Wellsy

 Nothing like Utah grasshoppers in August

 Yes, she is devouring a Big Hunk candy bar.  I'm pretty sure I had about 10 of those while in Utah. And I still want more. Sigh.

 Zinnia

 BARBIE MANIA! And this barbie is "stylin'" as my Dad would say.

 A little duet.  Although I'm sure the duet sounded lovely to the ears!

 Chess

 THE BEST SUB SANDWICH EVER MADE!  It's called the hero in case any of you need to go get one right now.

 Lincoln logs and old fisher price farm animals and people.  Basically kept my girls entertained for weeks.

 Izzy laying under the apple tree.  I had to run inside for something and Brynn put her caboodle (which she carried around with her for three weeks straight-no lie) on Izzy to make her happy. :) 

 We call her Izzy Buns.  Buns with a capital because that means business. 

 Zoe and Mom playing peek a boo.

 Trying to "feel" the sprinkler from far away.

 Checking the ground out.

 Kyle showing us how it's done!

 Examining some bug.

Zoe + Cam.  She called him "Tam" the whole time.  And I call Cam the "Baby Whisperer"  because seriously, this kid is in fact a Baby Whisperer.  All of my girls love him.  Especially Izzy. 

Lizzie + Maya saying goodbye-these two had so much fun this summer.

Wellsville-one of my favorite places. 
After Canada we spent a few weeks here, and it was heaven.
I love listening to the ditch run and rainbird sprinklers.  Those remind me of summer.
The garden was on, with corn (minus a few ears from pesky racoons!) and tomatoes. 
Mom's zinnias were in full bloom. 
The girls had a nightly tradition of riding Moon the horse with Grandpa. And other times they rode the motorcycle or the four-wheeler.  The girls went out to Tom's service for some delicious candy and pop, and my Dad would bring me back several big hunk candy bars-which is only the best candy bar ever made. 
Speaking of food, I always stop by Logan's Heroes.  If you live in Cache Valley and have not gone in this shop-GO!  Best sub sandwiches ever made.  Seriously.  Hameed the owner is the coolest, and once you try Logan's Heroes you will never again to go some place like Subway.
The girls had lots of cousin time, which they missed like crazy coming back to Minne.  

The Wellsvilles

1. The Wellsvilles in beautiful morning light.
2. Wheat
3. Sagebrush! Had to throw it in-I don't get so see any of this in Minne.
4. Sunflower
5. A weed-Carly informed of the name-but I have since forgotten.  What is it Carly?
6. Another weed.  But it's purple!
7. Burrs-all over the place.
8. Carly or you can call her 'Carlota Bobata' just for fun.

I really wanted to hike the Wellsville's this summer, but with a new babe, it just wasn't possible. 
My sister Carly, who is always up for an adventure, drove up from Salt Lake early on a Saturday just so we could go on a little impromptu hike.  We didn't have a trail, we just started out hiking in the fields. Our feet were wet from the morning dew.  We found ourselves a trail, that really wasn't a trail, and had fun meandering our way up the mountain a bit. And then it came to a point where the trail didn't continue, so we turned around!  The morning sun was bright and amazing, as were the colors. And I realized just how out of shape I am, living at 900 feet above sea level! Thank you, Wellsvilles.

Thank you, Carly-what a fabulous morning. 

Grandma Dean's

After returning to Utah from Banff, I took my little ladies to visit my Grandma.

Her house is one of my most favorite places in the world-and always has been.

My Grandma has a gift---she makes everyone feel accepted and loved. She has done this my entire life.  I have brought friends to meet her, just to feel of her love.  We call her 'Grandma Dean' because Dean was my Grandpa's name.  He passed away in 2002, and there were only two grandkids at the time.  After he died, Cam my nephew added Dean to her name.

We saw her and my aunt Debbie.  Debbie is amazing.  She always took me school shopping to Park City when I was young.  And she is the favorite aunt.  My girls kept calling her Grandma the days we were there! 

As soon as the girls arrived, they went off exploring.  The downstairs with the barbies, paper dolls and old fisher price toys.  And don't forget the etch-a-sketch.  My brother Chad would play that for hours at Grandma's.  And Maya couldn't get enough of it this trip.  We went outside and picked peaches from her tree!  Peaches with every meal.  So, so delicious. Aunt Debbie was the favorite and kept the girls busy. We explored the mountain that Grandma lives on.  Picked some sage, and rubbed it between our fingers.  I miss that smell.  Maya, Brynn and I went on a little hike-and we lasted about 20 minutes.  It was blazing hot, and very steep.  So we came back down and had a creamy.  Grandma always has creamies.  And we even went to dinner all of us!  

It was my trip solo with the girls and it turned out pretty great.  It was wonderful just to catch up with Grandma, and for my ladies to see how amazing she is.  Love her.

Oh Canada Part 5: Maya turns 6

the two requests maya had regarding her birthday were: she wanted a cake from a store, and wanted to be surrounded by her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandpa and grandma.  she waited a whole two weeks to actually have her birthday so that she could party with everyone.

sooooooo we mustered up strength to go spend as much on a birthday cake as we would on gifts!
in canada all food is expensive-at least double what we pay here. 

the cars cake paid off.
maya was thrilled.
the cake was good.
and she was surrounded by everyone she loves.

what a good day!

Oh Canada Part 4: Hikes

 

each day in banff, we took off on little hikes.

sometimes it was a bit crazy getting 8 peeps ready to hit the trails,

including one little six week old.

izzy was a little trooper and loved being carried on the hikes.

i couldn't have done it without the help of my sisters and parents.

 beauty is all around in banff,

and anywhere you go,

the views are breathtaking.

pristine lakes,

wild mountains covered in rock and trees,

and lovely flowers.

*these pics are from our hike to grassi lakes and johston canyon.

thanks to parker for all the good shots.