4th Birthday

The boys turned the big 4 this year. I can't believe it has been four crazy years. They are so fun to watch and listen to. They are the best of friends and I am so grateful for them. They got some clothes, jammies, cars toys, a play BBQ set, some clothes and a Pink Panther movie. That was their favorite. They kept asking for a Cars birthday again this year, so I made them a Lightning McQueen cake. I was quite impressed with how it turned out. They had a fun birthday and we are looking forward to another fun filled year.

Brock

Collin

Aiden

4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July. We went to the Rexburg Parade and the kids loved catching lots of candy. The part they didn't like was getting sprayed. It was a fun time. We had a BBQ that night and then did some fireworks. The only casulty was Brock touched the orange hot part of the sparkler when it was all finished burning, so he got a couple of little burns on his finger, but he survived. It was a fun day as a family.

First month of Summer

I can't believe we have already had a month of summer. We have had a busy first month and I thought I would recap some of our highlights. The kids successfully completed their 1st session of swimming lessons. This was a big accomplishment, since last summer the boys got kicked out of their session because they wouldn't stop crying. The first couple of days I was starting to wonder, but then a few bribes later, they decided swimming wasn't that bad. We have also gone to the pool a few nights as a family and they did good.

A few weeks ago, my mom and I took the kids to the zoo. The boys loved it. The best part was how fast they looked at everything, so we weren't there too long. Afterwards we had a picnic at the park. It was a lot of fun.

Kayla finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. She has been so stubborn about it, but I finally just took her training wheels off and made her learn. The only problem is she still won't really get on it and ride. She is still a little unsure. Hopefully she will feel more comfortable on it soon, so we can go on some family bike rides.

What a fun June. We have alot of fun things planned in July and can't wait for the next month.

Big Boy Beds

It was finally time to move the boys from toddler beds to big beds. In order to do this we had to move them into Kayla's room. So the project began. I had to move Kayla out and paint her pink wall brown. Then the boys were able to move in. Then I decided while their old room was empty we should paint it before we moved Kayla in. So after 2 rooms being painted, 2 new beds bought and a bunch of rearranging, we have 4 happy kids. The boys love their new beds and they sleep alot better at night. Kayla is also super happy with her new room. It is more grown up for her and she loves it. Hopefully I won't have any more big projects this summer. That was enough for me.

Chicago

Two weeks ago, Matt and I were able to go to Chicago for eight days. Matt's parents willingly agreed to keep all of the kids for us, so I was glad I was able to join Matt. He had meetings for three days and then we extended a few extra days and took in more sights. Here is a quick recap of our fun vacation. Friday night when we arrived, we just walked a few blocks from our hotel and were able to visit Millenium Park, where the famous "Bean" is. Our hotel was so central to everything, so we saw a whole lot and did an enormous amount of walking. This was the view at night, across the street from our hotel was the Tribune building. The view from our hotel. We stayed on the 35th floor overlooking the river. Saturday Matt and I walked along the Magnificent Mile and did a little shopping. Matt had a meeting in the afternoon, so I stayed at the hotel and just relaxed. When he got back we went and had Chicago style deep dish pizza at Giordano's with Matt's boss Richard and his wife Yvonne. Talk about cheesy pizza. It was pretty yummy. That night Matt and I went on a boat cruise on the Chicago River and learned about some of the architecture of Chicago. Then we were able to see the fireworks over the Navy Pier from the boat. We were able to go to the Museum of Science and Industry on Sunday. We did the tour of the U-505 Submarine and it was incredible to see inside a real sub and to hear the stories behind it. We had a fun time. Sunday night there was an opening social for Matt's Conference at the Field Museum. We had met up with a couple at the same conference from Jerome, Idaho, earlier that day, so we were able to hang out with them at night. Matt and I in front of the T-Rex Sue. Monday and Tuesday Matt had meetings all day, so I spent the day doing whatever I wanted. Monday I shopped most of the day on the Magnificent Mile. Monday night we were able to go up to the top of the John Hancock Observatory. 94 stories high. It was breathtaking. We had a great time. With our friends Jaime and Ross Hiatt from Jerome. Tuesday I went to the Art Institute of Chicago. It was the biggest museum I have every been to. There were some amazing things there. I had a really fun time. Tuesday night we went to the Navy Pier with Matt's conference. They had a buffet dinner, a comedy act and then we were able to see Chicago in concert. It was awesome. I grew up loving so many of their songs, so it was awesome to be at their concert. Wednesday, Matt had meetings in the morning and then we checked out of our hotel and spent a little more time shopping. We picked up a rental car and then headed over to Wrigley Field for a baseball game. It was the Cubs versus the Detroit Tigers. It was such a neat experience to be at Wrigley field. It has been something Matt has always talked about doing. We ate hot dogs, peanuts and had a fun time, even though the Cubs lost. Thursday morning we got in our rental car and started the 5 hour drive to Nauvoo. This was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most. Both Matt and I had never been, so knowing we were going to be this close, we knew we wanted to make the trip. I loved every minute. We were able to go in a lot of the homes of the past prophets and see alot of church history sights that we have read so much about. I can't wait to take our kids back someday and spend even more time there. That night we were also able to see the Sunset on the Mississippi performance and the BYU Ballroom dance team was there on a two week tour, so we also got to see them perform. It was a really enjoyable evening. Matt and I in front of Brigham Young's house. Friday morning Matt and I were able to do a session at the temple and then we headed back to Chicago through Carthage. Out of the entire trip this was my favorite stop. The wonderful experience Matt and I had in Carthage is to hard to sum up in words, but we will never forget how we felt standing in the Carthage Jail. Friday night we were back in Chicago and we were able to go see the Buckingham fountain. It was bigger than I had imagined. We were even able to see a rainbow. What a great was to end our trip in Chicago. We had a wonderful time seeing the wonderful sights in Chicago and Nauvoo, but we were both really glad to get home and see our wonderful kids. We missed them alot (me more than Matt), but they had a fun week with Grandma and Grandpa and lots of cousins.

Birthday Fun

Paige turned 10 years old yesterday. I can't believe she is in the double digits. She is the best helper and the best big sister. She is such a sweet girl and we are so lucky that she is part of our family. On Wednesday, she was able to have a birthday party with some of her friends. We did a cupcake party. The girls each got to decorate an apron when they arrived. Then we played a few games and decorated cupcakes. They had a lot of fun. Yesterday we went to the summer movie, "Puss in Boots." Then we went and rode the carousel. We invited Grandma and Grandpa Ricks over for dinner, cake and presents. She got lots of clothes and some legos. Her two favorite things. She had a fun day. Happy Birthday Paigey girl.

Memorial Weekend

Last weekend we headed to Island Park for our annual Hill Family Memorial Weekend. Once again the weather was horrible, but we still braved the rain and snow. (at least we had a nice warm cabin to stay in) It was full of yummy food, fun kids crafts, lots of playing with cousins and more food. We had a wonderful time and can't wait until next year. (The weather better cooperate next year.)

The whole family (minus Jenna who stayed home)

Aiden painting his birdhouse.

Collin and Brock painting their birdhouses.

My dad dancing to some good old classic tunes while dutch oven cooking.