Boating on Utah Lake

We were fortunate enough to be invited out on our friends' boat today. It had been around 15 years for Miguel and about 7 years for me since the last time we had been out on the lake. I loved, loved, loved it. Miguel was the first one out on the kneeboard. He had never done it before and was up on his 1st attempt. I was impressed. After many attempts, I also had the sweet taste of success. I've never gotten up on any water toy, so I was proud of myself and I also got the nerve to do a 360. Gabriela and Sophia got to try out the tube. Gabriela was smiling the whole time but once she got off she told us she didn't like it and refused to go again. Sophia went with Mami and did really well until we were getting water in the face continually. Julianne gets the gold star for behavior. She never made a peep on the boat. Her lifejacket was hilarious. She looked like she had a neck brace on. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic. Poor Miguel got sea sick and bared with us as we had some fun. I'm hooked, so maybe oneday I'll have a boat of my own. Yeah, that's Sophia in there.


That evening the girls had their baths and teamed up for some popcorn and a movie. Cute huh.

Fun Night at the Pool

My orthodontist, Wade Thompson, hosted a pool party for it's clients at Scera Pool last night. We took the girls and they had so much fun. Gabriela was completely independant and went and found some preteen girls to talk to. Her cousins and uncle came with us as well. Sophia took right to the water and it was impossible to get her out at the end of the night. Each time you would take her out and you turned your back, she would run right back in. This is just too sweet.

This is my favorite picture of her so far!
Sophia would go down this slide like all the big kids. Afterall she thinks she's as big as Gabriela.
They gave the kids ice cream. When the girls got out their teeth were chattering and they were shivering from head to toe but they still ate the cold ice cream.
Ever seen a multi-colored mustache.

Mudd, Mudd, & more Mudd!

So today we ventured out and took the girls up the canyon. We first went up to Squaw Peak and checked out the view. If we go over an overpass on the freeway Gabriela freaks out and says she's high like an "hairplane," so I knew she would think that this was cool. We were the only ones up there and we attempted to take our own pictures but failed. They weren't blog worthy. We then went down to Bridal Viel Falls and had a lunch. Cortney was freaking out about the bugs so our picnic was short and the girls didn't mind much. We walked down to the falls and it took the girls a while to warm up to the freezing temps of the water. We snapped this cute family photo.
Sophia found a nice mudd hole and oh how she loved it. So much that she kept sitting down in it.
What a wonderful mess for Mami to clean up. Hooray!
Gabriela got in on the action as well.
We turned our back for two seconds and she had ventured up the side of the falls. I guess she figured she was on dry ground and went for an adventure all on her own. Luckily Cortney went and rescued her at her Mami's request.
And just a side note. Julianne got her ears pierced two days ago. She's a cutie and goes along with all of our hair brained ideas.

Some Red, White, & Blue with a little mouse too!

Yesterday, Miguel became a Naturalized CITIZEN of the United States. We are so happy and it was an emotional event. We are both grateful to live in such a blessed country and for the men and women who fight on our behalf to allow us the freedoms we enjoy. Congratulations Miguel. Everyone went to Gabriela's dance class yesterday. They were the little mice from Cinderella. These costumes are about the cutest things I've ever seen. They were dancing around finding cheese and getting away from the mean cat. We love this class and her teacher is awesome.
Sophia was so excited to see her big sis. Sometimes Gabriela says, "Sophia's my best friend." Too cute. Way to be supportive Sophia, you'll have a turn next year.

Cortney has come to visit!

My sister Cortney has come to visit for a week or so. We are so excited to have her. After picking her up from the airport we went over to the Gateway and saw an IMAX movie. We saw Deep Sea Adventure and I highly recommend it. You could reach out and touch the jellyfish. Miguel even said you don't need to go scuba diving if you can see it like that. Gabriela would try to grab everything and it was really cute to see. On our second day, Cortney and I went to Color Me Mine and created these huge mixing bowls. It was really fun and something we both enjoy. It was nice to spend some time together without three munchkins. This could definately become a hobby of mine. We get to pick them up on Saturday and we can't wait.
On our way home we spotted this car in a parking lot. We actually did a U turn to get a better look. I've never seen a post it note car before. Pretty creative.
Smores anyone?

Our 4th of July Weekend

Don't we look festive! We actually ventured out to the Freedom Festival Parade here in Provo. It was Sophia's first parade and she loved it. She even got so excited about the llamas that she ran out in the middle of the street to see them. Yeah, she stopped the whole parade. Good thing she's so stinkin cute. We all really enjoyed the fighter planes that flew by.On Thursday morning we got the girls up really early to see the balloons. We got there right as they were taking off, so our trip was really short.



After the parade, all of Miguel's brothers and sisters came to our house with their families for our first annual family campout. Right in our very own backyard. It was perfect and the weather ended up being really nice. Everyone set up tents, played in the pond, built a dam in the river, and eventually floated down the river. Here is Gabriela with her cousins and her two uncles. The river was actually really low, but that didn't stop them.
We cooked dutch oven that night too. It was yummy. If anyone is looking for a good dutch oven recipe website, I've got one. www.papadutch.com We had cheesy chicken and potatoes and of course the classic peach dump cobbler. Here's the little girls. Annabelle, Gabriela, Raquel, Sophia & Elena.

Miguel cooked breakfast the next morning. Omlets, cooked to order.
I had to post this to show Sophia's monkey lips. She makes this face and we think it's so funny.

My Miss Tinkerbell

Gabriela's dance class was today and guess who she is? Yep, that's right...Tinkerbell. I didn't take the baby today so I actually got to watch her class. I was impressed with her teacher and her ability to keep their attention and actually teach them some dance. They leap over water puddles, tip toe around Captain Hook, chasse around the hoola hoops and so much more. Each of the girls got to sprinkle pixie dust on the other students as well. I'm really happy with the class. Gabriela and her teacher Bethany