Swimming, The Zoo, a Marathon, and Fireworks!

The remainder of our July was just as fun/busy as the first of July! We spent it this way...

Swimming with floaties at the Country Club with Grandpa Mark...

this picture is actually a BIG deal! Haylee actually dared to stand in the water all by herself!

We also payed a visit to the Zoo with the Castleton cousins. Did you know if you make an $8 donation you can take a picture with two Eagles after the bird show??

save a horse. ride a dino

We also spent some time waking up way early so we could catch daddy at the finish line of the Deseret News Marathon!! It was on the 25th of July, so since Brett had the day off he figured "why not run 26.2?" Yah, he's sort of nuts...

waiting patiently for Dad

He's coming!! (that's him in the black)!

"wait Dad! we want to finish with you!"

the official Zoosh picture, which I LOVE and think is PRICELESS and am going to BLOW UP and frame ASAP!

did you know that after you run you have to stretch?

and did you also know that after you finish a race with your daddy that you have to go to the Cliff Bar booth and ask for a free sample because you ran so good?

After the race, we headed home for a much needed family nap! That was followed by more swimming (sorry, no pics) and ended with a yummy BBQ at my brother's house! And who could forget the fireworks??

My Dylan cuddle bug!

my hunky hubby!

the boys with Grandpa Mark

Cheesy Haylee with Grandma Pam

the girlies!

Little Lady Ballet Summer Dance Camp

My darling friend Natalie owns her very own ballet studio. Every Summer she holds a dance camp and it's definitely the highlight to Haylee's summer! She takes home all sorts of crafts, wands, tutus, and any other girly thing you can think of!
This year they ended the session with a garden performance at Natalie's mom's house! Nat's mom, Connie, also happens to be my ballet teacher from when I was just a little girl! Natalie has the same cute charm that her mom had :)

all pretty in pink

getting up close and personal

the costume is complete!

her little dance class! the funny thing is, half of these little girls belong to my friends from high school! it's so fun to see the next generation!

Girl's Trip to St. George 2011!!

Brett's mom Lucy had the great idea to take all the girls in the family down to St. George to see The Little Mermaid at Tuacan! We ended up seeing it on Monday, July 4th but drove down on Saturday, so we had the entire weekend to party!!

we started the weekend off with some late night swimming!!

followed by some early morning swimming :)

bathing beauties!

Jamie and I decided to take our girls to Las Vegas for some SHOPPING!! Haylee loved it! We went to the H & M at Caesar's Palace and she thought we walked into a big party just for her! There was a lot of dancing and "Mom, I love this place" going on :) After H & M, we headed to the Fashion Show Mall for Lulu and California Pizza Kitchen. It was a pretty quick trip considering the mall closed at 7:00 PM!! :( But, it was way fun and Haylee still talks about shopping in Vegas to this day! I might have created a monster!

July 4th!! Waiting to go to the fair in the park

who needs a $3 bouncy house, when you have a swing and a mom who's willing to give you under dogs to go Super High??

the moment they've all been waiting for!! The Little Girls have arrived to The Little Mermaid!

me and my sweet Haylee at the Tuacan

cute little girls all in a row

seriously the Happiest Girl!! Thanks again Grandma Lucy!!

UT Valley Marathon 2011

This Marathon was #2 for Brett this year! Haylee had a sleep over at my mom's house, so Dylan and I headed down south to cheer him on!

waiting for Daddy to run by!

Here he comes!!

gotta love the digital camera delay! Here's the tail end of an awesome high five between Brett and Dylan

the finisher with some free swag :)

My boys!

an awkward fam pic from a girl who didn't know how to work the camera :) Way to go Brett!!

Making Pizza!!

One of my favorite nights is Pizza Night! We don't do it very often, because it take a lot of planning and preparation on my part. You have to make the dough a head of time, have a clean kitchen counter, and be willing to smell a burning pizza stone for a few days afterwards. But, the kids LOVE it, so it's all worth it!

first you have to roll the dough...

and look really cute while you do it


then you have to move your chairs over to the toppings station and spread the sauce

and make sure you get it ALL over or else it doesn't taste as good :)

next, you stick your cute little tushy out and watch it bake in the oven!

and devour it!

cute right?? That's why it's my favorite night!

Haylee's Spring Recital 2011

This is always a highlight of my life. It's one that actually gets me choked up!! I love to watch my cute little daughter dancing and trying her hardest to follow her teacher on stage!

We have loved her costume this year!!

showing off some of her moves before hitting the big stage!




Her good friend Hadley! These two are so silly when they're together!

a few of her friends before :)

and a picture with her cute little brother who gets super excited to watch his sister dance (that and the fact that he always gets to pick out some candy to keep him quiet:)

Haylee and her darling friend Sadie!

making sure she watches her teacher's every move!

Haylee with her cute little friends! You'd think by all of the flowers they were famous or something ;)

Haylee and Grandma Lucy

Haylee with Beka, Jaxon, and Grandma Pam

Haylee and Dylan with Grandpa Steve

Grandpa Mark and all the kids!

Haylee with my Uncle Hank, Grandma Sandy, and Grandpa Paul

the proud parents!

Brett and Dylan at Texas Roadhouse after!

Me and the star!