First Family Hike

 Jack's brother David told us about a hike he went on to Bluebird Lake.  He said that along the trail, after only 0.3 miles you got to some nice waterfalls.

 We thought this would be an ideal hike for our family.  It would give the children something to see and be excited about even if we didn't make it very far.  We really weren't sure how far we would be able to go with the little ones.

So we drove about an hour from home to go on our first family hike.  The kids were all very excited about it. 

 When we finally got to the entrance to the national park, there were forest rangers there who told us the parking lot was full, but there would be parking spots along the road and then we could hike up to the trailhead.

 So instead of hiking 0.3 miles to get to the falls, we hiked 1.2 miles to the falls.  But it was the perfect length of a hike for our children.  Ruth was carried most of the time.  Rebecca, Miriam and Joseph wanted to go further, but Jack and I realized that we still had a mile hike to get to the van, so we went back.  Miriam and Joseph were tired by the time we got back.

We had a nice picnic by the van after our hike, and the kids tried to learn to skip rocks.  We still need some more practice!  (Maybe next time!)

Ruth is Cute!

 Ruth is so cute.

 I know, I might be biased.

 But I'm not sure.

Wouldn't everyone think so?

Bridal Veil Falls

 For Jack's birthday, we took a short overnight trip to Estes Park to have some time away.  Saturday morning we went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls.  (I believe Jack made some comment about an 8 cow wife when he took this picture.)

 We really enjoyed the hike, the beautiful area and the time to just visit with each other.

 We are excited to start pursuing hiking as a family and as a couple.   It seems like a great way to exercise, enjoy each other's company and see the beautiful world we live in!

Ready to Go!

 Ruth is not one to be left behind.  She wants to do everything that anyone else is doing.  And normally she finds a way to be successful.

 But now the big kids are back in school.  She isn't too happy about being left behind every day.  She found Joseph's back pack left out, and got ready to go.  She is a big girl!

First Day of School

 (Rebecca was the only one who didn't get her school supplies dropped off early.  Look how heavy that backpack is!)

 Here are the cute kids on the first day of school, 2012.  They are all looking pretty grown up!

 Rebecca is starting 5th grade.  She is sure looking grown up.  Where has the time gone?

 Miriam is starting 3rd grade.  She is such a sweetie and so pretty!  She will do great in school.

 Where has my baby boy gone?  Joseph is starting kindergarten.  He is ready for lots of fun!

Little Ruth and I are going to have lots of quality time together before she starts school...

Lemonade Stand

 We had a neighborhood garage sale a couple weekends ago.  The kids saw the advertisements for it and wanted to have a garage sale, too.  Now my opinion of garage sales is that it is great for other people to have, but I don't want to sit outside all day long in the heat waiting for someone to come and look at my stuff.  Especially when my husband is out of town so I would have to do all the work.  So the kids settled for setting up a lemonade stand for all the garage sale goers.  They had a fun time and made a little money.  Good job!

Denver Zoo

 I took the kids on a trip to the Denver Zoo.  They all enjoy looking at the animals and spenting time together.

 Rebecca also likes to take pictures of the animals.  I feel that the pictures should have at least one member of the family in them, but Rebecca took a picture of nearly every animal we saw, but I only got these three of us.  Hmm...

Swimming Lessons

 This summer the kids did two sessions of swimming lessons. We went to a different pool than we have in the past, and I was thrilled with their progress.  (Poor Ruth just hung out on the side with me during the other kids' lessons.)

 Miriam really overcame a lot of her fears of the water.  She would willingly play in the water by going under and getting the rings off the bottom.  She learned some basic strokes and was starting to try to breathe.

 Joseph loves the water.  He gained a lot of confidence as well as started to learn some floats and kicks.  He loved it so much that I took the kids to the pool one afternoon and the lifeguard nearly had to jump in and save him because he thought he could swim.  He'd been doing it in lessons, right?

Rebecca is a good little swimmer.  She knows all the basic strokes and is working on being able to swim the length of the pool.  I'm glad that it is something she enjoys!

Hair Cuts

 I have a little tradition going-- the kids go in to get a professional hair cut once a year, before school starts.  It works out pretty well because when you don't go to the fancy kids salon for a whole year, they send you a coupon to get you to come back, which brings the price down to the same as going to Cost Cutters.

 And since the girls are of the mindset that they want to grow out their hair, I just take them in to get it trimmed up even and cleaned up.  I am getting pretty good (okay, not terrible any more) at cutting Joseph's hair.  I practice on him every couple months.

 But for Ruth, this was her first hair cut.  I have been holding off getting it cut, just trying to keep it pulled up and out of her face.  But inevitably she would have hair in her face, and it just looked messy all the time, so I had them trim her some bangs and straighten it all up.  She did pretty good for her first time. 

 What a cutie!

Feeling Guilty

 I realized that I had taken very few pictures of my children this summer, so I pulled out the camera to take some candid shots of the kids being themselves. 

 I found that Ruth has become quite the little ham.  She kept saying, "Cheese" and waiting for me to take a picture of her.

 Joseph and Miriam humored me by looking up from the Play-Doh to take a picture.

 Rebecca, on the other hand, must be too old for her silly mother, because she didn't want to look at me or get her picture taken.  "Come on, Mom!"

What They Do...

 When they're ready for church early!

 I'm surprised I didn't catch anyone reading, that is an activity of choice for Rebecca and Miriam.

 I love these sweet kiddos!

Ward Campout

 Our ward had a campout this summer.  The kids were excited to go up to the mountains and have some fun. We decided to have Jack go camping with the kids while Ruth and I stayed home.  We figured that it would be much more pleasant for us and everyone else if Ruth slept in her own bed. 

 The kids had a great time playing with friends, camping, and doing crafts.  Ruth and I slept all night and cleaned the house the next morning before the campers made it home.