He's finally HOME!!!

Last Wednesday was such a great day!!!  After two years Ben is HOME safe and sound.

He looks and sounds pretty much the same....

He thinks everyone looks blonder... we think his hair is darker.

BUT... He is different.   More calm, the same.... but better!

What a GREAT day!  We are sooooo glad to have you home Ben!  Love you!

Countdown

ONLY 5 HOURS

TO 

GO!!!!!

The Countdown!

There are 8 days left!!!  Morgan mad this chain a few weeks back and I think it has made time slow down!  

Hawaii

Last month we went to Hawaii with Russ'  mom & dad & brother and sisters (& spouses).  We had such a great time... here are a few of the pictures.

Russ always has to find an "off the beaten path" hike or waterfall... this was literally a hike through the jungle!  Lots of fun!

We had to stop at 24/7 a restaurant featured on Man VS Food.  The pancake challenge was to eat three 14" pancakes with toppings in less than 90 minutes.... Unfortunately our whole table could only finish 1/2 of our order!  They tasted real good though!

Hanauma Bay... turtles, eels & lots of fish... on my!

This beautiful sunset picture was taken right across the street from our hotel.  Gorgeous!

Girl Trip!

Last week we took a girl trip to St. George.  Brayden wasn't too uspet... he got to stay home and take care of Russ. :)   We wanted to see The Little Mermaid at the Tuacahn and celebrate Meg's Birthday!  We already have plans to go to next season's Aladdin!

This is taken in the St. George Tabernacle.

We were on the last row... which worked out perfectly!  We all had such a great time and really enjoyed the show!

Instead of cake (we had cheesecake later)  Meg enjoyed her slurpee!

See Ya... In TWO Years!

The drop off at the MTC is no longer the cry fest that it used to be... (that happens in the car afterwards!) It is literally 5 minutes from start to finish.  I think it is easier on both parties!

Last hugs! (I did get one... just not a picture of one!)

These two pictures were taken right before and right after the nervous little wave...  It is so great that the other missionaries are there to help them check in and everything!

ON A SIDE NOTE... I DID GET TO TALK TO ZACK THIS MORNING!  HE IS ON HIS WAY!  HE SAID THAT HE IS A LITTLE NERVOUS, BUT EXCITED TOO!

The Night Before...

The night before a Missionary leaves for the MTC can be a little hectic... BUT we had been gathering everything that he would need for the past 3 months.  Zack took a picture of his stash  before he packed it.  He was set apart as a missionary too.  It was nice to have Grandparents and Aunt Sandy there too.

Fall Pictures 2011

We had BIG plans...

It's the Monday before Zack leaves for the MTC...  we had plans to go to Crystal Springs....  We are all ready to go, some even in their swimsuits... I call to confirm their hours... ALL the slides are closed for the day... QUICKLY come up with a new plan!!!  

We talked about going to a local swimming pool, miniature golfing, bowling but we couldn't agree... SO we ended up going to a movie.  "Cowboys & Aliens"... the trailers that I had seen looked ok... everyone hurry up and get into the car...  the opening scenes are blood and gore and it gets worst from there!  I do not recommend this film.

These pictures are obviously the happy before the movie starts faces!!!

Zack's Farewell

We had Zack's farewell a couple of weeks ago (July 31st).  He did such a great job on his talk.... no flippin' or slang of any kind :)

He already acts like a missionary! 

We will miss his smile around here!

July 24th

This year for the 24th we went down to Aunt Becky's (inlaw's) to swim with the family.  Sadly these are the only photo's that I took that day!  I don't know what it is with holidays and my family this year.... but Megan is getting nervous for Labor Day!  It's her turn for an accident! :(

Day 3 of Staycation

Day 3 we went to see Harry Potter 7 part 2.   LOVED IT!  It even made me cry.  I'm a little sorry to see it all end!

Day 2 of Staycation

Cowabunga Bay... We were so excited to try out this new park.  It was OK.... the slides look MUCH bigger from the freeway!  I would say great for younger kids.  I think we would have had a better time if the wind wasn't blowing all day!  

Fry Night is always a hit at our house.  We don't do it very often.... so when we do the kids get to pick out what we are going to fry.  Tonight was pot stickers, onion rings, chicken, zuchinni and lots of other good stuff!

Day One of our Staycation!

First stop... the Brigham City Temple.

(We also stopped at Idle Ilse... but I forgot to take a picture)

Lunch at Burger King!

Silly Kids!

We checked out the DI and then headed to Logan where our first stop was the Logan Zoo... If you can call it that!  We still had fun though!

Meg cannot wait till hunting season!

Next stop... 1st Dam.  Those of you that went to Utah State... you know where it is!

Then we checked out the desserts at the Deseret Book bakery!  Too good!

We then went to the Pepp. Farm Plant to check out their cookies... sadly they didn't have any that we wanted!!!

 Last stop... the Creamies plant!  

Boy were we tired when we got home!