august in pictures

as usual, august started out with our annual pilgrimage to mccall, idaho with randy's family. we started by going to boise for a few days first. here we are at a rest stop in idaho:

hanging out at a park in downtown boise:

time with cousins:

lots of baths:

the adults all got to go to the boise temple together. it's the first time we've been able to go together for something other than a wedding since randy and i were married. i've never been inside the boise temple before and it was beautiful. the glass work was especially stunning.

and the real highlight of the trip (the only reason there are so many pictures from the month), mccall itself. lots of beach pictures, as usual. same place, same activities, they just look a little older each year.

we also did a hike up by warm lake on a cooler day:

jonathan and aunt kimmy:

we had a fun night with all of the extended family together and the kids did a little dance together. jonathan had an adorable bow tie and the girls had skirts, bonnets, and aprons.

surprisingly, jonathan actually participated appropriately and didn't ruin the dance by goofing off. he was adorable and i need to find out who got video of the whole thing.

my father-in-law turned sixty a couple weeks after our trip to mccall, so we celebrated while we were there with some of the best pie i've ever had, made by a woman in horseshoe bend, idaho. we put twenty candles on each and sang happy birthday. i sure am glad he was born (for several reasons).

getting ice cream at ice cream alley (an annual tradition):

peeking into the mccall ice skating rink:

climbing on the bear statue:

we even took some family pictures:

after that, the rest of the month seems pretty boring.

we spent lots of time at the pool:

and we even had a late summer storm, complete with a power-outage.

look at me, i'm actually caught up for the next week!

july in pictures

we started off july with a trip down to utah. we stopped off in boise for a night on the way down and back to spend time with randy's family. it's always fun that we get to see both of our families if we're going to utah, and nice to break up the trip.

randy's mom is such a fun grandma and made a little fairy garden for the girls, as well as wings and wands for each of them. needless to say, they loved it.

they also played with water a lot to keep cool in the heat.

the only time this boy stops moving.

after boise, we headed down to utah. we stayed at my mom's house and spent lots of time playing with cousins. my mom is also a fun grandma and got a blow up pool for the kids to play in.

a rare picture of all three of them looking at the camera. and clean, to boot! they took lots of baths at g'ma and pa'a's house to make up for the lack of a bathtub at our house.

getting ready to watch fireworks on the fourth of july.

we headed to temple square on sunday to show our kids around and do touristy things. we went to the visitor's center and walked around the temple grounds.

we also went into the conference center (mostly to find a drinking fountain, it was extremely hot) and when we walked in, ran into an old family friend who was serving as a tour guide, so we ended up taking a tour with her.

since it's rare for all of us to be together, we had family pictures taken with my whole family. the kids did surprisingly well.

my parents with all of their grandkids.

uncle bruce was popular with some game on his phone.

we went to scheel's (a huge sporting good's store) to ride their ferris wheel. jonathan wasn't sure about the whole thing and kept going back and forth on whether or not he was going to ride. at the last minute he opted to go and then as we got on the chair, he started to regret his decision.

fortunately, it started moving right away and he was fine after that.

we had such a fun trip and, as always, i wish i had taken more pictures. i was especially sad that i didn't take any pictures at our big linford family gathering in provo canyon to celebrate my grandma's birthday. it was so fun to see so many cousins and aunts and uncles.

this is not a great picture, but my friends invited me to see jim gaffigan with them at the last minute and it was so fun. jim gaffigan was hilarious and it was great to spend time with friends, too.

a few other random pictures from the rest of july:

this backhoe loader was doing work at the park when we were there and the kids thought it was pretty much the best thing ever.

madeleine passed the swim test at our pool and is now allowed to go in the deep end all by herself. insert cliche saying about them growing up too fast...

sometimes i can't resist taking pictures of him when he's quiet and peaceful. it's a rare occurrence.