First day of school

Brandon is in 3rd grade this year with Mr. Graham.

Sara is in middle school this year (6th grade).  She got a locker and gets to go to lots of fun classes.

Camping at Lava Hot Springs 2011

We went camping at Lava Hot Springs again this year with our good friends Matt and Windy Anderson and their boys Matthew, Jeffrey, Christopher and Eddie.  Sara was in Las Vegas with her performing group, so Ben and I just had Brandon and Sophia.

Sophia loved being in the water and cried whenever she had to get out.  

Brandon had fun playing with the boys, going on the slides, and jumping off all three platforms.  Good luck finding him in this picture- he kind of blends in with his blue swim shirt.  Unfortunately Matthew got hurt going off the tallest platform and got to ride in an ambulance to the hospital in Pocatello to get checked out.  He was okay, but had to take it easy for the rest of the weekend. 

Watching Rio in the Anderson's camper.

Sophie loved this car, but wasn't such a good driver.  Good thing Christopher was there to be her chauffeur.

This year we decided to float the river and the boys had to much fun.  I just might try it next year.

While the boys were floating the river we found an ice cream shop and stopped in for a treat.

The boys got to play miniature golf.  Sophie played too in her own special way that only took 2 minutes.

Windy and Eddie

Sophia made friends with this nice dog at the tube rental place and they had a nice long conversation.  Can't wait to do it again next year!

Bear Lake 2011

We had so much fun at Bear Lake this year!  We stayed at the KOA again which I love because there is shade and grass and lots of fun things to do there.  We got to borrow our awesome neighbor's pop-up trailer and when we were done setting it up Ben and Sophie spent some time relaxing.

It's always hard camping with little kids who are crawling, but not yet walking.  This is my adorable niece Olivia playing while her mommy and daddy were setting up their tent.  

The kids loved playing in the trailer and one of Sophia's favorite things to do now is have a tea party.  This is Sara, Sophia, Jessica and Mitchell having a tea party with juice and pickles.

Olivia eating sand.  Love it!

My nephew Chandler got to stay with us and Brandon really liked having someone closer to his age to play with.  It was an overcast day, so we all put sunscreen on in the morning and didn't have to worry about it again.  These boys only got out of the water to eat, so their faces were a little red at the end of the day.  Oops!

  Grandma Esau, Sophia, my brother Aaron, Tristan and Sara playing in the sand and building sand castles.

Here is what the parents do- sit under the shade and watch the kids play.  From left to right: my brother Owen, Ben, my brother Dennis and my brother-in-law Matt.

Ben and Matt holding their babies.  We usually stay at the beach all day, so when the kids get too cranky we try and get them to take a nap.

The mommies visiting and watching the kids play.  From left to right: my sister-in-law Nicole, my sister-in-law Crissy and my sister Rachel.

My younger brother Owen showing off his arrow while drinking a capri sun.  So manly!

We always rent banana bikes for the kids.  They love riding around the campsite!

Brandon and Chandler in the pool.  If they couldn't be in the lake they were in the pool.

More fun at the KOA.

Ben and Aaron playing horse shoes.

Sophia loved the playground.

I don't know why, but she thought this little house belonged to Benny the Bull from Dora the Explorer.  We had to look for him in his house, but unfortunately he was never there.

We have to get our yummy snow cones on the last day.

This year after we left the KOA on Sunday we drove around to the East side of the lake to have lunch and play in the water again.  I couldn't believe how high the water was this year.  It hasn't been that high since I was a teenager.

We are all very tired by the end of our little vacation and I envy the kids because they can just crash anywhere.  Sophie slept like this for about 30 minutes while we let the kids play in the water and stayed asleep for 2 hours after we put her in the van.

Until next year Bear Lake!

Random July fun

Sophia's typical breakfast is a pop tart and milk.

Sophia loves having her nails painted.

We finally got a new bike for Ben and installed a seat on the back for Sophie.  Despite her expression in this picture she loves going on bike rides and asks constantly.

Watching Stargate with Daddy.

Sometimes we have a hard time getting her to take off the helmet.

Curling Sophie's hair Sunday morning.  She sits so still for me and enjoys making faces at herself in the mirror, or playing her Leapster.

Watching Dora on t.v. downstairs.

Sophie loves playing outside and if water is involved it's even better.  We got this pool for her last year, but it had a small leak in it and we had to throw it out.

I finally found a hard plastic pool and she loves it!  She doesn't care how cold the water is- she will sit down or swim in it for a long time.  The only problem is no one wants to stay outside with her, so she comes in and out of the house dripping wet.  My floors are then wet and the next time she comes inside she usually slips and falls on the wet floor :(  Not fun!

Rexburg splash park

For some reason we had never been here before and it was so much fun!  It is a free splash park in Rexburg with slides and water shooting up from the ground for the kids to run through.

Sophia was a little scared at first, but after she warmed up she loved running through the water.

It was kind of overcast and windy, so it wasn't very busy.

There is also an antique wooden carousel that costs $1 per ride.

When the kids were done getting wet we played at the playground for a little bit.

We had so much fun and will be going back for sure!  Maybe on a nicer day so the kids aren't so cold.