They also love riding the fish and swinging on the swing set. As you can tell, Emily loves to make cheesy faces at the camera and Tyrel, like Emily, likes to pick his nose! They are so funny together. I didn't get a picture of this but these two also like to go down the slide. This day the slide was too hot for Emily to go down but Tyrel was brave and strong so he when he would go down the slide, Emily would laugh and cheer for him. This made Tyrel excited so he continued to go down the slide to entertain Emily!
Of course every summer a girl has to get a PEDICURE! I decided I could no longer wear sandals if I didn't paint my toenails so I painted Emily's toenails along with mine. She loved it and ran to Russell to show him her pretty toes. 
Russell's summer work party was held at the splash park near Desert Hills High School. We had a great time getting wet by the spraying water. Emily wasn't too sure about the cold water and had to have Russell or me with her while she walked near the sprays. She did get up the nerve to go by herself a few times though.
The funniest part about Emily and the splash pad was whenever she would get wet, she would run back to us and want to be wrapped up in her towel. Then, once she was dried off, she would run back out to the water, get wet, and run back to us for the towel. She cracks us up sometimes! 
After having enough fun on the splash pad, we headed to the playground to have fun on the slides and toys. The slides (or WEEE's as Emily calls them) are definitely her favorite. 
Here Emily is being silly as usual and making faces at the camera. She is also learning to drive at a very early age. Look out all you drivers out there, Emily is at the wheel! Unfortunately, when Emily was done driving, she forgot to look behind her and she fell down the playground step and flew to the ground! Luckily she was not hurt, just scared. The playground was not fun anymore after that, poor thing. It definitely scared me too, I don't think I have ever ran so fast in my life to get over to her. I felt like such a bad mom but she was okay. I think toddlers must be made of rubber because they can fall down so many times and bounce right back up with no problem. Well other than that tragedy, we had a great time at the splash park and want to go back sometime soon. Enjoy your summer!
I think it must be the year for having a baby! It seems like everyone I know is pregnant. I have been working hard on baby blankets, burp cloths, hair bows, personalized onesies, and sock rattles for all of my expecting friends. I could make blankets and burp cloths all day because they are so easy and fun. The onesies are pretty nice too because they are not a typical gift so it gives your personal touch. I learned how to make hair bow because, well, I have a girl. They are also pretty easy to make. Finally the sock rattles are new to me. This is mostly hand sewn and embroidered. I have never embroidered before so thanks to the wonderful Internet I was able to learn. I think the rattle turned out good and it didn't take very long to make either. 
Finally, the last project in this post is one I made for my cousin's so-to-be-wife's bridal shower. I have always wanted to learn how to etch glass so I could put my name on all of my Pyrex dishes so I was so excited when the girls on Make-It-Love-It showed me how! It is actually quit simple. All you need to do it buy Etching cream at Michael's or some craft store and make a stencil out of vinyl lettering or contact paper! The gift was a hit. I included some hot pads, a serving spoon and some of my favorite recipes. (Rachel (the bride-to-be) was mostly excited about the recipes!). 
Here Russell is showing off his fun gifts. Emily was excited for him to open his presents until we put her pancakes in front of her. Then she was too busy eating!
I made Russell and our dad's a cute little tool box made out of Altoids tins. I think they turned out cute except I am not very good at painting with spray paint because I don't have enough patience to wait for the paint to dry. Inside the tool boxes, Russell and I put gift cards to Sportsman's Warehouse for our dads. Inside Russell's tool box, I made a coupon book of things he wants, like a back massage, car wash, etc.
Emily had fun helping me make this gift for Russell. I have always liked this poem and have been wanting to make this frame ever since Emily was born so I figured this was a perfect opportunity. Russell loved it. I think he was almost tearing up while he was reading the poem!
Another fun craft we made for Russell was this Popsicle stick puzzle. All I had to do was find a cute picture of Russell and Emily and glue it to some Popsicle sticks. Russell had a good time putting the puzzle together with Emily's help.
Emily also had a good time helping me with this classic Father's Day gift. We had to practise making her hand print so it would be perfect when we put it on the tie. Without telling him what I was doing, I asked Russell to give me one of his ties he never wears any more so of course he gave me the ugliest green tie he could find in our closet. But he was excited when he saw what we had done with the tie and wore it proudly to church showing it off to everyone. 
Finally, I made Russell this garbage can for his car because his car needs help! (OK I also made one for my car too because they both need help!) They were actually really easy to make and I was able to make both of them during Emily's (and Russell's) nap time. And again I think they turned out pretty cute. 
Russell's dad and brother came over to help him pick the apricots. Tyler really liked climbing the tree to get the fruit on the high branches. Afterward, Russell needed help putting nets over our grapevines so the birds wouldn't eat our grapes again this year. Hopefully we get some grapes later on.
