SUU Gymnastics

Since we are away from town for 3 weeks in the summer, Ellie normally misses a lot of gymnastics when we are gone and then has to work really hard to catch up.  For fun, she got to go to gymnastics camp at SUU.  It was 4 days long and she got to stay in the dorms the whole time and hang out with new people and learn new gymnastics tricks.  

This is the group of girls that she was with.  She roomed with the tall girl on the right.  Her friend she got along best with was Camille. 

 This is her chaperone and she called her Huppi.

She had a great time, and learned a few new skills.  She made instant friends with some of the girls in her dorm and really enjoyed hanging out with them all weel!

Our 2nd Teenager!

Well, it's official, we now have two teenagers in the house.  Michael turned 13 a few days ago.  He is very excited to be a teenager, he is at the stage where he wants to grow taller and stronger faster than is happening to him.  It doesn't help that some of the kids that go to his school are like monster sized.

 Michael is a great kid to have.  He's easy going, keeps to himself, is generally happy and self sufficient.  He really loves the computer, and minecraft. He would prefer to be playing minecraft to everything else in this world.  If he can't be playing minecraft on the computer, he would prefer to to be playing on his iPod touch.  He loves to read funny memes on there and play games.

 He is currently doing climbing at a rock climbing gym nearby.  He doesn't like it very well, so he won't be continuing it after this year.  He likes to know random facts and present them at opportune times.  He also likes to make sure you know if you said something that isn't 100% accurate.

We are so grateful to have Michael in our family!

Ellie is 11!

Guess who just turned 11?  This amazing girl!  She had a great birthday- she got a new bike and a new ipod touch!  One of the traditions we have in our family is opening presents first thing in the morning on your birthday.  Unfortunately, this year we couldn't do it because Adam leaves for seminary at 5:35 in the morning, and no one wanted to get up that early, even if it was for opening presents.  If we waited until Ellie got done with gymnastics on her birthday, then that would be 9 at night.  She convinced us to let her open presents the day before her birthday, after gymnastics.  She was still wearing her leotard, of course.

 Since it was an off year, Ellie was not allowed to have a big birthday party. Instead, she picked to get her nails done with her bestie, Sydney.  They had matching toes and similar fingernails.

Ellie is so fun to have in our family.  She is very loving and affectionate with us.  She likes to spend time cooking and watching movies and (now) texting all her friends.  We are very lucky, she is a good friend and doesn't do well with drama in friendships, instead she encourages getting along with others. This is great because it allows her to be friends with more people and have lots of friendships that can build on the time that they can spend together.  Most of her non-school life is spent at gymnastics, but that doesn't slow her down.  She gets her homework done quickly, and still finds time to do the other things that she loves.

We sure are happy to have her in our lives!

Visiting with friends and family

On the way out to the cabin, we spent the night and visited with Grandpa Frost and Grandma Lucy. It was nice to visit with them!  (Adam was at Philmont, so he didn't go with us).

 For a couple of days when we were in Utah, we drove up to Provo and that area, and visited with the Dibbs.  The kids really enjoyed seeing them.

 While we were there, we got to see the new Provo City Center temple.  It is quite beautiful.

 On the way back to Houston, we stopped and stayed with Aunt Tammy for a day.  The kids really enjoyed seeing their cousins.

4-wheelers at the cabin

Another one of our favorite things to do at the cabin is to ride 4-wheelers.  Especially since there are so many fantastic trails that are open to the public with beautiful sights to see as you go.  Now that Adam and Michael are bigger, they can drive the 4-wheelers themselves.  We also got them a Utah 4-wheeler license.

 Grandpa lets Nate and Ellie drive with him.  Apparently sometimes this takes a lot of patience.

 See, picturesque!

 Nowadays, we often have to stop for things like this:

 Our resident fly-guy.

 While they were taking pictures, Nate really wanted me to take a picture of him on this tree overhanging this huge gully. I thought it seemed a bit scary, him-not so much.

 Still waiting on picture-taking...

 The view at the top of a ridge.  Adam was still at Philmont.  One of my kids does not like to smile for pictures, can you tell which one?

Hiking at the cabin

The cabin is on the top of a mountain, so one of the things the kids like to do best is climb up the mountain.  I don't always go with them, but they convinced me to go a time or two this time.

 The view from the top.

 This kid...I gave him my phone and told him to take a picture of me with the lake in the background.  He takes a picture or two and then I notice he is taking a lot of pictures.  I get the phone back and find about 10 versions of this picture!