Vegas!

While Grandma Smith & Grandma Susan were in town, we were able to sneak away to Vegas for a few days!  Don't judge us, we love Vegas!  The sun, the pool, the food, the people watching, the shopping.  Love it all.

I think I sat by the pool and read for 5 hours straight the first day.

No one called me "Mom."

No one needed me to take them to the bathroom.

No one needed me to get them a snack.

No one needed me to hold them.

 No one even talked to me.

I'm not going to lie, it was pretty awesome.

While I enjoyed the sun, Chad enjoyed the cable... and a nap.

That night we ate at a Mob Themed Italian Restaurant.

Holy cow, it was amazing!

We will definitely be going back next time we are in Vegas.

We also enjoyed walking the Strip, and Downtown Vegas, as usual.

On our last morning, we went to The Hash House A Go-Go for breakfast.

Again.  Holy cow, it was amazing.

I got the Bananas Foster French toast.  Soooo good.  

One of those things that you eat at a restaurant and then immediately go home and try to replicate.

 Chad got a waffle that was stuffed with bacon.

Sounds like his kind of waffle for sure!

Karli loves bacon.  We will have to bring her here sometime :)

 While we were away, the Grandma's kept us updated with picture texts.

We knew they were in good hands!

 We loved receiving this picture:

In the middle of the day, at the park, wearing her jammies, eating an E.L. Fudge.

Grandmas are the best!

Thank you for taking such good care of our girls!  

We sure enjoyed the break.  But I couldn't wait to hold my girls.

Truth be told, when we pulled up, the girls shouted "Daddy, Daddy!!!"

Wa Waaaa.

Isaac, The Great

Isaac got to come stay with us for a night before EFY started.  

The girls could not have been happier.

He might just be the coolest person they have ever met.

Can you say, "Cloud 9?"

After a night of fun and games, we had to put the girls, and Isaac to bed.  

He needed his beauty rest for EFY.

The next morning, we took Isaac to BYU and got him all checked in.

Being on BYU campus was totally nostalgic for me.

 He was even in the same dorms that I lived in as a Freshman.

Total flashback.

The girls didn't want to leave Isaac.  We didn't nearly get enough time with him!

But, Isaac was ready to say goodbye to these little girls and start meeting some OTHER girls ;)

Have fun, Isaac!

July 4th, 2012

Is it that time of year again, already??

Happy 4th of July!!

Grandmda Susan and Grandma Smith came to the annual Evergreen Parade with us!

What a treat!

I love this picture.  So cute!

 Karli & Lucy

After the parade, we headed over to Great Grandpa's where my wonderful aunts and uncles provided us some delicious popsicles.

Ashley had a different popsicle in her hand every few minutes. Meh!  Oh well:)

Grandma Susan had fun talking with Great Grandpa.

He even showed her around his garden.

AND, she got some fresh garlic to take home.

Talk about a treat!!

After we explored the garden, and played in the basement, we headed over to the Henriksen's for swimming and barbecue.

We must have been having too much fun to take pictures.

I don't have a single one!!

After we sufficiently wore out the girls and their Grandma's, we headed to see Tucker & Calvin!

It's official!! We are all exhausted!

A few hours later, the girls were in bed, and we enjoyed some neighborhood fireworks!

Happy 4th of July!

Grandma Susan Comes To Visit!

Not only is Grandma Smith here to visit, but Grandma Susan is coming too!!!

We all got to pick her up at the airport.

With some beautifully made signs, of course!

Grandma Susan is full of fun and songs! We couldn't wait to get playing!!

On Monday we got to play outside and watch the Garbage Man pick up the trash.

Grandma Susan taught the kids a song called, "Garbage Day."

Super catchy little tune, and the kids LOVED it.

At one point, we couldn't remember the lyrics, so we thought of maybe looking them up on the internet.  This is how the conversation went:

Grandma Smith: Should we look up the lyrics on the internet?

Grandma Susan: Oh yes! I think that's a great idea.

Lisa: We can't find it.

