Connor's Trip to Denver

Grammy and Grandpa took Connor on a trip to Denver for a week at the beginning of August.  Connor had a great time!  They did all sorts of cool things, and he loved the one-on-one attention he got.  Here are some of the pictures they sent me while they were there.  When they got into Denver, it was dinnertime, so they ate at one of Grammy and Grandpa's favorite restaurants there...

The next day they went the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  They were doing a mythical creatures exhibit while they were there, hence the dragon...

Running with the antelopes...

Pretty sure Connor is now dead...

While they were in Denver, they also visited the Denver Aquarium...

Went to Adam's Mystery Theatre, a dinner show that involved the audience...

And went to the Butterfly Pavilion...

Connor had a great week with Grammy and Grandpa.  He loves when they take him on these fun little vacations.  Rick and MaeJae have decided to start taking the kids on these one-on-one vacations when the kids are at least 10-years-old, so Aiden will be able to start going soon.  Such a fun little tradition that the kids will remember for the rest of their lives!  --Lindsay

The Great Outdoors

Connor and I both went camping at the end of July.  He went to scout camp, and I went to Young Women camp.  Here's Connor with his troop.  I love all these boys.  They are all such great kids, and they are very close with each other.  I hope it always stays this way...

One last picture before he left for six days...

Luckily, Mike was up there for a day and the other scout leaders took some pictures, so I have a few to post.  Here are the boys setting up camp...

They had a frequent visitor to their campsite.  "Bambi", as they named her, would come right up to them and just stand there.  I'm sure she was hoping for a handout from the fellas...

While there, Connor was able to earn five merit badges...

While he was gone, I went up to Young Women's camp as a leader for three days.  I had been in Young Womens, either as an advisor or a member of the presidency, for the past three years.  But, I actually got released in January.  I was surprised how sad I was about it.  I always thought I'd be a little relieved to be released--which I was, don't get me wrong--but I was also pretty sad about it too.  Well, about two weeks after I was released, I was called to be on the camp committee.  I was so excited!  It was a nice way to ease my way out of the Young Womens program slowly.  And, I got to spend some extra time with these amazing girls...

We seriously have the best girls in our ward.  They are close with each other, and the older girls look out for the younger ones.  And, the best part, there in little to no drama.  I don't think I've ever known a Young Women's group to have as little drama as these girls.  They're amazing...

As you can tell from the about pictures, our stake had a super hero theme this year.  Each ward had to come up with their own super hero that tied into the Young Women theme, motto or values.  We decided to be the "Integribles"--playing off of the Incredibles and Integrity, of course.  We made shirts with the Incredibles I (the shirts were purple since that's Integrity's color), masks and gloves.  But, of course, no capes!!  It was really cute!

We had a great time while we were there.  I think the leaders had just as much fun as the girls...

I love all these ladies...

All the leaders that were up there--minus a couple that went home a little early...

Our camp committee, minus Deborah who had been up earlier in the week...

The funniest part about this picture is that Lisa and I didn't plan the kissy face thing.  We both just did it and were trying to hold it for the picture without busting up...

It was a blast!  Both Connor and I had a great time at our camps.  I don't think I've ever seen Connor dirtier than when he got home from scout camp.  He was caked in dirt and grime, and he was clearly not in the mood for pictures...

Such a fun week for both of us, but I think we were both happy to sleep in our own beds that night!  --Lindsay

Cohen Turns Seven

Cohen turned seven-years-old toward the end of July.  He wanted to have an Avengers party with his friends, so that's what we did.  We started out with lunch.  Even our lunch had a little Avengers twist to it...

All the kiddos outside eating...

After lunch, it was time to go through "Avengers Training."  I got this idea from Pintrest.  Of course, they had done this up super cute.  I didn't have the time or energy for that, but I figured I was dealing with a bunch of six- and seven-year-old boys, and they probably wouldn't care if things were done cute or not.  First part of training was learning how to jump from skyscraper to skyscraper--a.k.a. jumping from chair to chair...

Next, they had a little target practice to do. They had to shot Ultron (or at least a picture of Ultron) with a Nerf gun.  And, don't mind our grass.  Some parts of our lawn really struggled this year.  We finally got them green again mid-August...

Next, they were on to learning how to get through tight spaces--a.k.a. crawling through a tunnel...

Next was a training exercise on how to break through buildings--or a large stack of boxes...

Then, they had to jump over skyscrapers of various heights...

And, finally, shield throwing practice--with a frisbee...

After we finished Avengers Training, the kids went on a little scavenger hunt to find energy orbs--or little balls of tin foil that were hidden all over the yard...

Next was a rousing game of Spiderman Tag, using silly string to tag people...

And, last but not least, we played Hulk Smash.  The kids picked a circle, punched it, and received the candy and little prizes that were hidden inside...

After all the games, we ate cake and ice cream...

And then finished by opening presents.  I don't think I've ever seen a kid be so expressive when opening presents as Cohen is...

It was a fun little party.  I think all the kids really enjoyed it, even if it wasn't very Pintrest-y.

The following day was Cohen's actual birthday.  We threw him a family party that evening.  We had a little barbecue for dinner, then opened more presents...

And finished with more cake and ice cream...

Cohen had a great birthday weekend!  What's better than celebrating your birthday for two days, am I right?!?

I'm so thankful that we have Cohen in our family.  He is always so sweet and kind to everyone around him.  He is happy, smiley and a joy to be around.  He has so many friends because everyone loves to be around him.  It is not unusual for him to have 5-6 friends over at once.  People just gravitate to him...even the girls, who are quite fond of him as well.  He's always being chased and kissed by girls at school, and brings home love notes from them too.  We love our little Coconut!  --Lindsay