures to show that we were on the top of the world, looking down on creation. It was great. We even found some snow! The bigger kids climbed all the way to the top and across the ridge even. We played some more games that afternoon, and then started the trek back up a mile. We were wondering how it would be with Lincoln since he hadn't had a nap. Well, it started out a little treacherous - he started crying and wanting to be held. It' s a little difficult to hold a two year old and a huge backpack up hill! I held him for a little bit, but then told him it would really make me happy if he would walk. After a few minutes, he said, "hold hand" I asked if he wanted to hold my hand. He said he did. So I put him down and he held my hand. He then said, "Mom happy?'' I said, "Oh, yes honey, that makes me so happy!" He was such a good trooper. We were slow moving, as he would stop and sit and play with the rocks every couple minutes. He said, "feed hurt" That awesome two year old - plus our others - had literally hiked up a mountain twice in one day, and with little complaining. But we certainly couldn't have done it without our awesome Dad who carried most of the load, and then some! It was wonderful being out in nature though - nature with family is about as good as it gets!Lincoln was so covered with dirt, and was making the funniest faces!

I love these two pictures - a sudden change! I hope I was the one that made the difference!

Amazing hikers!

Greg was certainly the super trooper!

Can you believe we climbed this?

Lincoln was so funny on our hike. He had a little stick and would say, "hike, 2, 3, 4"

Cute Bren!

Off we go - up the mountain!

Here's our little snuggle bunny!

Such cute girls!

Little fishermen!

Here's the crew before we embarked down the mountain!

Our Good Friend Chuck

Chuck is our neighbor from our old subdivision - he is a very dear friend to our family. We still get with him frequently. He is so thoughtful and kind. He built our chicken coop, our chicken brooder, our bird house, and we've only been successful in fishing when he is with us! On this particular day, he came over with his fishing pole and taught Adam how to cast. We went fishing with him a little while later, and everyone got to reel in a fish!

Chuck holding Mayzie

Mayzie Anne's Blessing

Mayzie was blessed on August 1, the day after Adam was baptized. It was a neat weekend. It's always so fun to have all your family here - well, as many as could come! I know it was a sacrifice for them to come so far for not too long. But we loved having them all here. Right before Greg was going to bless Mayzie, he leaned over to me and said, "Would it be all right if we named her "Mayzie Anne". I thought - why didn't we think of that before. I glanced down the aisle and saw Great Grandpa, and realized - of course we should name her after 2 great grandmas - Mayzie after my Grandma May, and Anne after Greg's grandma! It was a beautiful blessing. Adam even bore his testimony - it was very sweet and sincere. He also had to give a talk in Primary right after! The whole crew!

I love these 4 generation pictures!

Adam and Mayzie - 2 perfectly pure children!

I love my Mom and Grandma - and Mayzie!

This picture of Lynae and Mayzie is so cute!! Lynae made Mayzie's blessing dress - how appropriate for Mayzie to smile for the picture!

Mayzie and Grandma Heiner

Mayzie in her beautiful dress on her big day!

Lincoln was loving his icecream cone - his nose was loving it too!

Cute little cousins

Mom and Mayzie

Uncle Kevin and Mayzie

Adam's Baptism

It's hard to believe we have a son old enough to be baptized already! Adam was ready and excited though! We have been so blessed to have him part of our family - specifically the oldest child in the family! He has been faithful in reading his scriptures and saying his prayers, and is really a great example for the other children. We had the opportunity to go to a convert baptism earlier in the day, which was really neat. It was so neat to see Adam dressed in white next to Greg. He truly seemed to glow. One funny thing was that I had been telling him how warm the water would be - just like a big bathtub. Well, they must have left the water in the font from the baptism that morning because the water was really cold! But I think he'll remember it forever!

Funny Boy!

Lincoln seems to really like hats - and when he found Mayzie's hat, he just slipped it right on and claimed it as is own! He would not take it off or give it back!Two cute boys!

Enjoying Every Minute!

Here's our second little princess!

Lincoln is constantly keeping us smiling and laughing - I love it when he says, "Hold Mayzie now?" He loves to give her kisses on the head too!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful Grandmas! I'm thankful my mom was here as long as she could be!