Poor Slither...RIP

Kaden's pet Slither (an albino corn snake) died yesterday. He was devastated. He died of natural causes, unlike some other reptiles around here. We would hate for a cage to go unused, so Kaden and Thomas went to the pet store to find "Slither Jr." Mom should have come. I was thinking another corn snake. They showed up with a Ball Python. Um, yeah. Scared me to death. I am now willing to touch it. Hold it, no. Any suggestions on names?

Happy Birthday Kaden!

Kaden had his 7th birthday on June 24th. He had a few boys over, and they had a blast blowing marshmallow's out of the marshmallow shooters that Thomas made them. We had a little family party...not many made it, but it was still fun!

Kaden is such a sweet boy.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to make sure I thanked the Fathers in my life.

Thomas is the best dad ever. (I know, I know...you all think YOUR husbands are the best ever, but we all know it's Thomas ;)

He takes time to make sure each of the kid's know that he loves them. He spends one-on-one time with all of them. He spends countless hours throwing any sort of ball to Kaden, counting how long Hailey can do a handstand, and "helping"Kinley play solitaire on his phone.

He would do anything for any of his kids. Your a great father Thomas! I am lucky to have you!

My dad is so special to me. He is such a kind man. He is where I get what I call my "Sympathy Crying." If we see someone crying, they should not be doing that alone...and without fail, we will cry. He has always served in church callings without complaint! My parents are now on their second mission in New Delhi, India. I miss them. I love you dad!

Thomas' dad is also a kind man. He cares about his family. He also loves to serve in the church. My in-laws work at the temple and love it! He has raised the man I love, so what more can you say to that! He did a great job!

I love the men in my life. Happy Fathers Day!

Donut Falls

We did not make it to waterfall canyon yesterday. It rained. Hailey woke up with her first migraine (poor girl!). It just was not in the cards, and that is okay.

Since it's Fathers day, I asked Thomas what he would like to do. Since his dad is in WA, and my dad is in India, we went for a hike.

We went to Donut Falls. Its up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It is a very simple, very short hike (that was VERY muddy!)

We didn't see the "donut" effect. We think the river was too high and the water went over it. We are going to try this hike again later in the year. It was beautiful...kid's didn't complain...perfect Sunday walk.

Hailey, Kaden and Kinley at the "top".
The trail on the way up.

We have to have a hold the camera shot of both of us. :)

A Shout-Out to Kinley

Today I sent Kinley to clean her room. I was a little nervous because last time I sent her to clean her room and make her bed, this happened.

To my pleasant surprise, I walked in to see this!! She has made her bed all by herself 2 days now...I think she did FANTASTIC!! Now all the kids can make their own beds!

Too bad it doesn't cut housework down for me...I never made their beds either! Oh well!

Waterfall Canyon

Today for our date, Thomas and I went to Waterfall Canyon. We like to check out the hikes before we take the kids. It was raining as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.

This is us before the hike.

It is harder then Adams Canyon. It is pretty steep the entire time. It was only 2.22 miles there and back, so it's a short hike.
It is beautiful at the top, and the Waterfall is huge! We are going to try and take the kids Saturday morning. I don't know if they will make it though. I guess we will see!

By the time we were about .5 mile into the hike it started POURING rain. We were troopers and kept going though. Here we are at the top. FREEZING!! But we got pictures, and I suppose that is bragging rights(?)

When is it going to STOP raining??

Adams Canyon

We have been on a few hikes this summer. Thomas and I checked out Adams Canyon (I remember going there as a teen-ager, but I don't remember it how it looks now?) We thought we would take the kids on a bunch of hikes this summer and hopefully by the end of the season have them hike Adams Canyon.

We tried out a hike two weekends ago, and it was harder then this one, so we went for it! The first part of the hike is hard. Its in sand and pretty steep. Kinley had a hard time during this part. I didn't think she was going to make it, but once we were out of the sand, she did fantastic!

We took a lot of breaks and had lunch half-way up. The kids really were troopers!! I thought for sure some spots would have been too hard.

The view at the top is worth the hike! They loved seeing the waterfall. We had to put on our water shoes and cross the river, if you don't, you cant see the waterfall!