Swim Team

This summer in between all the vacationing we did the girls also participated in swim team. This is something that I did as a kid and so I have carried on the tradition with my kids. Hailey really enjoyed it and loved getting ribbons at the swim meets. She really improved over the summer and really started learning how to do all 4 strokes correctly.
This was Peyton's 4th year of swim team and her enthusiasm is fading fast. This was the first year she had to swim 2 laps for her races and that was really hard for her. She isn't sure she wants to do it again next year but I hope I can talk her into it. It is such great exercise.

We decided to go out for frozen yogurt after their final swim meet. The girls enjoyed this and Lexi especially loved it. I'm really proud of Peyton and Hailey for trying their hardest and doing the best they could do.

Utah and Wyoming

This summer we took a 2 week trip (we spent 40 days on vacation this summer) to Utah, Wyoming, and then back to Utah again. Our first stop was to South Jordan, Utah where we stayed in my brother Andrew and Michelle's beautiful new house. The girls had a great time playing with their cousin Drew and Ryan and I enjoyed hanging out with Andrew and Michelle. We went to the Children's exhibit in the LDS Art and Church History Museum. My girls love going there to play.
They had dance clothes you could try on and learn how to do some Mexican dancing.

We also went to the splash pad at Liberty Park and they girls loved splashing in the water and soaking in the sun.

We also made a quick stop at BYU to go bowling.

The girls and I went to visit the Museum of Art on BYU campus and we came across this exhibit of used college books someone had built into a huge square. It was really awesome to look at.

Before we left to go to Wyoming we went out to dinner with Andrew and Michelle and my sister Rachael and her boyfriend Steve. We ate lots of good food and had a great time talking.

After a few days in Utah we left to go to Cody, Wyoming to spend the 4th of July with Ryan's family. Ryan's mom grew up in Cody and Ryan spent a lot of his childhood 4th of July's in Cody. He was really excited to go and relive his childhood. His parents, his brother Tyler and his family, his sister Ashley and her family, and his sister Amber and her family all came to Cody to celebrate. Their were 19 of us and we probably doubled the population of this small town. We played at the park a lot and just had fun being together.

Here are all the grand kids waiting for the kid parade to start (there were 3 parades that weekend). Grandma Ferrell loved being surrounded by all of them.

Peyton and Hailey really wanted to get feathers in their hair while we were at the big celebration at the park. It was really cheap so I let them.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to a real professional rodeo. The Cody Stampede Rodeo was so much fun and the girls loved watching it. Hailey even got to sit on a real bull and take a picture with her cousins.

On the morning of the 4th of July they had a huge parade. I have never seen so many horses at one time in my life. It was fun to see what parades were like before they had huge floats and cars.

Here are the two that made this trip possible for all of us. Thanks mom and dad for showing us a great time.

While we were at the hotel we swam a lot with the cousins.

Here the girls are at another park.

Here we all are (just to prove we were all there together).

Lexi and Peyton loved to snuggle on the hotel bed together.

That night we went to go watch fireworks at the top of the mountain. It was a great show until it started pouring rain and we had to run back to the car. We had such a fun time in Cody and it is a trip we will remember forever. It was great seeing how Ryan spent some of his childhood and one of the best parts was getting to see the Ranch that my mother-in-law spent her summer's at.

After our fun trip to Wyoming we drove back to Utah to spend time at the condo in Provo. We spent one day swimming with Michelle and Drew.

We spent a day hanging out with some of our friends from Irvine (who now live in Utah) the Lopez Family. The girls had a great time playing with their old friends and they didn't want to leave their house.

We also got to spend time with our friends from our days at BYU, Beth and Eric, and Matt and Stacey. We had fun catching up with them and the kids had fun playing with their kids.

We spent some more time at BYU and then it was time to head back home. It was sad to leave Utah but we look forward to going back in October for a week.

Hailey's Birthday

Hailey was born on Father's Day 6 years ago and this year her birthday fell on Father's Day again. The day before her birthday we threw together a little party with some of her friends and cousins. She was so excited to have her own party (I'm not big into birthday parties so it is rare). Here she is with her friends and cousins.
She really wanted a pinata so Ryan was nice enough to go buy one and fill it for her and set it up. The kids had a great time hitting it and getting the candy.

All she wanted was cupcakes from the store and that sounded great to me. She got to pick them out herself so she was super happy with them. She got a lot of great presents and had a fun time playing and laughing.

On her birthday the Ferrell family got together to celebrate Father's Day and they added her birthday into the celebration. Grandma Ferrell even got Hailey her own cake. She loved it and felt really special. I can't believe Hailey is already 6. She is growing up so fast.

Hawaii

At the beginning of June Ryan and I were able to take our very first real trip together since our honeymoon (which was only to San Diego). We were lucky to get to go to Hawaii thanks to my very generous Father-in-law and to my wonderful mom and sister-in-law Ashley who took care of the kids for us. Ryan had been to Hawaii twice before but I had never been. When we arrived at our beautiful hotel we were greeted with these leis and a great view of the ocean.

Our hotel was awesome and was just right across from the beach. We had a nice kitchen, a fantastic bathroom, a comfy bed, and a spectacular view. Every day the hotel staff would clean our room and leave us delicious treats and then later in the day they would come and turn on beautiful music, set out bathrobes and slippers, and turn down our bed. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Since we had a kitchen with everything you could possibly need I was able to eat delicious pineapple and kiwi every morning for breakfast and we could save whatever leftovers we had from eating out and eat it later. I would definitely stay there again.





Now to what we did while we were there. We hiked up to a lighthouse and had a spectacular view and an enjoyable time looking at the ocean during the whole hike.

Here we are at the top. Isn't the view beautiful.

We were able to visit a few food places Ryan had seen on the food network and travel channel.

We did a session at the Laie Temple. It was so fun to see how different this temple is inside compared to other temples I have been in.

After the temple we went to another food destination. The Shrimp Shack food truck was so delicious and probably my favorite meal in Hawaii.

We went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and I learned a lot about how pineapples grow.

The pineapple plants were so beautiful and I loved all of the different varieties of pineapple they had growing.

We went to Pearl Harbor to see a part of our American and World History.

I enjoyed walking through the museum and reading all of the accounts of what happened that day. I can't even imagine what is was like to be there. I really appreciated this quote and it really made me think about how I take our freedom for granted sometimes.

We didn't take the boat out to the U.S.S. Arizona but we did look at the pictures.

While we were in Hawaii they were having the Pan Pacific Festival right by our hotel. During the whole weekend they had tons of celebrations, performances, and a parade. Here are a few pictures from the parade. I loved seeing the different cultures all in one parade.

We went to BYU-Hawaii to check out their campus and bookstore. It was beautiful and hard to imagine going to college right next to the beach. I learned a lot about the history of BYU-Hawaii and about the students who go there.

Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was the highlight of my trip. We spent all day there and I was amazed at the talent of the students and other people who work there. I am definitely going back when we return to Hawaii someday.

Here are some dancers from Tahiti. I loved the dancing from this Island.

Here I am learning to do the hula. Dancing is definitely not my strong point.

Here is Ryan learning to do a Tahitian dance. So fun to watch.

Here we are before the luau. I loved the beautiful leis they gave us.

Here is the pig that we ate. It was tasty.

We also went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I had never been and am a bit afraid of going too far out in the ocean (I almost drown in the ocean when I was 8) but I still enjoyed it. Ryan wished he had a more adventurous partner but he was so nice to stay with me the whole time.

It was such a fabulous trip and I am so glad we were able to go. I can't wait to go back and take my girls to see all of the beautiful things Hawaii has to offer (when they are older that is!).