Grandma Susan: Oh, well I made the song up long ago.

Grandma Smith: Then how would it be on the internet if you made it up?

Grandma Susan: Oh, I don't know, it seems like EVERYTHING is on the internet these days!

We laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.  Gotta love Grandma Susan!

The girls LOVED having two wonderful Grandma's here visiting.  Karli wanted to take a few pictures before Grandma Susan left.  She posed us and everything:

I think she got some great shots, thanks Kar!

And thank you for visiting us, Grandma Susan, we love you!!

Swim Lessons 2012

It's that time of year again!

Get your swimsuits on and let's head to Ms. Debbie's Pool !

 Good form, Karli!

 This year, Ashley and I are doing the Mommy & Me class.

I'm sure she wishes she could go by herself this year, but, you're stuck with me, Ash!!

 Luckily, her friend Tyson was in our class with his Mom too.

 While Ashley waits for her class to start, she loves playing in Ms. Debbie's playground.

Look who got to join us for our last day of swim lessons!

It's Grandma!

The girls loved showing off their swimming moves for Grandma!

I can't believe how much progress both girls have made in the water.

By the end of the week, Karli was jumping off the diving board and climbing up the water all by herself.  And Ashley was going down the slide like a champ!

Proud of both of my girls!

 We were so glad the Popes were in our classes!

Here are the underwater pictures!

We look forward to these every year!

Love that lil' half smile.

Camping!

Truth be told...my idea of camping is staying at the Sheraton.  

I blame that mostly on my Dad.

My Dad is an Eagle Scout and camped all growing up.  He's probably REALLY good at camping, but by the time we came along, he was more of a Sheraton guy:)

I remember camping a few times with my family.  I don't remember lots of specifics, but I DO remember my grandparent's van and playing the candy bar game.

  I really do like the idea of camping.  I just don't like the sleeping over part of it.  Especially with kids.

Chad loves camping, so we compromised.  Lisa & Ash go home to sleep while Chad & Kar stay over night.

We headed up to Whiting Campground in Mapleton for a Friday night campout!

The Smiths joined us also!

Holly got some really cute shots of the kiddos!

Cute Ashley.

Happy Tucker.

Sweet Karli.

Cute Calvin.

And how cute is this picture?

It just might be Grandpa Smith's favorite picture of all time.

Each of their personalities show through.  Love them all!!

 Tucker and Karli "helped" set up the tents.

While Chad and Curt were cooking burgers and hot dogs, we kept the kids busy with some games.

The kids went on a rock hunt, and then got to decorate their rocks.

 Can you believe I gave a Sharpie to that little girl?? Me neither.

Kids are crazy.  

They had the most fun in the back of the truck.

Forget about nature and fire and bugs and exploring.

All they needed was a truck to play in.

 Here's a proud Dad, teaching his girls about camping.

Uh oh, Secrets!

S'MORES TIME!

 "My hands, Mommy!"

 "They Sickky"

 The famous Chad wink.

Enjoying the fire, all by herself.

Maybe she's a REAL camper!

Soon after s'mores, Ash & I headed home to sleep in our nice, soft, warm, comfy, cozy beds.

Karli got to experience REAL camping.

Chad's report when I asked him how she did:"She wouldn't stop talking. We barely slept."

Apparently, she kept saying "Dad, I just want to go camping."

And he kept replying "We are camping, now be quiet and go to bed."

Then, that scenario replayed itself several hundred times.

I'm proud of both of them for surviving it!

This well-rested, happy girl and I woke up early, got donuts, and headed back to the campground.

We were happy to see everyone safe and "rested."

Ashley was so excited about these cocoa krispies she had to double-spoon it.

Calvin spotted the good stuff!

Happy Campers!

While the Dads cleaned up the site, the kids went on a little scavenger hunt.

I love Karli's outfit, don't you?  Complete with crazy hair and everything.

 Adorale little cousins.

We had so much fun "camping"!

Now let's go home, jump in the bath and do laundry!

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few out takes from the truck pictures:

I can't get enough of Ashley's little belly.