Random Summer Fun!

This is a compilation of random pictures from the summer! Fun activities we've done with the girls, or random things the girls have made/done. In no particular order.

Went to the tulip festival FINALLY. I've been wanting to go but hadn't made it out until we bought a yearly membership to Thanksgiving Point (which has been awesome and totally worth it).

Went to a Pentatonix concert at UVU with some great friends Trevor and Tori Tooke. Trevor and Cade work at Fishbowl together and we've become great friends with them.

My Dad was the main architect on the Payson, Utah temple and we we got a special tour of it with him and one of the main contractors. We got to scale the heights and go up on the roof. It is such a gorgeous temple!

A new Cinderella movie came out and of course we had to take our little princesses. They loved getting to dress up to go somewhere :)

Anything is fun if you put on a swim suit!

We also have a yearly membership for the aquarium because of Cade's work and the girls love going there.

What pictures look like with all three. Picture perfect I'd say.

I absolutely LOVE where we live- Our neighbors, our home, our yard. Behind our yard is the neighbors' big open field where we love to picnic, visit the goats, and throw the frisbee for Penny. I hope we never have to move. We may not be here forever but I will enjoy it while I can!

Boxes. Boxes. Boxes. That's all this girl needs to get her imagination going! She has turned boxes into pirate ships, space ships, schools, donut shops, and many other things. Emma truly has a great imagination.

We went to the zoo with my good friend Brooke Barneck Bushman from high school. The best part for Emma was definitely the dinosaurs! I don't know if Reese had a favorite part.

No explanation on this one...

Managed to survive swimming by myself with all three. if they are all geared up I don't have to have panic attacks the whole time.

 Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days. Nora's first time riding the train…she was in HEAVEN. Smiles the whole time. Emma and Reese finally got to go to the Princess Party at the Rec Center. Don't know why they love it so much but they do :).

 Just Dad and his girls on Father's Day :).

Swimming has been one of our favorite things to do as a family this summer. All three girls are little fishies and would stay in there for hours if we would allow them to.

 More of Emma's creation ideas...

Camping out in the back! We had fun roasting marshmallows and Cade and the two older girls slept in the tent. Nora and i slept great inside the house :). Cade didn't sleep hardly at all. The girls had a blast though.

Grandma Bleak's 60th Birthday Surprise!

My mom turned 60 years old! We held a surprise party for her at my house and boy was she surprised! She was hoping we would do something for her birthday but didn't think anything was happening. We all collaborated over email the month before and were able to do it when Kristen and Andrew were in town. I told my mom we were having Family Home Evening all together and she bought into it :). Stephanie and Nathan did the decorations and they were beautiful (everything Steph does is beautiful)! We had an amazing dinner with all things healthy- tri tip steak, yummy green salads, veggie kabobs, fruit salad, bread and a veggie tray. My mom is trying hard to eat healthy so we wanted to make sure it was a meal she could enjoy. Then Andrew and Kristen put together a video of the grandkids saying all the things they love about Grandma and that was so cute! I think that was Grandma's favorite part. After that we opened up gifts and let the kiddos watch movie while we played a trivia game that was all about her. It was a wonderful night and we love her so much!

Mary Poppins! First Musical in 6 years.

I finally auditioned for a musical after 6 years. The last one I was in was Thouroughly Modern Millie in 2009 when I was pregnant with Emma. I was very nervous to audition and perform again since it had been so long. But Cade was so supportive and believed in me that I did it and i am SO glad I did. It took a whole lot of practice time- two and a half months which the last month was almost every single night. That was 5-6 nights a week that Cade had to clean up dishes, bathe the girls, get all of them in bed by himself. He was SUCH a trooper. I am so grateful he allows me to grow and develop talents and be involved in things I want to do. I love him so much.

The cast of Mary Poppins was so incredible. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with and perform with such Christ-like people. That was one of the biggest worries of mine before auditioning- who I was going to be working with on a daily basis. Jeremy Showgren (our director) the last night said how this auditioning process was different. He watched every single person at callbacks and watched how they interacted with others and how they would work as a group. He didn't' cast anyone who would be a diva or create a hostile environment. It truly was such a talented, but helpful and loving cast. I am so grateful that my first time back into performing was a good experience with wonderful people!

I will admit that towards the end I was ready for it to be over. Ready to sleep again. Ready to plan family activities again. Ready to see and talk to my husband again! But I tried to live in the moment as much as I could but still keep up on my motherly and wifely duties as much as I could. I hope I can perform again soon- not 6 years from now :).

Me and my fellow statues! It was fun to be a statue in the end- in spite of too much make-up changes that never allowed my face to recover. It was fun :).

Our closing night together, we stayed out at Village Inn until well into the morning. I left at 1:00 am but most people were still hanging out. It was a great way to say goodbye to a great group of people!

I love Josie (Mary Poppins). What a wonderful person, very talented actress/singer/dancer, but beautiful inside and out. I'll miss her!