Kailey's Birthday Party

A couple weeks ago, our little girl turned 5!!! I know, we can't believe it either. She requested a "Dinosaur Birthday Party", so that's exactly what she got. We planned it for the park, and luckily it turned out to be a beautiful day!
Here is the cake--her Dinosaur Island Cake. Chad tells her these little Dinosaur Island stories that he makes up for her every night, so I did my best at making a cake for her.
Maddie spent most of the time climbing up and down the stairs, much to our dismay.
Each child got their very own special dinosaur masks to wear and play in!
Blowing out the candles and eating cake!!
Maddie insists on eating everything by herself with a fork these days.
Opening Presents
We saw this shirt in Target a few weeks ago and Kailey ran over to it, begging me to buy it for her. I told her no of course, then when she wasn't looking, snuck it into our cart for her birthday. She was so happy when she opened it!
Opening presents is fascinating!
All of the kids gathered around and inspected this present, talking about it for quite awhile. It was so cute to see all their heads bent over, discussing it. It was a box of all sorts of dinosaurs.

Our Little Artist

Kailey has turned into a little artist. She loves to color and draw all sorts of things. Here are a few examples.
A horse (My favorite)
A Pig
An Ant (Chad's Favorite)A birdA family of black bearsMoose

Our baby is in KINDERGARTEN!!!!

Kailey started her very first day of kindergarten yesterday. She did great! She was very nervous before it started, telling me that she didn't want to go and was scared, but she gave me a hug and kiss and walked into her classroom without crying. Of course, somebody had to cry--so I did.
Maddie really missed her sister. She walked around the house saying "Kay? Kay?", trying to find her, and she was super excited to see her again when we picked her up. The first thing Kailey did when we picked her up yesterday was run up and give Maddie a big hug and tell her that she missed her. Oh, so sweet, those two sisters! She absolutely loved school and kept telling me that she couldn't wait to go back today! We are so proud of our big girl!
Her first day
Her second day. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her at school yesterday, so we did today.
Maddie saying goodbye

Yosemite

For our second camping trip of the summer, we went to Yosemite! The Candells in our ward are super awesome and reserved a group camping site for a group of families. We were only able to go up a couple of nights, but it was so much fun! We hope to do it again next year and hopefully stay longer!
Glacier Point
Hike to Bridal Veil Falls
The Visitors Center and Indian Village
This is how Maddie spent the hike to Yosemite Falls
Kailey was really into posing for the camera on this trip
Dirt--the BEST part of camping according to our kids
Sitting around the campfire eating a snack

Utah

Kailey loved being in the garden with her Papa
Maddie at our picnic up the mountain. For some reason we hardly took any pictures at all up there!
Playing on the deck and roasting marshmallows
Taking a bath in Nana's giant tub

Day of the Dinosaurs

Since Kailey is still set on becoming a Paleontologist when she grows up, we decided that our summer trip wouldn't be complete without a trip to Dinosaur National Monument and the museum at Thanksgiving Point. So, after packing up our tent and other camping supplies in Yellowstone, we headed to Vernal, UT. Imagine our surprise when we found out that the dinosaur quarry and museum is closed down due to the building being unstable and won't open again until next year! Though we were disappointed, there was a hike we could go on to see some dinosaur bones that were still in the rock and learn about the different fossils. Unfortunately, it was also 90+ degrees outside and Kailey has decided she is allergic to heat. By the end she was crying that she didn't want to be sweaty and refusing to walk anymore. Despite us telling her that if she is a paleontologist when she grows up it will be hot and sweaty work, she still wants to be one so I guess dinosaurs still trump heat.
Posing with the dinosaur outside our hotel
The Hike
Touching real fossils
Hating the heat
Back at the little mini museum they have set up
After finishing up with Dinosaur National Monument, we drove to Thanksgiving Point and had a blast at the museum there.
This is what it looks like when we try to get a picture of both our girls smiling and posing together at the same time
Picture #1--Maddie and Kailey both fall off the dinosaur right before the picture is taken
Picture #2--We finally get a good picture--a miracle actually because usually we have to take at least 10 pictures to even get one good one!
Our little family