The Important Things . . .

Friday we were able to take the kids with us to the temple. When E was just a baby I remember thinking how it would now be impossible to attend the temple. As first time parents it was inconceivable to think of leaving our little one with a sitter at all -- let alone the 6 hours it would take us to make it up and back from the temple. Then a friend gave us the idea of going up and taking turns inside the temple. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to us earlier, but suddenly the possibilities of temple attendance were opened to us once again. Through the last 10 years we have had many wonderful monthly trips to the temple with our kids in tow. As the kids have gotten older we've also been able to leave them home with a sitter or trade off with other families, but there is something very sweet and wonderful about bringing the whole family up to the temple even though we can't go inside together. We have photos of toddler E and baby B playing in front of the temple, and it seems like YESTERDAY! Now here we are with four fantastic kiddos doing the same thing! Time really does fly! I know my time doesn't always get spent on the most important things in life, BUT when we're at the temple and teaching our children to love the temple - THEN I know it is time well spent.

A Tiny Party

Last year for her birthday Sarah received a wonderful book called "Utterly Elegant Tea Parties." It gives instructions for miniature tea parties - so fun! Sunday the girls decided to treat us to one of these tiny parties - they called it a "Lelalade Party" (lemonade party). Everything was so dainty and tasty! (You can't really tell how tiny everything was from the photos -- but just to give you an idea -- the table was a shelf from Sarah's closet and the cupcake plate was made from a tin can lid). Thank you girls!!

Friday Field Trip

We went to the Tohono Chul Botanical Garden for our Friday Field Trip. It was . . . hot and beautiful . . . and hot and hot . . . Definitely better to go in the Fall/Winter. BUT, the kids had a lot of fun in the children's garden where they could race their boats. Then of course we had to get slurpies afterward --ahh! Mostly I wanted to blog this to show Emma's photos -- she has really enjoyed taking photos of nature this summer - check it out!

Back to Utah

We spent the last week back in Utah to spend time with my sister and brother and their families. Sadly, Dave had to work, so he drove us up - flew home - worked - flew back, drove us home. THANK YOU SWEETHEART. I had such a nice time with my sis and bro and their great spouses and kids. I mean . . . check out this group! All the cousins on the Drewes side together again. HAPPINESS! (Just one more year and Nana and D will be here with us!)

We enjoyed the cooler temps by spending our days outside -- Bridal Veil Falls, Jordanelle, hot tubbing, water sliding and splash padding in Park City.

S and J were quite a little team. I love this photo with her arm around him. They are two peas in a pod. It was really fun to watch them this trip and see how their little minds work so much alike.My greatest triumph this trip -- making a friend of Baby K. Yes, I have to brag - he loves me. He even let me hold him when Jen was in sight! It must be that "Special K" bond we share. I miss kissing those soft cheeks!

As our Utah connection grows bigger, it's getting harder to be so far away. It won't be soon enough, but we'll see you all again soon!

Happy Independence Day America!

It was a different kind of 4th of July for us with it being on a Sunday. D was at the church from 6 am to 6 pm. The kids were good sports about our mellow holiday (for the most part). They're used to letting off fire works and sparklers with cousins or if we're home we usually head over to the Marana Festival. We still put up our flag this morning, had our traditional fare (though it was a cook-in not a cook-out), and we sat in our driveway and watched a great fireworks display while we set off poppers. My favorite part of the day was singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the end of sacrament meeting. I got so choked up I couldn't finish singing as I felt such gratitude for this beautiful country and all the freedoms we enjoy. To me, this was a great way to celebrate the holiday.

The Greatest Show on Earth . . .

Saturday we spent a fabulous 2 hours at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I know different people have different views about the circus these days, but we loved it! (The animal acts were not my favorite, but the acrobatics were absolutely amazing!!) Here's a look at our family favorites:

Though I didn't especially enjoy the animal acts, S LOVED the elephants! She saw them when they came out during the opening parade. S was on the edge of her seat, mouthing the word "elephants." When they went backstage she looked at me with a very put-out look and said, "Where are the elephants?!" She must have said that another 4 or 5 times throughout the show if there was any kind of lull.

BR LOVED the two motorcycle acts -- this motorcycle was right out in front of us, and at one point flipped over the wire -- "AWESOME!" Then there were 7 motorcycles riding in this medal sphere at one time -- truly incredible!

B said "it IS called the Greatest Show on Earth, so I loved it all" -- he did wish this pirate sword fighting scene lasted longer -- no surprises there!

E's favorite act was the pirates - they jumped each other off of these teeter-totters and flipped through the air landing on the shoulders of their fellow pirates -- often 4 and 5 people tall. One pirate flipped with stilts on, and another on a very tall pogo stick "thingy." WOW!

D's favorites were the acrobatic stunts like the pirates, and a trampoline troupe, and this group on trampoline sticks -- flipping through the air and then landing on thin bouncy slats!

D and I oohed and aahed along with the kids. I cannot image doing some of the things we saw! But, I would have to say our favorite thing was watching our kids. They were sitting on the edge of their seats with looks of astonishment! It was a magical afternoon for them, and a great family outing!

Aaahh . . . here's my favorite!!

Private?

So I started this blog because the kids really wanted to have a family blog and I thought it would be a fun way to keep in touch with our out-of-town family and friends. But the more we record the more we realize we don't want strangers to have access to all the info we're posting. Dave and I think it would be best if we make our blog a private blog. If you have any thoughts or recommendations concerning going private, we'd love to hear. And if you'd like to be put on the list of "invitees" just let us know! Thanks for taking an interest in our little family, and for all your comments -- both on and off the blog :)