What do you do with a box of apricots? MAKE JAM!! so we did. The nice thing about apricots is you only have to pit them. Unlike peaches, you don't need to skin them so it was pretty easy to whip up 5 BATCHES of jam! I added a can of pineapple into 2 of the batches to add a little flavor. The jam is really good especially on toast in the mornings. Russell and I made 25 pint jars of delicious jam and still have apricots left over. We probably have enough to make 2 more batches of jam but I am all jammed out. We already have enough to make a million PB & J's. So if anyone has any ideas of what else I can do with our apricots please let me know! We will probably just give them to Russell's grandma so she can make some apricot nectar (so good!!).
About a month ago or so, Russell got a phone call from a lady in our old ward. Her foster daughter had just had a baby and she wanted to know if Russell would give the baby her blessing. Russell of course said yes and felt really honored that she would call him to do this. June 6 we went back to the 4th ward and Russell was able to give this blessing to this cute little baby girl. Roxane (the lady that called) was so happy Russell was able to do this and grateful for his willingness to serve. While we were in this ward right before Emily was born (about 2 years ago), we were primary teachers for the 10-12 year olds. We taught Roxane's other foster girl, Jena. We were really close to Jena because we kind of took her under our wing and tried to teach her the gospel. We were able to see Jena get baptized and confirmed a member of the church which was awesome. Jena seemed to have some anger issues because of being in and out of foster homes. Sometimes when Jena would act out, Roxane would call us and we would come down and talk to her or take her for a walk and just let her know she was loved and okay. Jena was sad to see us move and we were sad too and kind of worried about Jena because we didn't know what was going to happen to her. About a year later or so Jena was transferred to another foster home but Roxane said she still keeps in touch with her and she seems to be doing well despite her anger issues. 
It is a really nice bed. It is all wood and quite sturdy. The lady I bought it from only used it a few times for her grand kids so it is in really good shape. Brand new this bed is about $100 plus the mattress is about $20. I was able to buy both for $20, a $100 savings!!! I was pretty excited and so was Emily. I have been looking for a bed for Emily for a little while now because I think she is getting too old for her crib. I figure if she is old enough to be potty trained, she is old enough to be out of the crib.
Emily loves her new bed. When it was time to go to bed, I tried to put her in her crib and she got all mad. She said, "No! Big Bed." and ran and jumped on her new bed that was still in the living room. Russell and I just laughed and started taking down her crib. After we hauled the new bed into her room and got it all set up, we showed her how to kneel by her bed to say her prayers. It was so cute. The bed is just the perfect size for her. After prayers, she jumped into her bed. The one thing I don't like about the new bed is that Emily can get out of it! The crib was nice because she was trapped so she had to go to bed. Now, lies down for a minute and then gets up so we have to tell her to get back onto bed. She is getting better though, luckily. It is not fair that my baby is growing up too fast!
As you will soon see, this sign was an understatement! If you can't read it, the sign says "Devil's Garden, Outstanding Natural Area." The Garden was not only outstanding, it was AMAZING!
All over this area these beautiful sandstone hoodoos stood like castles. These unique structures were formed due to different rates of erosion over the years. The harder layers of sandstone on top eroded slower that the softer sandstone on bottom creating these mushroom shaded formations. The rock surfaces were also pocked with holes making them easy to climb.
Emily saw me climbing the rocks and she wanted to be a part of it too. She started climbing by grabbing the inside of the holes in the rock and pulling herself up. It was so cute! But then she realized there was dirt on the ground and her attention was directed toward the fun dirt.
And of course we got a lot of fun family pictures. Thank you to all the other tourists and family members who agreed to take our pictures for us, they turned out really good. Too bad we were in our grubby clothes because some of these would make great Christmas cards or something. The one I think is the coolest is the picture of our silhouettes as the sun is going down. Of course Emily had to be picking her nose in some of them because that is her favorite past-time. I don't know how to break her of that habit because every time I try to make her stop she throws a fit! What a little stinker!
I think this picture is awesome! Russell is standing on to of a tiny sandstone arch. Below him is probably a 20+ foot drop. While I was looking up information on Devil's Garden, one writer stated, "The structures of Devil's Garden are fragile and rare...no one really knows when they might collapse, it is not kosher to stand on stone arches and bridges. Just remember this simple maxim: you fall you die!" When I read this, I laughed thinking about was this picture. I don't know if this was the smartest thing to do but it turned out to be an awesome picture! Luckily the stone didn't break!
Russell was so proud of his accomplishment. Here he is pointing to the arch he conquered and once again Emily is picking her nose. Ugh!
Devil's Garden was awesome! I am so glad we decided to come here before heading back to camp. The Garden definitely made the day. When I heard Devil's Garden, I imagined a meadow with a lot of vegetation and flowers (you know a garden) so I was not expecting to see these amazing rock formations. It definitely was a pleasant surprise for me, and definitely better that a meadow of flowers. 
