Back after a long break...

So I realize there is no way to actually catch up after missing almost an entire 10 months of blogging but I will give it my best. For starters in June we bought our first house. HEAVEN!!! There is nothing better than owning you own space and not having neighbors above or below. :) It has 4 bedrooms and a basement. We moved into our safe haven on June 25 and immediately  fell in love with our new house, neighborhood and ward. We had been looking for a house for months on end and on this specific day of house hunting we had already seen 4 eyesores. I looked at Bret and told him that I would go to one more house and then I was done house hunting for a couple months. The very next house we looked at we both walked in and looked at each other and we just knew that this was our house. Funny how that works. The kids love having a backyard and we go biking all the time at the mortuary down the road. I also love being able to paint the walls whatever color I want and rearranging the furniture as many times as I want :)  We love it!

Two of my favorite things ...

Never in a million years did I think that I could possibly love two little trouble makers as much as I love these two sweet faces. Every moment I get to experience as part of their lives is truly the best moment of my life.

A Child's Paradise

Lazy summer days at the cabin, walks on the dusty road, fighting off "wild bears", playing in the stream, catching snakes, dirty, tired children at the end of the day. That is what I call heaven on earth.

Just like Daddy

Cole got to pick what he wanted to do for a father son adventure and all he wanted to do was go out and take pictures with his own camera, just like his daddy. So we gave him one of our old digital cameras and off they went.

Random Pictures from the Park

Summer Fun at the Gateway

During the summer we decided to go on a family adventure day. And boy, it sure was. We rode the frontrunner, for the first time, down to the Gateway Mall in SLC. The kids were besides them selves with the fact they got to ride and actual "choo, choo". We arrived at the Gateway and started to walk around until we found that they had an actual ground fountain that you play it! We had so much fun getting wet. Aly was funny because she kept trying to figure out where the water was coming from and got nailed between the eyes a couple of times. Coulson just jumped right in and was socking wet in a few shorts seconds. Afterward several hours of fun, we headed back to the train just in time to miss it by 1 minutes. :) So we hung out for an hour. The ride home included a detour onto a greyhound bus for the rest of the trip home. Apparently, the train we were suppose to be on but missed (thankfully) had a pedestrian jump out in front of it. Yuck. Instead we looked like the best parents ever because we "planned" for the kids to ride a train, trax, and a greyhound bus all in the same day!!

Bret sporting his sexy "hair do" for the summer

Testing the water with her toes - karate style.

Aly trying to dry out on the hot cement.

It's all fun and games...

Until someone gets hurt. Amazingly enough, this did not require stitches and healed up pretty fast. Within 10 minutes of this happening, that tough little girl was back to tackling her older brother.

Van Vleet Family Reunion

In July we headed to Aztec, CO for the 2nd Van Vleet Family Reunion. It was a blast. The drive their was very long for us - it was suppose to be an 8 hour drive an ended up a 11 hour drive but we arrived Thursday night and got the kids settled into the best room ever. There was enough room for all of us and Bret and I got spoiled with a king sized bed the first time ever in our life. Heaven. We stayed at a good friend's cabin and the scenery was gorgeous. Each morning we woke up around 6 with the sun and sat out on the deck watching the hummingbirds feed and battle for territories. Two of the days we got to go tubing and that was so much fun. My mom and sisters were awesome enough to take the kids to a cove to play while the rest of the adults playing on the tubes. The kids also got to ride the tubes once and they had so much fun! We also hiked the chimney rock ruins, learned some awesome stuff, and spent a day in beautiful Durango. One of the days Papa had a blast by starting a water fight that went for an hour or more and ended with everyone soaked to the bone. We laughed so hard. At night after the kids were in bed we would play games especially the last night - we laughed so hard playing taboo. It was a wonderful reunion and the first time in years that my whole family was together.

The way mornings should be spent - laying on the
deck watching hummingbirds, and just talkingTia and Cole

Double Trouble

hanging out in Durango

Tia with Aly

Papa with Aly

On the deck in the morning again

water fight

the three boy cousins

Lyle grilling us some yummy food

The initiator of the water fight - Papa

Aunt LuLu with Cole

Playing in the rocks looking for "dinosaur bones"

Swing Batter Batter

My hilarious niece Audrey - what a hoot

Papa and Aly

Drew taking me hostage during the water fight

Drew and the boys on the hike to chimney rock ruins

Chimney Rock and one other - every 17 years the moon
rises directly between these two stone pillars

Me on the tube with Keri

Katy and Keri on the tubes

Stick 'em up