Locks of Love

Kaitlyn has been growing her hair out for the last two years (with just a couple of trims in between) for locks of love. So, just in time for the hot weather she was able to have it chopped off. She is such a sweetheart. I am so proud of her for doing this and her selfless giving! She is such an example to me!!!

Plus, whoever gets her hair is going to have the best looking wig on the block! Who wouldn't die for that hair!

A Visit From Utah

We were so lucky to have my brother and his family come for about ten days! They made the super long three day drive from Utah to see us! The cousins hadn't seen each other in 2 1/2 years, so to say they had a blast together would be an understatement! They enjoyed having sleepovers every night and playing together 24/7!

We were able to go to the John Johnson farm, see the Kirtland Temple and go to historic Kirtland.

One night Valerie (John and Becky's oldest) babysat for us while we went on a date to Chagrin Falls. Here is a picture of John and Becky.

The kids had fun getting ready for the fourth of July and made necklaces and bracelets

Dante is our knight in shinning armor and Evie is our princess, of course

We were able to go to Penitentiary Glen. It is a cool park that takes wild animals that are hurt and nurses them back to health. There are cages with the animals which they have helped but can't send out back to the wild. There is also an awesome bird watching room in the visitors center which is set up so you can see all different kinds of birds. We also saw butterflies in the butterfly garden.

I didn't get pictures of going to the beach, playing in the sprinkler and all of our other adventures. We had so much fun having the Massaglia's visit!

Cub Scout Day Camp

This was Reuben's first year at day camp for cub scouts. He loved it! Being the youngest of three, I never had a sibling in cub scouts and never knew about all the fun stuff that cub scouts included. Reuben had so much fun with shooting BB guns and doing archery. Every day when I picked him up he would pull out his target to show me all of his awesome shots he made. He even received a patch for shooting his BB gun so well! He also had fun panning for gold, making crafts and lots of other things. It was a great experience and I think he is already looking forward to next year!

On the last day of camp there was a picnic for the scouts families to attend. Each den did a skit for everyone. Here are some pictures of Reuben's.

Happy Father's Day!

I feel so blessed to have these wonderful men in my life! Thank you for all that each of you do and for being the great fathers that you are!

Hocking Hills

We were able to start off our summer with a camping trip with friends to Hocking Hills State Park. Our family had been to Hocking Hills three years ago and loved it, so we were so excited to go back! It ended up being a blast! I love to go camping! We even had a huge down pour with lightening and thunder on our second day. We were so thankful for a water resistant tent which we could feel a river of water going underneath the tent and luckily not inside the tent! The camp ground even had a pool for the campers which was so nice after our long but beautiful hikes.

Upper Falls

All of the kids we went camping with except for Olivia. (she was napping)

Maggie, Eve and Lilly, these girls love each other so much!

If you can see the band-aid on Evie's head, it is covering her four stitches she had put in the night before we went camping. She was walking into the garage and wasn't looking and walked right into the edge of the open car door.

Lincoln really wanted to take a bath in Devil's Bathtub, but I wasn't too crazy about the idea.

There were so many caves the kids could climb in.

Everything was so beautiful there. There is so much green everywhere. I could feel the Spirit so strong as we walked around and enjoyed the beauty and peace there.

Old Man's Cave

Reuben and Trey

Fourth Grade Celebration

In our town Elementary School only goes through fourth grade. So, for the fourth graders which are graduating from Elementary School they have a celebration/ceremony. They receive diplomas and get to watch a video that was put together with a skit and lots of pictures from the year.

Kaitlyn and her teacher. Mrs. Dugan was gone for about half the year because she was on bed rest and then gave birth to two beautiful girls.

Kaitlyn and Lauren, one of her best friends from school.

Why do I even try?

Growing up in Utah, I (Ryan) have really enjoyed wildlife. I loved seeing the deer, squirrels, rabbits and other critters scurry around and enjoyed the occasional sightings. Dad taught me to appreciate gardening which in the few years past I have come to love. I have been working on my green thumb a lot this year and have taken great pride in the two gardens that I built and planted. We have lots of delicious herbs, vegetables, and fruits. I have learned, however, that one cannot enjoy the animals of nature and plant a successful garden in the same environment.

You end up with this:

This is our poor little green pepper that just hasn't had a chance.

Our tomatoes were thriving with a multitude of blossoms and small fruits forming but now they are, essentially, twigs.

These were rows of lush beets, spinach and peas, which will not likely recover.