Buckle up....it's a long one

So I haven't posted in quite awhile....as evidenced by this ginormous post. I guess that's what summer will do to ya!

First off, the Drive-In Movie: Toy Story 3
As soon as summer started, we made chore charts for the kids. If they completed their chores for the day they could put a sticker on their chart. Once the chart was filled up our family would go and do something fun. It took about 2 weeks for them to fill up their first chart. They decided to go to the drive-in movie...just in time for Toy Story 3!

We've got a good system all figured out. Turn the back seat around, add lots of pillows and blankets, add a few camp chairs, and of course.....the treats!!!!

Passing the time while we waited for the movie to start. It took FOREVER!!!

....but everyone had fun!

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A couple weeks later, the kids filled their second chore chart and decided to go to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. We picked the worst day to go I think. In my opinion, the Dinosaur Park is cool, but all you're really doing is walking around and then playing on the playground. Fun, but not super awesome. The day we went just so happened to be the day they had a big fundraiser. They had those big blow-up carnival type rides there (bounce house, slide, etc) and of course, that's much cooler than just walking around. But you had to buy a ticket for each thing. I know I'm just being cheap, but c'mon, these family outings are supposed to be realitively inexpensive. And when you've got 4 kids things add up quick; so we avoided the rides as much as possible. Meag and Linds were super good about not going on the rides, but Tanner didn't get it. Thankfully, we got there at the end of the day and they started taking things down after about 45 minutes. We ended up having a really fun time and they played forever at the playground.

Just to let you know, I edited quite a few pictures.......Meagan wanted her picture taken by just about every dinosaur in the park. :)

Lindsay

I think the slide was a little hot!

Ohhhhh Tanner. He lives with 3 sisters, what can we say.

Meagan had a great idea.....stand under this dinosaur and pretend he's going to eat you! Cute.

These pictures make me laugh every time I look at them.

Meag's face kills me....."Uh Mom, did you get the picture yet, I can't stand here much longer."

If only I could figure out how to get that prison home......only kidding! (ok, half kidding)

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Doesn't Ellie look so sweet sleeping...

Oh yeah. Major tantrum. Threw every last thing out of her crib...I guess she showed me (or we'll just let her think she did) ;)

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Summer Tennis Lessons

Despite what it looks like in these pictures, Lindsay really enjoyed herself.

Both girls improved quite a bit. Poor Tanner was so sad that he couldn't go too.

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Bear Lake

What's a summer without going to the lake?!

The lake has gone down a bit and left behind lots of "puddles" (huge puddles I guess) separated from the lake by sand bars......a little murky, but lots lots warmer!

We always have to come back with more shells.

Eating some delicious strawberries...they were so yummy! You can kind of see the "puddle" on the far left.

This girl is cute! And full of spunk! Ellie absolutely LOVED the beach! She referred to the lake as the "big water"....in comparison to the "puddle".

Eight is GREAT!

This first picture sums up Lindsay's awesome day! She smiled and glowed all day long! It was extra special because she was baptized on her birthday! July 3, 2010. She'll always remember that.

What an amazing experience her baptism was! I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. The Spirit was so incredibly strong. Because Linds was the only child getting baptized in our ward, she got to plan the entire program:

Prayers: Callie (Aunt) and Grandpa Christensen (my Dad)

Pianist: Grandma Matthews

Chorister: Stephanie (Aunt)

Musical Number: Lindsay and Meagan "I Know That Jesus Lives"

Baptism talk: Brennen (Uncle)

Holy Ghost talk: Austin (cousin)

Each and every part of the program was amazing. Brennen gave the most incredible talk and he spoke right to Lindsay. It really touched my heart. Meagan and Lindsay's musical number was so sweet and pure. A testimony for sure. And Austin's talk on the Holy Ghost was so heartfelt.....he's going to be an awesome missionary (in just a few months)! Brad did such a great job with the baptism and confirmation. He is my spiritual rock! I'm so lucky to have him! Lindsay was so cute when she came out of the water. Her smile was huge! The bishop even commented on the strong spirit that was felt there. I know it was because of the awesome families that we're a part of. We have such great examples to look up to! I'm so blessed to have come from such an amazing family and so lucky to have married into an equally amazing family. I love you all!

I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of everyone at the baptism, but at least I had my sister snap one of our family.

After a delicious lunch we had a birthday party for Linds!

Her reaction to seeing her new bike!

I tried to make a red, white, and blue cake, but the huckleberries were more purple than blue. Oh well, it was delicious anyway.

Before it was time to say goodbye, I grabbed a snapshot of my family members who were able to be at the baptism....minus my Grandma and Grandpa Sherratt who had already left.

We got to keep Michael and Heidi's family with us a little longer that evening. They stayed and watched the Morgan fireworks with us!

Meagan, Lindsay, Holden, and Jessica (she got to stay with us for a couple more days:) )

Brad, Michael, and Heidi

What an awesome day for a truly awesome girl! We love you Lindsay and we're so proud of you!!!

Logan Fireworks

After a 7 year absence we finally made it back to the Logan Fireworks. I LOVE the 4th of July fireworks; always have! We made it a family get-together and celebrated with the Matthews and Arnells. My sister-in-law Steph set out blankets to save our spot earlier in the day, so we had prime viewing and a great escape route. For those of you who have been to the fireworks before you know the advantages of getting out before the crowd. ;) We brought dinner and snacks to eat while we waited. The kids spent their time running around with cousins and picking up a gazillion pinecones. I'm sure the USU grounds crew appreciated them! Everyone enjoyed watching the fireworks and Ellie screamed with pleasure! She was a hoot.

Mom, Dad, and Brad smiling for the camera; and Ellie....going back for another cookie!

Tanner was in heaven with so many boys to play with!

Lindsay and Ellie

Just a few of my adorable nephews :) Austin, Cody, and Matt (holding Tanner)

Ellie, usually so shy (let's be honest...grumpy), with her cousins, had a few rare moments and decided to hand out a few...actually, a LOT, of kisses to Matt!

Jessica and Meagan being silly

You can just barely see the beginnings of the black eye he got while running around in the dark....and ran into another cousin...go figure.

My camera has a "Fireworks" setting, so I tried it out:

During the finale we just sat there with big smiles on our faces! Who doesn't love fireworks?! They're so cool. Happy Birthday America!

Hawaii Part III

My sister Cami lives on the Big Island and had everything mapped out for our vacation. She made all the arrangements and knew all the places to go and things we'd want to do while we were there. Thanks to her we didn't miss out on anything and we have no regrets for things we didn't get to do. Mwah! For example.....she knew we'd want to hit this beach:

Mauna Kea

It is ranked as one of the top 10 beaches in the world and it did not disappoint! It's a public beach, but the parking is limited, so if you don't get a space, you don't get to go. We were extremely lucky and got the last 2 spaces! Because of its limited parking space, there aren't a million people there either. The sand is powder soft and the water is almost bathwater warm. It's in a little cove that protects it so the waves are relatively calm and its great for snorkeling too. Isn't it gorgeous? :)

There was even lots of shady spots which made it all the better!

There is a reef right by those rocks and there are so many colorful fishes.....just like Finding Nemo! :) This is where I tried snorkeling for the first time in my life! At first the breathing tube made me gag, but then I got used to it and absolutely loved it!

I snorkeled right next to this little guy (or maybe it was a brother). Actually he was pretty big. It was incredible!

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LuauAll the "wahines" got these flower leis as we arrived. The food was delicious and the entertainment was fabulous too! Right when you get to your seat, they have taro chips out for you to snack on.....best things ever! I wish I could find them over here. I also wish I'd taken more pictures of my family. I should've just stolen their pics from their blogs, but that takes too much effort.....ya, I know, I'm lazy.

I got alot of video at the luau (which I can never get loaded onto blogger correctly, so sorry for all you who wanted to see the action) but not many pictures.

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Kona Temple and Fairwind II Snorkel Tour On our way to our snorkel tour, we stopped and took pictures at the temple. It was beautiful. And like most LDS places, we met someone who knew someone and chatted for a bit. Kinda cool.

Kealakekua Bay

We rode out (or ferried out) about 45 minutes to Kealakekua Bay. It is a perfect spot for snorkeling. The water was a bit cold (actually it was surprisingly freezing, but just like Bear Lake, once you get in, you eventually get used to it). The boat we were on is the only boat licensed to anchor is this bay.

Aboard the Fairwind II. It is a catamaran and when it's anchored, there are 2 slides and a diving board. We had so much fun going down the slides (me, Callie, Aimee, and Tyler). Who says slides are for kids.....we're just a little bigger.

Don't ask what I'm doing.....I'm not even sure myself. :o

Suzanne and Tyler

Captain Cook's monument. He was the first European to arrive in Hawaii in the late 1700s (or they called it the Sandwich Islands).